Fiberme FCM630A User manual

FIBERME Communications LLC.
FCM630A Series IP PBX - High Availability User Guide

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................6
TYPICAL NETWORK TOPOLOGY.................................................................................. 7
HA PREREQUISITES....................................................................................................... 8
Prerequisites..................................................................................................................................................................8
Connecting FCM for HASetup....................................................................................................................................8
Network Configuration..................................................................................................................................................8
HA CONFIGURATIONS ................................................................................................... 10
HA CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS............................................................................ 15
VERIFY HA SETTINGS.................................................................................................... 21
ACTIVE/STANDBY ROLE IN HA..................................................................................... 22
Automatic Failure Detection............................................................................................................................22
Active FCM: Self-Failure Detection............................................................................................................................22
Standby FCM: Periodic Heartbeat...................................................................................................................23
Force Switch..................................................................................................................................................................23
FIRMWARE UPGRADE.................................................................................................... 24
REPLACING FCM IN HA.................................................................................................. 25
DISABLING HA SETUP ................................................................................................... 27
SERVICE STATUS........................................................................................................... 30
Active/Standby Status................................................................................................................................................30
Web UI Access for FCM..............................................................................................................................................30
FAILOVER DURING CALL .............................................................................................. 31
DATA SYNC ..................................................................................................................... 32
BACKUP AND RESTORE................................................................................................ 33
MAINTENANCE................................................................................................................ 34

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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Typical Network Topology ...........................................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Network Settings ..........................................................................................................................................6
Figure 3: HASettings on Primary FCM......................................................................................................................7
Figure 4: HA Settings on Secondary FCM ................................................................................................................8
Figure 5: HA Configured on Secondary FCM ...........................................................................................................9
Figure 6: HAStatus on Secondary FCM ...................................................................................................................9
Figure 7: HA Status for Active FCM............................................................................................................................13
Figure 8: HAStatus for Standby FCM........................................................................................................................13
Figure 9: Active and Standby FCM Failover..............................................................................................................14
Figure 10: Force Switch...............................................................................................................................................15
Figure 11: System Alert Events...................................................................................................................................20
Figure 12: HA Logs.......................................................................................................................................................20
Table of Tables
Table 1: HARelated Parameters.................................................................................................................................10

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INTRODUCTION
High Availability feature on FIBERME FCM630A provides enterprises a reliable solution for PBX
redundancy and failover support. In HA setup, there are two FCM with one FCM in “active” role and the
other in “standby” role. The two FCM must be the same model and use the same firmware version. The
data on the active FCM will be synchronized to the standby FCM in real-time mannerand the standby FCM
monitors active FCM’s running status regularly. When the active FCM runs into hardware or critical software
issues, the standby FCM will take over immediately and become the active server. HA feature supports
automatic call recovery for UDP point-to-point calls and conference calls, allowing enterprises to
communicate and collaborate without the hassle of service interruption.

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TYPICAL NETWORK TOPOLOGY
Figure 1: Typical NetworkTopology
The two FCM in High Availability setup must be deployed in the same location and connected directly to
each other via heartbeat port on each FCM. The primary FCM and secondary FCM can be connected to
each other via a straight-through Ethernet cable on the heartbeat port. For each FCM, connect its WAN or
LAN port to the uplink network device.

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HA PREREQUISITES
Prerequisites
The two FCM used for High Availability deployment must be the same model and use the same firmware
version to ensure proper sync-up on the configuration and data.
Connecting FCM for HA Setup
The two FCM in High Availability setup must be deployed in the same location and connected directly to
each other via heartbeat port on each FCM.
•Connect a straight-through Ethernet cable between the heartbeat port on the primary FCM and
secondary FCM.
•For each FCM, connect its WAN or LAN port to the uplink network device (such as a switch or router).
Network Configuration
Before enabling HighAvailability feature on the two FCM, the system admin must configure each FCM with
proper network settings.
Notes:
•The network “Method” on the FCM must be set to “Switch” or “Router”.
•The IPv4 address configured on the FCM must be static IP. It can be configured under FCM web
UI→Network Settings→Basic Settings.

