Configuring SnapReplicate™

Having prepared the environment on both AWS SoftNAS on AWS instances, we can now set up high availability. The first step towards high availability in SoftNAS is to establish replication. SnapReplicate™ makes this as simple as completing a quick wizard.

To establish the secure SnapReplicate relationship between two SoftNAS nodes, simply follow the steps given below:

Log into the source controller's (the first instance within which you created the CIFS enabled volume) SoftNAS StorageCenter administrator interface using a web browser.
In the Left Navigation Pane, select the SnapReplicate™/SNAP HA™ option.

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The

On your primary instance (source controller) navigate to SnapReplicate/SNAP HA

page will be displayed

.
Click the Add Replication button Replication button in the Replication Control Panel.

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The From the Add Replication wizard will be displayed. Read the instructions on the screen Replication wizard, read the Instructions and then click the Next the Next button.

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In the next step, enter Enter the IP address or DNS name of the remote, target SoftNAS controller node in the Hostname or IP Address text entry box. Note that by specifying the replication target's IP address, you are specifying the network path the of your secondary instance (Target) in the IP address text box. This step is specifying the network path that SnapReplicate™ traffic will take.
Once done, click the Next button.

Note

The source node must be able to connect via HTTPS to the target node (similar to how the browser user logs into StorageCenter using HTTPS). HTTPS is used to create the initial SnapReplicate configuration.

Next, several SSH sessions are established to ensure two-way communications between the nodes is possible. When connecting two Amazon EC2 nodes, it is best to use the internal instance IP addresses, as traffic is routed internally by default between instances in EC2.

Note

If you have not yet done so, the Security Group on each instance should be configured with the internal IP addresses of the paired instance (the source instance should recognize traffic from the target instance, and the target instance should recognize traffic from the source) to ensure both HTTPS and SSH traffic between instances is recognized. See Configuring

See AWS Getting Started - Network Configuration (Security Groups) to learn more.

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The IP address/DNS name and login credentials of the target node will be verified. If there is a problem, an error message will be displayed. Click the Previous button to make the necessary corrections
- Click the Next button to continue.

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Next, provide the username (softnas) and the password (if default, this is the instance id) of the target instance. Type the password again to verify,
Click Next button to continue.

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Read the final instructions and then
Enter the username for the secondary instance (target) in the Remote admin user ID text box.
Info
The username should be softnas.

Enter the password for the secondary instance (target) and verify in the appropriate text boxes.
Info
Unless changed, by default, the password will be the Instance ID of the target instance.
Once done, click the Next button.

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Read the Finish Replication Setup instructions and click the Finish button.

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The SnapReplicate relationship between the two SoftNAS controller nodes will be established. The corresponding SyncImage of the SnapReplicate will be displayed.
After data from the volumes on the source node is mirrored to the target, once per minute SnapReplicate transfers keep the target node hot with data block changes from the source volumes.
The tasks and an event log will be displayed in the Replication Control Panel section. This indicates that a SnapReplicate relationship is established and that replication should be taking place.

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Configuring SNAP HA™

SnapReplicate™ establishes a replication relationship, one that can be manually triggered or scheduled, but is not automated. For true high availability in a failover situation, SNAP HA™ must be configured as well.

To configure SNAP HA™, complete the SNAP HA wizard, beginning by clicking Add SNAP HA™

While still on the SnapReplicate/SNAP HA page, click the Add SNAP HA button in the Replication Control Panel.

Note
Configuration of SnapReplicate™ is a prerequisite to setup of SNAP HA™. If SnapReplicate™ is not configured, the Add SNAP HA™ button will be grayed out.

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Note
If you have not yet configured a notification email,

the opportunity

you will need to provide one

will be presented

prior to continuing SNAP HA™.

Enter your e-mail into the Email text box.
Provide an email address for support reports and logs to be sent to,
Click OK.

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Click Add SNAP HA™ once more if the prompt for an email notification occurred.

The Add High Availability wizard will begin.

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Provide a Virtual IP address.
Click Next to continue.

This

Once done, click the OK button.

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From the Add High Availability wizard, read the Instructions and then click the Next button.

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Enter a Virtual IP into the Virtual IP text box.
Once done, click the Next button.

Note
The Virtual IP is a human-configured IP address (you choose the IP)

, and

. It can be any IP address that falls outside the CIDR block of the IP addresses of the two SoftNAS HA paired nodes.

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Provide
the administrator credentials if prompted. However, in
your AWS Access Key and AWS Secret Key in the appropriate text boxes.
Note
In most cases,
your
your IAM
policy
Policy will handle this
.
Click Next to continue.

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Next, we can fine tune our HA deployment.
You can determine

and you will not need to enter anything.
Once done, click the Next button.

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In the HA Num of retries text box, enter the max number of retries before your virtual machine fails over.
You can determine the In the Storage timeout text box, enter the max time (in seconds) that storage can be unavailable before a failover is triggered.
You can also set a default In the Max. hoping request time (ms) text box, enter the default time for max ioping request timerequests, to ensure that a failover is triggered more quickly in event of failure.
Finally, you can determine the From the HA node recovery mode section, select the behavior of the failed node during a failover.

Info

Reboot - this is the default option, allowing for quicker recovery and re-establishment of high availability, as the failed node will reboot, and SNAP HA will be reactivated, with the original node set as secondary.
Shutdown - The failed node will remain shut down. You will need to reboot the instance manually to re-establish high availability.
None (No action taken) - This option is only for debug or support use. The failed node will remain in its current state.