Configured HA control link has no backup
At a glance
Base severity
Area
Platform
Evidence level
Benchmark reference
Reads the export, not the device
ConfigProof reads a configuration export. This control is evaluated against the objects in that file, and it reports what the file says. It does not connect to the device and sees no traffic, so a finding here describes the configuration, not what the firewall is doing right now.
Why it matters
The control link carries the heartbeat. When it is the only one and it fails, each member stops hearing the other and both may go active on the same networks, which is worse than either being down: two devices answering for one address duplicates traffic and corrupts session state.
How to fix it
Web interface
The steps below are written for the web interface. A finding raised on your own export carries the same steps with your object names filled in.
- Configure an HA1 backup on a separate physical port from the primary.
- Do not put the backup on the same card or the same upstream switch as the primary.
- Enable heartbeat backup over the management interface as a third path.
Command line
PAN-OS CLI
set deviceconfig high-availability interface ha1-backup port <interface>set deviceconfig high-availability interface ha1-backup ip-address <ha1-backup-address>set deviceconfig high-availability interface ha1-backup netmask <ha1-backup-netmask>
An example. Values in angle brackets are yours to supply; a finding on your own export fills in the names it read. Nothing here commits. Review the candidate configuration, then commit it yourself.
Read it back
show deviceconfig high-availability interface ha1-backupValues to fill in3
- <interface>
- The interface to change
- <ha1-backup-address>
- The address for the backup control link
- <ha1-backup-netmask>
- The netmask for the backup control link
Before you type it1
- Apply this to both members of the pair.
How to confirm the fix
- Confirm the group reports both a control link and a backup control link.
- Confirm the two run on separate physical paths end to end.
Limits
- This reads the configured links, not whether either is currently up.
- Whether the two links share a physical path upstream is not visible in a configuration file.
Compliance references
No benchmark recommendation is mapped to this control in this version.
More in High Availability
- PAN-SEC-060Configured HA group has no path monitoring
- PAN-SEC-061Configured HA group monitors no links
- PAN-SEC-063Configured HA group does not synchronize configuration
- PAN-SEC-113Configured HA group is preemptive or shuts the passive link down
- ISE-MGT-005Primary Administration node has no secondary
- ISE-MGT-006Only one Policy Service node
See it on your own firewall
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