Re: PIX failover

From: David P. Maynard (dpm@flametree.com)
Date: Sat Feb 02 2002 - 19:49:53 EST


Rolands@lattelekom.lv said:
> Is it possible to do statefull failover with using only one Ethernet
> link between two PIXes? Is it mandatory to use serial (rs232) cable
> additional for that? If yes, is it possible to create "rsr232 link"
> extension over IP using let say 2509 async ports? We want to put our
> PIXes in different sites.

The failover cable is more than a straight serial connection. Some of the
pins are looped back on each end to let the PIX know something about its
failover partner. Other pins use whether or not there is a signal on the
line to indicate if the remote unit is powered, etc. You might be able to
jury-rig a cable, but you would likely "trick" the PIX into behaving badly
during a failure.

I would probably say that if your architecture makes you want to put your
PIXen at two different sites, then the architecture probably isn't well
suited for the PIX. Metro-Area Ethernet does introduce some interesting
failover opportunities, but I'm not sure if the PIX is quite ready to
handle that case yet.

-- 
 David P. Maynard, CTO
 OutServ.net, Inc. -- Managed IT Operations Solutions for Business [TM]
 EMail: dmaynard@outserv.net,  Tel: +1 512 977 8918,  Fax: +1 512 977 0986
--



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