Gateway Cluster Configuration Modes

HPE Aruba Networking Central supports the following gateway cluster configuration modes:

• Cluster Group Mode (CGM)—Allows you to create gateway clusters automatically at the group or at the site level, as well as configure clusters manually.
• Cluster Configuration Mode (CCM)—Allows you to modify the parameters of an existing auto-cluster (group or site level), and add or remove gateways from a cluster.

Cluster Group Mode

In CGM, you can move gateways between the following types:

• Auto-group cluster—The gateways that are in the same group form a cluster automatically.

  Only one auto-group cluster is allowed within a group.

• Auto-site cluster—The gateways that are in the respective sites within the same group form a cluster automatically.
• Manual cluster configuration—You can configure the gateways to form a cluster manually.

Configuring Automatic Gateway Cluster

HPE Aruba Networking gateways automatically form a cluster when they are added to a UI group in HPE Aruba Networking Central. Also, gateways in the same site and the same group automatically form a cluster and the APs in those sites establish a tunnel with the gateway clusters in that site.

The gateway groups must match the following criteria for automatic cluster configuration:

• There is at least one gateway in the group.
• Each group can form a cluster with up to 4 or 12 gateways depending on the gateway platform.

The automatic cluster configuration is enabled by default in the WebUI. However, if the automatic cluster configuration is disabled, complete the following steps to enable automatic configuration of gateway cluster:

1. In the WebUI, use the filter to select the HPE Aruba Networking gateway group.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the Config icon to display the gateway configuration page.
4. Click Advanced Mode, and click the High Availability tab.

   The High Availability details page is displayed.

5. In the Clusters tab, turn on the Automatic toggle switch.
6. Select one of the following radio buttons as the mode of configuration:
• Auto Group—To configure the gateways in the group to form a cluster automatically.
• Auto Site—To configure the gateways in their respective site to form a cluster automatically. Ensure that the gateways in the group are added to the respective sites. If one or more gateways are missing site ID then a warning message is displayed with the list of gateways that are missing the site ID configuration.

CGM creates auto-group or auto-site clusters automatically, and the Clusters table displays the auto-group and auto-site cluster names and the number of gateways and/or sites of that cluster.

7. (Optional) Select the One to One Redundancy check box to unify UDG and VDG for clusters in a branch deployment.

   This feature is supported when both high availability and gateway cluster co-exist in SD-WAN Software-Defined Wide Area Network. SD-WAN is an application for applying SDN technology to WAN connections that connect enterprise networks across disparate geographical locations. network connections.

8. Select the auto-cluster from the Clusters table.

   The gateways assigned to the selected cluster are displayed in the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table.

The following configuration conditions are applicable when CGM is moved from one mode to another in the WebUI:

• Disabled to Auto Group/Auto Site—The devices are added to auto-group or auto-site cluster automatically based on the group or site information. If there is a manual cluster available in the group, you must delete it to change the CGM to auto-mode.
• Auto Group to Auto Site—The devices mapped to the site are automatically added to the site-specific cluster. The Auto Group to Auto Site transition is not allowed if there are auto-group clusters mapped to an SSID Service Set Identifier. SSID is a name given to a WLAN and is used by the client to access a WLAN network. in the VLANs Virtual Local Area Network. In computer networking, a single Layer 2 network may be partitioned to create multiple distinct broadcast domains, which are mutually isolated so that packets can only pass between them through one or more routers; such a domain is referred to as a Virtual Local Area Network, Virtual LAN, or VLAN. tab under WLAN Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN is a 802.11 standards-based LAN that the users access through a wireless connection. SSID configuration wizard. If the auto-group clusters are not mapped to any SSID, the same devices (with site mapped) form an auto-site cluster based on their site information.
• Auto Site to Auto Group—The devices are automatically added to auto-group cluster. The Auto Site to Auto Group transition is not allowed if there are auto-site clusters mapped to an SSID in the VLANs tab under WLAN SSID configuration wizard. If the auto-site clusters are not referenced to any SSID, the same devices form an auto-group cluster.
• Auto Group/Auto Site to Disabled—The existing automatic clusters at group or site level are not affected. This mode change is applicable only for manual cluster configuration.

