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Barracuda Load Balancer

How to Configure High Availability in Bridge-Path Mode

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This article refers to Barracuda Load Balancer firmware release 3.1 and higher.

For an overview of High Availability (HA), and a list of requirements, see the article Understanding Barracuda Load Balancer High Availability.

Requirements

Before joining two systems, each Barracuda Load Balancer must meet the following requirements:

  • Barracuda Load Balancer 340 or higher; note that both Barracuda Load Balancers must be the same model;
  • Activated and on the same version of firmware;
  • Able to access all Real Servers;
  • On the same physical network segment;
  • Able to reach the other Barracuda Load Balancer on the WAN interface.

The active system should be fully configured; see Services and Step 5: How to Configure the Barracuda Load Balancer Networkfor a complete list of service and network configuration tasks.

When clustering two Barracuda Load Balancers for HA, Barracuda Networks recommends enabling PortFast on the switch ports to which the Barracuda Load Balancer’s interfaces are to be connected.

Configure the Active (Primary) System

On the Primary system, complete the following steps:

  1. Log into the Primary system as the administrator, go to the ADVANCED > BACKUP page, and back up the configuration.
  2. Go to the ADVANCED > High Availability page.
  3. Set Enable High Availability to Yes.
  4. In the Cluster Shared Secret field, enter an alphanumeric shared secret passcode; you must enter the same code on the Active and Passive systems in an HA configuration so that the systems ‘trust’ one another. Do not use special characters.
  5. In the Cluster group ID field, enter a numeric shared group value. You must enter the same value on the Primary and Secondary systems in an HA configuration. The Maximum value is 255.
  6. Specify how you wish that a failed system behaves when recovering from a failed state:
    • Select Automatic if you wish that a failed system resume the active role upon recovery.
    • Select Manual to ensure that the currently active system does not failback to the peer automatically but continues to remain active until the administrator can determine the cause of failure of the now recovered peer.
  7. Click Save Changes.
  8. Go to the BASIC > IP Configuration page, and note the WAN IP Address; you will enter this value on the Secondary system in the ADVANCED > High Availability page in the section that follows.

Configure the Passive (Secondary) System

On the Secondary system, complete the following steps:

  1. Log into the Secondary system as the administrator, and go to the BASIC > IP Configuration page.
  2. In the Operating Mode section, verify the mode is set to Route-Path; if the operating mode is set to Bridge-Path, click Convert.

    Once the clustering process is complete, the configuration sync automatically converts the operational mode to Bridge-Path.

  3. Disconnect the LAN cable from the Secondary system to prevent network looping.
  4. Go to the ADVANCED > High Availability page, and complete the following:
    • Set Enable High Availability to Yes.
    • Enter the same shared secret you entered on the Primary system in the Cluster Shared Secret field.
    • In the Cluster group ID field, enter the same value you entered on the Primary system.
    • Verify no ports are selected for Failover on Link Down.
  5. Click Save Changes.
  6. Go to the BASIC > IP Configuration page, and verify the LAN IP Address and LAN Netmask fields are blank.
  7. Go to the ADVANCED > High Availability page, and enter the WAN IP address of the Primary system in the Clustered Systems field, and click Join Cluster.
  8. Allow a few minutes for the clustering process to complete.
  9. Reconnect the LAN cable to the Secondary system once clustering begins.

Verify the Configuration is in Sync

Once joined in a cluster, on each system, verify the associated system displays its peer in the Clustered Systems table on the ADVANCED > High Availability page.

After verifying that the configuration is in sync, please perform some configuration changes on the active unit and check whether those changes appear on the Passive unit.

The clustering process may take up to 5 minutes to complete and no configuration changes are permitted during this period. Configuration changes may take up to a minute to sync to the peer, on clustered systems.

 

 

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