HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Administrator's Guide
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Software Administrator Guide
Abstract
This guide contains detailed instructions for configuring and troubleshooting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Software in Microsoft
Windows environments. The intended audience has independent knowledge of related software and of the HP 3PAR storage
system and its software.
HP Part Number: 5697-2263
Published: November 2012
Edition: 3
© Copyright 2012 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
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Contents
1 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features...............................................................6
Integration into cluster software (Graphical user interface)..............................................................6
CLI for easy integration..............................................................................................................6
Disaster tolerance through geographical dispersion.......................................................................6
Automated redirection of mirrored disks.......................................................................................7
Metropolitan distance support....................................................................................................7
Fully Automatic Failover and Failback..........................................................................................8
No server reboot......................................................................................................................8
No single point of failure...........................................................................................................8
Synchronous mode support........................................................................................................8
Storage system configurations.....................................................................................................8
1-to-1 configuration...............................................................................................................9
N-to-1 and 1-to-N configurations..........................................................................................10
Processes and components.......................................................................................................10
HP 3PAR Remote Copy.......................................................................................................10
Synchronous replication.................................................................................................12
User configuration file.........................................................................................................12
Force Flag.........................................................................................................................12
Planning for HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.....................................................................................12
Cluster setup considerations................................................................................................12
Windows clustering.......................................................................................................12
Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012......................................................................12
Node Majority quorum in Windows Clustering.............................................................12
Node Majority with File Share Witness.......................................................................13
Cluster Shared Volume for Windows Server 2012.........................................................13
Configuration tool (clx3PARconfig.exe)..................................................................................15
HP 3PAR InForm Management Console or HP 3PAR InForm CLI ...............................................15
IP network considerations....................................................................................................15
SAN fabric considerations..................................................................................................15
2 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.......................................................16
Integrating HP 3PAR Cluster Extension with MSFC.......................................................................16
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.....................................................................................16
Starting the HP 3PAR Configuration Tool...............................................................................16
Defining the HP 3PAR configuration information using the GUI.................................................17
Defining the HP 3PAR configuration information using the CLI..................................................20
Importing and exporting configuration information.................................................................21
Exporting configuration settings using the GUI..................................................................21
Exporting configuration settings using the CLI....................................................................21
Importing configuration settings using the GUI..................................................................21
Importing configuration settings using the CLI....................................................................21
Adding a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource............................................................................21
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Failover Cluster Management GUI............22
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using cluster.exe...................................................22
Example......................................................................................................................22
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Microsoft Failover Cluster PowerShell
Cmdlets............................................................................................................................23
Configuring more than one resource in a service or application...............................................23
Changing a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource name................................................................23
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources........................................................................23
Setting Microsoft cluster-specific resource and service or application properties...............................24
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension-specific resource properties......................................................27
Contents 3
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the GUI........................................27
Using Failover Cluster Management to set resource properties.............................................27
Using Failover Cluster Management to set resource properties of a CLX resource on which a
CSV disk is dependant (Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 Server Core)........28
Using the resource configuration tool to set resource properties ..........................................29
Configuring cluster node data center assignments..............................................................30
Configuring HP 3PAR storage system...............................................................................31
Selecting a volume group...............................................................................................32
Changing Remote Copy volume group settings..................................................................32
Configuring takeover actions..........................................................................................33
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the MMC ....................................33
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the CLI.........................................33
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the Microsoft Failover PowerShell
Cmdlets............................................................................................................................34
Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension properties using a UCF......................................................34
Adding dependencies on a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource...................................................35
Adding dependencies using Failover Cluster Management .....................................................35
Adding dependencies using the CLI.....................................................................................36
Adding dependencies using the PowerShell...........................................................................36
Configuration of HP 3PAR CLX for CSV disk on Windows Server 2012..........................................37
Disaster-tolerant configuration example using a file share.............................................................37
Managing HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources.........................................................................39
Bringing a resource online..................................................................................................39
Taking a resource offline.....................................................................................................40
Deleting a resource............................................................................................................40
Using Hyper-V Live Migration with HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.......................................................40
Timing considerations for Windows Clustering (MSFC)................................................................41
Bouncing service or application................................................................................................41
Creating array password file....................................................................................................41
Administration........................................................................................................................42
Remote management of HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources in a cluster..................................42
System resources................................................................................................................43
Logs.................................................................................................................................43
Hyper-V Live Migration log entries........................................................................................43