Important Points to Note

• To change the auto-cluster configuration mode, you must first delete the referenced SSID profile from the Wireless SSIDs table under Access Points > WLANS tab.
• When Auto Site is enabled on a gateway group, and the gateways are part of one site, ensure that the APs are also part of the same site to establish tunnels. If the APs are not part of the same site or they are part of some other site, tunnels will not be established between the APs and the gateways within the same auto-site cluster.
• The auto-site cluster works only when the devices are assigned to the same site. For more information, see Managing Sites.
• For auto-group clusters, the cluster name is displayed in the auto_gwcluster_<unique group ID>_0 format. For example, auto_gwcluster_273_0.
• For auto-site clusters, the cluster name is displayed in the auto_gwcluster_site_<unique site ID>_<unique group ID>_0 format. For example, auto_gwcluster_site_8_273_0. You can modify the site name, however the unique <site ID> remains the same.
• You cannot add auto_gwcluster prefix in the manual cluster name.
• When you delete gateways from a site, the gateways from the auto-site cluster are also deleted.
• You cannot configure two auto-group clusters in the same group.
• The One to One Redundancy check box is available in the following scenarios:
  • When CGM is enabled and Auto Site radio button is selected.
  • When CGM is in manual-mode.
  • When there are no existing clusters in a group.   

The following animation displays how to access CGM to configure the auto-group cluster and view the gateways assigned to the selected cluster.

Cluster Configuration Mode

You must enable CCM to modify the cluster parameters for an auto-cluster or manual cluster profile.

Configuring Manual Gateway Cluster

The manual-mode also allows you to configure features such as dynamic authorization Dynamic authorization refers to the ability to make changes to a visitor account’s session while it is in progress. This might include disconnecting a session or updating some aspect of the authorization for the session. (CoA Change of Authorization. The RADIUS CoA is used in the AAA service framework to allow dynamic modification of the authenticated, authorized, and active subscriber sessions. ), VPN Virtual Private Network. VPN enables secure access to a corporate network when located remotely. It enables a computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while benefiting from the functionality, security, and management policies of the private network. This is done by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, encryption, or a combination of the two. termination, multicast VLAN, and heartbeat threshold. You can configure a manual gateway cluster in the following scenarios:

• When CGM is in disabled mode—The Automatic toggle switch is turned off.
• When CGM is in auto-group or auto-site mode—The Manual Cluster Configuration toggle switch for an existing auto-group or auto-site cluster is turned on in CCM.

To manually configure gateways in a cluster when CGM is disabled, complete the following steps:

1. In the WebUI, use the filter to select the HPE Aruba Networking gateway group.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the Config icon to display the gateway configuration page.
4. Click Advanced Mode, and click the High Availability tab.

   The High Availability details window is displayed.

5. Turn off the Automatic toggle switch.

   In the Clusters tab, the Automatic toggle switch is enabled by default.

6. Perform one of the following steps:
   • To edit an existing gateway cluster, select the gateway cluster from the Clusters table and set the CCM to manual-mode by enabling the Manual Cluster Configuration toggle switch.

     Also, the gateways assigned to the group are displayed in the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table.

   • To add a new gateway to the cluster, click + in the Clusters table.

     The Manual Cluster Configuration toggle switch is enabled automatically.

     The + icon is enabled only when the gateways that are not added to any cluster are available in the group.

     1. Enter the cluster name in the Cluster Name field.

        The name of the cluster must not begin with the auto_gwcluster string.

     2. Click + in the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table.
     3. Select a new gateway from the drop-down list under the Gateway column.
7. (Optional) To enable dynamic authorization, complete the following steps:
   1. Turn on the Dynamic authorization (CoA) toggle switch.
   2. Select a gateway in the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table to configure the following VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. VRRP is an election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. parameters:
      • VRRP IP—This is the virtual IP address of the VRRP instance. For example, for a cluster with five gateway nodes, there are five VRRP instances and five virtual IP addresses; That is, one virtual IP address for each VRRP instance. The cluster uses the virtual IP of a VRRP instance for RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service. An Industry-standard network access protocol for remote authentication. It allows authentication, authorization, and accounting of remote users who want to access network resources.  requests.
      • VRRP VLAN—VLAN for the VRRP instance.
      • (Optional) VRRP ID—This ID uniquely identifies a VRRP instance. The supported range of values for VRRP ID is 1–255.
      • (Optional) VRRP Passphrase—Passphrase to authenticate VRRP peers in a cluster. The supported range of characters for VRRP Passphrase is 1-8.
8. (Optional) To enable VPN termination on gateways, complete the following steps:
   1. Turn on the VPN termination toggle switch.

