Skip to main content
darrencarr
New Member
October 18, 2010
Question

HA status of cluster after upgrade

  • October 18, 2010
  • 9 replies
  • 5643 views
Hi All, I have a question. I am working on my test lab in preparation for a system upgrade. In my test lab I have 2 x Fortigate 60B' s, configured in a HA cluster. I am looking at applying patch MR1 Patch 8 to MR1 Patch 4. My procedure is as follows: - connect to to the console of the cluster - apply the patch - from the console monitor the upgrade as it is taking place (CLI) When I do this I obviously see the firmware being upgraded on the Master, then the Slave. Throughout the upgrade I see messages stating ' slave is out of sync with master' and then eventually ' slave synced successfully with master' . I then leave it a while and then the messages appear again ' slave is out of sync with master' and then ' slave is synced with master' . My question is when do you know that the slave has completely synced with the master? I thought after seeing the first successful ' synced with master' that that was it. However it happens again. Can anyone please explain? Thanks Darren

    9 replies

    ede_pfau
    SuperUser
    SuperUser
    October 19, 2010
    Hi, when upgrading a cluster of 2 units, and if there is no override parameter set, first the slave unit is upgraded by the master unit and reboots. Then the cluster fails over, the slave becomes master and the former master unit is upgraded and reboots. Hence the 2 identical messages. I just wonder: without override set, the old master would then remain the slave unit. That is, when upgrading a cluster you exchange the units' roles. I' ll have a close look next time as I haven' t noticed this consciously yet. (anyway, who cares...)
    darrencarr
    New Member
    October 19, 2010
    Hi, Thanks for the response. How do you know when the Master/Slave are in complete sync though? Are you able to compare two values that show the units are now idenitical (fully sync' d)? Thanks, Darren
    billp
    New Member
    October 19, 2010
    Darren, Below is my experience with a 111C HA cluster. With my HA setup, I can tell when the sync is complete by logging into the Fortigate and looking at the Config tab. If it shows two Fortigates, then I can assume the sync is complete. For further insurance, I click on the View HA Statistics link. During the reboot, my HA slave and master reverse rolls. I will usually do a second reboot to put back the natural order of the slave/master units. This also gives me a chance to verify that the firmware installed properly by viewing the Status page for each unit in the cluster before/after the second reboot. In one instance, the slave unit failed to upgrade properly, and I had to reinstall the firmware.
    darrencarr
    New Member
    October 19, 2010
    Hi Bill, Thanks for the information. I was hoping to see something that allowed you to compare two values (in the CLI) that would allow you to easily distinguish if the devices were in sync (same number) using ' get sys ha status' this would be good :) Last time when I did the upgrade, I saw the two units in the command tab, and also checked the HA stats, even after this I got a couple of messages :) I' ll give it another go in my test lab and see. Thanks again Darren
    ede_pfau
    SuperUser
    SuperUser
    October 20, 2010
    @billp: you might enable " Override" in the HA config of your primary HA unit with the benefit of running the cluster upgrade automatically. With override enabled the unit will always be the master unit, even after temporarily being the slave. You can always check its status from GUI or CLI, be it primary or secondary. Fortinet removed the default setting of override enabled some time ago because customers wanted to have the fewest interruptions possible when upgrading.
    ede_pfau
    SuperUser
    SuperUser
    October 20, 2010
    that allowed you to compare two values (in the CLI) that would allow you to easily distinguish if the devices were in sync
    from the HA Guide: " Comparing checksums of cluster units You can use the
    diagnose sys ha showcsum
    command to compare the configuration checksums of all cluster units. The output of this command shows checksums labelled global and all as well as checksums for each of the VDOMs including the root VDOM. The primary unit and subordinate unit checksums should be the same. If they are not you can use the
    execute ha synchronize
    command to force a synchronization." Usually you compare the " all" checksum.
    billp
    New Member
    October 20, 2010
    Ede, Thanks for the tips. Appreciate it!
    darrencarr
    New Member
    October 21, 2010
    Yeah thanks Ede
    ede_pfau
    SuperUser
    SuperUser
    October 21, 2010
    hey, it' s always fun to share with friends!
    Thought Leadership Security Summit. Outpace New Threats with AI - enhanced defense. Tuesday, Septmeber 15, 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM PT. The Golf Club at Newcastle, WA.
    Fortinet Flag the Hack. Wednesday, August 26, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET, COSM, Atlanta, GA.
    Virtual event | September 2026. SASE summit. The age of autonomous trust. Register here!