We need to create an additional web server with the same configuration – the best way is to clone it and reconfigure it. Alternatively, you can set it up from scratch.
Clone & configure your VM with Proxmox
- It is highly recommended to take a backup or a snapshot of your existing web server before proceeding.
- Assuming that you have a Type 1 hypervisor deployed of some kind (Proxmox, VMWare, Hyper-V, Harvester, etc.), start by cloning the VM to your other physical server.
- Once done, do not switch the VM on. Rather, copy paste its MAC address and head over to your DHCP server to assign it another static IP that you will be referring to from now on.
- If you use OPNSense, you will find it under ‘Services’ (based on which DHCP server you use, the older one is called ‘ISC DHCPv4’). Alternatively, you may be using Kea for DHCP – the approach is very similar.
- It is also recommended to add this VM into your Unbound Override to be reachable more easily from other sites (even if you will be setting them up in the future). In OPNSense, go to ‘Services’ → ‘Unbound DNS’ → Overrides and add your new host there.
- You can now safely switch on the VM. The respective services should run on it, although no traffic is served, as HAProxy does not know about it. Then SSH in and let’s change the hostname:
# Replace 'web2' with the hostname you prefer. hostnamectl set-hostname web2 # Optional: Modify the /etc/hosts file and add a line for both of your web servers nano /etc/hosts 127.0.1.1 web2.yourdomain.tld web2
Now let’s proceed into one more preparation step related to setting up HAProxy on OPNSense to ensure that we have our back-end pool in shape for spreading web traffic in between the web hosts (before we even add Syncthing into the mix).