Live Backup Server

If Your Primary Server Has Failed - Proceed Immediately to Section 8

What version of Live Backup Server do I have?

1. Login to cp.fonality.com
2. Look at the very bottom
3. If the listed version is X.0X - your server is using Live Backup Server version 1.0
   1. Please read How do I fail-over to my backup server?
4. If the listed version is X.1X - your server is using Live Backup Server version 2.0

What is a Live Backup Server?

A Live Backup Server (or LBS) is a hardware and software platform identical to a 'regular' PBXtra server. When you order your Primary PBXtra , you are presented with a variety of hardware and software choices in order to customize the PBXtra platform that fits your business's needs. By selecting the LBS option within the order tool at www.fonality.com , you are ordering two of the same server. The LBS mirrors all of the hardware options that you choose (e.g. PRI card, hard drive size, RAM, etc.) for the Primary PBXtra When you complete the order process, you are presented with a review of your order before you submit it for processing. At this time, you will see a line item indicating that you have purchased a live backup server.

Why do I need an LBS?

Any customer that wishes to minimize downtime caused by a hardware failure of their telephone server should choose the LBS option within the order tool online. Should your Primary PBXtra experience any type of hardware failure (hard drive failure, RAM failure, CPU failure, etc.), you can quickly fail-over to your LBS and continue business operations normally while you contact Fonality Support in order to resolve the hardware failure on the Primary PBXtra .

The typical fail-over time from the Primary PBXtra to the LBS is about 2 minutes. This process can take up to 10 minutes depending on your internet connection. We will discuss in detail later in this article why the fail-over process can take up to 10 minutes in some cases.

How does LBS Work?

Fonality offers the Live Backup Server (LBS) option to minimize downtime caused by any software or hardware failure of the Primary Server. You cannot order a Primary PBXtra and then choose the LBS option at a later date. When you select the LBS option, Fonality provisions two Server IDs linked in our database as Primary and Backup. As soon as you plug in a PBXtra server, it immediately contacts Fonality's Data Center in order to establish redundant VPN tunnels that provide the framework for Fonality's hybrid-hosted service. When ordering a Primary server and an LBS, it does not matter which server you plug in first. Either server can function as the Primary or as the LBS.

The following diagram represents the LBS configuration:

Primary: 192.168.1.2
Backup: 192.168.1.3

Live Back Up Server Installation Requirements

When you purchase the LBS package, Fonality provisions two Server IDs (SIDs) into our database records in advance of your installation. When you receive the servers and plug one of them into your network, that SID becomes the Primary PBXtra automatically, and Fonality automatically configures the other SID provisioned with your order as the LBS - even before you plug the server into your network!

The LBS process truly is automatic. However, you must follow these requirements for the process to work:

• Both servers must use Static IP Addresses. The IPs can be Public or Private.
   
• Both servers must be able to communicate with each other on your network. Fonality recommends that you deploy both servers on the same subnet. If you have installed a firewall between your Primary and LBS servers, or you have configured any ACL statements on managed switches, whitelist all ports and TCP/UDP protocols between the servers.
   
• Both servers must have identical hardware. If you need to move/add/change hardware at any point in the future, you must make the same hardware changes to both servers. For example, if you add an additional PRI card to the Primary server, you must add the same PRI card to the LBS.

Can LBS be installed at a remote location?

Fonality strongly recommends that both the Primary and the LBS are installed on the same local subnet.  There are many reasons for this:

• Upon failover, your PSTN connections need to be manually switched between the Primary and the LBS.  If the LBS is not local, this becomes a significant challenge unless you have replicated your PSTN connectivity at the remote site (ie. 1 PRI at the Primary server location, 1 PRI at the LBS location, and the ability to have the phone company re-route calls to the LBS PRI quickly and efficiently).
• Chances are that your Primary and LBS locations have different IP addressing schemes/subnets.  When you fail over, the LBS takes on the IP addressing identity of the Primary server.  This adds an additional layer of complexity when failing over because the IP address will have to be changed and sync'd to Fonality's data center before the LBS can start receiving calls.
• If the Primary fails, you will have to be at the console of the LBS to make it the primary.  This can NOT be done remotely meaning that someone at the LBS remote site will have to make the switch.

These reasons and more are why Fonality strongly recommends having both the Primary and LBS as the same location, and in the same subnet.  Remember, the point of LBS is to minimize downtime.  In most cases, having the LBS remote adds additional complexity, and therefore additional time to the failover process.

If these conditions have been met however, and the customer understands the failover process, remote LBS is a viable solution for geographic disaster recovery.

