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Load Balancing Microsoft_SQL_Server_Deployment_Brief

This document provides a comprehensive guide on configuring load balancing for Microsoft SQL Server using Loadbalancer.org appliances. It includes details on supported appliances, software versions, and necessary configuration steps for both the load balancer and SQL Server. Additionally, it discusses various synchronization methods for managing read and write database access in a load-balanced environment.

Uploaded by

Joey Q. Mamaril
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
3 views

Load Balancing Microsoft_SQL_Server_Deployment_Brief

This document provides a comprehensive guide on configuring load balancing for Microsoft SQL Server using Loadbalancer.org appliances. It includes details on supported appliances, software versions, and necessary configuration steps for both the load balancer and SQL Server. Additionally, it discusses various synchronization methods for managing read and write database access in a load-balanced environment.

Uploaded by

Joey Q. Mamaril
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 18

Load Balancing Microsoft SQL

Server
Version 1.0.0
Table of Contents
1. About this Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Loadbalancer.org Appliances Supported. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Software Versions Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. Loadbalancer.org Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2. Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Microsoft SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5. Load Balancing Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.1. Read / Write Database Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.2. Virtual Service (VIP) Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6. Deployment Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7. Load Balancer Deployment Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.1. Layer 7 SNAT Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
8. Loadbalancer.org Appliance – the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8.1. Virtual Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8.2. Initial Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8.3. Accessing the Appliance WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Main Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8.4. Appliance Software Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Determining the Current Software Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Checking for Updates using Online Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Using Offline Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8.5. Ports Used by the Appliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
8.6. HA Clustered Pair Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9. Appliance Configuration for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9.1. VIP1 - MS-SQL-SERVER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Configuring the Virtual Service (VIP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Defining the Real Servers (RIPs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
9.2. Finalizing the Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
10. Testing & Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
10.1. Using System Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
10.2. Access the Database/Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12. Further Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
13. Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13.1. Configuring HA - Adding a Secondary Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Non-Replicated Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Configuring the HA Clustered Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
13.2. SQL Server Health Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
14. Document Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1. About this Brief
This brief outlines the steps required to configure a load balanced Microsoft SQL Server environment utilizing
Loadbalancer.org appliances. It covers the configuration of the load balancers and also any Microsoft SQL Server
configuration changes that are required to enable load balancing.

For more information about initial appliance deployment, network configuration and using the Web User Interface
(WebUI), please also refer to the Administration Manual.

2. Loadbalancer.org Appliances Supported


All our products can be used with Microsoft SQL Server. For full specifications of available models please refer to
https://www.loadbalancer.org/products.

Some features may not be available or fully supported in all cloud platforms due to platform specific limitations.
For more details, please refer to the "Main Differences to our Standard (Non-Cloud) Product" section in the
appropriate cloud platform Quick Start Guide or check with Loadbalancer.org support.

3. Software Versions Supported


3.1. Loadbalancer.org Appliance

V8.9.1 and later

The screenshots used throughout this document aim to track the latest Loadbalancer.org
software version. If you’re using an older version, or the very latest, the screenshots presented
here may not match your WebUI exactly.

3.2. Microsoft SQL Server



2012 and later

4. Microsoft SQL Server


Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that supports a wide variety of
transaction processing, business intelligence (BI) and data analytics applications in corporate IT environments.

5. Load Balancing Microsoft SQL Server


It’s highly recommended that you have a working Microsoft SQL Server environment first before
implementing the load balancer.

5.1. Read / Write Database Access


If all SQL servers have identical copies of the database and only provide read access, load balancing is straight
forward and read requests can be directed at any server.

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When data is also written to the database, an appropriate synchronisation technology must be used to ensure
that all SQL servers are kept in sync following each write operation. Also, depending on the particular
synchronisation method, it may be required that write operations are handled by one particular server whilst read
operations can be handled by any server.

Various database synchronisation methods are supported, the most appropriate depends on the version of SQL
server, the read & write transaction workload, IT infrastructure and the available budget:


Replication - for more information refer to SQL Server Replication


Log shipping - for more information refer to About log shipping (SQL Server)


Mirroring - for more information refer to Database Mirroring (SQL Server)


Always On Failover Clustering - for more information refer to Always On Failover Cluster Instances (SQL
Server)


Always On Availability Groups - for more information refer to What is an Always On availability group

The configuration presented in this guide assumes that only read operations are supported, or the
synchronisation method in use allows read & write operations from/to any SQL server.

5.2. Virtual Service (VIP) Requirements


To provide load balancing and HA for Microsoft SQL Server, the following VIP is required:

Reference VIP Name Mode Port(s) Persistence Health Check


Mode

VIP1 MS-SQL-SERVER L7 SNAT 1433 Source IP Connect to Port *

A more robust SQL Server health check can be used if preferred that reads and verifies data
from the database. For more details, please refer to SQL Server Health Check.

