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Access network design for branch, remote, outdoor, and campus locations with HPE Aruba Networking access points and mobility controllers.
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MD redundancy/cluster

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  • 1.  MD redundancy/cluster

    Posted Sep 29, 2021 09:04 AM
    Hi,
    I have 3 MD controllers in one site...1 x 7200 and 2 x 7000 series. For redundancy, I am thinking to build a cluster from the 2 x 7000 as a backup and 1x 7200 as a primary. Or do you think vice versa will be better ?
    Any other recommendation please ?

    Also, if the 7200 goes down than I want to spit the APs between the cluster build with the 2 x 7000 series, is this achievable ?
    thanks in advance.

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    ioanf
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  • 2.  RE: MD redundancy/cluster

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Sep 29, 2021 10:43 AM
    Honestly? Get another 7200 and form a cluster with your first 7200.  That is the best answer.

    Any other iteration of redundancy will complicate management and will increase troubleshooting time.

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    Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: MD redundancy/cluster

    Posted Sep 29, 2021 11:05 AM
    Unfortunately, I cant. I need to use the all 3 controllers to build a redundant network for them.

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    ioanf
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: MD redundancy/cluster

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Sep 29, 2021 11:20 AM
    #1 Figure out what is driving the need for redundancy.  If the customer cannot afford for any downtime, they should invest in a second 7200 controller and do it right, since downtime will cost much more than an 7200.  Failover/upgrades would be fairly seamless if AP density is high and of course the total failure of a controller would result in uninterrupted uptime.

    #2 If the customer wants to do redundancy just for the sake of redundancy, they can do any of the other designs you mentioned. They all have the drawback of the administrator needing to keep track of how many APs should be on what controllers.  Some outages are not total, so APs will fail over to other controllers silently and nothing will show as being "down", so users will be roaming between APs on different controllers for months and having issues.  In that situation, troubleshooting becomes more difficult.  This is how adding redundancy can create more issues if it is not done right.

    ​​

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    Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: MD redundancy/cluster

    MVP
    Posted Sep 30, 2021 07:54 AM
    Aruba recommends against mixing 7200 series & 7000 series in the same cluster. The cluster architecture is AOS 8 major design for redundancy.  Any other design attempt would likely run into official support issues. Any other design is not likely tested before software release either and is not guaranteed to be functional & reliable.

    Personally I would suggest trading in the 2 7000 Series on a 7200 series controller with the same or greater capacity. If 3 controllers are absolutely needed, I would trade the 2 7000 series for 2 small 7200 series.

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    Bruce Osborne ACCP ACMP
    Liberty University

    The views expressed here are my personal views and not those of my employer
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    Original Message