ClusterXL Topology with a bond and a single interface

[NiKl]

Hello there,

I would like to ask whether we can have a ClusterXL topology consisting of 2 firewalls with FW01 having a single trunk interface (eth1)  and eth2 unused whilst FW02 will have a trunk bond (eth1,eth2) and not a single interface.

Will it work ?

Regards

[Bob_Zimmerman]

A cluster can function like that. I would recommend making a bond on FW01 with only one interface, as that makes it easier to change later.

Tech support will complain that the configuration between the members isn't identical. How long would you need to run this way?

[NiKl]

First and foremost I would like to thank you for your fast reply.

Specifically, I want to change a single trunk interface of a ClusterXL 2xCP appliances topology to a bond without having downtime at all. Can this be feasible ?

Therefore , I need to first change the interface topology of the standby gateway FW02. That means that I have to delete all the VLANs that reside under the single interface eth1. Next I need to create the bond and then create those VLANs under the bond interface bond1(eth1,eth2).

Then I need to "Get interface with Topology" so that the FW code remaps the interfaces/zones.At that specific moment I am not sure how interface topology will look like since on FW01 we will have eth1.XXX and eth2 unused whilst on FW02 we will have bond1.XXX

Then I need to switch traffic over to FW02 in order to change the topology of FW01 and all that must happen without any downtime.

Regards

[Bob_Zimmerman]

So it's a transitional state between where you are and where you intend to be. Good.

You should definitely assume there will be downtime, but it should be possible to limit.

1. `clusterXL_admin down` member 2.
2. Delete the existing VLANs from member 2's eth1. Build your bond on member 2 and add the necessary VLANs.
3. Go to your cluster's topology and edit the interfaces. In the cluster interface's Advanced section, change the name of the interface on member 2.
4. Repeat step 3 for every interface you want to move.
5. Push policy.
6. `clusterXL_admin up` member 2.
7. If everything reports okay, `clusterXL_admin down` member 1 to force a failover.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 6 for member 1.

There may not be any downtime, but if there is, I would expect it in steps 5, 6, and 7.

[NiKl]

Sounds good.

Also the ethernet interfaces that I want to bond are not copper ones but optical fibers. Do you think that matters ?

[Bob_Zimmerman]

Definitely does not matter. You can use this to go from any type of interface to any type of interface. Then once you have moved the application config to use bonds, it's trivial to change which physical interfaces make up the bonds.