The High Availability feature supports the following deployment models:

  • Standard HA—In this model, the Active and Standby Edges have the same configurations and have symmetric connections, that is both Edges are connected to the same WAN links. All ports on the Active Edge are open for receiving and sending traffic. Whereas all ports except GE1 on the Standby Edge are blocked. The GE1 interface is used to exchange heartbeats between Active and Standby Edges. See Standard HA.
  • Enhanced HA – In this model, the Active and Standby Edges have the same configurations but have asymmetric connections, that is both Edges are connected to different WAN links. The GE1 interface is used to exchange heartbeats between Active and Standby Edges. The Active Edge can leverage the WAN link connected to the Standby Edge to send or receive traffic. It forwards the traffic through the GE1 interface to the Standby Edge, which in turn sends the traffic through the WAN link. See Enhanced HA.
  • Mixed-mode HA—This model is a combination of both Standard and Enhanced HA deployments on the same site. In this model, the Active and Standby Edges have the same configurations. The connections can be both symmetric and asymmetric. See Mixed-Mode HA.

The HA options are supported on the following SD-WAN Edge platforms: 510, 510N, 520, 520v, 540, 610, 610N, 620, 620N, 640, 640N, 680, 680N, 840, 2000, 3400, 3800, and Virtual Edge.

Note: HA is supported only between identical SD-WAN Edge platform models. For more information on the Edge platform models, see https://sdwan.vmware.com/get-started.
Note: Mixing Wi-Fi capable and Non-Wi-Fi capable Edges in High Availability deployments is not supported. While the Edge models 510N, 610N, 620N, 640N, and 680N appear identical to their Wi-Fi capable counterparts, deploying a Wi-Fi capable Edge and a Non-Wi-Fi capable Edge of the same model (for example, an Edge 640 and an Edge 640N) as a High-Availability pair is not supported. Customers should ensure that the Edges deployed as a High Availability pair are of the same type: both Wi-Fi capable, or both Non-Wi-Fi capable.