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Figure 2: Network Settings

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HA CONFIGURATIONS
For two new FCM on factory default setting, system admin can choose to configure any of them for HAfirst.
However, if one of the FCM is already configured, up and running for PBX service, system admin should
configure this FCM as HAPrimary server and complete all HA settings on it first so it can act as active role.
Please refer to the steps below to configure HA on FCM:
1. Ensure both FCM have the same model and same firmware version. They have been connected
properly at the same location and configured with static IP.
2. Select one FCM to be the active device (FCM A). If both FCM are new on factory default settings,
select any of them as the active FCM. If one of the FCM is already configured and running, then
select this FCM as the active device.
3. Log in the active FCM (FCM A) web UI and go to System Settings→HA page. Enable HA and
configure FCM A as Primary station type. Please refer to HA related parameters in table 2 below
and complete other HArelated settings. Save the HAsettings on FCMAand reboot FCMA. Ensure
FCM A boots up normally.
Figure 3: HA Settings on Primary FCM

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4. Verify HA status on FCM A. Log in FCM A using its static IP and admin login information. On web
UI→System Settings→HApage, ensure HAfunction is enabled. HAstatus should display “Active”.
5. After ensuring FCM A’s HA status as active, configure FCM B as secondary FCM and complete
FCM B’s HA settings. Log in FCM B’s web UI and go to System Settings→HA page, enable HA
and set the station type as “Secondary”. Please refer to HA related parameters in table 2 below to
complete other HA related settings. Save the settings and reboot FCM B.
Figure 4: HA Settings on Secondary FCM
6. After FCM B boots up normally, log in FCM B’s web UI via its static IP address and admin login
information. Go to System Settings→HA page, ensure the HA function is enabled, “Switch” button
is grey and only HA peer IP / peer MAC address options are available for configuration. The HA
status should display as “Standby”.

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Figure 5: HA Configured on Secondary FCM
Figure 6: HA Status on Secondary FCM

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HA CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
Table 1: HA Related Parameters
Settings
Description
Value
Range
Default
Value
Notes
High Available
Enable
Enable or disable HA.
Yes/No
No
Force Switch
Force to switch the roles of
active FCM and standby
FCM.
NA
NA
Caution: Please do not use this
function unless necessary
(e.g.,it can be used during
firmware
upgrading).
HA Station
Type
Configure the HA station
type for the FCM.
Primary
Secondary
NA
In HAsetup, one FCM must be
primary and the other one
mustbe secondary.
HA Cluster IP
This is the IP address for
the active FCM in service.
NA
NA
This IP address is shared by
theprimary and secondary
FCM. The FCM in active status
providing PBX service will
always be using this IP address
regardless it’s the primary or
\secondary FCM. This IP
address can only be used for
the
active FCM.
HA Peer IP
This is the IP address of
the peer FCM in HAsetup.
NA
NA
This is the static IP address
ofthe peer FCM in HA setup
connected via heartbeat port.
HA Peer
MACAddress
This is the MAC address
of the peer FCM in HA
setup.
NA
NA
This is the MAC address of
thepeer FCM in HA setup
connected via heartbeat port.
Heartbeat Port
This is the port used for
communication between
the two FCM via heartbeat
port.
0 - 65535
9527
It is recommended to use
defaultport.

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Heartbeat
Timeout
Period (s)
This is the heartbeat
timeout period that active
and standby FCM will
check with each other for
the status (in seconds).
3 - 10
7
If the standby FCM detects the
active FCM disconnected, when
it reaches the timeout, failover
will be triggered and the standby
FCM will start taking over as
active FCM.
Software Fault
Switch
Enable failover upon
software failure
On/Off
Off
If enabled, when there is critical
software failure such as
deadlock or system crash
detected, it will trigger failover
from active FCM to standby
FCM. Otherwise, failover will not
happen.
Hardware
Fault Switch
Enable failover upon
hardware failure
On/Off
Off
If enabled, when there is
hardware failure, it will
trigger failover from active FCM
to standby FCM. Otherwise,
failover will not happen.
After enabling High Available feature, please configured the following parameters:
•Station Type (mandatory):
In HA setup, one FCM must be set as primary and the other one must be set as secondary. The two
FCM cannot be configured as the same type. Otherwise, HA function will not work properly. This
configuration is to ensure that there is always a FCM on active status and the other one on standby
status during negotiation which will automatically determine the active/standby server. When failure
condition happens, it is crucial that the failover mechanism does not end up with twoactive servers
negotiated.
The active FCM is the PBX providing service and it’s not always the primary server configured in HA.
The primary secondary station type is configured but any FCM in HA setup can be the active or
standby role when needed. For example, if FCM A is configured as primary station type and FCM B is
configured as secondary station type, at the beginning FCMAis in active role and FCM B is in standby
role. After failover happens, FCM A’s station type configuration is still primary but it’s now in standby
role and FCM B is in active role.

