KB19493 - Steps to restore an Active/Passive cluster from a factory reset using the system and user configs from the same (or another) PCS device

We recommend the following steps to restore an Active/Passive cluster that has been factory reset to a working production configuration using the system and user configs exported from the same (or another) PCS device.

Need to restore an Active / Passive cluster after the cluster is factory reset.

 

Prerequisites

Note:  Device licenses are unique to each node and are stored in the system.cfg file along with the device certificates and network settings.  Since these will be deleted when the nodes are factory reset, you will either need  the system.cfg file from each node (if you are restoring the cluster to its own previous state) or the actual license keys (if you are restoring this cluster using a config from a different PCS) in order to reinstall the licenses.  The user.cfg contains all all other settings including the auth servers, realms, roles, and resource policies.  Since these settings are replicated across the cluster, you only need one user.cfg file exported from either node of an existing cluster.

• Serial console access
• The system.cfg and user.cfg files exported from the cluster whose configuration you wish to restore this cluster to. 

Steps:

To reinstall the certificates and licenses from the system.cfg that was exported from this node prior to the factory reset, go to Import/Export > Import/Export Configuration and select the following options:

• Under Options check the box to Import Device Certificates
• Under Import Other Options choose Import everything but the IP address (this will re-import the licenses)

To reinstall the device certificates only, import the system.cfg file with the following options selected:

• Under Options check the box to Import Device Certificates
• Under Import Other Options choose Import only Device Certificate(s)

(If applicable) Reinstall the licenses using the original license keys. This will enable all of the settings on the system.

 

If you imported a user.cfg containing one or more AD/NT authentication servers

1. Factory reset the cluster.
2. Connect to serial console connection and follow the prompts to enter the device’s network settings.
3. Upon completion of initial configuration, use a web browser to connect to the Central Manager as Admin.
4. Upgrade the PCS OS to the version that corresponds with the version of system.cfg and user.cfg files that you will import to restore the settings.
5. Import the system.cfg that has the master licenses which will be shared by the other node in the cluster.
6. Import the user.cfg.
7. Create a new cluster with the name of the cluster and node names from the previous configuration.
8. Add this device and the device that will be joining as cluster members.
9. Connect to the second node from its serial console port and repeat 2 - 4 to configure the device's network settings and upgrade it to the correct version.
10. Import the licenses and certificates from Step 5 using the system.cfg that was exported from this node prior to the Factory Reset.  (Note:  This node will be licensed with a single "clustering" license, allowing it to share the licenses from another node.  The name of the license begins with the letters "CL".)
11. From the Central Manager, join this node to the cluster.  This will overwrite the current configuration with the configuration of the master node so that the settings are synchronized.
12. From the Central Manager, verify that the cluster is functional from the Cluster Status page.  Each nodes should have a green status indicator next to  status shows a “green” status indicator with a status of "Leader” for one and “Enabled” for the other.
13. Navigate to the "Active Directory / Windows NT" auth server Advanced options and make the computer names unique.