Create a vManage Cluster

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A vManage cluster is a collection of three or more vManage NMSs in a Viptela overlay network domain. The cluster collectively provides network management services to all Viptela devices in the network. Some of the services, such as determining which vManage instance connects to and handles requests for a vEdge router, are distributed automatically, while for others (the statistics and configuration databases, and the messaging server), you configure which vManage instance handles the service, as described in this article.

A vManage cluster can manage a maximum of 6000 vEdge routers in the overlay network. Each vManage instance can manage a maximum of 2000 vEdge routers.

Initial Configuration for Cluster Creation

Configure the two additional VManage VMs with minimal system configuration and addressing for the NICs. Configure the admin user’s password to match what is configured on the original vManage device. If you are using enterprise certificates, remember to install the root certificate chain on the new vManage device as you did with the first vManage device. Also, make sure the clocks of the new vManage devices are in sync with the original vManage device.

The following is a sample minimal configuration:

system
host-name vManage3
system-ip 2.255.1.102
site-id 1
organization-name sdwan-lab1
vbond vbond
!
vpn 0
host vbond ip 2.1.0.103 2.1.0.104
interface eth0
ip address 2.1.0.102/24
tunnel-interface
no shutdown
!
interface eth1
ip address 2.0.1.102/24
no shutdown
!
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 2.0.1.254
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 2.1.0.254
!
vpn 512
interface eth2
ip address 2.5.1.102/24
no shutdown
!

Add the First vManage NMS to the Cluster

Log in to one of the vManage NMSs, at the URL https://system-ip-address:8443/, as a user with "admin" credentials.
In vManage NMS, select Administration ► Cluster Management. The Cluster Management screen opens, and the Service Configuration tab is selected.
Because you have started the vManage NMS for the first time, the table on this screen shows the default IP address of the vManage server as "localhost". You must change this name to an IP address.
It is recommended that you configure the IP address of the vManage NMS statically, in its configuration file, by configuring the IP address of the server's management interface in VPN 512. It is also recommended that you do not configure DHCP in VPN 512.
If you choose to change the name to an IP address from the Cluster Management screen:
1. In the Service Configuration tab, click the Add vManage button. The Edit vManage screen opens.
2. From the vManage IP Address drop-down list, select an IP address to assign to the vManage server. The IP addresses shown in this list are those that have been configured on interfaces in the server's VPN 0.
3. To allow login to the vManage server, enter a username and password for the login account.
4. If desired, you can modify or select the services to run on the local vManage server. These services are described below.
5. Click Update. The address shown in the IP Address column changes from "localhost" to the address that you selected.

While creating a cluster, you are turning into the cluster-mode. When you add your nodes to the cluster, you cannot go back to the single-mode without restoring vManage from backup.

You cannot remove nodes from the cluster if you have a cluster build on two or three vManage instances. Removing nodes in such situation is not supported. You need to add new nodes to make cluster bigger and then remove initially intended nodes.

Add Additional vManage NMSs to the Cluster

A cluster must contain at least three vManage NMS servers. To add each server to the cluster:

Log in to the vManage NMS, at the URL https://system-ip-address:8443/, as a user with "admin" credentials.
In vManage NMS, select Administration ► Cluster Management.
In the Service Configuration tab, click the Add vManage button. The Add vManage screen opens.
Enter the IP address of the vManage NMS you are adding to the cluster.
To allow login to that vManage server, specify the username and password for the new server.
Select the services to run on the vManage server:

Application Server—Each vManage NMS in the cluster must be a web application server, which is an HTTP or HTTPS web server for user sessions to the vManage NMS. Through these sessions, a logged-in user can view a high-level dashboard summary of networks events and status, and can drill down to view details of these events. A user can also manage network serial number files, certificates, software upgrades, device reboots, and configuration of the vManage cluster itself from the vManage application server.
Statistics Database—Stores all real-time statistics from all Viptela devices in the network. These are the statistics that are displayed on the various vManage screens. You can run up to three iterations of the statistics database in a vManage cluster.
Configuration Database—Stores the inventory and state and the configurations for all Viptela devices. You can run up to three iterations of the configuration database in a vManage cluster.
Messaging Server—Each vManage NMS in the cluster must be a messaging server. The messaging server provides a communication bus among all the vManage servers in the cluster. This bus is used to share data and to coordinate operations among the vManage instances in the cluster.

Click Add. The vManage NMS that you just added then reboots before joining the cluster.

The cluster configuration information is distributed, via the vManage message bus, to all the vManage NMSs in the cluster. Specifically, when the new vManage NMS joins the cluster, the other vManage NMSs in the cluster synchronize and rebalance the network and management data, and all the application web server processes restart. During this process, sessions to the existing vManage NMSs might go down and then come back up. You can monitor the cluster synchronization process in the device activity tab for the individual vManage NMS. After the synchronization process completes, the vManage NMS becomes an active member in the cluster.

It is recommended that you add only one vManage NMS to the cluster at a time.

Adding a vManage NMS to a cluster takes longer as the size of the cluster increases.

Configure the vManage Statistics Database

For each vManage instance that is running the statistics database, the storage allocations for the database are identical. By default, 10 GB is allocated for statistics related to each of the following network operations:

Alarms
Application-aware routing
Audit logs
Cflowd traffic flow monitoring
Device configuration
Device events
Device system status
Deep-packet inspection (DPI)
Interfaces

To modify the statistics database storage allocations on all vManage instances running the statistics database:

In vManage NMS, select Administration ► Cluster Management.
In the Service Configuration tab, click the Statistics Database Configuration button.
For each Statistics Type field, assign an the amount of storage to allocate, in gigabytes (GB). The total value of all fields cannot exceed the maximum available space.
Click Update.

The statistics database storage allocation configuration is then distributed, via the vManage message bus, to all the vManage NMSs in the cluster.

Remove a vManage NMS from the Cluster

If you remove a vManage NMS from the cluster, ensure that the remaining cluster has at least three vManage NMSs.

To remove a vManage NMS from the cluster:

In vManage NMS, select Administration ► Cluster Management.
In the Service Configuration tab, for a vManage NMS, click the More Actions icon to the right of its row and click Remove. The Remove vManage dialog box opens.
Enter the login username and password for the device to confirm removal of the device from the network.
Click Remove.

The vManage NMS is removed from the vManage database and from the cluster, the device is invalidated, and the certificates for that device are deleted.

What's Next

Create a Multitenant vManage NMS

Additional Information

Bringup Sequence of Events
See the High Availability Overview article for your software release.