Virtual Machine Management hosted on a Cluster Shared Volume on Windows Server 2012...........43
3 User configuration file and HP 3PAR Cluster Extension objects........................47
User configuration file.............................................................................................................47
File structure......................................................................................................................47
Specifying object values.....................................................................................................48
COMMON objects.................................................................................................................48
APPLICATION objects..............................................................................................................49
Sample configuration file.........................................................................................................53
4 CLI commands and utilities........................................................................55
CLI commands.......................................................................................................................55
clx3PARrun.......................................................................................................................55
Configuring the CLI.................................................................................................................56
Creating the HP 3PAR Remote Copy environment...................................................................56
Configuring the HP 3PAR storage system...............................................................................56
Installing HP 3PAR InForm Command Line Interface (CLI).........................................................57
Creating and configuring the user configuration file................................................................57
Timing considerations.........................................................................................................57
Restrictions for customized implementations...........................................................................58
Cluster Extension Cmdlets for CSV and Virtual Machine Management...........................................58
Pre-execution and post-execution programs................................................................................67
4 Contents
Pre-execution return codes...................................................................................................68
Post-execution return codes..................................................................................................68
5 Troubleshooting........................................................................................69
Logs......................................................................................................................................69
Log facility.............................................................................................................................69
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension logs ...............................................................................................70
HP 3PAR storage system log or sysmgr log.................................................................................71
Error return codes...................................................................................................................71
Log files.................................................................................................................................72
Start errors.............................................................................................................................72
Failover error handling............................................................................................................73
Failing physical disk resources during online attempt of the resource group....................................73
Cannot connect to HP 3PAR storage system................................................................................74
Resource disk failure when HP 3PAR Cluster Extension is online....................................................75
Cluster Extension and HP 3PAR Command Line (CLI) Install/Upgrade............................................75
Change of HP 3PAR storage system IP or password file................................................................75
Host persona settings..............................................................................................................75
no_fail_wrt_on_err settings.......................................................................................................75
Remote Copy and 3PAR Virtual Domains...................................................................................76
Promote issue.........................................................................................................................76
Cluster Extension Autopass troubleshooting................................................................................76
HP 3PAR Target arrays not configured with Remote Copy Links.....................................................76
6 Support and other resources......................................................................78
Contacting HP........................................................................................................................78
New and changed information in this edition.............................................................................78
Related information.................................................................................................................78
Whitepapers.....................................................................................................................78
HP websites......................................................................................................................78
Typographic conventions.........................................................................................................79
Glossary....................................................................................................80
Index.........................................................................................................81
Contents 5
1 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension offers protection against application downtime due to a fault, failure,
or site disaster by extending a local cluster between data centers over metropolitan distance. HP
3PAR Cluster Extension reinstates critical applications at a remote site within minutes of an adverse
event, integrating your open-system clustering software and HP 3PAR Remote Copy to automate
failover and failback between sites. This dual integration enables the cluster software to verify the
status of the storage and the server cluster. The cluster software can then make correct failover and
failback decisions, thus minimizing downtime and accelerating recovery.
Integration into cluster software (Graphical user interface)
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Software provides tight integration with the cluster software and is
managed as a resource of the clustered application service (like a disk or IP address).
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension integrates with Microsoft Failover Cluster (MSFC).
For supported cluster software versions, see the HP SPOCK website: http://www.hp.com/storage/
spock
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension can be configured using the Failover Cluster Management GUI. HP
3PAR Cluster Extension offers full integration into the GUI so that you can easily set and change
resource values.
CLI for easy integration
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension provides a CLI to enable disaster tolerant environments if no cluster
software is available for your operating system or if you want to integrate HP 3PAR Remote Copy
with your choice of cluster software. This feature is useful if you use custom software to migrate
application services from one system to another or if you want HP 3PAR Cluster Extension to check
the Remote Copy volume group member states to ensure that you can automatically start your
application service on the local storage system. For detailed information, see “CLI commands and
utilities” (page 55).
Disaster tolerance through geographical dispersion
Using two or more storage systems, HP 3PAR Remote Copy feature copies data to a remote data
center. Cluster solutions using HP 3PAR Remote Copy disk mirroring are called metropolitan clusters
or geographically dispersed clusters. In this arrangement, a server is a member of the same cluster
dispersed over two or more sites. In such clusters, the server is relieved from writing any I/O request
to the disk more than one time because the storage system controls the replication process (see
Figure 1 (page 7)).
6 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
Figure 1 Physical replication using HP 3PAR Remote Copy
HP 3PAR Remote Copy-mirrored disks have a read/write-enabled primary (local) disk and a
read-only secondary (remote) disk. Current cluster software products cannot distinguish between
read-only and write-enabled disks, and cannot enable disk access if the disk is not write-enabled
during the server boot process.
With HP 3PAR Cluster Extension, the consistency and concurrency of the data can be checked
when the resource comes online in the remote data center. The capability for restoring the
application service after the failure of the server, the array, or the datacenter is called disaster
tolerance.
Automated redirection of mirrored disks
Storage systems with HP 3PAR Remote copy automatically redirect the mirroring destination. This
means that HP 3PAR Remote Copy almost instantaneously swaps the primary/secondary relationship
of Remote Copy volume group members if the application must access the destination disk (virtual
volume). This feature ensures that the disks are always accessible when failover to a remote data
center occurs.
Metropolitan distance support
Determined by the distance and latency requirements for the HP 3PAR Remote Copy Software and
cluster server.
Automated redirection of mirrored disks 7
Fully Automatic Failover and Failback
Automated failover and failback reduces the complexity involved in a disaster recovery situation.
It is protection against the risk of downtime, whether planned or unplanned.
No server reboot
Disks on the server on both the primary and secondary sites are recognized during the initial system
boot in a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension environment; therefore LUN presentation and LUN mapping
changes are not necessary during failover or failback for a truly hand-free disaster tolerant solution.
No single point of failure
Supreme redundancy: identical configuration of established SAN infrastructure redundancies are
implemented on remote site.
