Avaya Local Survivable Processor for S8300 Media
Server and S8700 Media Server - Issue 1.1
Abstract
This document presents a discussion about the Avaya S8300 Media Server configured as a Local
Survivable Processor (LSP). This discussion is intended to describe how the LSP provides the added layer
of survivability and how to design a network to take full advantage of the LSPs capabilities.
1. Introduction
Communication is the life-blood of any company, and ensuring that
communications will be available at any time is critical. This is increasingly difficult to
provide in the changing environment from pure voice networks to a converged data and
voice network. Avaya offers a strong line of products to assist in creating the most robust
network possible. This includes the Avaya S8700 Media Server and the Avaya S8300
Media Server. The S8700 Media Server runs in duplex mode with a standby server ready
to take control with no loss of communication. The duplicated S8700 Media Server
protects against a server failure. However, increasingly large distances between
headquarters and remote branch offices increases the chance of a network outage causing
loss of communications. This is why Avaya offers the Local Survivable Processor (LSP).
The LSP is designed to cover for the primary gatekeeper (call controller) for short periods
of time for a subset of the network.
This document is intended to describe how the LSP provides the added layer of
survivability and how to design a network to take full advantage of the LSPs
capabilities.
2. Overview
The Avaya MultiVantage Local Survivable Processor (LSP) utilizes the
Avaya S8300 Media Server hardware and software components and requires a software
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license to activate the LSP feature. This software license allows the S8300 Media Server
to be a survivable call-processing server for remote/branch customer locations, as well as
a redundant gatekeeper for a standalone S8300 Media Server.
In the event that the communication link is broken between remote Avaya G700
Media Gateways and the primary gatekeeper (either an Avaya S8300 Server or an Avaya
S8700 Server), the LSP will provide service for the Avaya IP Telephones and G700
Media Gateways that were controlled by the primary gatekeeper. A large enterprise
customer may have a primary gatekeeper controlling multiple remote G700 Media
Gateways configured with LSPs.
The strategy by which Avaya G700 Gateways and IP endpoints change control
from the primary to the LSP is driven by the endpoints themselves, using a list of
gatekeepers. During initialization, each IP endpoint and G700 Gateway receives a list of
gatekeepers. The IP endpoints ask each gatekeeper in the list for service until one
responds with a positive reply. If the link to that gatekeeper fails at some later time, the
endpoint will try to receive service from the other gatekeepers in the list, including the
LSP. The LSP will provide service to all G700s and IP endpoints that register with it.
When the primary gatekeeper is prepared to provide service, the LSP will be reset. This
will inform the IP endpoints to try their gatekeeper list again, and return to the primary
gatekeeper for service.
The LSP provides redundancy in a variety of configurations and can be located
anywhere in a network of G700 Gateways.
The LSP does not currently provide support for traditional port networks and it is
not intended to provide reliability for an entire large network. The size of the processor
and the IP network constraints dictate that an LSP serve only a subset of the network,
such as a remote geographic location with a small or mid-sized office.
3. Definitions
CLAN : Control LAN, the TN799 circuit pack
DHCP : Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
MGP : Media Gateway Processor
SAT : System Access Terminal
SNMP : Simple Network Management Protocol
4. Configurations
The LSP can be the survivable processor for an Avaya S8700 Server or Avaya
S8300 Server that is controlling IP telephones and Avaya G700 Gateways. The LSP can
control a number of G700 Gateways and a subset of the total number of IP telephones.
The diagram below shows LSPs in both a branch office and a mid-size office.
