In the vRealize Operations Manager cluster the Continuous Availability (CA) feature can be enabled at the installation time or after vROps is up and running.
While enabling the CA feature in an existing cluster requires to bring the cluster offline, the advantage of configuring this feature at the installation time is that there is a less impact since the cluster hasn't started yet.
Blog Series
vRealize Operations Manager 8.3 enable Continuous Availability - pt.1
vRealize Operations Manager 8.3 enable Continuous Availability - pt.2
vRealize Operations Manager 8.3 enable Continuous Availability - pt.3
Prerequisites
To proceed with the configuration there are some prerequisites to be met:
- Deploy and configure the Primary Node
- Deploy and configure the Witness Node
- Deploy and configure one Data Node
Before proceeding with the configuration of the Continuous Availability feature, keep in mind the vROps cluster must be brought Offline.
Deploy the Witness Node
Deploy a new vROps appliance to configure the Witness Node. The Witness appliance must be deployed in a third location and in a different network.
Once the Witness Node has been deployed, right click the appliance and select Power > Power On.
When the appliance has booted, check the console to retrieve the correct IP Address to access the management GUI.
From the Initial Setup page, click on Expand an Existing Installation button.
Click Next.
Enter the Node name (for example vROps-Witness) and specify Witness as Node type. Enter the Master node IP address or FQDN and click Validate.
Once validated, thick the Accept this certificate option and click Next.
Select Use cluster administrator user name and password option and enter the Password. Click Next to continue.
Click Finish to complete the procedure.
The new node is being prepared for first use.
After some minutes, the Witness Node is ready to be added to the cluster.
Before adding the Witness to the vROps cluster, we are going to install a new Data Node.
Deploy a Data Node
As done previously, deploy another vROps appliance to use it as Data Node. Once the Data Node has been deployed, right click the appliance and select Power > Power On.
From the Initial Setup page, click on Expand an Existing Installation button.
Click Next.
Enter the Node name and specify Data as Node type. Enter the Master node IP address or FQDN and click Validate.
Once validated, thick the Accept this certificate option and click Next.
Select Use cluster administrator user name and password option and enter the Password. Click Next to continue.
Click Finish to complete the procedure.
The new node is being prepared for first use.
After few minutes, the Data Node is ready to be added to the cluster.
Add the new nodes to the vROps cluster
From the vRealize Operations Manager Administration page, click Finishing Adding New Node(s) to add the new nodes.
Click OK to confirm.
The system starts the process to finish the cluster expansion. Notice the new nodes are currently Not running and Offline.
After some minutes both nodes are Running and Online.
Once both nodes are fully working, the Enable HA and Enable CA features can be now configured.
