NW Server Host Secondary IP Configuration Management

The NW Server has a new attribute, secondary IP that facilitates automated failover and IP address change management.

Note: For clarification, this attribute is simply another metadata host attribute that is specific to the NW Server; it does NOT describe, nor is it related to, a secondary network interface on the NW Server.

In the failover use case, the active NW Server has a secondary IP value that matches the standby server IP address. This secondary IP value is known to the other NetWitness hosts, and when the primary NW Server fails to respond in a timely fashion due to an IP address change of the active NW Server, or when there is a scheduled failover to the NW standby server, the other NetWitness hosts and services are configured to automatically attempt to connect to the secondary IP address, which in this case is the NW standby server.

The secondary IP attribute is also used for NW Server IP address change and for the NW standby server. The NW Server IP address change procedures automatically populate the secondary IP address of the NW Server to the new IP address and propagate that information to the other NetWitness hosts and services. Then, similar to the failover use case when NW Server’s original IP address is no longer valid and the new IP address is active, the NetWitness hosts and services automatically switch to the new secondary IP address, which becomes the new NW Server IP address. If the NW standby server’s IP address is changed, the secondary IP attribute on the NW Server needs to be updated with the new NW standby server IP address.

The secondary IP attribute is managed primarily with automated processes, but there are use cases that require manual management of the NW Server host secondary IP attribute, such as an IP address change of the NW standby server or a one-time registration during an NW standby server upgrade.

The secondary IP is managed using the nw-manage script on the NW Server:

  • To add a secondary IP address to the NW Server host, run the following command:
    nw-manage --add-nws-secondary-ip --ipv4 <secondary ip address>

  • To remove a secondary IP address from the NW Server host, run the following command:
    nw-manage --remove-nws-secondary-ip --ipv4 <secondary ip address>

  • To view secondary IP addresses assigned to the NW Server host, run the following command:
    nw-manage --get-nws-secondary-ip

For information about changing IP addresses, see Change Host Network Configuration.

For information about failover procedures, see "Warm Standby NW Server Host" in the Deployment Guide for NetWitness Platform.