Synchronous mode support
HP 3PAR Remote Copy software offers synchronous data transfer mode between storage systems
and host. Synchronous data transfers offer the highest levels of data protection. With synchronous
operations, both the primary and secondary copies are identical and concurrent at all times.
Synchronous mirroring ensures that data copies are identical, to prevent critical data loss in the
event of a failure or disaster. In this mode, data is written simultaneously to the mirrored cache of
the primary storage system and the secondary storage system, in real time, before the application
I/O is completed, thus ensuring the highest possible data consistency. Synchronous replication is
appropriate when exact consistency is critical to the business application.
Storage system configurations
Cluster configurations typically consist of two or more server systems connected to a shared storage
system. HP 3PAR Cluster Extension allows the dispersion of data center resources by enabling
cluster systems to take advantage of HP 3PAR storage systems configured for Remote Copy
operations. HP 3PAR Cluster Extension uses HP 3PAR InForm OS Command Line Interface (CLI) to
control the HP 3PAR storage systems (and Remote Copy) with the cluster software, and uses cluster
software to react to system hardware and application failures.
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension behavior is based on four major considerations:
• Cluster software failover behaviors
• HP 3PAR Cluster Extension user settings
• The replication mode setting for HP 3PAR Remote Copy, which is used to configure the remote
replication feature of a 3PAR storage system environment based on your needs for application
service availability, data concurrency, and replication performance
• Remote Copy volume group and virtual volume status information
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension supports the following configurations:
• 1-to-1
• N-to-1 (the logical configuration must be a one-to-one configuration). See Figure 2 (page 9).
• 1-to-N (the logical configuration must be a one-to-one configuration). See Figure 2 (page 9).
NOTE: Synchronous long distance and unidirectional remote copy configurations are not
supported.
8 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
1-to-1 configuration
When setting up a one-to-one configuration (see Figure 2 (page 9)), consider the following:
• Cluster nodes are split between two or more geographically dispersed data center sites and
use redundant, diversely routed network connections for intra-cluster communications. Those
links must be as reliable as possible to prevent false failover operations or split-brain situations.
• Each cluster node connected to a HP 3PAR storage system should have redundant I/O paths
to the HP 3PAR storage system. Connections to both the source (primary) and the destination
(secondary) copy of the application disk set are not allowed from the same host. Configure
your servers only in the zone that allows access to the local HP 3PAR storage system.
• HP recommends a minimum of two cluster nodes per site. This allows for preferred local failover
in case of server system failure. Local failover operations are faster than remote failover
between HP 3PAR storage systems because you do not need to change the mirroring direction
of the Remote Copy volume group members.
• You can deploy HP 3PAR Cluster Extension in environments where several clusters use the
same HP 3PAR storage system pair.
• You can use HP 3PAR Remote Copy in synchronous replication mode between two HP 3PAR
storage systems connected using FC switches and extender hardware.
• HP 3PAR Cluster Extension supports synchronous replication mode in all the configurations
supported by HP 3PAR Remote Copy Software.
• The HP 3PAR Remote Copy links must have redundant, separately routed links. The cluster
network must have redundant, separately routed links. However, cluster networks and HP
3PAR Remote Copy can share the same links if the link technology is protocol independent
(for example, WDM) or if the FC protocol is transformed into IP.
Figure 2 1-to-1 configuration
Storage system configurations 9
N-to-1 and 1-to-N configurations
NOTE: The restrictions outlined in “1-to-1 configuration” (page 9) also apply to N-to-1
configurations.
When setting up an N-to-1 or 1-to-N configuration (see Figure 3 (page 10)), consider the following:
• HP 3PAR Cluster Extension uses the unit of Remote Copy volume groups as the failover unit.
This means all virtual volumes or members of a Remote Copy volume group will be failed over
if the cluster software moves disk access from one cluster node to another.
• A given HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource can manage only one Remote Copy group.
Figure 3 N-to-1 and 1-to-N configuration
Processes and components
For Windows Clustering (MSFC), HP 3PAR Cluster Extension is shipped as a resource DLL. The
installation of HP 3PAR Cluster Extension also includes a CLI for custom HP 3PAR Remote Copy
integration. Customized solutions for failover application services must implement HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension through the CLX CLI (clx3PARrun.exe) prior to the disk activation procedure on the
server.
The installation of HP 3PAR Cluster Extension also includes a CLI for custom HP 3PAR Remote Copy
integration. Customized solutions for failover application services must implement HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension through the CLX CLI (clx3PARrun.exe) prior to the disk activation procedure on the
server.
HP 3PAR Remote Copy
HP 3PAR Remote Copy is a product that allows you to copy virtual volumes from one HP 3PAR
storage system to another. The copy can be used for disaster recovery, backup, or data migration.
NOTE: HP 3PAR Remote Copy requires 3PAR Remote Copy licenses for all storage servers
participating in a Remote Copy replication. See the 3PAR InForm OS Concepts Guide for additional
information on licensing and features.
10 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
Figure 4 Relationship of primary versus secondary volume groups on primary and backup storage
servers
Remote Copy pairs
Remote Copy configurations are based on the relationship between a storage system pair, also
known as the Remote Copy pair. Within this pair, the primary storage system is the system that
holds the volumes that are copied to a backup or secondary storage system, also known as a
remote storage system.
