We have a core server and 8 additional polling engines. The core server was cloned using vCenter and then FoE was installed following the WAN/DR method.

After the install the core server seems to be running fine. FoE manager shows all green and the website works fine.

One of my co-workers mentioned that they were having trouble adding a new node to one of the additional pollers. When I logged in I found the "Solarwinds Orion Module Engine" service was not running on that polling engine. I started it and it seemed ok but two minutes later the service was stopped again. I also noticed that the "Syslog" and "Trap" services keep stopping and starting. I have opened a ticket but thought I'd see if anyone had any suggestions.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

I had open a case with SolarWinds support with the following question "I’m about to install the FoE (P2P) on servers that I use a SAN drive for the Orion installation. Are there any issues with using SAN drives on the primary and secondary servers? Will the FoE install correctly?"

Just received the following reply “This has never been tested, so we cannot guarantee there won't be any issues with the installation.”

So I’m wondering if anyone else has installed the FoE on servers that are using a SAN connection? Your comments would be appreciated.

Regards,

Bob

Hello

I currently have 2 servers setup with FoE in WAN configuration, the servers are working and if I remove the network cables from the Primary server the Secondary Server becomes Active.

The problem I have is that if I shut down the Primary Server the fail-over does not happen, the secondary server remains Passive. Is there any way to get the fail-over to happen when the Primary is shutdown, this is required because if there is a power failure at the primary location the primary server would be shutdown safely be the UPS.

also when the network cables were unplugged from the Primary Server, the Primary Server still remained active. Is there a way to tell the server to become passive when a Network failure happens.

Hi All, We are planning to implement SolarWinds FOE in organization. We shall be using services from Neverfail technologies for SQL failover but i have one query we have constraint  that our HA setup doesn't failover using similar IP subnet at our DR (Disaster Recovery) location. Since SolarWinds polling works on IP which is configured on the devices once we failover using FOE it will failover to DR which will be active on different IP subnet as to what used at DC at present. How would this work setup work or do we need to some tweaking . Is there any other option available to get this setup I would really like to hear . Appreciate your help, Thank you, Mithun

I am preparing to install FoE in a WAN scenario and have been reading the various documents about installation preparation. One thing I cannot quite make out is how to set up or execute the DNS update function in a switchover.

How do I set up the DNS update? Where do I download it from, or does it install when I install FoE?

Thanks.

I have to implement FOE with two different host name. Pl help me to give me the workaround for the same. I am running NPM at my location.

I can not put two hostname same in in one single domain.

I'm still building out our new environment with one core and 8 additional pollers and have noticed that DNSUpdate doesn't function. FoE is installed and seems to work fine except for the DNSUpdate piece. I'm looking for some logs that could help our Active Directory team (who maintains DNS) troubleshoot why it's not working. They have just made the service account I'm using a full DNSAdmin and they are saying the account should have rights to do pretty much anything in DNS. Unfortunately, it's not changing the entry when I fail over. Any help troubleshooting this would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

Hello,

Could someone please verify for me the below is correct in regards to port requirements for an Additional Poller.

- Bidirectional communication on TCP port 17777 between the Primary NPM server and Additional Poller

- Unidirectional communication on TCP 1801 from the Additional Poller to the server hosting the SQL database

These are what I interpret from this document here http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/Orion/docs/SolarWindsPortRequirements.pdf

And I'm assuming due to its absence in the above document, TCP port 1433 is no longer required from the Additional Poller to the SQL server.

This article provides information about installing the Java™ 8 Update 60 on Microsoft® Windows Server® systems running the SolarWinds® Orion Platform or Additional Polling Engine. 

Issue

After you install the 32-bit version of Java 8 Update 60 on your SolarWinds Orion Platform server or Additional Polling Engine protected by the SolarWinds Failover Engine service, the update may corrupt the service.

When the service is in a corrupted state, the SolarWinds Failover Engine service generates the following error message on the desktop:

When you open the SolarWinds License Manager, the SolarWinds Failover Engine license key appears in the window. To correct the issue, you must uninstall and then reinstall the SolarWinds Failover Engine service on the corrupted server.

