Replicator

Replicator#

The local Replicator instance on a Scrutinizer server/appliance can be enabled at any time by entering a valid license key on the Admin > Plixer > Replicator page in the web interface.

After an active license key has been applied, the Replicator UI tab/page of the Scrutinizer web interface becomes accessible, and the local Replicator instance is automatically added to the Admin > Resources > Replicators management view.

See this section for further information and instructions on setting up and configuring packet replication.

Changed in version 19.7.2: Replicator is now bundled with all Plixer One license types. The local instance will also be enabled by default on eligible Plixer One/Scrutinizer deployments.

Additional instances and replication to external devices can be enabled with a Replicator license key. Contact Plixer Technical Support for more information.

Note

Replicator can also be deployed as a standalone appliance (independent of Scrutinizer) with its own web interface. See these deployment guides for instructions.

Headless instances#

Additional Replicator instances (for greater replication capacity, high availability, etc.) can be deployed as “headless” appliances to minimize their resource footprint. These deployments do not include the web interface component; they must be registered and managed from a main Replicator instance (Plixer One/Scrutinizer environment or standalone appliance) and cannot be configured independently.

Note

  • Replicator hardware appliances that are upgraded to v20.0.2+ can be used as either standalone (default) or headless instances. See these instructions for more details.

  • Additional Replicator instances must be supported by the current license key. Contact Plixer Technical Support for further details.

Registering a headless instance#

Before deploying a headless appliance, it must first be registered on the main instance as follows:

View instructions

  1. Navigate to Admin > Resources > Replicators in the web interface.

  2. Click the Add button.

  3. Enter a name to assign to the new Replicator instance, and then click Save.

  4. Click on the name of the new instance in the main view and note the authentication token shown in the tray.

Once the instance has been registered, proceed to deploying the headless appliance.

Replicator instances on Scrutinizer servers#

In distributed clusters, additional headless instances can be deployed by activating the Replicator service on the secondary reporter or any remote collector as follows:

  1. After a new headless instance has been registered, SSH to the Scrutinizer server as the plixer user and run:

    /user/share/replicator/util/setup.sh

  2. Enter the following details when prompted:

    • IP address of the configuration host (typically the IP address of the Scrutinizer cluster’s primary reporter; can also be a standalone Replicator instance)

    • Authentication token generated when the headless instance was registered (see above)

    • Name assigned to the headless instance

  3. Return to the Admin > Resources > Replicators page in the Scrutinizer web interface and verify that the new instance has successfully self-registered.

Once the headless instance on the Scrutinizer server has been successfully registered and deployed, it can be configured or used in a high-availability pair from the Scrutinizer web interface.

Deploying a headless instance#

Follow these steps to deploy a headless Replicator instance after it has been registered:

View instructions

  1. Download the latest headless appliance package for your hypervisor from the Plixer Customer Portal.

  2. Deploy the VM following the instructions here.

  3. Complete the basic appliance configuration.

  4. After it reboots, SSH to the appliance as the plixer user again.

  5. Enter the following details when prompted:

    • IP address of the configuration host (typically the IP address of the Scrutinizer cluster’s primary reporter; can also be a standalone Replicator instance)

    • Authentication token generated when the headless instance was registered (see above)

    • Name assigned to the headless instance

  6. Return to the Admin > Resources > Replicators page in the Scrutinizer web interface and verify that the new instance has successfully self-registered.

Once the headless instance has been successfully registered and deployed, it can be configured or used in a high-availability pair from the Scrutinizer web interface.

Profile migrations#

Profile configuration data from a Replicator 19.1.1 server can be migrated to a different Replicator 20.0.0+ appliance/instance using the migration utility included with Plixer One/Scrutinizer deployments and standalone Replicator appliances.

See this section of the Replicator manual for further details and step-by-step instructions.

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