Orchestrator High Availability
Orchestrator > Orchestrator Server > Server Management > Orchestrator High Availability
Interruption of Orchestrator functionality can occur for various reasons, such as when the Orchestrator database or application fails, the Cloud Portal becomes unreachable, or routine maintenance occurs. Orchestrator high availability (HA) is designed to minimize interruptions by enabling you to fail over from a primary Orchestrator to a backup (stand-by) Orchestrator. An Orchestrator HA cluster consists of one primary Orchestrator and one or more backups.
In non-HA configurations, a single Orchestrator has its own database on the same machine. With Orchestrator HA, the primary and backup Orchestrators share the same database, which is on its own dedicated machine.
Before you can use Orchestrator HA, you must:
-
Install a MySQL database cluster on a dedicated machine.
-
Prepare the database cluster for Orchestrator HA.
-
Install two or more Orchestrators in HA mode or upgrade existing Orchestrators to HA mode. Connect the Orchestrators to the database cluster.
For details, refer to the HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator High Availability Installation and Deployment Guide.
Use the Orchestrator High Availability tab from primary or backup Orchestrator instances to view the HA modes of all Orchestrator instances in the HA cluster and their check-in statuses. You can also use the tab to:
-
Set up email notifications to be sent when Orchestrator instances do not make health status updates to the database (from the primary instance only).
-
Configure Orchestrator HA cluster reachability (from the primary instance only).
-
Promote a backup Orchestrator to primary when the current primary Orchestrator is down (from backup instances only).
-
Decommission an Orchestrator instance (from the primary instance only).
Field | Description |
---|---|
Instance name | Name of the Orchestrator instance you are currently accessing. The current build version is indicated. |
Current HA mode | HA mode of the Orchestrator instance you are currently accessing (Primary or Backup). |
HA registration time | Timestamp indicating when the Orchestrator instance you are currently accessing initially connected to the database. |
Instance Name | Name of the Orchestrator instance. The current build version is indicated. |
HA Mode | HA mode of the Orchestrator instance (Primary or Backup). |
IP | IP address for the Orchestrator instance. |
Registration Time | Timestamp indicating when the Orchestrator instance initially connected to the database. |
Check-in status | Indicates the health status of the Orchestrator instance (whether the instance can check in to the database). Each Orchestrator checks in to the database every ten seconds. Statuses are: Healthy – Orchestrator instance made a successful health status update in the past 20 seconds. Failed – Orchestrator instance failed to make a health status update for longer than 20 seconds. |
Comment | Comment you want to include for the Orchestrator instance. Click the edit icon, enter a comment, and then click Save. |
Set Up Email Notifications
If an Orchestrator instance goes down, an alarm is raised and an alarm email notification is sent. You can also set up an additional email notification to be sent when an Orchestrator instance in the HA cluster fails to make a health status update to the database.
To set up the additional email notification:
-
Ensure that you are logged in to the primary Orchestrator instance. You cannot set up email notifications from a backup instance.
-
On the Orchestrator High Availability tab, click Email Notification.
The Email Notification dialog box opens.
-
Move the Enable email notification toggle to the right.
-
Complete the following fields.
Field Description Email recipient Email address of the person to receive notifications. Check-in failure time threshold Number of minutes that healthy Orchestrators wait to send an email notification after an Orchestrator instance fails to check in. The notification includes the statuses of all registered instances. The default is 2. You can specify a number from 1 to 30. -
Click Save.
Configure Orchestrator HA Cluster Reachability
You need to establish how appliances will communicate with Orchestrator instances in the HA cluster. You can configure reachability in either of the following ways:
-
Assign a default IP address or domain name to each Orchestrator instance. If the Orchestrator IP address is private, you must provide a reachable IP address so that appliances can communicate with it. Appliances will use this reachable IP address to reach Orchestrator by opening a direct web socket to the Orchestrator.
-
Assign IP addresses or domain names to each Orchestrator instance for specific appliance interface labels. You can set a priority to these label-specific connections. Use this option if the appliance needs to communicate to Orchestrator using a WAN interface over a private network.
To configure Orchestrator HA cluster reachability:
-
Ensure that you are logged in to the primary Orchestrator instance. You cannot configure reachability from a backup instance.
-
On the Orchestrator High Availability tab, click Orchestrator Cluster Reachability.
The Orchestrator Cluster Reachability dialog box opens.
-
For default reachability, specify a default IP address or domain name for each Orchestrator instance listed in the Default Orchestrator IPs or Domain Names area.
-
For reachability by interface label:
-
Click Add in the Reachability for Labels area.
A row is added to the table.
-
From the Label drop-down list, select the label for which you want to assign reachability.
The IP or Domain Name field for each Orchestrator instance automatically populates with an IP address and mask. You must change the IP address if a specific label needs to reach the Orchestrator using a different IP address or domain.
-
Change the value in the Priority field as appropriate.
-
-
Click Save.
Promote Backup Orchestrator to Primary
To promote a backup Orchestrator to primary, the current primary Orchestrator must be unreachable because it is down or has been properly shut down so that the VM is not running.
NOTE: The Orchestrator High Availability tab for the backup Orchestrator displays the same way as it does for the primary Orchestrator, except that it includes the Promote to Primary button.
To promote a backup Orchestrator instance to primary:
-
Ensure that the current primary Orchestrator is down or has been properly shut down so that the VM is not running.
-
Log in to the backup Orchestrator instance you want to promote to primary.
-
Navigate to the Orchestrator High Availability tab, and then click Promote to Primary.
The Orchestrator HA Status dialog box opens.
This dialog box provides status information for the current primary Orchestrator.
NOTE: If the current primary instance has a Reachable status rather than an Unreachable status as shown above, you cannot proceed to promote the backup instance to primary. Only one Orchestrator can be working as primary at any given time. Ensure that the previous primary is completely down before promoting a backup.
-
To promote the backup Orchestrator to primary, click Promote to Primary.
A confirmation dialog box opens.
-
To proceed, click Promote to Primary.
The backup Orchestrator will restart in ten seconds and will be in Primary mode. This new primary Orchestrator will function fully, the same as the previous one did.
Decommission an Orchestrator Instance
To decommission an Orchestrator instance:
-
Ensure that the Orchestrator instance you want to decommission is completely shut down.
-
Log in to the primary Orchestrator instance. You cannot decommission Orchestrators from a backup instance.
-
On the Orchestrator High Availability tab, click the X in the far-right column of the row associated with the Orchestrator instance you want to decommission.
A confirmation dialog box opens.
-
Confirm that you want to decommission the instance.