Coupling Clusters

You can use the Admin Interface to couple local and foreign clusters to enable inter-cluster communication.

Each local cluster to be coupled must have one or more bootstrap hosts that store the configuration information needed to establish an initial connection to foreign clusters.

The clusters in a production system typically have more than one bootstrap host to ensure availability. When establishing an initial connection with a local cluster, a foreign cluster connects to the first available bootstrap host.

You must identify the bootstrap hosts in each cluster before attempting any of the configuration procedures described in this section.

It is best to choose the host that hosts your security forest as your bootstrap host. If you have configured your security forest for local disk failover, then also choose the host that hosts your replica security forest as a bootstrap host.

By default, the name of the local cluster is that of a bootstrap host. During configuration, give it a meaningful name to make it easier to identify when coupling clusters.

v12.1.0 and up

To couple clusters, follow these steps. The Configuring Clusters Field Reference section defines the fields:

First, configure the local cluster:

1. Click Clusters in the left tree menu. The clusters summary page appears.

2. Under Clusters in the left tree menu, click the name of the local cluster. The Local Cluster configuration page appears.

3. Configure these fields, and click OK to save the configuration:

   • Cluster Name
   • SSL FIPS Enabled
   • Bootstrap Hosts

   The clusters summary page reappears.

Then, couple one of the local cluster's designated bootstrap hosts to a foreign cluster:

1. Click the Couple tab. The Couple Cluster wizard, Step 1 page appears.

2. Review the local cluster settings, configure these foreign cluster fields, and click Next:

   • Host Name
   • Admin Port
   • Protocol

   The Couple Cluster wizard, Step 2 page appears.

3. Configure these foreign cluster fields, and click Next:

   • XDQP SSL Enabled
   • XDQP SSL Min Allow TLS (appears if XDQP SSL Enabled = True)
   • XDQP SSL Ciphersuites (appears if XDQP SSL Enabled = True)
   • XDQP Timeout
   • Host Timeout

   The Confirm Couple Clusters modal appears.

4. Click Confirm. The Couple Cluster wizard, Step 3 page appears. (You may have to log in to the foreign bootstrap host before this page appears.)

5. Click Confirm. The clusters summary page appears with the foreign cluster configuration added after the local cluster configuration (click + to see settings).
   
   Bootstrapped indicates whether the foreign cluster configuration has been received by the local cluster.
   
   Last Bootstrap indicates the last time that the foreign cluster configuration was received by the local cluster.
   
   Initially, Bootstrapped may appear false and Last Bootstrap as never. Refresh your browser page to see the current status.

v12.0.x

To couple clusters, follow these steps. The Configuring Clusters Field Reference section defines the fields:

First, configure the local cluster:

1. Click Clusters on the left tree menu.

2. Under Clusters, click the name of the cluster.

3. On the Local Cluster page, enter the cluster name.

4. Under Bootstrap Hosts, select one or more hosts to serve as the bootstrap host or hosts for this cluster.

5. Click OK to save the configuration.

Then, couple one of the local cluster's designated bootstrap hosts to a foreign cluster:

1. Click the Couple tab.

2. In the Foreign Cluster portion of the page, enter the host name for any host in the foreign cluster to be coupled. You can also specify the Admin Port (if necessary) and the communication protocol to be used between the clusters (HTTP or HTTPS). If you have SSL enabled on the Admin App Server on the bootstrap host in the foreign cluster, then set Protocol to https.

3. Click OK.

4. In the Foreign Cluster Configuration page, if you are using SSL for inter-cluster communication, then configure the SSL security settings and timeout values.

5. In the Verify Add Foreign Cluster page, confirm all of the settings are correct and click OK.

6. Click OK for any subsequent validate screens.

7. When validation is complete, the Summary page appears with the summary for the Foreign Cluster configuration.
   
   Bootstrapped indicates whether the foreign cluster configuration has been received by the local cluster.
   
   Last Bootstrap indicates the last time that the foreign cluster configuration was received by the local cluster.
   
   Initially, Bootstrapped may appear false and **Last Bootstrap" as never. Refresh your browser page to see the current status.

Configuring Clusters Field Reference

This table describes any fields that you may encounter while configuring a local cluster or coupling clusters: