Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
Novell
Business Continuity Clustering
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
1.0
May 22, 2006
www.novell.com
ADMINISTRATION GUIDE
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6Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
About This Guide
This guide describes how to install, configure, and manage Novell® Business Continuity Clustering.
The guide is intended for cluster administrators and is divided into the following sections:
Chapter 1, “Overview,” on page 9
Chapter 2, “Installation and Setup,” on page 17
Chapter 3, “Virtual IP Addresses,” on page 47
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in a cross-reference path.
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trademark.
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
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About This Guide
7
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8Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
1
Overview
As corporations grow more international, fueled in part by the reach of the World Wide Web, the
requirement for service availability has increased. Novell® Cluster Services™ offers corporations
the ability to maintain 24x7x365 data and application services to their users while still being able to
perform maintenance and upgrades on their systems.
In the past few years, natural disasters (ice storms, earthquakes, tornadoes, and fires) have caused
unplanned outages of entire data centers. In addition, US federal agencies have realized the
disastrous effects that terrorist attacks could have on the US economy when corporations lose their
data and the ability to perform critical business practices. This has resulted in initial
recommendations for corporations to build mirrored or replicated data centers that are
geographically separated by 300 km or more (minimum acceptable being 200 km).
Many companies have built and deployed geographically mirrored data centers. The problem is that
setting up and maintaining the two or more centers is a very manual process that takes a great deal of
planning and synchronizing. Even configuration changes have to be carefully planned and
replicated. One mistake and the redundant site is no longer able to effectively take over in the event
of a disaster.
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
1
1.1 Disaster Recovery Implications
The implications of disaster recovery are directly tied to your data. Is your data mission critical? In
many instances, critical systems and data drive the business. If these services stop, the business
stops. When calculating the cost of downtime, some things to consider are
File transfers and file storage
Calendaring and collaboration
Web hosting
Critical databases
Productivity
Reputation
Continuous availability of critical business systems is no longer a luxury, it is a competitive business
requirement.The Gartner Group estimates that 40% of enterprises that experience a disaster will go
out of business in five years and only 15% of enterprises have a full-fledged business continuity plan
that goes beyond core technology and infrastructure.
1.2 Disaster Recovery Implementations
There are two main Novell Cluster Services implementations that you can use to achieve your
desired level of disaster recovery. These include a stretch cluster and a cluster of clusters. The
Novell Business Continuity Cluster product automates some of the configuration and processes used
in a cluster of clusters.
Overview
9
1.2.1 Stretch Clusters vs. Cluster of Clusters
Stretch Clusters
A stretch cluster consists of one cluster in which the nodes in the cluster are located in
geographically separate areas. All nodes in the cluster must be in the same eDirectory™ tree. In this
architecture, the data is mirrored between two data centers that are geographically separated. All the
machines in both data centers are part of one cluster, so that if a disaster occurs in one data center,
the other automatically takes over.
Figure 1-1 Stretch Cluster
8-node cluster stretched
between two sites
Building ABuilding B
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
Ethernet SwitchEthernet Switch
Server 2
Fibre Channel
Switch
Server 3Server 1Server 4
Fibre Channel
Disk Array
Site 1
WAN
Cluster
Heartbeat
SAN
Disk blocks
Server 6 Server 7Server 5Server 8
Fibre Channel
Switch
Fibre Channel
Disk Array
Site 2
Cluster of Clusters
A cluster of clusters consists of two or more clusters in which each cluster is located in a
geographically separate area. A cluster of clusters provides the ability to fail over selected or all
cluster resources from one cluster to another cluster. Typically, replication of data blocks between
10Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
SANs is performed by SAN hardware, but it can be done by host-based mirroring for synchronous
replication over short distances.
result in LUNs becoming primary
at both locations (split brain
problem) if host-based mirroring
is used.
An SBD partition must be
mirrored between sites.
It accommodates only two sites.
All IP addresses must reside in
the same subnet.
The eDirectory partition must
span the cluster.
The chance of LUNs at both
locations becoming primary is
minimized.
eDirectory partitions don't need
to span the cluster.
Each cluster can be in a
separate eDirectory tree.
IP addresses for each cluster
can be on different IP subnets.
It accommodates more than two
sites and cluster resources can
fail over to separate clusters
(multiple-site fan-out failover
support).
SBD partitions are not mirrored
between sites.
Resource configurations must be
kept in sync manually.
12Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
Stretch ClusterCluster of Clusters
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
Other Considerations Host-based mirroring is required
to mirror the SBD partition
between sites.
Link variations can cause false
failovers.
You could consider partitioning
the eDirectory tree to place the
cluster container in a partition
separate from the rest of the
tree.
The cluster heartbeat must be
increased to accommodate link
latency between sites.
You can set this as high as 30
seconds, monitor cluster
heartbeat statistics, and then
tune down as needed.
Because all IP addresses in the
cluster must be on the same
subnet, you must ensure that
your routers handle gratuitous
ARP.
Contact your router vendor or
consult your router
documentation for more
information.
Storage arrays must be
controllable by scripts that run on
NetWare.
1.2.2 Novell Business Continuity Clusters
Novell Business Continuity Clusters is a cluster of clusters similar to what is described above,
except that the cluster configuration, maintenance, and synchronization have been automated by
adding specialized software.
Novell Business Continuity Clustering software is an integrated set of tools to automate the setup
and maintenance of a Business Continuity infrastructure. Unlike competitive solutions that attempt
to build stretch clusters, Novell Business Continuity Clustering utilizes a cluster of clusters. Each
site has its own independent cluster(s), and the clusters in each of the geographically separate sites
are each treated as "nodes" in a larger cluster, allowing a whole site to fan-out failover to other
multiple sites. Although this can currently be done manually with a cluster of clusters, Novell
Business Continuity Clustering automates the system using eDirectory and policy-based
management of the resources and storage systems.
Novell Business Continuity Clustering software
Integrates with SAN hardware devices to automate the failover process.
Utilizes Novell's DirXML® technology to automatically synchronize and transfer cluster-
related eDirectory objects from one cluster to another.
Provides the capability to fail over as few as one cluster resource, or as many as all cluster
resources.
Includes a test mode that lets you do site failover testing as a standard practice.
Overview13
Provdes scripting capability for enhanced control and customization.
Provides simplified business coninuity cluster configuration and management using the
browser-based iManager management tool.
1.2.3 Usage Scenarios
There are several Business Continuity Clustering usage scenarios that can be used to achieve the
desired level of disaster recovery. Three possible scenarios include:
A simple two-site Business Continuity Cluster
A multiple-site Business Continuity Cluster
A low-cost Business Continuity Cluster
Two-Site Business Continuity Cluster Solution
The two-site solution can be used in one of two ways:
A primary site in which all services are normally active, and a secondary site which is
effectively idle, with the data mirrored at it and the applications/services ready to load if
needed.
Two active sites each supporting different applications/services. Either site can take over for
the other site at any time.
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
14Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
The first option is typically used when the purpose of the secondary site is primarily testing by the
IT department. The second option is typically used in a company that has more than one large site of
operations.
Figure 1-3 Two Site Business Continuity Cluster
Two independent clusters at
geographically separate sites
Building ABuilding B
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
Server
1A
Fibre Channel
Server
Switch
Ethernet Switch
2A
Fibre Channel
Cluster Site 1
Server
3A
Disk Arrays
Server
4A
WAN
eDirectory
DirXML
Server
1B
SAN
Disk blocks
Ethernet Switch
Server2BServer
3B
Fibre Channel
Switch
Fibre Channel
Disk Arrays
Cluster Site 2
Server
4B
Multiple-Site Business Continuity Cluster Solution
This is a large Business Continuity Cluster solution capable of supporting up to 32 nodes per site
and more than two sites. Services and applications can do fan-out failover between sites. Replication
of data blocks is typically done by SAN vendors, but can be done by host-based mirroring for
Overview15
synchronous replication over short distances. The illustration below depicts a four-site business
continuity cluster.