Remote Copy volume groups
Remote Copy operations are performed on groups of virtual volumes called Remote Copy volume
groups. A Remote Copy volume group is a group of volumes on the same storage system that are
logically related and for which there is a cross-volume ordering of writes. Remote Copy volume
groups are used when data needs to be consistent across a group of volumes in order for databases
or other applications to process data correctly.
Remote Copy uses volume groups to define a set of volumes for which applications might issue
dependent writes.
Remote Copy ensures that the data in the volumes within a group maintain write consistency. When
Remote Copy operations are started or stopped, this is done for the whole group. When point-in-time
snapshots of such volumes are created, writes to all volumes in the group are blocked for a brief
moment to assure a consistent point-in-time copy of the whole Remote Copy volume group.
You must configure a single Remote Copy volume group for a cluster group in Windows clustering.
This Remote Copy volume group must include all virtual volumes being used for the application
service. The Remote Copy volume group is the unit in which HP 3PAR Cluster Extension failover
operations are carried out. A given HP 3PAR Cluster Extension cluster resource can manage only
one Remote Copy volume group.
Processes and components 11
Synchronous replication
Using synchronous mode, all write requests from the server are first transferred to the remote storage
system. After each I/O has been mirrored in the cache area of the remote storage system, it is
acknowledged to the local storage system. The write request is then acknowledged to the server.
User configuration file
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension provides a user configuration file to customize failover behavior. You
can specify all customizable objects of HP 3PAR Cluster Extension in this file.
See “User configuration file” (page 47) for more information.
Force Flag
The force flag forces HP 3PAR Cluster Extension to skip the internal logic and enables write access
to the local virtual volumes regardless of the Remote Copy volume group member state. You can
set this flag when you are sure that the current site contains the latest data, even though a previous
application service startup process failed because HP 3PAR Cluster Extension discovered a Remote
Copy volume group member state that could not be handled automatically.
To use the force flag feature, before starting the application service that uses HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension, you must create a file called application_name.forceflag in the directory specified
by the ApplicationDir property. While using clx3PARrun to use the force flag feature, use
the operand –forceflag to eliminate the need of creating the application_name.forceflag
file . The application_name.forceflag is the name of the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource.
Before creating this file, ensure that the application service is not running elsewhere. This file is
removed after it is detected by HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.
You cannot use the force flag if the local virtual volume state is a combination of secondary and
syncing, which indicates that a copy operation is in progress. A disk cannot be put in read/write
access mode when a write operation is in progress to that virtual volume; in this case, HP 3PAR
Cluster Extension returns a global error.
Planning for HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Consider the dependencies described in this section before configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension.
Cluster setup considerations
Windows clustering
Windows Clustering depends on a quorum resource to maintain a persistent log of cluster
configuration changes and status, as well as a single point to resolve any possible events that
could result in a split-brain situation. HP 3PAR Cluster Extension supports the following quorum
configurations in which one site failure will not cause the entire cluster to fail.
Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012
• Node Majority
• Node and File Share Majority
NOTE: HP 3PAR Cluster Extension does not support quorum configuration which includes disk
witness.
Node Majority quorum in Windows Clustering
The Node Majority resource ensures that the cluster's configuration data is stored locally on the
nodes and that it is kept consistent across the different disks. This allows cluster topologies where
the nodes do not need shared access to a quorum disk.
(Number of nodes in the cluster/2) +1
12 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
This ensures that more than 50% of the nodes will have an up-to-date copy of the configuration
information.
The cluster service does not start (and bring resources online) if there are 50% or less of the
configured nodes up and running. The cluster service waits, trying to restart, until a quorum is
established when more nodes join. This feature guarantees that the cluster has the latest and most
up-to-date configuration. This also means that, in a geographically dispersed cluster, you must
distribute the nodes evenly between two data centers and have an arbitrator node in a third site
or separate protected area to be able to survive a single data center failure.
Node Majority with File Share Witness
The file share witness feature is an improvement to the Node Majority quorum model. This feature
lets you use a file share that is external to the cluster as an additional "vote" to determine the status
of the cluster in a Node Majority quorum cluster deployment.
Consider a two-node Node Majority quorum cluster. Because an Node Majority quorum cluster
can only run when the majority of the cluster nodes are available, a two-node Node Majority
quorum cluster is unable to sustain the failure of any cluster node. This is because the majority of
a two-node cluster is two. To sustain the failure of any one node in an Node Majority quorum
cluster, you must have at least three devices that can be considered as available. The file share
witness feature enables you to use an external file share as a witness. This witness acts as the third
available device in a two-node Node Majority quorum cluster. Therefore, with this feature enabled,
a two-node Node Majority quorum cluster can sustain the failure of a single cluster node.
Additionally, the file share witness feature provides the following two functions:
• It helps protect the cluster against a problem that is known as a split brain. This problem occurs
if the two nodes in a Node Majority quorum cluster cannot communicate with each other. In
this situation, each cluster node is unable to determine whether the loss of communication
occurred because the other cluster node failed, or whether the loss of communication occurred
because of a problem with the network. The file share witness can designate one of the cluster
nodes as the surviving cluster node. That cluster node can then determine that it should continue
to run the cluster. In this scenario, the surviving cluster node can determine that the other cluster
node failed, or that the other cluster node was not sanctioned by the file share witness.
