Before you set up cluster peering, you should confirm that the connectivity, port, IP address, subnet, firewall, and cluster-naming requirements are met.
Every intercluster LIF on the local cluster must be able to communicate with every intercluster LIF on the remote cluster.
Although it is not required, it is typically simpler to configure the IP addresses used for intercluster LIFs in the same subnet. The IP addresses can reside in the same subnet as data LIFs, or in a different subnet. The subnet used in each cluster must meet the following requirements:
For example, in a six-node cluster, the subnet used for intercluster communication must have six available IP addresses.
Each node must have an intercluster LIF with an IP address on the intercluster network.
Intercluster LIFs can have an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address.
You can use dedicated ports for intercluster communication, or share ports used by the data network. Ports must meet the following requirements:
You can use multiple IPspaces to peer with multiple clusters. Pair-wise full-mesh connectivity is required only within an IPspace.
Ports added to a broadcast domain can be physical network ports, VLANs, or interface groups (ifgrps).
Firewalls and the intercluster firewall policy must allow the following protocols:
Although HTTPS is not required when you set up cluster peering using the CLI, HTTPS is required later if you use ONTAP System Manager to configure data protection.
The default intercluster firewall policy allows access through the HTTPS protocol and from all IP addresses (0.0.0.0/0). You can modify or replace the policy if necessary.