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PSTN
Branch
Office
(1) S8300 (LSP)
(2) DCP MM
(1) E1/T1 MM
Edge Access w/
Firewall
(Router)
S8700 Media
Server
LAN
Edge Access w/
Firewall
(Router)
VPN
DCP
Phones
VPN
MultiService
WAN
ATM / IP
LAN
VPN
IP
Phones
Edge Access w/
Firewall
(Router)
Mid Office
LAN
IP
Phones
Analog
Phones
Fax
AvayaP330
PSTN
P330
Octaplane
Survivable
G700
(1) S8300 (LSP)
(1) E1/T1 MM
(2) Analog MM
Figure 1: Examples of various locations of LSPs within a network
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5. Administration
The LSP must be administered to know where the primary gatekeeper is so that a
registration and heartbeat will occur between the LSP and the primary gatekeeper. This
administration on the LSP is done during the configuration stage through the configure
server web page.
Starting with Avaya MultiVantage Software Release 1.2 (Planned, 2002 release),
the primary gatekeeper will also be administered to know about each of the LSPs. This
added feature will provide security against a registration from a false LSP that would then
impair the remaining LSPs. Additionally, as LSPs become available for translation
transfers, the primary gatekeepers SAT will show this information.
6. Translations
The primary gatekeeper sends a complete copy of the Media Server translations to
the LSP. Once the LSP has contacted the primary gatekeeper, the primary gatekeeper
saves the location of the LSP and records that it is ready for translations to be transferred.
Then, when a save translations command is run (either manually or through the scheduled
maintenance), a file transfer occurs to each of the LSPs that are in the primary
gatekeepers list. Once the transfer has completed to the LSP, a reset of Avaya
MultiVantage software is issued on each LSP in order for the LSP to read in all changes
made to translations.
The translation transfer will only happen from the primary gatekeeper to the
LSPs. Because there may be multiple LSPs in a system, translations are not transferred
back to the primary gatekeeper to maintain the integrity of the translations. The LSP
supports administration changes, allowing for a flexible emergency system, but those
changes cannot be saved on the LSP.
7. Preparing for transition to an LSP
The LSP will serve any registering endpoints in the event of a network failure or
when the primary gatekeeper is unable to provide service. The transition sequence is
driven by the endpoints; in order for a transition to happen properly in either case, the IP
telephones and Avaya G700 Gateways must be administered to know where the LSP
resides.
7.1 IP Telephones
The IP telephones perform a DHCP discovery sequence to obtain their own IP
addresses during initialization. During this dialog with the DHCP server, the IP
telephones obtain a list of the call server addresses that includes LSPs. It is
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recommended that each LSP serve all the telephones within a subnet or a group of
subnets and the DHCP server should have each subnet administered with its own LSP in
the list of call server addresses.
Since the list of call server addresses is searched sequentially, any CLAN desired
for registration is listed first, followed by the LSP that is serving that subnet. When the
telephone registers with a CLAN, the telephone and the Avaya MultiVantage software
exchange a series of messages. From these messages, the telephones are load-balanced
across CLANs in network regions. The telephone is also given a list of alternate CLANs
within its network region that can be used in the case of a loss of communication later.
7.2 Avaya G700 Gateways
Avaya G700 Gateways must be administered manually through the command line
interface (CLI) of the media gateway processor (MGP). The media gateway controller
(MGC) list holds up to four (4) IP addresses. This list must be carefully configured since
it is the only list the G700 uses for recovery. There are several attributes associated with
this list that determine the behavior of the G700 Gateway during a recovery situation.
7.2.1 Transition Point
This point determines how many IP addresses the Avaya G700 Gateway attempts
to register with in a given period of time before continuing to the remaining IP addresses.
If the transition point is two, the first two IP addresses are attempted for the duration of
the primary search time then the other two addresses are tried once each. The search
then begins again with the first two addresses and the cycle continues. For systems that
have a need to fail over to the LSP and have service resume quickly, the transition point
should include the LSP. If the need is to give the primary gatekeeper the maximum
amount of time to regain control, the LSP should follow the transition point.
7.2.2 Primary Search Time
This defines the amount of time the Avaya G700 Gateway will search the
addresses that are included in the transition point. When the G700 Gateway is searching
the addresses in the primary portion of the list, it tries each address once and continues
down the list. When it hits the transition point, it starts again at the beginning. Once the
primary search time expires, the G700 Gateway continues past the transition point and
tries the remaining addresses once each before returning to the top and starting the
process over again.