Cause

The Java 8 Update 60 installer may delete all HKLM\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft registry keys during the upgrade process.

Resolution

Postpone installing Java 8 Update 60 on your SolarWinds Orion Platform or Additional Polling Engine servers until SolarWinds releases a patch to address this issue. This KB article will be updated with a resolution to this issue when available. Please continue to check back for updates.

If you must upgrade your Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to the latest version to maintain your security compliance requirements, perform the steps listed below.

Note: The following steps are not required to upgrade the Windows x64 version of JRE (jre-8u60-windows-x64), but are required to uninstall the Windows x64 version (64-bit) and install the Windows x86 (32-bit) version for Windows x64 systems.

1. Download the Windows x86 (32-bit) version of Java (jre-8u60-windows-i586) from the Oracle® website located at www.oracle.com.
2. Locate an incremented backup of your corrupted system.
3. For x86 (32-bit) systems, the backup must include the period of time before you installed Java 8 Update 60.
4. For x64 (64-bit) systems, the backup must include the period of time before you uninstalled Java 8 Update 60.
5. Using the Registry Editor (Regedit), export the following registry key from your backup to a separate file:
6. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Prefs
7. Click Start > All programs > SolarWinds Orion > Advanced Features > Orion Service Manager.
8. Stop the SolarWinds Failover Engine service on the corrupted server.
9. Uninstall Java 8 Update 60 for Windows x64 (64-bit), if required.
10. Install Java 8 Update 60 for Windows x86 (32-bit) using the file you downloaded from the Oracle website.
11. Import your backup registry key to the registry on the corrupted server.
12. Open the Orion Service Manager.
13. Restart the SolarWinds Failover Engine service on all servers in the cluster.
14. Close the Orion Service Manager. 
15. SolarWinds License Manager is now running 32-bit Java 8 Update 60 with an authorized license key.

Hi,

We are using FoE to provide HA for now but we have a project to use it as DR.

We can repliicate our SQL DB to WAN.

We are using 2 Additional pollers and an additionel web server as well. NPM and NCM is also installed on seperate servers.

How can I change the configuration of my secondary FoE LAN server as secondary FoE WAN server?

I've created many tickets via customer portal but they only obtain guides which I've already read.

Cheers!

The SAM 6.3 Beta includes a first glimpse into an entirely new and fully integrated high availability solution for the Orion Platform. If you plan to play around with High Availability you will need to meet the following requirements.

High Availability Requirements

• High Availability Beta Installer (Built-in and located under [Settings -> All Settings -> High Availability Deployment Summary -> Setup A New HA Server -> Get Started Setting Up a Server -> Download Installer Now]
  • High Availability Beta Can be used only with the SAM 6.3 Beta
  • No other Orion products or betas can be installed on the same machine running the SAM 6.3 beta in a high availability configuration
• Two servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 or later
  • Both primary and secondary servers must reside on the same IP subnet.
  • Additional available IP address on the same subnet as the primary and secondary servers for use as the VIP.
  • Windows Server OS version, edition, or bitness need not match between primary and secondary servers.
  • Primary and secondary servers may be optionally joined to a Windows domain
  • High Availability supports the following configurations of primary and secondary servers.
    • Physical to Physical
    • Physical to Virtual
    • Virtual to Virtual
    • Virtual to Physical
• A separate server running SQL 2008 or later.
  • This server does not need to reside on the same subnet as the primary and secondary Orion server
  • Any Microsoft SQL edition may be used, including SQL Express
  • Bonus points for utilizing a SQL Cluster

Primary Server Install

When installing the Primary Orion server you will follow the normal 'Advanced' installation process that you would for any other Orion product. Ensure not to select the 'Express' install option during installation, as a separate server running Microsoft SQL 2008 or later is required. When the Configuration Wizard runs you will be prompted to provide the Username, Password, and IP address of the SQL server you will be using for the beta.

