X2 pf sense boxes, x2 switches as 1 logical switch, how do I failover?
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I have come up with the following solution
Basically two pf sense boxes running carp/pfsync with a few VIPs.
connected to two HP4800E switches that run IRF.
IRF basically enables you to stack with switches in to one single L2 domain, so you no longer have to worry about things like STP ect. It also means you can aggregate links across the two devices.I was planning to use LACP, but LAGG isnt available till pfsense 2.0.
The problem i see is that, if one switch fails, and it fails over to the other, it will not be able to access the other switch, and putting another link in place would create a network loop, unless i used stp, but im not entirely sure about the function of STP with IRF, but thats for the HP forum.
Has anyone faced a similar problem, are there any suggested solutions?
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Interesting. I was thinking of the same thing. But i was just gonna let The Master PFsense connect to one switch with one cable, and the Slave Pfsense connect to the other switch.
Isn't carp set up such that if the connectivity of the LAN interface fails(i.ex switch failure), it will make the pfsense-slave take over? The you would just fix the switch, add it back to stack, and promote the original master again? That's how I thought i worked. But I'm asking more than telling you. I haven't bought my equipment for this project yet and ProCurve switches AND pfsense is totally new to me. hehe
Please let me know how this turns out for you. I'm interesting in hearing your experiences since this sounds similar to what i'm trying to do.