7.2.3 Total Search Time
This time defines how long the Avaya G700 Gateway will search its list before
performing a hard reset of the MGP and restarting the search process.
The following examples use the same primary and total search times, and are used
to illustrate the effect of changing the transition point on the overall recovery time.
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Example 1:
Primary search time: 1 minute
Transition point: 1
Total search time: 30 minutes
1
CLAN1
**Transition point**
2
LSP
Example 1 shows one CLAN above the transition point and the LSP after the
transition point. If the Avaya G700 Gateway is registered to CLAN1 when there is a
network outage between the G700 Gateway and the primary gatekeeper, the G700 will
attempt to register with the LSP.
Once the Avaya G700 Gateway is able to reach the LSP, the MGP will reset and
begin the search at the top of the list once again. At this point, the G700 Gateway will try
the first address for the primary search time and then the G700 will register with the LSP.
If the Avaya G700 Gateway is unable to reach the LSP, the primary search time
will be reset and the G700 Gateway will start its search at the top of the list, starting the
process over again. If the G700 is unable to reach a gatekeeper for the total search time,
the MGP will reset and start the search process from the beginning.
Example 2:
Primary search time: 1 minute
Transition point: 2
Total search time: 30 minutes
1
CLAN1
2
CLAN2
**Transition point**
3
LSP
Example 2 shows two CLANs above the transition point and the LSP after the
transition point. If the Avaya G700 Gateway is registered to CLAN1 when there is a
network outage between the G700 Gateway and the primary gatekeeper, the G700 will
attempt to register with CLAN2, then start at the top of the list and rotate between
CLAN1 and CLAN2 for the primary search time of one minute. Once that time has been
exhausted, the G700 will then cross the transition point to attempt to register with the
LSP.
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If the Avaya G700 Gateway is able to reach the LSP, the MGP will reset and
begin the search at the top of the list once again. At this point, the first two addresses
will be tried for the primary search time, after which the G700 Gateway will register with
the LSP.
If the G700 is unable to reach the LSP, the primary search time will be reset and
G700 will start its search at the top of the list, starting the process over again. If the
G700 is unable to reach a gatekeeper for the total search time, the MGP will reset and
start the search process from the beginning.
Example 3:
Primary search time: 1 minute
Transition point: 2
Total search time: 30 minutes
1 CLAN 1
2 LSP
**Transition point**
Example 3 shows both the CLAN and the LSP above the transition point. If the
Avaya G700 Gateway is registered to CLAN1 when there is a network outage between
the G700 and the primary gatekeeper, the G700 Gateway will attempt to register with the
LSP, then start at the top of the list and rotate between CLAN1 and the LSP for one
minute. In this case, there are no addresses below the transition point, so the primary
search time will be reset and the G700 will continue to attempt to register with CLAN1
and the LSP in the same rotating fashion.
8. Transition to the LSP
8.1 Avaya G700 Gateway
The transition to the LSP is an automatic process. When an endpoint determines
that it can no longer communicate with the primary gatekeeper, it searches its list of
gatekeeper candidates until it finds one that responds to the registration request and
allows the endpoint to register.
The Avaya G700 Gateway will determine that it does not have connectivity with
the primary gatekeeper then search for the next available gatekeeper. Once contact can
be made with a new gatekeeper, the MGP reboots in order to synchronize the call states
on the G700 Gateway with the call states on the new gatekeeper. Any calls that are up at
the time of the failure will remain up until the G700 finds a new gatekeeper and resets the
call states. When the G700 is in this state, no features can be used, nor can new calls be
made until the G700 is re-registered with a gatekeeper.
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The amount of time an Avaya G700 Gateway takes to transition over to the LSP
varies based on where the failure happened, the transition point and primary search time,
and where LSPs are administered in the G700 Gateway gatekeeper list.