Secondary Server Install

Once the primary server is up and running using the SAM 6.3 beta installer, you will need to perform a similar installation on the secondary server using the separate High Availability installer which can be downloaded from within the Orion web interface under [Settings -> All Settings -> High Availability Deployment Summary -> Setup A New HA Server -> Get Started Setting Up a Server -> Download Installer Now].

Download the High Availability Secondary Server Installer

Next, execute the installation by double clicking on the "SolarWinds-Orion-Installer.exe" downloaded or copied to the secondary server.  Enter the IP address of fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your main Orion server, along with 'Admin' or equivalent credentials used to log into the Orion web interface and click 'Next'. On the following step of the WIzard, select the additional server role you wish to install. Since this will be a High Availability Backup for the main Orion server, select 'Backup Server for Main Server Protection' and click 'Next'.

Enter IP of Main Orion Server & Provide 'Admin' Credentials	Select Server Role to Install

Once the Installation completes the Configuration Wizard will be started. When prompted to provide information regarding the SQL server database, ensure you utilize the same SQL instance and SQL database that was chosen for the primary Orion server.

The following video, while arguably boring to watch, demonstrates the secondary server installation process.

Cluster Pool Creation

As soon as both the primary and secondary servers are installed, return to the Orion web interface and navigate to [Settings -> All Settings -> High Availability Deployment Summary]. There you will be able to join the two servers into a single high availability cluster pool. The following short video walks through this process in under a minute.

For more detailed instructions on how to make your SAM 6.3 Beta highly availability, please see the beta draft documentation at the link below.

https://thwack.solarwinds.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadBody/188877-102-3-29717/HA_Beta.pdf

A few of you have asked for test failover scenarios for High Availability you can try using the beta. Below I outline a few that can be tested in Beta 1. There will be additional testing scenarios added once Beta 2 is made available.

Test #1 - Network Connectivity Failure

What to do: Unplug Network Cable or Disable Network Interface on the 'Active' member in the pool

What to Expect: Failover should occur within a minute or two of disconnecting the server from the network. The server which was previously in 'Standby' mode should now be 'Active'.

Note: Ensure you re-enable the network interface or reconnect the network cable before moving on to test #2.

Test #2 - Power Failure

What to do: Pull Power Plug or Forcibly Power Off The Virtual Machine of the 'Active' member in the pool.

Alternative Test Path: Crash Windows with the Blue Screen of Death

What to Expect: Failover should occur within a minute or two of powering off the server from the network. The server which was previously in 'Standby' mode should now be 'Active'.

Note: Be sure to power back on the server you shut down prior to moving on to test #3

Test #3 - Application Failure

What to do: Forcibly terminate critical Orion processes via Task Manager or Stop Orion Services on the 'Active' member in the pool.

What to Expect: Failover should occur within a minute or two of stopping Orion services or terminating a critical Orion process. The server which was previously in 'Standby' mode should now be 'Active'.

Test #4 - Force a Manual Failover

From the 'Orion Deployment Summary' located under [Settings -> All Settings -> High Availability Deployment Summary] select the Pool. From the right panel, click the 'Commands' drop down and select 'Force Failover'.

Test #5 - Catastrophic Database Failure

What to do: Power off, disconnect, or otherwise cause the database server to become inaccessible to both the primary and secondary servers in the HA pool.

What to Expect: When this occurs both members are in isolation mode, meaning neither can't communicate with one another or with the database. In this situation failover does not occur because neither member is better off than the other. Polling remains on the active member which queues its results until database connectivity is restored. The passive member remains in this state since it is neither able to communicate with the database or with the active pool member.

I would like to know what are disaster recovery site licenses. Is it another version of Failover Engine? Thanks

We have now recieved a few loss of private channel communications on a couple of our FoE pairs. I'm given SWREFID: 992 but have not found anything with this reference ID. Also the only other event happening at the time this occured was a NetFlowService unhandled exception: A transport-level error has occured when recieving results from the server. This service was terminated at the exact same time the channel was detected as missing. Could  NetFlow crashing take out a NIC just long enough for FoE to have this issue?

Wish to know if anyone has implemented SolarWinds Failover with Infoblox DNS before.

If yes, I appreciate if you could share some pointers.