***NOTE:  Fonality uses the internal FQDN to synchronize files between the Primary and the LBS.  This means that the Primary and LBS have to be able to see each other's internal IP address.  In order for Fonality to support remote LBS, you MUST use VPN or some other form of internal routing.

How to Fail-Over to Your LBS

WARNING: Even if you wish to revert to your original Primary server once the issue has been resolved, allow the LBS to function as the primary, and the primary as the LBS, for at least one hour in order to ensure all of your recordings, voicemails, voice prompts, and music-on-hold files have time to sync.

For visual reference, please refer to the gallery of images below these instructions.

In the event your Primary PBXtra fails, you can enable your LBS to take over all Primary responsibilities by following these steps:

1. Unplug the Primary server from the network (disconnect the Ethernet cable). Leave this server offline throughout the entire process
2. Attach a monitor and keyboard to the LBS.
3. At the console login, use 'ip' as the username and 'ip' as the password to login. You should see the following prompt in Gallery Image #1
4. Press 'P' from the menu displayed in Gallery Image #2 to continue
5. The system prompts you to disconnect the server (double-checking step 1)
6. You must change the IP Address of the LBS to the original IP Address of the Primary PBXtra

   Original setup (example only - your settings may differ):

   1. Primary PBXtra 's IP: 192.168.1.2
   2. Primary PBXtra 's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   3. Primary PBXtra 's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       
   4. LBS's IP: 192.168.1.3
   5. LBS's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   6. LBS's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       

   Fail-over setup (example only - your settings may differ):

   1. Primary server's IP (now the LBS): 192.168.1.3
   2. Primary PBXtra 's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   3. Primary PBXtra 's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       
   4. LBS's IP (now the Primary): 192.168.1.2
   5. LBS's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   6. LBS's Gateway: 192.168.1.1

7. The system prompts you to apply the new IP Address settings
8. PBXtra displays your changes and prompts one last time for confirmation of these changes

Success! You have converted your LBS into your Primary PBXtra

Turn the Backup Server into the Primary Server
Main ip.pl Menu	Change to Primary?	Unplug the Ethernet Cable	Enter the IP
Change Settings?	Confirm Changes	Success!

Explanation of the Fail-Over Process

Pressing 'P' submits a request to Fonality's Data Center to recognize the LBS as the new Primary PBXtra and update relevant DNS records to point to the IP of the LBS. All of the configuration files are already live on the LBS including your Queues, Menus, and Extension configurations. Each user's personal extension settings (like FindMe settings) are also live as soon as the LBS takes over as the Primary PBXtra .

Please contact Fonality Support in order to resolve the failure condition of the original Primary PBXtra .

 

 

Making the Original Primary PBXtra into the LBS

Once the hardware and/or software failure condition of the Primary PBXtra is corrected, the original Primary PBXtra (still disconnected from your network) needs to be converted into the LBS. Converting the original Primary into the LBS allows both servers to re-sync and maintain the most up-to-date information from the Primary PBXtra . For visual reference, please refer to the gallery of images below. In order to convert the original Primary server into the LBS, please follow these steps:

1. Leave the PBXtra unplugged from the network
2. Attach a monitor and keyboard to the original Primary PBXtra and power it on (if it was off)
3. At the console login, use 'ip' as the username and 'ip' as the password to login. You should see the screen in Gallery Image #1 below
4. Press 'B' from the menu displayed
5. When prompted, re-attach the Ethernet cable
6. When prompted, enter the IP address of the original LBS. For example:

   Original setup:

   1. Primary PBXtra 's IP: 192.168.1.2
   2. Primary PBXtra 's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   3. Primary PBXtra 's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       
   4. LBS's IP: 192.168.1.3
   5. LBS's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   6. LBS's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       

   Fail-over setup (example only - your settings may differ):

   1. Primary server's IP (now the LBS): 192.168.1.3
   2. Primary PBXtra 's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   3. Primary PBXtra 's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       
   4. LBS's IP (now the Primary): 192.168.1.2
   5. LBS's Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
   6. LBS's Gateway: 192.168.1.1
       

7. You have switched the IP addresses originally used by the servers in order to maintain the DNS records and allow all of your phones to register without making any changes to the phones
8. Success! As of this step, the original Primary PBXtra should now be a fully-functional LBS

Please note - it makes absolutely no difference which server functions as the 'Primary' and which as the 'Backup'. Since both servers contain the same hardware and run the same software, they can be used interchangeably. If your Primary server fails and you switch to your Backup, you do not need to switch again once you fix your Primary server.

Turn the Primary Server into the Backup Server
The ip.pl menu	Connect CAT5 Cable	Review New IP Changes	Change IP Settings?
Enter New IP Settings	Confirm IP Settings	Success!

What If I Experience ANOTHER Failure?

Repeat the process outlined in Section 8