Dell PowerConnect W-Airwave W-Airwave 7.1 User Guide - Page 258

AWMS Failover The failover version of AWMS provides a "many to one" hot backup server. The Failover AWMS polls the watched AMPs to verify that each is up and running. If the watched AWMS is unreachable for the specified number of polls, the Failover AWMS will enter failover mode. When AWMS enters failover mode it automatically restores the most recent saved backup from the watched AWMS and begins polling its APs. Navigation Section of AWMS Failover The Navigation section displays tabs to all main GUI pages within AWMS Failover. The top bar is a static navigation bar containing tabs for the main components of AWMS, while the lower bar is context-sensitive and displays the sub-menus for the highlighted tab. Table 131 describes the contents of this page. Table 131 Contents of the Navigation Section of Failover Main Tab Description Sub-Menus Home System AMP Setup The Home page provides basic AWMS Failover information, including system name, hostname, IP address, current time, running time, software version, and watched AWMS information. The System page provides information related to AWMS operation and administration (including overall system status, performance monitoring and backups). The Setup page provides all information relating to the configuration of AWMS itself and its connection to your network.  Overview  Watched  AWMS  License (viewable only by demo versions)  Status  Event  Log  Backups  Performance  General  Network  Users  TACACS+ Adding Watched AWMS Stations Navigate to the Home > Watched AWMS page to begin backing up and monitoring AWMS stations. Once an AWMS installation has been added to the Watched AWMS list, the Failover AWMS will download the most recent backup and begin polling. The Failover AWMS and the Watched AWMS must be on the same version or else the watched AWMS will be unable to restore properly. If any of the watched AWMS are not on the same version of AWMS you will need to upgrade. The Failover AWMS will need HTTPS access (port 443) to the watched AWMS to verify that the web page is active and to fetch downloads. Once the Failover AWMS determines that the Watched AWMS is not up (based on the user-defined missed poll threshold) it will restore the data backup of the Watched AWMS and begin monitoring the watched AMP APs/Devices. There are many variables that affect how long this will take, including how long client historical data is being retained, but for an AWMS with 1000 APs it might take up to 10 minutes. For an AMP with 2500 APs it might take as long as 20 minutes. The Failover AWMS will retain its original IP address. In summary, the Failover AWMS could take over for the Watched AWMS in as little as five minutes; it might take up to an additional 10-20 minutes to unpack the watched AWMS' data and begin monitoring APs. The most important factors are the missed poll threshold, which is defined by the user, and the size of the watched AMP backup, which is affected by the total number of APs and by the amount of data being saved, especially client historical data. 258 | Performing Daily Administration in AWMS Dell PowerConnect W AirWave 7.1 | User Guide