IBM FileNet P8, Version 5.2.1            

Configuring directory server failover (Microsoft Active Directory)

You can configure directory server failover for Microsoft Active Directory by specifying a list of host:port pairs, by using domain names or multiple IP addresses, or by configuring virtual IP failover.

About this task

For a complete description of directory server failover options, see Failover Support (Active Directory).

Procedure

To configure directory server failover:

In the directory configuration Properties tab, select one of the following options and modify the Directory Server Host field as follows:
Option Description
Specify a failover list. Enter a list of host:port pairs in the appropriate property: the Host property is for a domain controller failover list, and the Global catalog host property is for a global catalog failover list. Separate the host name and port number pairs with a space character. Each pair must consist of a host name and port number, as follows:
Hostname1:Port1 Hostname2:Port2 Hostname3:Port3 ... HostnameN:PortN
The following failover configuration example uses host:port pairs:
Host
dc1:389 dc2:389 dc3:389 (for nonsecured connection)
dc1:636 dc2:636 dc3:636 (for SSL connection)
Port
Content Platform Engine ignores any value in this property.
Global catalog host
gc4:3268 gc5:3268 gc6:3268 (for nonsecured connection)
gc4:3269 gc5:3269 gc6:3269 (for SSL connection)
Global catalog port
Content Platform Engine ignores any value in this property.
Configure failover by specifying a DNS A record that represents multiple IP addresses.
  1. Create a DNS A record for each domain controller that you want to use for failover in your local site. For each DNS A record, the name must be the same but the domain controller IP address must be different. For failover to work, you must have at least two domain controllers.
  2. Enter the name for the DNS A record in the Host and Global catalog host fields.

    The following example shows how to configure failover by using multiple IP addresses. The example is based on the following assumptions:

    • You have at least two domain controllers for your Active Directory domain in your local site.
    • Global Catalog server is installed on each domain controller.
    • The IP addresses of the two domain controllers are 10.10.10.11 and 10.10.10.12.
    • The multiple-IP address host name is localAD.
    • You created the following A records in your DNS server:
      Name           Type            Data
      ==========================================
      localAD        Host (A)        10.10.10.11
      localAD        Host (A)        10.10.10.12
    In the administration console, you can set the following fields for this example:
    Host
    localAD
    Port
    389
    Global catalog host
    localAD
    Global catalog port
    3268

For more information about DNS A records, see the Microsoft DNS documentation.

Specify domain and global catalog names. Enter the domain and global catalog names for your environment:
Host
The Active Directory domain name
Port
389 (for nonsecured connection)
636 (for SSL connection)
Global catalog host
Enter a host:port pair list or a DNS A record name that represents multiple IP addresses.
Global catalog port
If you entered a host:port pair list for the Global catalog host property, Content Platform Engine ignores any value in this property.
If you entered a DNS A record name that represents multiple IP addresses, the value of this property can be either of the following values:
  • 3268 (for nonsecured connection)
  • 3269 (for SSL connection)

The following failover configuration example uses domain names.

Host
mydomain.com
Port
389
Global catalog host
gcAD.com

Where gcAD.com is a DNS A record name that represents multiple IP addresses of global catalog servers, as follows:

Name           Type            Data
==========================================
gcAD        Host (A)        10.10.10.11
gcAD        Host (A)        10.10.10.12
Global catalog port
3268
Specify a virtual IP. Enter the domain information for your environment.
Host
The virtual IP address or host name
Port
389 (for nonsecured connection) 636 (for SSL connection)

Failover configuration example that uses a domain name

Host
10.10.10.11 (a virtual IP address)
Port
389


Last updated: October 2015
aem_config_server_failover.htm

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