6. Deployment Concept

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VIP = Virtual IP Address

The load balancer can be deployed as a single unit, although Loadbalancer.org recommends a
clustered pair for resilience & high availability. Please refer to the section Configuring HA -
Adding a Secondary Appliance in the appendix for more details on configuring a clustered pair.

7. Load Balancer Deployment Methods


The load balancer can be deployed in 4 fundamental ways: Layer 4 DR mode, Layer 4 NAT mode, Layer 4 SNAT
mode, and Layer 7 SNAT mode.

For Microsoft SQL Server, layer 7 SNAT mode is recommended. This mode is described below and is used for the
configurations presented in this guide.

7.1. Layer 7 SNAT Mode


Layer 7 SNAT mode uses a proxy (HAProxy) at the application layer. Inbound requests are terminated on the load
balancer and HAProxy generates a new corresponding request to the chosen Real Server. As a result, Layer 7 is
typically not as fast as the Layer 4 methods. Layer 7 is typically chosen when either enhanced options such as
SSL termination, cookie based persistence, URL rewriting, header insertion/deletion etc. are required, or when the
network topology prohibits the use of the layer 4 methods.


Because layer 7 SNAT mode is a full proxy, any server in the cluster can be on any accessible subnet
including across the Internet or WAN.


Layer 7 SNAT mode is not transparent by default, i.e. the Real Servers will not see the source IP address of
the client, they will see the load balancer’s own IP address by default, or any other local appliance IP address
if preferred (e.g. the VIP address). This can be configured per layer 7 VIP. If required, the load balancer can
be configured to provide the actual client IP address to the Real Servers in 2 ways. Either by inserting a
header that contains the client’s source IP address, or by modifying the Source Address field of the IP

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packets and replacing the IP address of the load balancer with the IP address of the client. For more
information on these methods please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.


Layer 7 SNAT mode can be deployed using either a one-arm or two-arm configuration. For two-arm
deployments, eth0 is normally used for the internal network and eth1 is used for the external network
although this is not mandatory.


Requires no mode-specific configuration changes to the load balanced Real Servers.


Port translation is possible with Layer 7 SNAT mode, e.g. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is supported.


You should not use the same RIP:PORT combination for layer 7 SNAT mode VIPs and layer 4 SNAT mode
VIPs because the required firewall rules conflict.

8. Loadbalancer.org Appliance – the Basics


8.1. Virtual Appliance
A fully featured, fully supported 30 day trial is available if you are conducting a PoC (Proof of Concept)
deployment. The VA is currently available for VMware, Virtual Box, Hyper-V, KVM, XEN and Nutanix AHV and has
been optimized for each Hypervisor. By default, the VA is allocated 2 vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and has a 20GB virtual
disk. The Virtual Appliance can be downloaded here.

The same download is used for the licensed product, the only difference is that a license key file
(supplied by our sales team when the product is purchased) must be applied using the
appliance’s WebUI.

Please refer to Virtual Appliance Installation and the ReadMe.txt text file included in the VA
download for additional information on deploying the VA using the various Hypervisors.

The VA has 4 network adapters. For VMware only the first adapter (eth0) is connected by
default. For HyperV, KVM, XEN and Nutanix AHV all adapters are disconnected by default. Use
the network configuration screen within the Hypervisor to connect the required adapters.

8.2. Initial Network Configuration


After boot up, follow the instructions on the appliance console to configure the management IP address, subnet
mask, default gateway, DNS servers and other network and administrative settings.

Be sure to set a secure password for the load balancer, when prompted during the setup routine.

8.3. Accessing the Appliance WebUI


The WebUI is accessed using a web browser. By default, users are authenticated using Apache authentication.
Users can also be authenticated against LDAP, LDAPS, Active Directory or Radius - for more information, please
refer to External Authentication.

There are certain differences when accessing the WebUI for the cloud appliances. For details,

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please refer to the relevant Quick Start / Configuration Guide.

1. Using a browser, navigate to the following URL:

https://<IP-address-configured-during-the-network-setup-wizard>:9443/lbadmin/

You’ll receive a warning about the WebUI’s SSL certificate. This is due to the default self
signed certificate that is used. If preferred, you can upload your own certificate - for more
information, please refer to Appliance Security Features.

If you need to change the port, IP address or protocol that the WebUI listens on, please
refer to Service Socket Addresses.

2. Log in to the WebUI using the following credentials:

Username: loadbalancer
Password: <configured-during-network-setup-wizard>

To change the password, use the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Passwords.

Once logged in, the WebUI will be displayed as shown below:

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3. You’ll be asked if you want to run the Setup Wizard which can be used to configure layer 7 services. Click
Dismiss if you’re following a guide or want to configure the appliance manually or click Accept to start the
wizard.

