Google Search Appliance Configuring GSA Mirroring Google Search Appliance software version 7.
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Contents Configuring GSA Mirroring ...........................................................................................
Configuring GSA Mirroring This guide contains the information you need to use GSA mirroring, a feature of the Google Search Appliance. GSA mirroring is a feature that enables the index and other configuration information from one search appliance, called the master node, to be replicated to another search appliance, called a replica. You can set up either an active-active or active-passive mirroring configuration.
Requirements for GSA Mirroring GSA mirroring requires a sustainable 1 MB per second file transfer rate between the master Google Search Appliance and each replica search appliance. To determine whether a network can provide the required file transfer rate, we recommend that you measure the rate by transferring files on your network between the subnets where the search appliances are located. If the file transfer requirement is not met by the network, the mirroring feature might not work as expected.
In scenario two, both search appliances are freshly installed and the content is being crawled for the first time. The master search appliance produces checkpoint files with newly-crawled content. The checkpoint files will be of a moderate size and will take somewhat more time to transfer than in scenario one.
Deciding Which Mirroring Configuration to Use In this release, you have a choice of how to direct search traffic. • To the master search appliance only, in an active-passive configuration. In this configuration, you can manually fail over search traffic to a replica node if the master search appliance fails. • To all nodes, in an active-active configuration. In this configuration, all nodes can serve results. You use a load balancer to distribute search requests among the nodes.
The following settings and data are not copied from the master to the replica search appliances: • Kerberos • Connectors (Connector Manager definitions and configurations are copied) • Existing feeds • Certificates About Security The Google Search Appliance uses secret tokens and private IP addresses to enforce security within GSA mirroring configurations. The search appliances in a GSA mirroring configuration authenticate each other using shared secret tokens that you provide during configuration.
Using Kerberos with GSA Mirroring You must configure Kerberos on the master and all mirrored search appliances by using the Search > Secure Search > Universal Login Auth Mechanisms > Kerberos page in the Admin Console. Kerberos keytabs are unique, so ensure that you generate and import different Kerberos keytabs for the master and mirrored search appliances. When you configure Kerberos on a replica search appliance, use a different Mechanism Name from the one used for the master.
Task Description Determine the appliance IDs of the participating search appliances You view the appliance IDs on the Admin Console by right-clicking the About link at the bottom of any page and choosing Open in New Tab, or by navigating to Administration > License. Confirm that all search appliances are running the same software version. You view the software version on the Admin Console by right-clicking the About link at the bottom of any page and choosing Open in New Tab.
5. To add a mirror for the current search appliance, type the GSA Appliance ID, Appliance hostname, Admin Username, and Password under the section Please enter the configuration information for the node. If Admin NIC is enabled on the node that you are adding, use the IP address or hostname of the primary NIC for the Appliance Hostname, click Admin NIC enabled on remote node? and type the IP address of the remote node’s Admin NIC in Admin NIC IP Address. 6. Check Enable (if not checked by default). 7.
9. Type in the Network IP of the search appliance. The Network IP should be in the same subnet as your other search appliances. 10. If Admin NIC is enabled on the replica that you are adding, click Admin NIC enabled on remote node? and type the IP address of the replica in IP Address. 11. Check Enable. 12. Click Save. 13. Optionally, click Export and save the configuration file to the local computer. 14. Log in to the new replica search appliance. 15.
4. Click Update System Settings. Alternatively, you can also set up a single round-robin DNS record for all nodes, so that every search appliance (master or replica) can be accessed via the same host name. In this case, you can set the default URL to point to the shared hostname. Tasks Performed on Replica Search Appliances After GSA mirroring is configured, you perform most administrative tasks only on the master search appliance.
Configuring Connectors with GSA Mirroring You can use Google Search Appliance connectors with GSA mirroring. If you use a connector, Google recommends that you use an external connector manager and connector, installed on a separate host computer, rather than the internal connector. For information about using external connectors, see the appropriate connector documentation. If you are using an internal connector, you encounter the following issues.
Promoting a Replica Node to Master Promote a replica node to the master node in a GSA mirroring configuration only when the master node fails and is not accessible. After promotion, the new master node begins crawling where the old master node stopped its crawl. In addition, port 19900 on the master begins to accept feeds. If your installation includes connectors, see “Configuring Connectors with GSA Mirroring” on page 14 for information on sending content from connectors to the new master node.
Deleting Replica Nodes from an Existing GSA Mirroring Configuration Use these instructions to remove a node from an existing mirroring configuration. To delete a replica node from a mirroring configuration: 1. Log in to the Admin Console of the master node. 2. Click GSAn > Configuration. 3. Click the View / Edit link. 4. Click the Remove link that corresponds to the replica you are deleting from the configuration. 5. Click Apply Changes. 6. Log in to the Admin Console of the replica node. 7.
The following table describes the diagnostic information. Label Explanation Node Google Search Appliance host name. Peer Status Shows the current status of the multibox configuration: Config Sync, UP, or DOWN for Master; Non-Master (Distributed Crawling) Setup and N/A for Master-Replica (Mirroring) Setup. Current Time The current date and time, for example: 2011/02/17 11:35.
