Brianna,  I am the client Corey is working with on this DR scenario.  We are using the Laserfiche Directory Server (Rio License Manager).  We are Rio 10 currently, but upgrading to Rio 10.1 this afternoon.

We replicate the Laserfiche server which houses our installation of LF10, WF10, Forms10, Web Access 10 and Social BPM  and our SQL server to our DR site in real time.

We will cut replication as of 8am day of the test and bring up the Laserfiche and SQL servers at the DR site.  Per the documentation in the above referenced Answers post, it looks like I need a separate license for my DR virtual. 

What I'm looking for is best practice for DR in the virtual environment.  Please advise.

Michelle

Whether or not you need a separate master license depends on how you want to approach your DR (e.g., how much down time is acceptable, what setup you have to work with). Note that applications which check back with the Directory Server have a grace period if they cannot reach the licensing database.

Here are some of your options for handling failure of your Directory Server machine without having a separate license:

1. Automatic failover using Windows Cluster: Directory Server 10 includes support for Windows failover clustering for the Directory Server machine, which allows a backup Directory Server machine in the cluster to be brought up and use the same master license without manual intervention.
2. Manual failover: Without clustering, if your Directory Server machine goes down, you would need to deactivate and then activate the master license on your backup machine. This is handled via command line, so it could potentially be automated. If your original machine is down for more than the grace period, or you're using SSO and need it available immediately, you would need to either redistribute licenses to your applications, or alias the new machine to the old machine's name. 

Regarding DR for other machines (e.g., Laserfiche Server):

Working in a Rio environment simplifies the matter, as Rio comes with unlimited installations of the Laserfiche Server and Web Access. You can simply register new instances with the Directory Server for your backup machines without affecting your production environment.

The one area you might have issues with rollover for these applications is if you are using Repository Users. If you're using Windows Authentication, you don't need to worry about this. Repository users are licensed per Laserfiche Repository, and these license are granted in batches to the Laserfiche Server. In the case of a rollover for the Laserfiche Server, you would need to go into Directory Server and remove the licenses from one machine and grant them to the other.

Brianna,

In our DR test we are keeping our production environment up and running WHILE executing a test failover to the DR replication of our Laserfiche Server including our LF Directory Server.

So my line of questioning is two-fold:  1.  To determine how to correctly license a virtual DR version of my Laserfiche environment.

                                                              2.  To determine how to keep my production licensing un-affected by any licensing changes in my DR Laserfiche environment

I believe you provided a response to #1 in your last post, but I still have questions in regards to licensing in my DR environment based on what you provided.  If I had to choose from the two options regarding our failover, we are closer to the manual option.  But if I deactivate and reactivate my master license in the DR environment, what will that do to my production environment that is still running since this is only a test?

You mentioned registering new instances of Laserfiche server and Web Access in the DR environment, but what about Workflow, Forms, and Mobile (LF Apps)?  These do not have unlimited options and I am concerned that any deactivation/reactivation will affect the production licensing similar to my concerns for the LF Directory Server.  Can you also advise regarding how to register these new instances of LF server and Workflow? 

Lastly, you mentioned an issue with Repository Users requiring that I remove the licenses from one machine and grant them to another.  I have one repository, so will I need to do this?

I'm having a hard time picturing your current setup. Do you have a separate license for your DR environment? Is your DR environment already running? Or are you looking to test bringing up the DR environment, but not able to schedule down time for the production environment?

Regarding the repository users: the number of repositories isn't what matters here. What matters is (1) if you've created and licensed any non-Windows users in the Admin console, and (2) if you're want to license both your production Laserfiche Server and backup Laserfiche Server from the same Directory Server database.

Brianna,

1. No we do not have a separate license for our DR environment.
   1. Our DR environment is a fully mirrored virtual version of our production environment that resides on a different physical host and therefore has a different hardware fingerprint.
2. Our DR environment is not currently live (supporting LF user traffic.
3. Yes we want to bring up the DR environment but not schedule down time for production.

Repository users

1. Yes I have two repository users one of whom is my Admin user
2. Can you clarify?  When you ask if I want prod and DR licensed from the same Directory Server database are you asking if I want both running at the same time?  If so, the answer is yes.  Otherwise, I'm not quite understanding what you are asking, please clarify.

Thank you.

Michelle

If you want to create a complete testing environment running at the same time as your production environment, including a backup Directory Server, you do need a separate master license. You can talk to your reseller (who can talk to the Regional Manager) regarding your options for that.

The other option I'm referring to is to have the machine in your DR environment, such as your Laserfiche Server machine, connected to your production Directory Server. To an extent, this introduces a single point of failure, which is why we have the "grace period".

What this means is that if your Directory Server goes down completely, products that check back for licensing (Laserfiche Server and Quick Fields) will still run for about 7 days, which should be enough time to get a working Directory Server in place.

If, for example, the Directory Server machine is completely dead but your SQL server is still working (or you have a backup!), you should be able to:

1.  Use the deactivation tool to deactivate your master license
2. Attach your SQL database to your new Directory Server machine
3. Reactivate your master license in that restored database when prompted
4. Add a DNS alias so that requests that reference the old machine get redirected to your new Directory Server.

As an alternative to 4, you can re-issue licenses to QF and LFS.

Brianna,  I did work with my VAR to get that separate master license to create a totally separate DR environment.  I still have to figure out how to apply the new temp master license, but I feel better knowing I'm not going to effect production licensing.

Regarding the other option, if my DR machine is not connected to my Directory Server, but is replicating it I should be able to follow the steps you provided to bring it back online?

Michelle

Regarding applying the temporary license:

To use a temporary license, you'll need to actually create a new licensing database. You cannot use the temporary license with the existing production database backup, because of something called the Site GUID.

If the Site GUIDs matched, then bringing up your DR system would bring down production, because you cannot have two systems running using the same master license. However, since the Site GUIDs don't match, you cannot use it on your existing database.

Once you've created a licensing database with your temporary license and licenses your DR environment machine from that database, you could run your tests as though that database is your production database.

It's hard to describe how to do DR testing for a specific system without knowing more details on the plan for DR. For example, in the case where a single machine, say your Laserfiche Server machine, goes down, what do you plan to do? Will you manually or automatically bring up a single machine to replace that machine? Or will you switch every machine over to your backup environment?

Regarding DR using the production license for your Directory Server machine:

If your production Directory Server machine goes down and you need to transfer your production SQL licensing database to another Directory Server machine, then yes, you would follow the steps I listed.

As mentioned above, you cannot restore the database that was created with your production master license using your temporary license.

Hi Brianna,

Since our discussion back in June a few things have changed. Michelle now has a complete set of DR licenses that have all the same components as her Production server.  

So, the updated question is, If they activate their DR licensing on their backup server, does it run parallel to their existing production licensing?  If so, then we are OK. 

Thanks for the continued help!

Looking at the licenses, they should be able to run in parallel.

Brianna,  is there a set of instructions on how we use the DR licenses to avoid the GUID mismatch that you referenced in your June 22 post?