Avaya G700 Gateways send a keep alive message once every 20 seconds. If the
failure occurs in the network, and the G700 Gateway does not receive a response to three
keep-alive messages in a row, it will then enter into recovery mode and begin the search
for a new gatekeeper. This takes a maximum of 80 seconds. If the failure occurs at the
CLAN or the primary gatekeeper, the communication link is closed and the G700 is
alerted to this closure immediately.
The next stage of a failover is the search time to find a new gatekeeper. The
Avaya G700 Gateway will try to register with the next IP address in the list first. If the
LSP is second in the list, even if it is across the transition point, it will be contacted
immediately. If there are other CLANs in the list before the LSP, the G700 Gateway will
attempt to contact them before attempting to contact the LSP. If there are multiple
addresses in the transition portion of the list, then the primary search time will be in
effect immediately; however, if there is only one address in the transition section or the
current gatekeeper is the last address in that section, the search will begin outside the
transition section and the primary search time will not begin until the search wraps
around to the beginning of the list. Thus this time is quite variable and depends upon
many factors. The best-case scenario is 20 seconds.
Once the Avaya G700 Gateway makes contact with a gatekeeper, the MGP then
undergoes a reboot, which takes 40 seconds. This reboot is necessary to put the call
states on the G700 Gateway in synch with the call states on the new gatekeeper.
Following the reboot, the search starts again at the beginning of the list. This allows the
G700 the best chance to be registered with the primary gatekeeper, especially after a
short network outage when the primary gatekeeper is still able to provide service and the
link between the G700 and the primary gatekeeper has been restored.
Using the defaults of one-minute primary search time, a transition point of one,
and one CLAN and one LSP with a network failure, here are the times involved in the
Avaya G700 Gateway failover to an LSP:
Keep-alive failure
: 60 seconds
(first) Search time
: 20 seconds
MGP reboot
: 40 seconds
(second) Search time : 120 seconds
reconnect to LSP
: 20 seconds
Until the Avaya G700 Gateway reaches a second gatekeeper, all calls in progress
will remain up, but without access to features. Any call that is attempted when the
gateway is in its recovery stage will receive no dial tone until the G700 Gateway reregisters with a gatekeeper and is receiving call processing again. After the G700 reaches
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a second gatekeeper, the MGP resets and any DCP, analog, or trunked calls in progress at
this time are torn down.
8.2 IP Telephone
Any IP-direct calls will stay up until both parties hang up, but will have no access
to any features until a new call is originated. The telephone will enter into recovery
mode when the users hang up.
Once the primary gatekeeper is ready to serve the endpoints being served by the
LSP, the LSP must undergo a manual reset, and the endpoints will re-register with the
primary gatekeeper once again.
9. Communication
Any LSP that controls an Avaya G700 Gateway with a trunk, either to the PSTN
or to other gatekeepers, will have access to that trunk. This is important because once
LSPs are giving service to G700 Gateways and IP telephones, each LSP is its own switch
and has no communication paths to other LSPs. Thus, a DCP phone on LSP1 can call a
DCP phone on LSP2 through PSTN trunks maintained in each LSP. The same rule
applies for IP telephones registered to different LSPs; no direct calls can be placed.
10. License modes
While the LSP is not controlling any endpoints, it is running in license normal
mode. In license normal mode, the LSP is prepared at all times to provide service when
called upon. Once an Avaya G700 Gateway registers with an LSP, that LSP enters into
license error mode, which allows for six days of call processing. This six-day timer is
intended to allow the user to fix the problem that caused the failover in a timely manner.
Once the six days have passed, the LSP enters into no license mode, and will not allow
call processing.
When the problem has been fixed, the LSP must be manually reset and all
endpoints will register with the primary gatekeeper. After the reset and no subsequent
registrations occur, the LSP will once again enter license normal mode. At this time, the
license timer will be reset and the LSP will be ready for six days of service in the event of
another failure.
