Always-On Connectivity Through High Availability
For many businesses, internet connectivity is the lifeblood of operations. One of our clients, a growing multi-site company, experienced a few painful outages at a branch location due to single points of failure in their network. They decided to invest in a more resilient setup for a new regional site â the goal was zero downtime even if an ISP had issues or a piece of hardware failed. Vee Tech was tasked with designing and implementing a high-availability network for this new site to serve as a template for future expansions.
Design for High Availability
We proposed a solution with two key resiliency features: dual internet providers and firewall redundancy. Practically, this meant the new site would have two independent ISP links (one primary fibre connection and a secondary wireless 4G/5G link as backup), and the edge firewall would actually be a pair of firewalls in an active/passive high-availability (HA) cluster. If one firewall went down or needed maintenance, the second would seamlessly take over without users noticing.
We worked closely with the client's IT team to document this design and the configuration steps in advance. The deployment guide covered everything from physical cabling (ensuring the two firewalls had redundant paths to both ISPs) to logical setup (like WAN failover rules and syncing the HA pair). For example, our documentation outlined how to configure the firewalls for two ISPs and two HA devices, tailored to this site's requirements. We made sure the guide was comprehensive because the client's engineer would be executing the on-site installation with our remote support as backup.
Implementation
On installation day, we assisted remotely as the client set up the equipment. The dual Palo Alto firewalls were racked and connected, and we walked them through the HA pairing process (ensuring the devices recognise each other and share a virtual IP for gateway failover). We then configured link monitoring â if the primary ISP's connection drops, the firewall automatically switches all traffic to the secondary link within seconds.
As part of testing, we simulated an outage: the primary ISP line was disconnected, and we watched as the network automatically failed over to the backup link, keeping connectivity steady. Likewise, we tested a firewall failover by rebooting the active unit and confirming the secondary took over instantaneously. Everything worked as designed, which was gratifying for both us and the client's team. We wrapped up by confirming all branch services (VPNs to head office, cloud application access, etc.) were working through the HA setup.
Outcome
The result is a rock-solid branch network that can withstand common disruptions. Shortly after go-live, this robustness was proven when an upstream ISP issue occurred â users at the site didn't even notice, as the system flipped to the backup link and business carried on as usual.
The client now has a blueprint for high availability that we can replicate at other key sites. We delivered a single consolidated documentation PDF covering all their branch deployment scenarios and HA configurations, so their IT staff can reference one source of truth. In their words, "this one guide encapsulates all our current branch network designs," making it easier to roll out new locations with confidence.
Investing in resilience paid off on the very first incident, and it continues to provide peace of mind that their operations won't be knocked offline by a single failure.
High Availability Design Principles
- Redundant Internet Links: Primary and secondary ISPs from different providers
- Firewall HA Clustering: Active/passive firewall pairs for automatic failover
- Link Monitoring: Automatic detection and failover when primary links fail
- Comprehensive Documentation: Detailed guides for consistent deployments
- Testing: Validate failover scenarios before going live
Benefits of High Availability Networking
- Zero Downtime: Automatic failover keeps services running during outages
- Hardware Resilience: Redundant firewalls eliminate single points of failure
- ISP Diversity: Multiple providers protect against carrier-level issues
- Maintenance Windows: Update or maintain one firewall without service interruption
- Business Continuity: Critical operations continue even during network issues
When to Consider High Availability
- Mission-Critical Sites: Locations where downtime directly impacts revenue
- Remote Offices: Sites far from IT support that need autonomous resilience
- Growing Businesses: Scaling infrastructure with reliability built-in
- Compliance Requirements: Organisations that must maintain connectivity
- Customer-Facing Operations: Retail, healthcare, or service locations
Ready to build resilience into your network? Contact Vee Tech to discuss high-availability network design for your critical sites.