Failover cluster uptime?

[Tony Riccardi]

Can anyone confirm what the difference between the device "up time" and the "failover cluster" uptime is as per the "show ver" output below? i've just installed a new cluster using 2 new ASA and received the below outputs.

asa-firewall> sh ver

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software Version 8.2(1)

Compiled on Tue 05-May-09 22:45 by builders
System image file is "disk0:/asa821-k8.bin"
Config file at boot was "startup-config"

asa-firewall up 2 days 22 hours
failover cluster up 1 year 79 days

Hardware:   ASA5550, 4096 MB RAM, CPU Pentium 4 3000 MHz

[varrao · Accepted solution]

Hi Tony,

ASA-Firewall up time is, that particular firewall is up since 2 days from the last reboot.

failover cluster up is that the failover has been working fine on yuor setup for the last 1 year and havent ever been disable.

Let me know if you have any questions,

Thanks,

Varun

[Richard Burts · Accepted solution]

Tony

I agree with the explanation of Varun. When you configure a failover cluster it starts measuring the uptime of the cluster. If the active ASA goes down then the standby ASA becomes active and the cluster continues to be up. When the first ASA reboots its system uptime starts over again but the cluster up time has continued without interruption.

But I am puzzled by something in your post. You say: "i've just installed a new cluster using 2 new ASA". But if it is really a new cluster and new ASAs then I do not see how the cluster uptime could be a year 79 days. Were they really new ASAs?

HTH

Rick

[Tony Riccardi]

Rick,

I had a pair of ASAs in a cluster which both failed at the same time. So I RMA'ed them and received 2 replacements from Cisco.

After setting up the new cluster using the replacement units I issued a "show ver" and receveid the above output.

Does this suggests that these firewalls were previously turned on and configured as part of another cluster?

[Kureli Sankar · Accepted solution]

Tony,

I take it that you replaced one unit at a time on the failover cluster without suffering downtime. So, what you see it to be expected.  Your failover cluster has been up for more than a year but, individual firewall up time is shorter as they got replaced/rebooted.

-KS

[Tony Riccardi]

Thanks guys - this makes sense now. Even though I had to replace both units - I made sure the cluster remained active throughout hence the difference in up-times.

[varrao]

Glad we could help you out with it

-Varun

[Kureli Sankar · Accepted solution]

Exactly.  Would appreciate if you could mark this thread answered.

Thanks,

KS