High Availability

This document covers configuration of a High Availability cluster in pfSense^® Plus software using the following features:

• CARP for IP address redundancy

• XMLRPC for configuration synchronization

• pfsync for state table synchronization

• Kea for DHCP failover

With this configuration, two devices act as an “active/passive” cluster with the primary device working as the active node and the secondary node in a standby role, taking over as needed if the primary fails.

Note

This guide covers configuring high availability for both IPv4 and IPv6. If a cluster does not need IPv6, skip steps related to configuring IPv6.

• Components of a High Availability Cluster
• High Availability Prerequisites
• Configuring a High Availability Cluster
• Testing High Availability
• Troubleshooting High Availability
• Upgrading a High Availability Cluster

See also

The documentation for pfSense® software contains additional details:

• High Availability

• High Availability Configuration Recipes

• High Availability Troubleshooting