As discussed earlier, once a High Availability cluster has been configured, two or more nodes run simultaneously and users connect to the “active” node. When an issue occurs on the active node, a “failover” condition occurs and the “standby” node becomes the new “active” node. When a failover occurs there must be a mechanism that either allows a client to detect the failover condition and to reconnect, or a seamless transfer of the user’s active client session to the active node.

A Virtual IP Address

Usually a “virtual” IP address is created when a cluster is configured and the client communicates with the active node using a virtual IP address. When a failover occurs, the virtual IP address is reassigned to the new active node and the client reconnects to the same virtual IP address.

As an example, let us assume that there are two nodes, A and B, with IP addresses of 10.20.1.10 and 10.20.2.10. In this example, we will define a virtual IP address of 10.20.0.10 which should be considered to be assigned to the current active node.

This is similar to assigning a second IP address to one network interface card on one node. If the command ip a is entered on the active node, both IP addresses will appear (as on lines 10 and 12 in this Linux example):

The ARP Protocol

When a client attempts to find a server using an IP address, the client typically uses ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) to find the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the target machine.

Once a client broadcasts a message to find the target IP address, the active node answers with its MAC address and the client resolves the request and connects to it.

ARP Alternatives for the Cloud Environment

In the cloud environment, however, it is not possible to identify the active node using ARP as many layers are abstracted in the virtual environment. An alternative method based on the network infrastructure in use in the specific cloud environment may be required. There are normally several options, and a selection should be made from the following list.

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