Summary

This Knowledgebase article provides the procedure used for Automated Deployment of Stand-by Servers with Automatic Cloning when the Secondary server is physical or virtual. 

More Information

Procedure 

1. You have the following options:
   • If the Primary server is physical, go to Step 2
   • If the Primary server is virtual, go to Step 4
2. Click on the Converter button. The Configure Connection to VMware vCenter Converter page is displayed. Provide the URL where the VMware vCenter Converter resides and provide the Username and Password with local Administrator permissions on the machine where VMware vCenter Converter is installed. Click Next.
   The Ready to Complete step is displayed.
3. Review the URL and if accurate, click Finish.
   Note: If VMware vCenter Server is configured before connecting to VMware vCenter Converter, the success or failure of connecting to the VMware Converter is indicated as a vSphere Task and also by the icon shown next to the Converter button.
4. Navigate to Management > Deploy.
5. Select one of the following depending on the environment you intend to support:
   • Add a stand-by server for high availability, go to Step 6
   • Add a stand-by server for disaster recovery, go to Step 12
   • Create Secondary and Tertiary stand-by VMs for HA and DR, go to Step 19
     Note: You can also create a stand-by VM for Disaster Recovery for an existing High Availability pair, and vice-versa.
     The Add a Stand-by Sever for High Availability page is displayed.
6. Select the clone type step – select to use automated cloning (recommended). Click Next.
   The Select channel IP addresses step is displayed.
7. Select the NIC which is to host the Channel IP addresses. Enter the Channel IP addresses for the Primary and Secondary servers. Manually enter the subnet mask or leave blank to set to the default subnet mask. If you are adding high-availability to an existing DR pair, enter the IP addresses and associated information for the Secondary-Tertiary and Tertiary-Primary (when deployed) Channel. Click Next.
   Note: If the IP addresses chosen are not already present on the server's NICs, they will be added automatically.
   The Select a host (optional) step is displayed.
8. Select the Datacenter and Host where the Secondary server will be created and click Next.
   The Select Storage step is displayed.
   Note: If the Primary server is a virtual machine, then the Secondary server should be on a separate host to protect against host failure.
   The Select storage (optional) step is displayed.
9. Select a storage location for the virtual machine. Click Next.
   The Ready to complete step is displayed.
10. Click Finish to initiate installation of the Secondary server.
    Note: Once installation of the Secondary server is complete, automatic reconfiguration of the Secondary server will take place requiring only a few minutes to complete.
11. Once complete, perform Post Installation Configuration tasks as listed in the Neverfail Continuity Engine v8.0 Installation Guide.
12. On the Neverfail Continuity Engine Management Service user interface, click the Add a stand-by server for Disaster Recovery.
    The Add a stand-by server for disaster recovery page is displayed.
13. Select either of the following:
    • The public (principal) IP address will be identical to the Primary server.
    • The public (principal) IP address will be different than the Primary server - you must add credentials to be used for updating DNS.
      Click Next.
      The Select Channel IP Addresses step is displayed.
14. Enter the Neverfail Channel IP addresses for the Primary and Secondary servers. Manually enter the subnet mask or leave blank to set to the default subnet mask. If you are adding Disaster Recovery to an existing pair, then enter the IP Addresses and associated information for the Primary-Tertiary and Secondary-Tertiary channels. Click Next.
    The Select Clone Type step is displayed.
15. Select whether to Clone the Primary server to create a Secondary server and power-on the Secondary server or to Clone the Primary server to create the .vmdk files to be ported manually to the DR site. Click Next.
    Note: If you have selected to move the .vmdk files, this refers to where the files will be created, not the final destination.
    The Select Host step is displayed.
16. Select a Datacenter and Host for the virtual machine. Click Next.
    Note: If you have selected to move the .vmdk files, this refers to where the files will be created, not the final destination.
    The Select Storage step is displayed.
17. Select the storage location for the virtual machine. Click Next.
18. Review the information on the Ready to Complete step and if accurate, click Finish to create the Secondary server.
    Once cloning process is complete, automatic reconfiguration of the stand-by server will take place requiring only a few minutes to finish. Once complete, perform Post Installation Configuration tasks as listed in the Installation Guide. 
19. This feature works to extend capabilities of Neverfail Continuity Engine to incorporate both High Availability and Disaster Recovery by deploying both a Secondary server (for HA) and a Tertiary server (for DR). On the Neverfail Continuity Engine Management Service, navigate to the Management > Deploy drop-down and select Create Secondary and Tertiary VMs for HA and DR.
    The Create Secondary and Tertiary VMs for High Availability and Disaster Recovery wizard is displayed.
20. Review the information in the step and then click Next.
    The Select host step is displayed.
21. Click on the appropriate Datacenter to display all available hosts. Select the intended host for the Secondary server and then click Next.
    The Select storage step is displayed.
22. Select the intended datastore for the Secondary VM, and then click Next.
    The Configure Tertiary VM step is displayed.
23. Review the contents of the step and then click Next.
    The Select public IP address step is displayed.
24. If the public IP address will be different than the Primary server, select which NIC this should be assigned to and add a static IP address in a separate subnet in the Public IP Addresses field.
    Additionally, add the Gateway IP, Preferred DNS server IP, and the user name and password of an account used for updating DNS servers. Click Next.
    The Select VM move type step is displayed.
25. Review the definitions of the options and then select whether the VM will be transferred manually or not. Click Next.
    The Select host step is displayed.
26. Click on the appropriate Datacenter to display all available hosts. Select the intended host for the Tertiary server and then click Next.
    The Select storage step is displayed.
27. Select the intended datastore for the Tertiary VM, and then click Next.
    The Configuring Channel Communications step is displayed.
28. Review the contents of the step and then click Next.
    The Primary-Secondary step is displayed.
29. Select the appropriate network adapter and then enter the channel IP addresses for Primary-Secondary communications. Click Next.
    The Secondary-Tertiary step is displayed.
30. Select the appropriate network adapter and then enter the channel IP addresses for Secondary-Tertiary communications. Click Next.
    The Tertiary-Primary step is displayed.
31. Select the appropriate network adapter and then enter the channel IP addresses for Tertiary-Primary communications. Click Next.
    The Ready to complete step is displayed.
32. Review all of the summary information on the step. If any errors are found, use the Back button to navigate to the step with the error and correct it. If no errors are found, click Finish to deploy the Secondary and Tertiary servers. 

Applies To

Neverfail Continuity Engine v8.0 

Related Information

Neverfail Continuity Engine v8.0 Installation Guide   

KBID-2983