Siemens Siveillance cluster without shared storage on a SAN

How the Evidian SafeKit software simply implements a Siemens Siveillance high availability cluster without shared storage on a SAN?

A solution open to several applications

Several applications can be put in several virtual machines replicated and restarted by SafeKit. You have the possibility to migrate each virtual machine between both servers with the SafeKit console and thus balance the load in an active-active cluster.

Save costs with this solution

There is no need for complex VMware-type solution with three servers and shared storage on a SAN or vSAN. With SafeKit, you will have instead synchronous real-time replication and failover of several virtual machines between two servers.

And with the standard Hyper-V manager GUI, you will be able to manage very simply your virtual machines.

Note that you can implement with the SafeKit product real-time replication and failover of any file directory and service, database, complete Hyper-V or KVM virtual machines, Docker, Podman, K3S, Cloud applications (see all solutions).

About products under Siemens LMS licensing

• To avoid the broken Siemens license on failover, the dongle containing the Siemens key can be put in a USB over IP device (like DIGI AnywhereUSB).
• The dongle can also be put in an external PC with the LMS license server on the PC (for example the PC which manages the Siemens graphical interface).
• In recent versions of the Siemens licensing system, the license key can be put in the Trusted Platform Module of the VM (enable before TPM on the VM). Then, the license key will be replicated by SafeKit as well as all VM files.

How the SafeKit Hyper-V cluster works with replication and failover of Siemens Siveillance?

The following steps are described for one virtual machine containing Siemens Siveillance inside one mirror module. Each replicated virtual machine runs in an independent mirror module (with a maximum of 32 virtual machines) with a primary server that can be either the Hyper-V server 1 or the Hyper-V server 2.

Step 1. Real-time replication

Server 1 (PRIM) runs the VM (virtual machine) containing Siemens Siveillance. SafeKit replicates in real time the VM files (virtual hard disk, VM configuration). Only changes made in the files are replicated across the network.

The replication is synchronous with no data loss on failure contrary to asynchronous replication.

You just have to configure the VM directory name in SafeKit. There are no pre-requisites on disk organization. The directory may be located in the system disk.

Step 2. Automatic failover

When Server 1 fails, Server 2 takes over. SafeKit restarts the VM containing Siemens Siveillance on Server 2. Hyper-V finds the files replicated by SafeKit uptodate on Server 2. 

The VM continues to run on Server 2 by locally modifying its files that are no longer replicated to Server 1.

The failover time is equal to the fault-detection time (set to 30 seconds by default) plus the VM reboot time. 

Step 3. Automatic failback

Failback involves restarting Server 1 after fixing the problem that caused it to fail. SafeKit automatically resynchronizes the VM files.

Failback takes place without disturbing the VM containing Siemens Siveillance, which can continue running on Server 2.

Step 4. Back to normal

After reintegration, the VM files are once again in mirror mode, as in step 1. The system is back in high-availability mode, with the VM containing Siemens Siveillance running on Server 2 and SafeKit replicating file updates to Server 1.

If the administrator wishes the VM to run on Server 1, he/she can execute a "swap" command either manually at an appropriate time, or automatically through configuration.

More information on power outage and network isolation in a cluster.

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