Technical data

BLADE OS 5.1 Application Guide
202
 Chapter 14: High Availability BMD00136, November 2009
High Availability Configurations
G8000s offer flexibility in implementing redundant configurations. This section discusses the more
useful and easily deployed configurations:
 “Active-Active Configuration” on page 202
Active-Active Configuration
Figure 31 shows an example configuration where two G8000s are used as VRRP routers in an
active-active configuration. In this configuration, both switches respond to packets.
Figure 31 Active-Active High-Availability Configuration
Although this example shows only two switches, there is no limit on the number of switches used in
a redundant configuration. It is possible to implement an active-active configuration across all the
VRRP-capable switches in a LAN.
Each VRRP-capable switch in an active-active configuration is autonomous. Switches in a virtual
router need not be identically configured.
In the scenario illustrated in Figure 31, traffic destined for IP address 10.0.1.1 is forwarded through
the Layer 2 switch at the top of the drawing, and ingresses Switch 1 on port 1. Return traffic uses
default gateway 1 (192.168.1.1). If the link between Switch 1 and the Layer 2 switch fails, Switch 2
becomes the Master because it has a higher priority. Traffic is forwarded to Switch 2, which
forwards it to Switch 1 through port 5. Return traffic uses default gateway 2 (192.168.2.1), and is
forwarded through the Layer 2 switch at the bottom of the drawing.
To implement the active-active example, perform the following switch configuration.
Internet
Internet
Enterprise
Routing Switch
Switch 1
Switch 2
VIR 1: 192.168.1.200 (Master)
VIR 2: 192.168.2.200 (Backup)
VIR 1: 192.168.1.200 (Backup)
VIR 2: 192.168.2.200 (Master)
NIC 1: 10.0.1.1/24
NIC 2: 10.0.2.1/24
NIC 1: 10.0.1.2/24
NIC 2: 10.0.2.2/24
NIC 1: 10.0.1.3/24
NIC 2: 10.0.2.3/24
NIC 1: 10.0.1.4/24
NIC 2: 10.0.2.4/24
L2 Switch
L2 Switch
1
2
4
1
2
Server 1
Server 2
Server 3
Server 4