11. Alarming
The LSP will raise several alarms to alert services that the LSP is in service and
that there is a problem either in the network or with the primary gatekeeper. These
alarms will be sent out through a modem or through SNMP over the Internet, depending
on how the LSP has been administered during installation. While the LSP is running as
either a non-active gatekeeper or as an active gatekeeper, any problems discovered
through normal maintenance checks will also be alarmed.
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Each LSP sends keep alive messages to the primary gatekeeper, continuing
communications with the primary gatekeeper as part of the translation transfer
mechanism. If the LSP sends three keep alive messages and receives no response, it will
raise an alarm to indicate that it is unable to reach its primary gatekeeper. This alarm
appears in display alarms as an ICC alarm and shows the time the alarm was raised.
The host G700 Gateway must be administered with an S8300 Server in the add media
gateway form before this alarm will be displayed and will appear three minutes after the
first time the LSP does not receive a response.
When the LSP receives its first registration from a G700 Gateway and enters
license error mode, the LSP will raise an alarm indicating that it is in license error mode.
This alarm appears in display alarms as LIC-ERR, and shows the time that the LSP
entered license error mode.
When the G700 Gateway registers with the LSP, the LSP will raise an alarm that
the H248 link is up. At the same time, the primary gatekeeper will raise the converse
alarm that the H.248 link is down to that G700 Gateway. This alarm should aid in
finding the location of a network failure, as well as determining where endpoints are
registered.
Each IP telephone registration will generate a warning on the LSP. Since
warnings are not called out, this warning will only be seen when it is actively looked for
and is only intended to assist in finding where each endpoint has registered. In addition
to following the warnings to find which IP telephones are registered to the LSP, the
command list registered will display a list of extensions that are currently registered.
12. Transition Back to the Primary Gatekeeper
The return of service to the primary gatekeeper requires manual intervention. The
LSP must undergo a reset system 4, which will close all communication links with the
LSP, forcing all endpoints to reregister with the primary gatekeeper. This time to
transition is again dependent upon the ordering and administration of alternate gatekeeper
lists, but the initial discovery that the connection has been broken is immediate. Both IP
endpoints and G700 Gateways will discover right away that the link is no longer usable
and begin the search for another gatekeeper.
Since the return to the primary gatekeeper is not call preserving, it is
recommended that this outage be planned and only done when service will be the least
affected.
13. Upgrades and License Files
The same Avaya MultiVantage software version that is running on the primary
gatekeeper must be running on the LSPs to ensure that the system translations will work
on the LSP after the translations are transferred to the LSP. This requirement is enforced
through the transfer mechanism, which will not run between a primary gatekeeper and an
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LSP that do not have the same Avaya MultiVantage software. LSPs should be
upgraded first, and Avaya MultiVantage on the LSPs should be left out of service while
the software upgrade is being completed on the primary gatekeeper. The LSP Avaya
MultiVantage software upgrade is a manual process and requires that each LSP be
upgraded individually.
The license file turns on the LSP feature bit and activates the LSP. The license
file for the Avaya S8300 Gateway, as a survivable processor or as a standalone, keys off
of the serial number of the hosting Avaya G700 Gateway. Therefore, each LSP requires
its own license file to be loaded. This license must match or exceed the primary
gatekeepers in capacity limits in order to allow the primary gatekeepers translations to
load on the LSP without exceeding the limits set by the license file.
14. Conclusion:
Traditionally, duplication of data has been done by a call processor, which
protects against server difficulties and provides this protection invisibly. When
increasing the distances between headquarters and remote branch offices however, it
becomes more likely that a network outage causes a loss of communications. Setting up
Local Survivable Processors on a corporate network provides coverage with full feature
functionality in the event of a network outage.
2002 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Avaya and the Avaya Logo are trademarks of Avaya Inc. All trademarks identified by and
are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners. The information provided in this document is subject to
change without notice. The configurations, technical data, and recommendations provided in this
document are believed to be accurate and dependable, but are presented without express or
implied warranty. Users are responsible for their application of any products specified in this
document.
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