Mirroring a Node
Mirroring a dbWatch Control Center node enables high availability by preparing a secondary backup node that can take over operations if the primary node fails. This is especially valuable in critical environments where monitoring continuity and rapid failover are essential.
This guide explains how to properly configure such a setup using manual synchronization.
Why Mirror a Node?
Typical reasons to mirror a dbWatch node include:
- Ensuring high availability in production environments
- Preparing for disaster recovery in case of hardware failure
- Supporting upgrade testing or parallel environments with identical configurations
Setup Requirements
To mirror a node, you need:
- Two machines with dbWatch Control Center installed (same version on both)
- Compatible environments (e.g., Windows-to-Windows, Linux-to-Linux, or cross-platform: Windows-to-Linux)
- Sufficient access privileges to stop/start the dbWatch service and copy configuration files
> The mirrored node will be an exact replica of the original, including cryptographic identity.
Configuring Monitor Clients
To support failover, all Monitor clients should be configured with both nodes listed in their configuration. The Monitor can handle unresponsive nodes gracefully and will continue operating as long as one node is available.
Important Notes on Operation
- Only one mirrored node should run at any given time.
- Both nodes share the same domain address and cryptographic keys. Running them simultaneously on the same network can cause routing conflicts, duplicate domain discovery, and data inconsistencies.
- Use a coordinated failover procedure to start the standby node only when the primary is offline.
Synchronization Procedure
Follow these steps to create a mirrored node:
- Stop the dbWatch service on the source (primary) node.
Prevents active writes during the copy process.
- Locate the working directory on the source node.
- On Windows:
C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter
- Copy the following directories to the destination (standby) node:
config/– All configuration files
- Ensure permissions are correctly set on the destination node.
The copied files must be accessible (read/write) by the process that runs the dbWatch service.
- Restart the dbWatch service on the source node.
Once synchronization is complete, bring the primary node back online.
> To switch to the backup node later, stop the primary node and start the mirrored one. Confirm that monitoring and routing operate as expected.
Optional Enhancements
- Automate sync using scheduled jobs or rsync/unison
- Consider combining this with the Internal Control Center Firewall to prevent accidental duplicate node activation
- Keep logs of failover and sync operations to support audits and troubleshooting