Main Menu Options


System Overview - Displays a graphical summary of all VIPs, RIPs and key appliance statistics
Local Configuration - Configure local host settings such as IP address, DNS, system time etc.
Cluster Configuration - Configure load balanced services such as VIPs & RIPs
Maintenance - Perform maintenance tasks such as service restarts and taking backups
View Configuration - Display the saved appliance configuration settings
Reports - View various appliance reports & graphs
Logs - View various appliance logs
Support - Create a support download, contact the support team & access useful links
Live Chat - Start a live chat session with one of our Support Engineers

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8.4. Appliance Software Update
To ensure that the appliance(s) are running the latest software version, we recommend a software update check
is performed.

Determining the Current Software Version


The software version is displayed at the bottom of the WebUI as shown in the example below:

Checking for Updates using Online Update


By default, the appliance periodically contacts the Loadbalancer.org update server and checks
for updates. An update check can also be manually triggered as detailed below.

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Software Update.

2. Select Online Update.

3. If the latest version is already installed, a message similar to the following will be displayed:

4. If an update is available, you’ll be presented with a list of new features, improvements, bug fixes and security
related updates.

5. Click Online Update to start the update process.

Do not navigate away whilst the update is ongoing, this may cause the update to fail.

6. Once complete (the update can take several minutes depending on download speed and upgrade version)
the following message will be displayed:

7. If services need to be reloaded/restarted or the appliance needs a full restart, you’ll be prompted accordingly.

Using Offline Update


If the load balancer does not have access to the Internet, offline update can be used.

Please contact [email protected] to check if an update is available and obtain the latest

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offline update files.

To perform an offline update:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Software Update.

2. Select Offline Update.

3. The following screen will be displayed:

4. Select the Archive and Checksum files.

5. Click Upload and Install.

6. If services need to be reloaded/restarted or the appliance needs a full restart, you’ll be prompted accordingly.

8.5. Ports Used by the Appliance


By default, the appliance uses the following TCP & UDP ports:

Protocol Port Purpose

TCP 22 * SSH

TCP & UDP 53 * DNS / GSLB

TCP & UDP 123 NTP

TCP & UDP 161 * SNMP

UDP 6694 Heartbeat between Primary & Secondary appliances in HA mode

TCP 7778 HAProxy persistence table replication

TCP 9000 * Gateway service (Centralized/Portal Management)

TCP 9080 * WebUI - HTTP (disabled by default)

TCP 9081 * Nginx fallback page

TCP 9443 * WebUI - HTTPS

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Protocol Port Purpose

TCP 25565 * Shuttle service (Centralized/Portal Management)

The ports used for SSH, GSLB, SNMP, the WebUI, the fallback page, the gateway service and the
shuttle service can be changed if required. For more information, please refer to Service Socket
Addresses.

8.6. HA Clustered Pair Configuration


Loadbalancer.org recommend that load balancer appliances are deployed in pairs for high availability. In this
guide a single unit is deployed first, adding a secondary unit is covered in the section Configuring HA - Adding a
Secondary Appliance of the appendix.

9. Appliance Configuration for Microsoft SQL Server


9.1. VIP1 - MS-SQL-SERVER
Configuring the Virtual Service (VIP)
1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 – Virtual Services and click on Add a new
Virtual Service.

2. Enter the following details:

3. Specify the Label for the virtual service, e.g. MS-SQL-Server.

4. Set the Virtual Service IP Address field to the required IP address, e.g. 192.168.110.100.

5. Set the Ports field to 1433.

6. Set the Layer 7 Protocol to TCP Mode.

7. Click Update to create the Virtual Service.

8. Now click Modify next to the newly created VIP.

9. Scroll to the Persistence section.

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Ensure that the Persistence Mode is set to Source IP.

10. Scroll to the Health Checks section.


For a simple check, leave Health Check set to Connect to Port.


For a more robust check, refer to the steps in SQL Server Health Check.

11. Click Update.

Defining the Real Servers (RIPs)


1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 – Real Servers and click on Add a new Real
Server next to the newly created VIP.

2. Enter the following details:

3. Define the Label for the real server as required, e.g. SQL-Server1.

4. Set the Real Server IP Address field to the required IP address, e.g. 192.168.110.160.

5. Set the Real Server Port field to 1433.

6. Click Update.

7. Repeat these steps to add additional Real Servers as required.

9.2. Finalizing the Configuration


To apply the new settings, HAProxy must be reloaded. This can be done using the button in the "Commit
changes" box at the top of the screen or by using the Restart Services menu option:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Restart Services.