We have a core server and 8 additional polling engines. The core server was cloned using vCenter and then FoE was installed following the WAN/DR method.

After the install the core server seems to be running fine. FoE manager shows all green and the website works fine.

One of my co-workers mentioned that they were having trouble adding a new node to one of the additional pollers. When I logged in I found the "Solarwinds Orion Module Engine" service was not running on that polling engine. I started it and it seemed ok but two minutes later the service was stopped again. I also noticed that the "Syslog" and "Trap" services keep stopping and starting. I have opened a ticket but thought I'd see if anyone had any suggestions.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

Hi All,

I've recently installed Orion Failover Engine v6.7.0 - Additional Polling Engine however when I attempt to start the PRIMARY and SECONDARY nodes the service starts to shut down after a minute. Several messages appear from the system tray as shown below. Can someone please help out?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Warning: The description for Event ID 5004 from source NFServerR2 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

NFServerR2: SolarWinds Failover Engine Alert: Application Warning.

This happened at Wed Jul 13 18:44:49 BST 2016 on the PRIMARY <ServerName> while Passive, not replicating. Further information if available: Possible target states conflict while adding service HTTP Service.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Warning: The description for Event ID 5004 from source NFServerR2 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

NFServerR2: SolarWinds Failover Engine Alert: Application Warning.

This happened at Wed Jul 13 18:44:49 BST 2016 on the PRIMARY <ServerName> while Passive, not replicating. Further information if available: Possible target states conflict while adding service Windows Process Activation Service.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Warning: The description for Event ID 5011 from source NFServerR2 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

NFServerR2: SolarWinds Failover Engine Alert: Handling Error.

This happened at Wed Jul 13 18:41:33 BST 2016 on the PRIMARY <ServerName> while Active. Further information if available: Responding to error: Invalid License - No license keys are available which authorize SolarWinds Failover Engine. Please add a valid license key using the Configure Server Wizard.  Please see SWREFID: 985 for more details. Error text: FailoverEngine license does not cover this install type. by : Shutdown Heartbeat on all servers in group without stopping applications

-----------------------------------------------------------

Information: The description for Event ID 5001 from source NFServerR2 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

NFServerR2: SolarWinds Failover Engine Alert: Starting Applications.

This happened at Wed Jul 13 18:41:32 BST 2016 on the PRIMARY <ServerName> while Active (applications unmonitored).

-----------------------------------------------------------

Error: The description for Event ID 5032 from source NFServerR2 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

NFServerR2: SolarWinds Failover Engine Alert: Invalid License.

This happened at Wed Jul 13 18:41:32 BST 2016 on the PRIMARY <ServerName> while Active (applications unmonitored). Further information if available: No license keys are available which authorize SolarWinds Failover Engine. Please add a valid license key using the Configure Server Wizard.  Please see SWREFID: 985 for more details. Error text: FailoverEngine license does not cover this install type.

After try to execute a Test to Switch-Over, this one took too much time to complete and finally fail… But after this fail, on both servers Primary and Secondary are transmitting packets to LAN trough Public NIC. Also When I try to run Fail-Over Engine Service a Popup Message appears with the Following Next:

But I have an a valid License on Solarwinds License Manager as you can see in the next screenshot

I notice the following conditions

I try to execute Configuration Server Wizard but is not the same Wizard that I use when I installed FoE, on this wizard appears option to Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Servers.

I have an open support case for this but I don't have an answer yet.

Someone with similar problem?

Gusavo.

We're plugging away at some improvements we have planned for FoE and would love to get a better understanding of the environment in which you're running FoE today. If you own SolarWinds Failover Engine, we would really appreciate it if you'd complete the following survey telling us a little about your Orion and FoE deployment. There's a total of 17 questions, all of which should be super simple and easy to answer. It shouldn't take much longer than 5 minutes from beginning to end and it's perfectly painless.This will help us build better products, which in turn means happier customers like you.

• SolarWinds Failover Engine Survey

Hello,

I have a NPM server and an additional poller engine.

If I understand correctly, I must have two FOE engines to protect both engines.

Is my assumption correct?

Daniele