Watchguard Professional Partner

WatchGuards High Availability option enables the installation of two fireboxes on one network in a failover configuration. At any given moment, one Firebox is in active mode while the other is in standby mode. The standby Firebox activates when the first Firebox goes offline. Once a Firebox becomes active, it stays active until it is taken offline and the other Firebox becomes primary again. Both Fireboxes in a High Availability installation must have identical configuration files.

In a High Availability configuration, the two Fireboxes take turns using a single IP address. One Firebox becomes the primary unit and assumes the IP address while the other becomes the standby. The primary/standby relationship is dynamic: The first Firebox to reboot becomes the primary Firebox. If they boot up simultaneously the two Fireboxes negotiate primary and standby status. When the primary Firebox first boots, it brings up the standby Firebox, which then runs without an IP address. If a Firebox detects another Firebox in active mode but detects no standby, that Firebox goes into standby mode. It brings up the network 2 WatchGuard LiveSecurity System standby interface and adds a route to the fail-over network. It then makes a connection to the primary event processor, starts the control channel, and monitors the active Firebox.

Rockford IT can help with the configuration of your firewalls if neccessary. For more information contact us.