• It helps protect the cluster against a problem that is known as a partition in time. This problem
occurs if the following conditions are true:
◦ Cluster node A is running, but cluster node B is not running.
◦ Cluster node A stops running.
◦ Cluster node B tries to run the cluster.
In this situation, cluster node B may not have the cluster state information that was updated
on cluster node A. Therefore, cluster node B may run the cluster by using incorrect state
information. The file share witness feature helps prevent this problem by detecting that
the cluster state has changed. The file share witness feature prevents the cluster node that
contains outdated cluster state information from running the cluster.
NOTE: See Microsoft documentation for more details on Microsoft Failover quorum configuration.
Cluster Shared Volume for Windows Server 2012
Cluster Shared Volume is a feature of Microsoft Failover Cluster which allows all nodes in the
cluster with the ability to directly access the same volume without changing ownership of the disk
resource. The result of the feature is that all nodes in a cluster can use the same volume to host
actively running Virtual Machines at the same time. CSV manages storage access differently than
regular clustered disks. CSV Volume is a shared disk containing NTFS partitions. CSV gives you
the ability to store multiple VHDs on a single LUN and run the associated VMs on any cluster node.
Planning for HP 3PAR Cluster Extension 13
This will make your cluster work quicker. Additionally, CSV enables Live Migration which allows
you to move a running VM from one node to another node with zero downtime. Since disk
ownership no longer needs to change when a VM moves to another node, this makes the process
quicker and safer, allowing clients to remain connected while the virtual machine is moved to
another node in the cluster. The CSV disk resource which is owned by a cluster node is called as
coordinate node. The VMs which are hosted on the CSV disk can be owned by either coordinated
node or any other node of the cluster. When a disk is in the available storage group, it can be
converted to CSV. When a CSV disk is created in the Failover Cluster, internally, a hidden role
will be created by the failover cluster which is not visible in the Failover Cluster GUI, but visible
through cluster.exe command output. Only CSV disk is shown in the Failover Cluster GUI. The
name of the CSV role is in the form of a GUID. For every highly available VM created on the CSV,
there will be a role created in the Failover Cluster which is independent of the CSV role. The
following screenshot has two virtual machines created on a single CSV Disk. For each virtual
machine there is a role created.
In a multi-site storage array replicated environment, CSV disks are replicated to the remote
datacenter using the array based remote replication feature. VMs residing in the CSV disk can run
on any cluster nodes (physical servers). In case of disaster to the primary datacenter, CSV disks
need to be brought online in the secondary datacenter. For this, storage failover needs to be done
after checking the CLX disaster recovery rules before cluster brings the CSV disk online. This is
where CLX comes into picture to swap replication direction and perform the storage failover in an
automated fashion to add failover capabilities for the CSV disks in the clustering environment.
3PAR Cluster Extension supports CSV disk on Windows Server 2012 in addition to non CSV disk
support. Configuration of CSV disk for CLX is similar to configuration of normal disk for CLX support.
Since the CSV role is hidden and not seen in Failover Cluster GUI, CLX has provided PowerShell
Cmdlets to configure Cluster Extension 3PAR resource for the CSV disk. See “Cluster Extension
Cmdlets for CSV and Virtual Machine Management” (page 58) on how to configure CSV disk for
CLX.
14 HP 3PAR Cluster Extension features
Configuration tool (clx3PARconfig.exe)
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension uses the configuration tool(clx3PARconfig.exe) to store
configuration and access information for each configured management server. This tool stores
information in the clx3parcfg file. However, because the clx3parcfg file cannot be edited
with a standard text editor, management server entries can only be added, modified, and deleted
using the configuration tool that is included with the standard installation of HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension.
HP 3PAR InForm Management Console or HP 3PAR InForm CLI
HP 3PAR InForm Management Console or HP 3PAR InForm CLI is used to create virtual volumes
and configure the HP 3PAR storage system.
IP network considerations
HP 3PAR CLI is essential to Cluster Extension which communicates with the HP 3PAR storage system
over the IP network. HP recommends that you provide reliable network connections for cluster node
to HP 3PAR storage system communications.
SAN fabric considerations
Ensure that cluster nodes in the zoning configuration recognize their respective (local) HP 3PAR
storage system, but not the remote HP 3PAR storage system.
Planning for HP 3PAR Cluster Extension 15
2 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
After installing HP 3PAR Cluster Extension, use the configuration tool to define the HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension setup configuration. Use Failover Cluster Management (Windows Server 2008/2008
R2/2012), or cluster commands in the CLI or Microsoft Failover Cluster PowerShell Cmdlets to add
and configure resources.
Integrating HP 3PAR Cluster Extension with MSFC
To integrate HP 3PAR Cluster Extension with MSFC:
1. Define the setup configuration for the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension application. For instructions,
see “Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension” (page 16).
2. Add a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource. For instructions, see “Adding a HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension resource” (page 21).