Figure 1-4 Multiple Site Business Continuity Cluster
novdocx (ENU) 10 August 2006
Building D
Ethernet Switch
Server2DServer
3C
4B
Fibre Channel
Switch
Fibre Channel
Disk Arrays
Server
4C
Server
3D
Fibre Channel
Switch
4D
Server
1A
Fibre Channel
Switch
Four independent clusters in
geographically separate sites
Building ABuilding B
Ethernet Switch
Server
Server
2A
Fibre Channel
Disk Arrays
Cluster Site 1
WAN
eDirectory
DirXML
Server
3A
4A
SAN
Disk blocks
Server
Ethernet Switch
Server
Server2BServer
1B
Fibre Channel
Disk Arrays
Cluster Sites 2, 3, and 4
1C
Building C
Ethernet Switch
Server
1D
Server2CServer
Server
3B
Fibre Channel
Switch
Fibre Channel
Disk Arrays
Using Novell’s Portal Services, iChain®, and ZENworks® products, all services, applications, and
data can be rendered through the internet, allowing for loss of service at one site but still providing
full access to the services and data by virtue of the ubiquity of the internet. Data and services
continue to be available from the other mirrored sites. Moving applications and services to the
Internet frees corporations from the restrictions of traditional LAN-based applications. Traditional
LAN applications require a LAN infrastructure that must be replicated at each site, and might
require relocation of employees to allow the business to continue. Internet-based applications allow
employees to work from any place that offers an internet connection, including homes and hotels.
Low Cost Business Continuity Cluster Solution
The low cost business continuity cluster solution is similar to the previous two solutions, but
replaces Fibre Channel arrays with iSCSI arrays. Data block mirroring can be accomplished using
iSCSI-based block replication. In this case, snapshot technology can allow for asynchronous
replication over long distances. However, the lower cost solution does not necessarily have the
performance associated with higher-end Fibre Channel storage arrays.
16Novell Business Continuity Cluster Services 1.0 Administration Guide
2
Installation and Setup
This section covers the following information to help you install, set up, and configure Novell®
Business Continuity Clustering for your specific needs:
“Requirements” on page 17
“Installing the DirXML 1.1a Engine” on page 18
“Installing the DirXML 1.1a Management Utilities” on page 19
“Copying User Objects Using DirXML” on page 22
“Installing Novell Business Continuity Cluster Software” on page 22
“Installing Perl” on page 25
“Configuring File System Mirroring” on page 25
“Setting Up Novell Business Continuity Cluster Software” on page 29
“Managing Novell Business Continuity Clustering” on page 39
“Business Continuity Cluster Failure Types” on page 43
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2
2.1 Requirements
The following requirements must be met prior to installing Novell Business Continuity Cluster
software.
NetWare® 6.5 Support Pack 2 or later installed and running on all servers that will be part of a
business continuity cluster.
See the NetWare 6.5 Overview and Installation Guide for information on installing and
configuring NetWare 6.5.
Two to four clusters with Novell Cluster Services™ 1.7 (the version that ships with NetWare
6.5 Support Pack 1) or later installed and running on each node in the cluster.
Each cluster must have a unique name, even if the clusters reside in different Novell
eDirectory™ trees, and clusters must not have the same name as any of the eDirectory trees in
the business continuity cluster.
See the Novell Cluster Services 1.7 Administration Guide for information on installing and
configuring Novell Cluster Services.
NOTE: The hardware requirements for Novell Business Continuity Cluster software are the
same as for Novell Cluster Services. For more information, see Hardware Requirements and
Shared Disk System Requirementsin the Novell Cluster Services 1.7 Administration Guide.
NOTE: Some SAN vendors require you to purchase or license their CLI (Command Line
Interface) separately. The CLI for the SAN might not initially be included with your hardware.
The following software modules upgraded on all servers that will be part of the business
continuity cluster:
DSLOADER.NLM--See TID # 2973090 (http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/
searchtid.cgi?/2973090.htm) to download this NLM. It is included with the eDirectory patch.
Installation and Setup
17
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