Best practice: Increase MetaDirectory availability and use DNS round robin

Video tutorial

Increase MetaDirectory availability (webinar recording)

Tech Essentials LIVE in May 2023 was about "How to increase MetaDirectory availability while ensuring load balancing?"

We recorded the Tech Essentials LIVE for you as a video:

Assignment

How can MetaDirectory availability be increased (redundant) while ensuring load balancing?

Expertise required

This guide is intended for experienced IT administrators with knowledge of Active Directory (AD Management) and DNS (Domain Name System) administration.

Implementation

Several MetaDirectory are installed on distributed servers and set up with identical replicators. The goal here should be that each installed MetaDirectory maintains the same data sets.

FQDN 

Create multiple entries on the DNS under the same host name or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), with reference to the IP addresses of the different servers running a MetaDirectory.

Example screenshot: DNS – Hostnames – IP addresses

When configuring the MetaDirectory connection in the UCServer admin, enter this FQDN and check the "Use in UCServer" and "Use in ProCall" boxes.

Example screenshot: UCServer administration – MetaDirectory connection – Enable usage for UCServer and ProCall

DNS round robin/Load balancing and availability

If the connection to a MetaDirectory server fails, the connection to the next reachable MetaDirectory server is established.

Note

It is not possible to influence which server receives the requests. This is controlled by the DNS service from Microsoft. It is also not possible to assign priorities.

Further information

High availability/failure safety and scalability

Best Practice: Using Active Directory replication with round-robin DNS for MetaDirectory or ProCall Enterprise