3. Configure the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource. For more information, see “Configuring
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources” (page 23) .
Add dependencies on the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource. For instructions, see “Adding
dependencies on a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource” (page 35).
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
After installation, you must define the configuration setup using the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Configuration Tool.
You can configure HP 3PAR Cluster Extension with the GUI or the CLI. Use the following instructions
for the GUI. For instructions on performing HP 3PAR Cluster Extension configuration tasks with the
CLI, see “Defining the HP 3PAR configuration information using the GUI” (page 17).
Starting the HP 3PAR Configuration Tool
To start the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Configuration Tool:
• For Windows Server 2008/2008 R2: Double-click the HP 3PAR CLX Configuration Tool icon
on the desktop, or select Start→All Programs→Hewlett-Packard→HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Software→HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Configuration Tool.
• For Windows Server 2012: Double-click the HP 3PAR CLX Configuration Tool icon on the
desktop, or select Start→All Apps→Hewlett-Packard→HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Software→HP
3PAR Cluster Extension Configuration Tool.
• For Server Core or Hyper-V Server: Open a command window and enter clx3PARconfig
–I.
The HP 3PAR CLX Configuration Tool window appears.
16 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Defining the HP 3PAR configuration information using the GUI
To define configuration information using the GUI:
1. Open the configuration tool.
For instructions, see “Starting the HP 3PAR Configuration Tool” (page 16)
2. Click Add in the Array Configuration section to open the Add Array dialog box.
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension 17
3. Enter the Array Network Name.
4. If you have a password file, click Browse to select the password file.
If you don’t have a password file, select I don’t have a password file radio button and click
Generate button to open HP 3PAR password file generator dialog box.
NOTE: On Server Core Failover cluster nodes, during the CLX Configuration using the CLX
Configuration Tool, if user wants to generate password file using I don’t have a password file
option, user needs to manually enter the password file path rather than clicking on the Browse
button and selecting the folder location.
18 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Provide the required information and click Generate button to generate new HP 3PAR password
file for the given array.
• User: HP 3PAR user
• Password: HP 3PAR password for the given user.
• Password file name: The name of the password file that will be generated on clicking
Generate button. This is an optional parameter; the default value will be
<System>_<User>.pwd.
• Password file path: The windows directory where the HP 3PAR password file needs to
be created.
5. Click Connect to connect to the array.
The array details (Array Name, Array Serial Number, Array Model, and Array ID) and the
array target information appears on the Add Array dialog box.
NOTE: If the Remote Copy link is down between the array and the defined targets, Cluster
Extension will not be able to obtain the target array information. The value in the target array
ID will be NA and a warning message is displayed. However, you can continue with the array
configuration, but you cannot configure Cluster Extension resources for the volume groups
between the array and the failed targets. Verify the Remote Copy link between the array and
the failed targets. Launch the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension Configuration Tool and use the Modify
array option, and click Connect on the Modify HP 3PAR storage system Connection Settings
dialog to obtain the correct target information.
6. Click OK to add the array information into the cluster configuration.
The HP 3PAR CLX Configuration Tool window appears.
7. Click Add in the Cluster Node Configuration section to open the Add Server dialog box.
The available servers are listed.
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension 19
8. Select the servers that are possible owners of the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension-managed disks,
and click OK.
NOTE: See the Microsoft Windows Clustering documentation for more information about
possible owners.
9. Click OK.
You will be prompted to confirm if you want to automatically copy the configuration file on
all the cluster nodes used by Cluster Extension.
a. If you select Yes, the configuration information is automatically copied to all cluster nodes
used by Cluster Extension.
NOTE: You must create or copy the array password file on all cluster nodes used by
Cluster Extension. Ensure that the appropriate path is reflected in the configuration
information of each node. During configuration, you will be prompted to confirm if you
want to copy the configuration file on all cluster nodes. If you choose to copy the HP
3PAR Cluster Extension configuration file automatically, the same password file location
is retained on all cluster nodes. If the password file location on each cluster node is
different, ensure that you change the password file location by running the HP 3PAR
Cluster Extension Configuration Tool locally.
b. If you select No, configuration information is saved locally.
You can use the import and export features to copy the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
configuration file clx3PARcfg from one cluster node to another.
Your configuration information is saved in the clx3PARcfg file in the
%HPCLX_3PAR_PATH%\bin directory.
NOTE: To verify the connectivity between array and cluster nodes, select one or more
configured HP 3PAR storage systems and click Connection Test.
Defining the HP 3PAR configuration information using the CLI
You can configure HP 3PAR Cluster Extension using the CLI command clx3PARconfig.
Enter clx3PARconfig /help to view usage information.
20 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
1. Use the following command to add arrays:
clx3PARconfig ARRAY /ADD [{NAME=<array network name|array IP
address>PWF=<password file path>}] [{NAME=<array network name |
array IP address>PWF=<password file path>}]...]
2. Use the following command to add the available cluster nodes:
clx3PARconfig SERVER /ADD [NAME=servername] [NAME=servername...]
3. Use the procedures in “Importing and exporting configuration information” (page 21) to copy
the configuration information to the other cluster nodes.
Importing and exporting configuration information
The import feature allows you to define the configuration setup using an existing configuration file.