      The Public IP column is displayed for each gateway listed in the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table.

   2. Enter the public IP address for each gateway.

9. (Optional) Enter the VLAN ID for the multicast traffic in the Multicast VLAN field.

   The supported range of values for Multicast VLAN field is 0-4094.

10. (Optional) Select one of the following radio buttons in the Heartbeat Threshold field:
    • Default—To configure a default heartbeat threshold. The default value for a port channel is 2000 ms, and the default value for a single Ethernet Ethernet is a network protocol for data transmission over LAN. connection (without port channel) is 900 ms.
    • Custom—To configure a custom heartbeat threshold. Enter a value between 500 to 2000 ms in the text box.
11. Click Save Settings.

The following animation displays how to modify CCM to change the cluster parameters for an auto-group cluster, when CGM is enabled.

The following animation displays how to modify CCM to add a manual cluster to a group.

Configuring Automatic and Manual Clusters in the Same Group

HPE Aruba Networking Central allows you to create multiple gateway clusters in the same group and add the desired gateways to different cluster profiles.

The following cluster combinations are supported in a single group:

• Auto-group cluster and one or more manual clusters
• Auto-site cluster and one or more manual clusters
• Multiple auto-site clusters and one or more manual clusters
• Multiple manual clusters

To configure both manual clusters and automatic clusters in the same group, complete the following steps:

1. In the WebUI, use the filter to select the HPE Aruba Networking Gateway group.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the Config icon to display the gateway configuration page.
4. Click High Availability, and then click the Clusters tab.

5. Turn on the Automatic toggle switch, if it is disabled and select either Auto Group or Auto Site radio button.

6. Create a manual cluster by following the steps in Configuring Manual Gateway Cluster.

Both the auto-cluster and the manual cluster that you created are displayed in the Clusters table.

Deleting a Gateway from a Cluster

You can delete gateways from a group in an auto-cluster when CGM is in either auto- or manual- mode, and the CCM is in manual-mode.

To delete a gateway from an auto-cluster, complete the following steps:

1. In the WebUI, use the filter to select the HPE Aruba Networking Gateway group.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the Config icon to display the gateway configuration page.
4. Click High Availability, and then click the Clusters tab.
5. Select the cluster name from the Clusters table.

   The Automatic toggle switch is enabled by default.

6. Turn on the Manual Cluster Configuration toggle switch, if it is not enabled by default.
7. Select the gateway from the Gateways in <group name> Cluster table, and click the delete icon on the right.

   The Confirm Removal of Gateway from Cluster pop-up window is displayed.

8. Click Remove Gateway.
9. Click Save Settings.

The gateway is removed from the auto-cluster.

Deleting Cluster Profile

You can delete an auto-cluster profile when the CGM is in manual-mode.

To delete an auto-cluster, complete the following steps:

1. In the WebUI, use the filter to select the HPE Aruba Networking Gateway group.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the Config icon to display the gateway configuration page.
4. Click High Availability, and then click the Clusters tab.

   The Automatic toggle switch is enabled by default.

5. Turn off the Automatic toggle switch.
6. Select the auto-cluster name from the Clusters table, and click the delete icon on the right.

   The Delete Cluster pop-up window is displayed.

7. Click Yes.
8. Click Save Settings.

   The auto-cluster is removed from the Clusters table.

Monitoring Gateway Clusters

To view and monitor the gateway cluster dashboard, complete the following steps:

1. In the WebUI, set the filter to Global.
2. Under Manage, click Devices > Gateways.
3. Click the List icon to view a list of gateways provisioned in HPE Aruba Networking Central.
4. Click Clusters to view the cluster details, and the tunnels between the APs and the gateways in the cluster.
   For more information, see Gateway Clusters Dashboard.