Promote Stand-Alone EFT to HA node


THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:

  • EFT v8.0.5 and later

This procedure can only be performed on EFT v8.0.5 and later. If you are using a version prior to that, you must first upgrade to v8.0.5, then run the installer again with the Promote to HA cluster option selected, and follow the procedure below. Please read all steps before you begin.This procedure can only be performed on stand-alone EFT Enterprise v8.0.5 and later to create a new cluster. If you are using a version prior to that, you must first upgrade to v8.0.5, then run the installer again with the Promote to HA cluster option selected, then follow the steps below. You cannot promote a stand-alone server to an existing cluster. In that case, you would have to reinstall EFT on the stand-alone box as a active-active server, using instructions in Globalscape Knowledgebase article #11271, "Installing and Upgrading EFT in an Active-Active HA Cluster," and then point the new active-active server to the existing cluster configuration path.

Please read all steps before you begin.

Set up a load balancer according to the vendor’s documentation.

Make sure the node that you are installing on has access to a shared resource disk. Refer to KB #11337, "Creating a symbolic link to a network share for EFT shared config," and #11260, "Change the path to the shared configuration folder," if needed.

DISCUSSION

The procedure below describes how to promote a stand-alone EFT to an HA Cluster. You must have Server Administrator privileges on the computer to perform this procedure.

Steps

Run the EFT installer on the node that has access to the clustered (shared resource) disk. Follow the prompts and refer to "Installing the Server, Interface, and Modules" in the EFT help documentation, if necessary.

On the EFT <version> Detected page of the wizard, click Promote to HA cluster, then click Next.

 

A message appears asking you to confirm that you have read, understood, and followed the steps documented in the cluster documentation. Click Yes to continue.


A message appears stating that "the installer will need to enable some features of Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)." Click Yes. It can take several minutes for MSMQ to be enabled. (Refer to the EFT help documentation for important information about MSMQ/multicasting and HA.)

On the Choose Shared Settings Location page, specify the Shared configuration Data Path (external to your local physical drive), and then click Next. (EFT must have permission to access the shared location.) Installation will begin.

Click Next. On the final page of the installer, click Finish. (Do not start the service yet.)

In the EFT help, refer to "Allowing the EFT Server Service Administrative Rights." Edit the EFT server service property to set the service to login with Administrator privileges. (The default is "Local System Account." You need to specify an administrator account.)

By default, HA is configured for multicast. Edit the AdvancedProperties.json file to turn on point-to-point communication (msmq-iterative).  

Copy the secure certificates (SSL,SSH) to the shared configuration path.

Copy the InetPub folder structure to the shared configuration path.

Create the Logs folder in the shared configuration path.

Start the EFT server service and log in to the EFT administration interface.  

In the SSL Certificate Settings dialog box (Server > Site > Connection tab, SSL certificate settings > Configure), change the SSL Certificate and Private key paths to point to the shared configuration folder.

On the Server > Log tab, change the path to the shared configuration with %SERVER.NODE_NAME% appended to path (\haconfig\%SERVER.NODE_NAME%).

On the Server > Site > General tab, update the Site root folder path to the shared configuration folder.

For the second and subsequent nodes, perform a fresh Active-Active cluster installation, with each node pointing to the same shared configuration path