The export feature allows you to save a copy of an existing configuration.
Use the import and export features to copy the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension configuration file
(clx3PARcfg) from one cluster node to another.
Exporting configuration settings using the GUI
1. Open the configuration tool.
For instructions, see “Starting the HP 3PAR Configuration Tool” (page 16).
2. Click Export.
3. When prompted, choose a save location, enter a file name, and then click Save.
4. Click OK to save and close the configuration tool.
Exporting configuration settings using the CLI
1. Open a command window.
2. Enter clx3PARconfig EXPORT /FILE=filepath, where filepath specifies the save
location and file name.
Importing configuration settings using the GUI
1. Open the configuration tool.
2. For instructions, see “Starting the HP 3PAR Configuration Tool” (page 16).
3. Click Import.
4. When prompted, choose the configuration file, and then click Open.
5. Click OK to save and close the configuration tool.
Importing configuration settings using the CLI
1. Open a command window.
2. Enter clx3PARconfig IMPORT /FILE=filepath, where filepath specifies the file
location and name.
Adding a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource
IMPORTANT: In Failover Cluster Management for Windows Server 2012, the term services and
applications for resource groups is changed to roles. In this guide, the term services and applications
refers to roles for Windows Server 2012 and services and applications for Windows Server
2008/2008 R2.
Adding a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource 21
To use 3PAR Cluster Extension, you must add an HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource in the cluster
management application. Follow one of the following ways to add CLX 3PAR Cluster Extension
resource.
• Use the Failover Cluster Management GUI or cluster commands in the CLI or PowerShell
Cmdlets. For instructions, see “Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Failover
Cluster Management GUI” (page 22) or “Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using
cluster.exe” (page 22) or “Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Microsoft
Failover Cluster PowerShell Cmdlets” (page 23)
• For Server Core or Hyper-V Server, use one of the following:
Failover Cluster Management GUI on the remote management station◦
◦ HP 3PAR Resource Configuration Tool on CLX nodes
◦ Cluster commands in CLX nodes
◦ Microsoft Failover Cluster PowerShell Cmdlets.
For Server Core or Hyper-V Server also, cluster commands and PowerShell Cmdlets can be
used as mentioned in the first bullet.
CAUTION: Do not use the following characters in Cluster Extension resource names: \ / : * ? "
< > |. Using these characters might affect the creation of the resourcename.online file, which
is used for the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource health check mechanism.
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Failover Cluster Management GUI
Use the procedure in this section to add a resource using the Failover Cluster Management GUI.
For instructions on using the CLI, see “Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using cluster.exe”
(page 22).
1. Add a service or application in the Failover Cluster Management GUI, as described in your
Microsoft documentation.
2. Right-click the service or application and select Add a resource > More resources > Add Cluster
Extension 3PAR.
NOTE: This step is applicable for creating CLX resources for non CSV disks on Windows Server
2008/2008 R2/2012. Using Failover Cluster Management GUI, we cannot add CLX resource
for the CSV disk. See “Configuration of HP 3PAR CLX for CSV disk on Windows Server 2012”
(page 37) for configuring CLX resource for CSV disk on Windows Server 2012.
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using cluster.exe
You can use Cluster Command to add a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource.
Use the following command to add an HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource:
cluster resource resource_name /create /group:service_or_application_name
/type:"Cluster Extension 3PAR"
NOTE: For Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Failover Cluster Command Interface feature will
not be enabled by default when user adds the Microsoft Failover Clustering feature. User need to
explicitly select this feature to install on the cluster node.
Example
This command adds an HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource called clx_fileshare to the
CLX_SHARE service or application.
22 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
cluster resource clx_fileshare /create /group:CLX_SHARE /type:"Cluster
Extension 3PAR"
Adding HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource using the Microsoft Failover Cluster PowerShell Cmdlets
NOTE: On Windows Server 2012 Server Core, Failover Cluster PowerShell interface is not
enabled by default when the Failover Cluster feature is enabled. User should explicitly enable this
feature for using the PowerShell Cmdlets.
Use the following command to add HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource:
Add-ClusterResource -Name "resource_name" -Group
“service_or_application_name” -ResourceType "Cluster Extension 3PAR"
Example:
This command adds an HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource called clx_fileshare to the
CLX_SHARE service or application.
Add-ClusterResource -Name "clx_fileshare" -Group “CLX_SHARE”
-ResourceType "Cluster Extension 3PAR"
Configuring more than one resource in a service or application
To create more than one HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource in a service or application:
1. Create two (or more) Remote Copy volume groups and create a resource for each Remote
Copy volume group.
2. Make every physical disk resource in the cluster service or application depend on both (all)
resources within the cluster service or application. This ensures that any disk in the cluster
service or application can go online only if both (all) Remote Copy volume groups are failed
over correctly.
Changing a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource name
This section describes how to change a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource name.
In this procedure, you use the Failover Cluster Management GUI to change a resource name. For
Server Core or Hyper-V Server, use the MMC or Powershell Cmdlets to run the Failover Cluster
Management GUI from a remote node or use cluster commands in the CLI to change the resource
name. See “Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the CLI” (page 33) or
“Setting HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties using the Microsoft Failover PowerShell
Cmdlets” (page 34) for instructions.
