Cisco PIX 500 Series Configuration Manual page 232

Understanding Failover
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When the replication starts, the security appliance console on the unit sending the configuration displays
the message "Beginning configuration replication: Sending to mate," and when it is complete, the
security appliance displays the message "End Configuration Replication to mate." During replication,
commands entered on the unit sending the configuration may not replicate properly to the peer unit, and
commands entered on the unit receiving the configuration may be overwritten by the configuration being
received. Avoid entering commands on either unit in the failover pair during the configuration
replication process. Depending upon the size of the configuration, replication can take from a few
seconds to several minutes.
On the unit receiving the configuration, the configuration exists only in running memory. To save the
configuration to Flash memory after synchronization enter the write memory all command in the system
execution space on the unit that has failover group 1 in the active state. The command is replicated to
the peer unit, which proceeds to write its configuration to Flash memory. Using the all keyword with this
command causes the system and all context configurations to be saved.
Note Startup configurations saved on external servers are accessible from either unit over the network and do
not need to be saved separately for each unit. Alternatively, you can copy the contexts configuration files
from the disk on the primary unit to an external server, and then copy them to disk on the secondary unit,
where they become available when the unit reloads.
Command Replication
After both units are running, commands are replicated from one unit to the other as follows:
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Note
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Failure to enter the commands on the appropriate unit for command replication to occur causes the
configurations to be out of synchronization. Those changes may be lost the next time the initial
configuration synchronization occurs.
The following commands are replicated to the standby unit:
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Cisco Security Appliance Command Line Configuration Guide
14-12
When both units boot simultaneously, the secondary unit obtains the running configuration from the
primary unit.
Commands entered within a security context are replicated from the unit on which the security
context appears in the active state to the peer unit.
A context is considered in the active state on a unit if the failover group to which it belongs is
in the active state on that unit.
Commands entered in the system execution space are replicated from the unit on which failover
group 1 is in the active state to the unit on which failover group 1 is in the standby state.
Commands entered in the admin context are replicated from the unit on which failover group 1 is in
the active state to the unit on which failover group 1 is in the standby state.
all configuration commands except for the mode, firewall, and failover lan unit commands
copy running-config startup-config
delete
mkdir
rename
rmdir
write memory
Chapter 14 Configuring Failover
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