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•HA Cluster IP (mandatory):
This is the IP address for the FCM that provides PBX service in HA setup. This IP is always associated
with the FCM in active status. For example, when configuring IP phone to register to FCM, this is the
SIP server IP address to be configured on the IP phone. When configuring SIP peer trunk, this is the
SIP server IP address to be configured as peer trunk server IP. In HA setup, the static IP configured
for each FCM will not be used for PBX service directly. Normally the cluster IP address is in the same
subnet as the static IP address configured on the FCM.
•HA Peer IP (mandatory):
This is the static IP configured on the peer FCM in HA setup.
•Peer MAC Address (optional):
This is the MAC address of the peer FCM in HA setup.
•Heartbeat Port (mandatory):
This is the port used for communication between active and standby FCM for heartbeat negotiation. It
is recommended to use the default port number 9527.
•Heartbeat Timeout Period (mandatory):
This is the timeout period for heartbeat (in seconds). The standby FCM will check regularly whether
the active FCM is working normally. If the standby FCM detects that the active FCM has been
disconnected for this period, the standby FCM will consider the active FCM in faulty state and will then
automatically take over as active FCM.
•Software Fault Switch:
If enabled, when the active FCM experiences software failure such as system crash with core dump
generated, it will trigger failover automatically and the standby FCM will take over. If disabled, HA alert
events will be reported without failover.
•Hardware Fault Switch:
If enabled, when the active FCM has hardware, it will trigger failover automatically and the standby
FCM will take over. If disabled, HA alert events will be reported without failover.
•Force Switch:
This will force active and standby FCM to switch roles. It will trigger the standby FCM to take over and
switch the active FCM to standby role. This should be used only when necessary, such as firmware
upgrading or if active FCM cannot automatically trigger switchover.
After the above configurations, click on Save and follow the reboot prompt to reboot the device.
Note: HA configuration requires the FCM to reboot. Please reboot the FCM during non-service hour to
avoid service interruption.

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VERIFY HA SETTINGS
1. After configuring HAsettings on both FCM, log in the FCM web UI from each FCM’s static IP using
the active FCM’s login information and check HA status. Under HA status page, both FCM should
show HA Status as “Dual”. One of the FCM should show its role as “Active” and the other one
should show “Standby”. For “HA Full Backup Status”, it will show backup in progress during backup
and show as idle during the rest of the time.
Figure 7: HA Status for Active FCM
Figure 8: HA Status for Standby FCM
2. Log in the active FCM’s web UI and create new SIP extensions. Then log in the standby FCM’s
web UI to check whether the same extensions created on active FCM are synchronized here. If
there are already endpoints registered to FCM, both FCM should show the same extensions and
registration status. This indicates that the active FCM’s data has been synchronized to the standby
FCM.

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ACTIVE/STANDBY ROLE IN HA
Automatic Failure Detection
Figure 9: Active and Standby FCM Failover
Active FCM: Self-Failure Detection
The active FCM monitors and regularly checks whether there is any failure on itself. When there is failure
detected on itself, it will notify the standby FCM to take over as active server. Then the original active FCM
will reboot automatically and become the standby server. This scenario applies to active FCM which has
part of the function or specific service in faulty status, and it can still work partially without shutting down
the service completely.
For example, if the active server has a core dump generated for a core service, WAN/LAN port
disconnection, with this detection and notification mechanism, the standby FCM can take over immediately
without noticeable delay or service interruption.

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Standby FCM: Periodic Heartbeat
On HA mode, the standby FCM will check the active FCM’s status periodically by sending heartbeat
message to the active FCM. The heartbeat message is sent via the heartbeat port. If the active FCM is
under normal working condition, it will respond to the standby FCM after it receives heartbeat request from
the standby FCM. If the active FCM runs into faulty situation such as network chip becomes abnormal or
power adapter no longer works, it will stop responding heartbeat request. After the heartbeat period times
out, the standby FCM will consider the active FCM as faulty and start taking over as the active server.
The heartbeat timeout period determines how soon the standby FCM can detect active server’s failure and
switch over. By default, the heartbeat timeout period is 7 seconds. Users could modify the heartbeat timeout
period as preferred, and this will affect the detection/switchover sensitivity.
Force Switch
For the current active FCM, system admin can click on Force Switch “Switch” button on its web UI HA
settings page to force triggering the active/standby role change manually. This operation should be only
used during firmware upgrade or the active FCM encounters issue that requires force switchover to be
triggered manually.
Figure 10: Force Switch

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FIRMWARE UPGRADE
To ensure that there is no service interruption in HA setup, upgrading FCM requires user to follow below
steps strictly:
Step 1: Log in the web UI of the standby FCM (A), upload firmware via web UI and the standby FCM will
reboot. Wait for it to boot up.
Step 2: After the standby FCM (A) boots up, log in the web UI of the active FCM (B) and check the HAweb
page. “Force Switch” button on the FCM B’s HA web page will be available. Press it to manually trigger
switchover. After switchover, FCM A will become active and FCM B becomes standby.
Step 3: After switchover, log in FCM B and upload firmware to its web UI. FCM B will reboot and request
data from FCM A for full backup.
In short, when upgrading FCM in HA setup, the standby FCM needs to be upgraded first and becomes
active FCM. Then we can upgrade the standby FCM. This will ensure the active FCM is always working
and providing PBX functions, so there is no service interruption during upgrading or switchover.

