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Second SIP Gateway Failover

This scenario describes how to use the Mediatrix unit multiple SIP gateways, keep alive and call routing features in order to set a failover scenario to a secondary SIP gateway when the primary SIP gateway is down.



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Information to Know Before Starting

Before starting to use these configuration notes, complete the following table to make sure you have the required information to complete the different steps.

IMPORTANT: If you are not familiar with the meaning of the fields and buttons, click Show Help, located at the upper right corner of the Web page. When activated, the fields and buttons that offer online help will change to green and if you hover over them, the description will bedisplayed.
Note: The Mediatrix unit must be reinitialised to its factory default settings to make sure the configuration can be successfully executed.
Information Value Used in Step
IP address or FQDN of the Proxy Host Configuring the Default SIP Servers
IP address or FQDN of the SIP Registrar Host Configuring the Default SIP Servers
IP address or FQDN of the SIP Proxy Host of Messaging Server Host(if required) Configuring the Default SIP Servers
IP address or FQDN of the server for the failover gateway Assigning a Specific Registrar Server to the Failover Gateway , Assigning a Specific Proxy Server to the Failover Gateway and Configuring the Keep Alive Feature for Primary and Failover SIP Servers
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Requirements

  • Network configuration (default router, DNS server, etc.)
  • Factory default settings
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SIP Configuration

Adding the Failover Gateway

Before you begin
To create a second gateway on the same IP address, you will need to use different listening ports. In this example, we use 5066 and 5067.
Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Gateways.
  2. In the Gateway Configuration table, in the Name field, enter failover.
  3. Click .
  4. Complete the fields as follows:
    • From the Type selection list, select Trunk
    • From the Signaling Network selection list, select Uplink
    • In the Port field, enter 5066
    • In the Secure Port port field, enter 5067
      Note: To create a second gateway on the same IP address, you will need to use different listening ports. In this example, we use 5066 and 5067.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Click restart required services located at the top of the page.
Result
The failover gateway will be available under the SIP/Servers page.

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Configuring the Default SIP Servers

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Servers.
  2. In the Registrar Host field, indicate the server IP address or FQDN to use for the primary (default) SIP server.
  3. In the Proxy Host field, indicate the server IP address or FQDN to use for the primary (default) SIP server.
  4. In the Messaging Server Host field, indicate the server IP address or FQDN to use for the primary (default) SIP server, if needed.
  5. Leave the Outbound Proxy Host field empty, unless specifically instructed to set a value.
    Note: Setting the address to 0.0.0.0:0 or leaving the field empty disables the outbound proxy host.
  6. Click Apply.
  7. Located at the top of the page, click restart required services.
Result


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Assigning a Specific Proxy Server to the Failover Gateway

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Servers.
  2. In the Proxy Servers table, from the Gateway Specific drop down located on the same row as failover, select Yes.
  3. In the Proxy Host field, indicate the server IP address or FQDN of the failover server.
  4. In the Outbound Proxy Host field, leave 0.0.0.0:0
    Note: Setting the address to 0.0.0.0:0 or leaving the field empty disables the outbound proxy host.
  5. Click Apply.
Result
The gateway will now use the specified server IP address or FQDN instead of the default server address.

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Assigning a Specific Registrar Server to the Failover Gateway

Before you begin
These steps are only required if using registration.
Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Servers.
  2. In the Registrar Servers table, from the Gateway Specific drop down located on the same row as failover, select Yes.
  3. In the Registrar Host field, indicate the server IP address or FQDN.
    Note: This must be consistent with the value used for the failover server.
  4. Click Apply.
Result
The gateway will now use the specified the server IP address or FQDN instead of the default server address.

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Configuring the Keep Alive Feature for Primary and Failover SIP Servers

Steps
  1. Go to SIP /Servers.
  2. In the Keep Alive table, from the selection list, select SIP OPTIONS.
  3. In the Keep Alive Interval field, enter 30.
    Note: This is the recommended value.
  4. From the Keep Alive Destination selection list, select Alternate Destination.
  5. In the Keep Alive Destination table, in the Alternate Destination field, enter the server IP address or FQDN for the primary gateway.
  6. In the Alternate Destination, enter the server IP address or FQDN for the failover gateway.
  7. Click Apply.
Result
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Configuring OPTIONS Method Support

Context
Note: This step is required if your server is configured to only receive 200 OK by the Mediatrix unit, when it polls the Mediatrix with SIP OPTIONS.
Note: This is not supported by all SIP servers, this feature is not mandatory in most use cases.
Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Interop.
  2. In the SIP Interop table, from the OPTIONS Method Support selection list, select Always 200 OK.
  3. Click Apply.
Result
The unit will always answer 200 OK to SIP OPTIONS messages received (Keep Alive).

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Creating a Hunt Group for Second SIP Gateway Failover

Steps
  1. Go to Call Router/Route Config.
  2. In the Hunt table, click located at the bottom of the table.
  3. In the Configure New Hunt table, in the Name field, enter SIP.
  4. In the Destinations field enter:
    • sip_default
    • sip_failover
    Note: The order is important.
  5. From the Selection Algorithm selection list, select Sequential.
  6. In the Causes field, leave the default values.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Click Save again.
Result
The Hunt-SIP will be available in the Suggestion selection list of the Auto-Routing Destination field, in the Call Router/Auto-Routing page.

