Cluster hardware swap problem

[sobrien]

Need some assistance. I have 2 Ironport in a  cluster running. I need to swap hardware one at a time. One device is already disconnected form the cluster. I download the config and uploaded to the new hardware but i always get an error while uploading config to new hardware. Any assistance will be very appreciated.

FYI. new hardware is running the same code as the old hadrware being swapped out

[Ken Stieers]

I'm betting that there's a guid or key or something that the clustering uses to keep track of who updated what, when, so that things stay in synch.

I'd do a clusterconfig / REMOVEMACHINE on your old box.

Then do base network config on the new box (eg. network settings, host name, license keys)

Then join it to the cluster...

Since the cluster is "mulit-master", when it comes time to replace the other box, you just do the same thing to that one...

Hope that helps,

Ken

[Donald Nash]

Ken Stieers wrote:

> I'm betting that there's a guid or key or something that the clustering uses...

Indeed there is, it's the appliance's serial number. You can see it in the config file, where machine-specific settings are in sections identified by each unit's serial number.

Ken's remedy is spot on: remove the old unit from the cluster, give the new one just enough of a config for it to use the network, and join it to the cluster. It will inherit all its other settings from the cluster. If there are any machine-specific settings beyond the normal stuff like host names and IP addresses, then you'll need to add then back manually. I've done this many times, both for replacing failed hardware (fortunately a rare occurrence), and for bringing new units online. Fortunately, all our settings beyond the must-be-local parts are defined at the cluster level.

It's worth pointing out that removing one node from a two-node cluster does not cause the cluster to cease to exist. It's perfectly reasonable for a cluster to have only one member.

++Don