Specifications

Chapter 6
6-18
Reviewing specific active-active bigpipe commands
There are several specific commands included in bigpipe to support
active-active configurations. One of these commands is the bigpipe failover
init command. You can use the bigpipe failover init command to read the
BIG/db database and refresh its parameters. To do this, type the following
command:
b failover init
Another command specifically designed for active-active configurations is
the bigpipe failover failback command. This command causes the BIG-IP
to resume normal operation after a fail-over occurs. To do this, type the
following command:
b failover failback
After a bigpipe failover standby command is issued, use this command to
allow the BIG-IP to resume normal operation. If manual fail back is
enabled, this command causes a BIG-IP that is running as both units to
release a unit number to its peer unit when the peer becomes active. You can
use the following commands to view the unit number on the BIG-IP you are
logged into:
b unit [show]
To view the unit number, or numbers, of the peer BIG-IP units in a
redundant system, type the following command:
b unit peer [show]
Returning an active-active installation to active/standby mode
Returning to active/standby mode from active-active mode is relatively
simple in that only a few things need be undone.
1. Enable active/standby mode by setting the BIG/db key
Common.Bigip.Failover.ActiveMode to 0.
2. Update the fail-over mechanism with the change by typing the
command bigpipe failover init.
3. Synchronize the configuration by typing the command bigpipe
configsync all.
4. Since each BIG-IP is an active unit, transition each unit into
active/standby mode by typing the command bigpipe failover
standby on each unit.
When in active/standby mode, the active BIG-IP runs all objects (virtual
servers, SNATs and NATs) that are defined to run on unit 1 or unit 2. It is
not necessary to redefine virtual servers, SNATS, or NATs when you
transition from active-active mode to active/standby mode.