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Role of tracker server in Resilio Active Everywhere

Overview

Tracker server is a reference point for all Agents. When looking for other peers for a particular folder, each Agent attempts to connect to the Tracker and asks it to:

  • Let all other peers with the same folder ID know where it is - it shares its local and public addresses.
  • Retrieve the list of local and public IPs:ports for all peers with the same folder ID.

Tracker server is automatically installed on the same computer as Management Console and Agents connect to it by default. You can set up a separate Tracker server instance and configure Resilio Agents to connect to it. In either case, it is advisable to place the Tracker outside the Agents' LAN so that it knows the Agents' public addresses and Agents can connect to each other.

Configuring Multiple Tracker Servers

The administrator can configure multiple Tracker servers in a Profile or in the Agent configuration file. Multiple Tracker servers can be used in two modes: load balancing and high availability. The default mode is Load Balancing. To switch between modes, refer to the "Custom tracker mode" parameter in the Agent Profile.

Load Balancing mode

Forces each Agent to distribute their requests to all Tracker servers they know of as evenly as possible. Distribution is done on a job level. For example, if there are three jobs (A, B, C) and two Tracker servers available, an Agent will connect to Tracker #1 for jobs A and C, and Tracker #2 for job B. The algorithm for choosing a Tracker is pseudo-random and always gives the same results on all Agents if they have the same list of Trackers. Providing different lists of Trackers when Agents use Trackers in load balancing mode will result in an inability to connect. This is the default mode.

High Availability mode

Forces each Agent to connect to all Trackers it can reach for each job to get maximum information about all peers. You can configure any number of Tracker servers for each Agent in HA mode, although ensure that they intersect and are able to connect to at least one common Tracker server.