2. Click Reload HAProxy.

10. Testing & Verification


For additional guidance on diagnosing and resolving any issues you may have, please also refer
to Diagnostics & Troubleshooting.

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10.1. Using System Overview
The System Overview can be viewed in the WebUI. It shows a graphical view of all VIPs & RIPs (i.e. the Microsoft
SQL Server servers) and shows the state/health of each server as well as the state of the cluster as a whole. The
example below shows that the Virtual Service and all three application servers are healthy and available to accept
connections:

10.2. Access the Database/Application


First ensure that any DNS records that are used to access the database are updated so that the FQDN resolves to
the MS-SQL-Server VIP. Then verify that you’re able to successfully access the database/application.

11. Technical Support


For more details about configuring the appliance and assistance with designing your deployment please don’t
hesitate to contact the support team using the following email address: [email protected].

12. Further Documentation


For additional information, please refer to the Administration Manual.

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13. Appendix
13.1. Configuring HA - Adding a Secondary Appliance
Our recommended configuration is to use a clustered HA pair of load balancers to provide a highly available and
resilient load balancing solution. We recommend that the Primary appliance is fully configured first, then the
Secondary appliance can be added to create an HA pair. Once the HA pair is configured, load balanced services
must be configured and modified on the Primary appliance. The Secondary appliance will be automatically kept in
sync.

For Enterprise Azure, the HA pair should be configured first. For more information, please refer
to the Azure Quick Start/Configuration Guide available in the documentation library

The clustered HA pair uses Heartbeat to determine the state of the other appliance. Should the active device
(normally the Primary) suffer a failure, the passive device (normally the Secondary) will take over.

Non-Replicated Settings
A number of settings are not replicated as part of the Primary/Secondary pairing process and therefore must be
manually configured on the Secondary appliance. These are listed by WebUI menu option in the table below:

WebUI Main Menu Sub Menu Option Description


Option

Local Configuration Hostname & DNS Hostname and DNS settings

Local Configuration Network Interface Interface IP addresses, bonding configuration and VLANs
Configuration

Local Configuration Routing Default gateways and static routes

Local Configuration System Date & time Time and date related settings

Local Configuration Physical – Advanced Various appliance settings


Configuration

Local Configuration Portal Management Portal management settings

Local Configuration Security Security settings

Local Configuration SNMP Configuration SNMP settings

Local Configuration Graphing Graphing settings

Local Configuration License Key Appliance licensing

Maintenance Backup & Restore Local XML backups

Maintenance Software Updates Appliance software updates

Maintenance Fallback Page Fallback page configuration

Maintenance Firewall Script Firewall (iptables) configuration

Maintenance Firewall Lockdown Appliance management lockdown settings


Wizard

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Make sure that where any of the above have been configured on the Primary appliance, they’re
also configured on the Secondary.

Configuring the HA Clustered Pair


If you have already run the firewall lockdown wizard on either appliance, you’ll need to ensure
that it is temporarily disabled on both appliances whilst performing the pairing process.

1. Deploy a second appliance that will be the Secondary and configure initial network settings.

2. Using the WebUI on the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High-Availability
Configuration.

3. Specify the IP address and the loadbalancer user’s password for the Secondary (peer) appliance as shown in
the example above.

4. Click Add new node.

5. The pairing process now commences as shown below:

6. Once complete, the following will be displayed on the Primary appliance:

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7. To finalize the configuration, restart heartbeat and any other services as prompted in the "Commit changes"
message box at the top of the screen.

Clicking the Restart Heartbeat button on the Primary appliance will also automatically restart
heartbeat on the Secondary appliance.

For more details on configuring HA with 2 appliances, please refer to Appliance Clustering for
HA.

For details on testing and verifying HA, please refer to Clustered Pair Diagnostics.

13.2. SQL Server Health Check


Follow the steps below to configure a more robust health check. This reads and verifies data from a table in the
database to verify SQL server health.

1. First, follow these steps to install the SQL Server health check on the load balancer.

2. Next, using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Health Check Scripts.

3. Click Add New Health Check.

4. Specify a Name for the health check, e.g. SQL-Server.

5. Ensure Type is set to Virtual Service.

6. Using the Template dropdown, select ms-sql-check.

7. Click Update.

8. Now click Modify next to the MS-SQL-Server VIP created earlier.

9. Scroll to the Health Checks section and change the Health Check to External Script.

10. Using the Check Script dropdown, select the health check script just created.

11. Click Update.

12. To apply the new settings, reload HAProxy using the button in the "Commit changes" box at the top of the
screen.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Load Balancing Microsoft SQL Server 16


14. Document Revision History
Version Date Change Reason for Change Changed By

1.0.0 10 April 2024 Initial version AG, RJC

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Load Balancing Microsoft SQL Server 17


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