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SONICWALL SONICOS ENHANCED 2.5 ADMINISTRATOR’S GUIDE
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Hardware Failover > Settings
Configuring Hardware Failover
The first task in setting up hardware failover after intial setup is configuring the Hardware
Failover>Settings page on the Primary SonicWALL security appliance. Once you configure
hardware failover on the Primary SonicWALL security appliance, you push out the settings to the
Backup SonicWALL security appliance.
To configure Hardware Failover on the Primary SonicWALL, perform the following steps:
1
Select the Hardware Failover>Settings page on the Primary SonicWALL.
2
In the Serial Number field under Backup SonicWALL, enter the Backup SonicWALLs Serial
number (this can be found on the back of the device).
3
Leave the Heartbeat Interval (seconds), Failover Trigger Level (missed heart beats) and
Election Delay Time (seconds) timers to their default settings. These timers can be tuned later
as necessary for your specific network environment. A description of these timers and their effects
are covered in an upcoming section.
4
Check the Enable Hardware Failover and the Enable Preempt Mode checkboxes. If everything
is configured and cabled correctly, the Primary SonicWALL automatically contacts the Backup
SonicWALL over the dedicated link and configures all necessary settings. The Backup
SonicWALL then reboots with its new settings and come back online in Idle mode.
5
Click the Apply button to save the changes.
Sychronize Settings
Once you’ve configured the hardware failover setting on the Primary SonicWALL security appliance,
click the Synchronize Settings button. You should see a HA Peer Firewall has been updated
message at the bottom of the Management Interface page. Also note that the Management Interface
displays Logged Into: Primary SonicWALL Status: (green ball) Active in the upper-right-hand
corner.
To verify that Primary and Backup SonicWALL security appliances are functioning correctly, wait a
few minutes, then power off the Primary SonicWALL device. The Backup SonicWALL security
appliance should quickly take over.
From your Management Workstation, test connectivity through the Backup SonicWALL by accessing
a site on the public Internet – note that the Backup SonicWALL, when active, assumes the complete
identity of the Primary, including its IP addresses and Ethernet MAC addresses.