1. Open Failover Cluster Management.
2. Open the resource Properties window and click the General tab.
3. Enter a new name in the Resource Name field.
4. Click OK to save your changes and close the window.
Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource properties are configured using the Failover Cluster Management
GUI, or cluster commands in the CLI.
• For information about Microsoft Failover Cluster Service properties that affect HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension, see “Setting Microsoft cluster-specific resource and service or application properties”
(page 24).
• For information on HP 3PAR Cluster Extension-specific properties, see “Setting HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension-specific resource properties” (page 27).
Changing a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource name 23
Before configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources, review the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
objects described in “User configuration file and HP 3PAR Cluster Extension objects” (page 47).
NOTE: User does not need to configure resources of type "Cluster Extension 3PAR for VM
Management". Only resources of type "Cluster Extension 3PAR" needs to be configured for the
storage disks.
When configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resources, note the following:
• If the Failover Cluster Management GUI is used to configure a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
resource, configuring the resource using a user configuration file (UCF file) is not required.
• HP 3PAR Cluster Extension creates a file called resource_name.online to indicate that
the HP 3PAR resource is online on the local node. This file is created in the directory specified
by the ApplicationDir resource property. If the resource is taken offline, this file is deleted.
• Windows Server 2008 only: If a HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource is not configured, the
resource icon in the Failover Cluster Management GUI shows the message not configured
next to the resource status.
• The HP 3PAR Cluster Extension resource must be the first resource for all other disk resources.
• The resource's PendingTimeout value must be equal to or greater than the value specified
for the ResyncWaitTimeout attribute.
Setting Microsoft cluster-specific resource and service or application properties
Microsoft allows you to set specific failover parameter and threshold values for a service or
application, and for a resource. Some of these values must be changed for HP 3PAR Cluster
Extension to enable manual recovery actions in case of a disaster.
To set Microsoft cluster-specific resource properties:
• For Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012, use the Failover Cluster Management GUI or
cluster commands in the CLI or use PowerShell Cmdlets.
• For Server Core or Hyper-V Server, use cluster commands in the CLI or use PowerShell Cmdlets.
TIP:
You can use the GUI option for Server Core or Hyper-V Server by using the MMC to manage a
cluster remotely. For more information about using the MMC, see your Microsoft documentation.
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension requirements for Failover Cluster Management resource properties are
described in Table 1 (page 25). If there is no required value for a property, the valid and/or
default values are specified. Set these properties in the resource properties window or the CLI. If
you use the CLI, use the following command:
cluster.exe resource <ResourceName> /prop PropertyName="PropertyValue".
For PowerShell, use the following command:
Get-ClusterResource "Resource_name" | Set-ClusterParameter -Name
"property_name" -Value "value_to_set"
For more information about setting resource properties, see your Microsoft documentation.
24 Configuring HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
Table 1 Setting resource properties and values in the GUI
ValueDescriptionFormatProperty
Check Interval )
IsAlivePollInterval (CLI)
Interval )
LooksAlivePollInterval (CLI)
IntegerThorough Resource Health
IntegerBasic Resource Health Check
Used to poll “Alive” state for
the resource. Also used by
HP 3PAR Cluster Extension
to perform HP 3PAR Remote
Copy start operations if
auto_recover policy is set
for a particular Remote
Copy volume group.
Decreasing this value allows
faster resource failure
detection but also consumes
more system resources.
Set this value in the
Advanced Policies tab of the
resource properties window
in Failover Cluster
Management.
the resource. Decreasing this
value allows for faster
resource failure detection but
also consumes more system
resources.
Set this value in the
Advanced Policies tab of the
resource properties window
in Failover Cluster
Management.
GUI: 01:00 mm:ss (Default)
CLI: 60000 milliseconds
(Default)
GUI: 00:05 mm:ss (Default)Used to poll “Alive” state for
CLI: 5000 milliseconds
(Default)
restart on current node –
Maximum restarts in the
specified period )
RestartThreshold (CLI)
over all resources in this
service or application
RestartAction (CLI)
restart on current node –
Period for restarts
IntegerIf a resource fails, attempt
can be 0 (Required)
automatically restarted after
it has failed.
Set this value in the Policies
tab of the resource
properties window in
Failover Cluster
Management.
IntegerIf restart is unsuccessful, fail
will be failed over if a restart
is unsuccessful.
Set this value in the Policies
tab of the resource
properties window in
Failover Cluster
Management.
IntegerIf a resource fails, attempt
time for restart.
Set this value in the Policies
tab of the resourceRestartPeriod (CLI)
properties window in
Failover Cluster
Management.
0 (Required)Defines whether a resource
Check (Required)Defines whether resources
CLI: 2 restart and
affect the group
(Required)
GUI: 15:00 mm:ss (Default)Determines the amount of
CLI: 900000 milliseconds
(Default)
PendingTimeout (CLI)
IntegerPending timeout (GUI)
for status resolution. For
more information, see
“Timing considerations for
Setting Microsoft cluster-specific resource and service or application properties 25
GUI: 03:00 mm:ssUsed to specify the timeout
CLI: 180000 milliseconds
(Default)
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