Configure standby server in M365 Manager Plus for high availability

M365 Manager Plus helps administrators maintain high availability for a server in case of failure of the primary server. It achieves this by employing a high availability architecture which designates a backup server to ensure an agreed level of operational performance for a higher than normal period.

• Same database is used for both the servers and at any given time, a single server will cater to user requests and the other will be inactive till the primary server is down.
• Whenever the primary server encounters an unplanned downtime, the standby server becomes operational and takes control.

Prerequisites

Ensure that:

• The MSSQL server being used is version 2005 or higher.
• Both instances of M365 Manager Plus are:
  • Installed and running as a service.
  • Of the same build architecture, version, and build number.
  • Connected to the same domain, and network.

Note: If your IP range is 172.21.9.x, then the primary server, standby server, and the virtual IP should also lie in the same IP range i.e. 172.21.9.x.

Steps to enable high availability

• Go to Admin tab.
• Select General Settings → Connection in the left pane.
• Select the High Availability option found in the top right corner of the page.
• Primary Server:
  • In this section, the Primary Server URL will contain the URL of the primary server on which the product is installed.
• Standby Server:
  • Enter the URL of the secondary server in the Standby Server Name/IP field.
  • Enter the super admin credentials of the standby server in Admin Username/Password fields.
• Virtual IP:
  • Enter a single IP to access both the primary and standby servers.

    Note: A virtual IP address is an unused static IP address.To find an unused static IP, open command prompt and try pinging an IP in static IP address range. If you get "Request timed out" message, the IP is unused and can be used as the virtual IP.

  • Virtual Host Name: A virtual host name is the alias given to the virtual IP. Enter a name to access both primary and standby servers.
  • Click Save
• Restart the product for the configuration to take effect.