How To Connect To Your HA VPS/Enterprise Server

HA (High Availability) VPS plans are load balanced synchronized pair of server nodes in separate availability zones for maximum uptime and increased concurrent connections. This highly performant configuration requires specific synchronization through file replications. As such, it is imperative that you only connect and make changes from the primary node, so that everything synchronizes properly. 

File Replication

Your HA configuration automatically replicates files from the primary node --(to)--> the secondary node. Replication is automatic and event-driven. As stated this only works in a single direction, so it is important to never write or edit website files directly to the secondary node. Always use the following hostname when connecting to your environment over SSH or SFTP:

PRIMARY NODE HOSTNAME EXAMPLE:

Pagely naming conventions typically list the primary node with the number "1", or un-numbered if coming from a previous non-HA VPS plan. When your VPS HA configuration is deployed, this will be provided to you...

pagelyexample1.vps.pagelyhosting.com

this node is for...

• reading/writing files
• checking logs and configurations
• interacting with your application's database via wp cli

SECONDARY NODE HOSTNAME:

The secondary node will usually be denoted with a "2"...

pagelyexample2.vps.pagelyhosting.com

 this node is for...

• checking logs and configurations

and nothing else really. You'd only ssh into this server to make sure it is handling traffic from time to time, and interacting with the primary node.

DO NOT CONNECT USING OTHER HOSTNAMES

While DNS ideally should utilize the CNAME record provided to you, it is not appropriate to utilize it when connecting to the server - 

wp###.host.pressdns.com

and...

yoursite.com

may connect to the primary node, or they may not. The fact that it is not predictable where you'll connect to is why its not appropriate to use.

Now that we've covered which server to connect to, how do we do it?

The steps are pretty much the same as any other VPS. We just want to make it clear that your focus when connecting should almost always be to the primary node. 

1. Follow our tutorial on Adding SSH Keys
2. Follow our tutorial on using SSH on your VPS/Enterprise server OR...
3. Follow our article on using SFTP on your VPS/Enterprise server

If you still have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact support.