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REPLACING FCM IN HA
Assuming 2 FCM (A and B) in HA setup, FCM A is in active status and FCM B is in standby status. FCM B
becomes defective and requires replacement. Please follow the stepsbelow to replace the defective FCM
B with FCM C:
1. Turn off the power for FCM B.
2. Modify FCM A’s HA settings by changing HA Peer MAC address from FCM B to FCM C’s MAC
address. Save and reboot FCM A.
3. After FCM Aboots up, log in FCM A web UI and confirm the HA status to be Active. Connect FCM C to
the HAsetup using appropriate cables for WAN port, heartbeat port, and etc.
4. After FCM C boots up, log in FCM C web UI and configure network settings to be the same asFCM
B. After configuration, FCM C has the same static IP as FCM B.
5. Log in FCM C’s web UI, enable HA, configure HAstation type and other HAsettings to be the sameas
FCM B. Save and reboot FCM C.
6. After FCM C boots up, check and verify the HAstatus. FCMAshould be active and FCM C should be
standby.
Note: HA configuration requires the FCM to reboot. Please reboot the FCM during non-service hour to
avoid service interruption.
DISABLING HA SETUP
If HA setup is no longer required for the FCM, log in the web UI using the active FCM’s IP or the cluster’s
IP and go to system settings→HA page to disable HA. Save and reboot the FCM. After both FCM boot up,
check the HA status and it should show HA as off.

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SERVICE STATUS
Active/Standby Status
After HA setup is completed, the PBX will provide service using the HA cluster IP. During initial stage,
standby FCM will request and synchronize up all data from the active FCM.
The standby FCM monitors and prepares to become active at any time when needed. Manual configuration
on standby FCM is restricted because it always synchronizes up data from active FCM. When the active
FCM has any hardware or critical software failure, the standby FCM will immediately take over and becomes
the active FCM. The previous active FCM will reboot and become the standby FCM. Calls duringthe role
switchover will be recovered after failover process completes.
Web UI Access for FCM
After HA setup is completed, the system admin can use the cluster IP address to log in the current active
FCM for configurations. The cluster IP address is always bind to the active FCM. For example, assuming
HTTP/HTTPS port is 8089, system admin can access FCM using URL https://cluster_IP:8089.
If the system admin logs in the standby FCM’s web UI by using the standby FCM IP and attempts to modify
configurations, it will not be allowed. The system will prompt that configuration is restricted on the standby
FCM.
Note: HA setup will synchronize up admin login information from the active FCM to the standby FCM.
Therefore, when system admin logs in the FCM web UI using the active FCM IP, standby FCM IP or the
cluster IP, the active FCM’s login information always needs to be used.

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FAILOVER DURING CALL
When the active server encounters failure, if there is ongoing call on the active server, the switchover
process will only cause a few seconds of audio cutoff and then it will be recovered automatically.
Notes:
•Currently, if the call is using UDP as transport method, the call can be recovered after
switchover.However, if the call is using TCP as transport method, the call cannot be
recovered after switchover.
•Point-to-point calls such as audio call or audio meeting can be recovered after switchover.
However,for calls using ring group, call queue and other call features and services, the call
will not be automatically recovered.
DATA SYNC
HAsetup provides data sync mechanism:
1. After FCM boots up, the standby FCM will send requests for all the data on active FCM and perform
data sync. Every time when the active FCM has configuration change, it will also synchronize up
the data to the standby FCM automatically and immediately.
2. Data sync is triggered in real-time manner. It not only synchronizes up configuration data, but also
extensions, voicemail, CDR, etc.
3. Every day at midnight, a full backup will be performed to ensure active and standby FCM always
have the same data on daily basis.
BACKUP AND RESTORE
For backup restore, the admin needs to log in the active FCM and restore the
FCM first. FCM devices will reboot automatically. Once the FCM finishes booting up, the standby FCM will
start synchronizing up data from the active FCM to restore the backup as well.