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Modifying Auto-Routing for Second SIP Gateway Failover

Steps
  1. Go to Call Router/Auto-Routing.
  2. In the Endpoints auto-routing table, click next to the first FXS port.
  3. In the Configure Auto-Routing, in the Auto-Routing Gateway field, enter default, failover.
  4. In the Auto-Routing Destination field, enter hunt-SIP.
  5. Check all FXS endpoints.
  6. Click Apply.
Result


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Saving the Routes

Steps
  1. Go to Call Router/Route Config.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
  3. Click Save.
Result
At the top of the page, make sure Config.Modified is set to No.
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SIP Registration and Authentication for SIP Failover

For the most common scenarios, the SIP server will require the Mediatrix unit to register and to provide authentication.

Note: if you do not use registration, you can continue to the Testing Second SIP Gateway Failover Section.

The most common configuration is Endpoint Registration, where every FXS port needs to be registered separately. For more details refer to Registering Endpoints to All Gateways and Configuring Endpoint Authentication

However there is also a use-case where Unit Registration is done on different username for each gateway, often used with PBX trunks. For more details refer Registering a Unit to a Specific Gateway for Second SIP Gateway Failover

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Endpoint Registration

Registering Endpoints to All Gateways

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Registrations.
    Note: If two or more endpoints have the same user name, a single registration request and/or subscription request will be performed under that user name.
  2. For each endpoint requiring registration, repeat the following 2 steps.
  3. From the Register selection list, select Enable.
  4. From the Gateway Name selection list, select All for each endpoint.
  5. Click Apply and Refresh.
Result


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Configuring Endpoint Authentication

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Authentication.
  2. Click Edit All Entries located at the bottom of the page.
  3. In the Authentication table, from the Criteria selection list, select Endpoint for all endpoints needing registration.
  4. From the Endpoint selection list, select the related FXS port for each entry.
  5. From the Realm field, enter the provided realm and from the Validate Realm selection list, select Enable. If no Realm was provided, leave the field empty and from the Validate Realm selection list, select Disable.
  6. In the User Name field, enter the SIP user name for each entry.
  7. In the Password field, enter the appropriate password for each entry.
  8. Click Apply and Refresh Registration.
Result
The endpoints will be registered.

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Registering Unit with a Different Authentication for Each Gateway

Registering a Unit to a Specific Gateway for Second SIP Gateway Failover

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Registrations.
  2. In the Unit Registration table, click .
  3. In the User Name field, enter the username that will be used to authenticate with the primary (default) SIP gateway,
  4. From the Gateway Name selection list, select default.
  5. In the Unit Registration table, click .
  6. In the User Name field, enter the username that will be used to authenticate with the failover SIP gateway.
  7. From the Gateway Name selection list, select failover.
  8. Click Apply and Refresh.
Result
The information will be displayed in the Unit Registration Status table.

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Configuring Authentication for Second Sip Gateway Failover

Steps
  1. Go to SIP/Authentication.
  2. Click Edit All Entries located at the bottom of the page.
  3. In the Authentication table, from the Criteria selection list, select Gateway for two entries.
  4. From the Gateway selection list, select default for the first entry, and failover for the second entry.
  5. From the Validate Realm selection list, select Disable for both entries.
  6. In the User Name field, enter the appropriate username for the default server in the first entry, and the username for the failover server in the second entry.
  7. In the Password field, enter the appropriate password for each entry.
  8. Click Apply and Refresh Registration.
Result
The unit will register to the default and failover servers.

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Testing Second SIP Gateway Failover

Steps
  1. Make an outbound call from an endpoint. It will be routed via the primary server.
  2. Make the primary server unreachable, by dropping its SIP service or adding a firewall rule that will block communications between the Mediatrix and the primary SIP server. Calls will be routed via the failover SIP server.
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DGW Documentation

Mediatrix devices are supplied with an exhaustive set of documentation.

Mediatrix user documentation is available on the Media5 Documentation Portal.

Several types of documents were created to clearly present the information you are looking for. Our documentation includes:
  • Release notes: Generated at each GA release, this document includes the known and solved issues of the software. It also outlines the changes and the new features the release includes.
  • Configuration notes: These documents are created to facilitate the configuration of a specific use case. They address a configuration aspect we consider that most users will need to perform. However, in some cases, a configuration note is created after receiving a question from a customer. They provide standard step-by-step procedures detailing the values of the parameters to use. They provide a means of validation and present some conceptual information. The configuration notes are specifically created to guide the user through an aspect of the configuration.
  • Technical bulletins: These documents are created to facilitate the configuration of a specific technical action, such as performing a firmware upgrade.
  • Hardware installation guide: They provide the detailed procedure on how to safely and adequately install the unit. It provides information on card installation, cable connections, and how to access for the first time the Management interface.
  • User guide: The user guide explains how to customise to your needs the configuration of the unit. Although this document is task oriented, it provides conceptual information to help the user understand the purpose and impact of each task. The User Guide will provide information such as where and how TR-069 can be configured in the Management Interface, how to set firewalls, or how to use the CLI to configure parameters that are not available in the Management Interface.
  • Reference guide: This exhaustive document has been created for advanced users. It includes a description of all the parameters used by all the services of the Mediatrix units. You will find, for example, scripts to configure a specific parameter, notification messages sent by a service, or an action description used to create Rulesets. This document includes reference information such as a dictionary, and it does not include any step-by-step procedures.
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