12.3 Creating Cluster-Enabled Pools and Volumes

After you have installed and configured Novell Cluster Services, you can create a pool cluster resource by creating a cluster-enabled NSS pool and volume.

12.3.1 Initializing and Sharing a Device

Devices (disks or LUNs) that you want to use for your cluster-enabled pool must be initialized and shared to be visible to the NSS management tools when you create a pool. Novell Cluster Services must be installed and running on the server in order to share the device.

You can perform the device management tasks by using the Novell Storage Services (NSS) Management Utility or the Storage plug-in to iManager.

Initializing and Sharing a Disk with iManager

  1. Ensure that the SAN device is attached to all nodes in the cluster.

  2. Log in to iManager as an administrator user, then select Storage > Devices.

  3. Browse to select the Cluster object () of the cluster.

    Selecting the Cluster object automatically selects the server that is currently the master node in the cluster.

  4. From the Devices list, select the device where you want to create the pool.

  5. If the device has not been previously initialized or if you want to delete the current partitioning structures on the device, click Initialize Disk.

    WARNING:Initializing a disk destroys all of the data on it.

    Wait for the page to refresh before continuing.

  6. In the Details area, select the Shareable for Clustering check box, then click OK to apply the change.

  7. Repeat Step 4 through Step 6 for each device that you want to use in the pool.

  8. Exit iManager.

  9. Continue with Section 12.3.2, Creating a Cluster-Enabled Pool and Volume with iManager.

Initializing and Sharing a Disk with NSSMU

  1. Ensure that the SAN device is attached to all nodes in the cluster.

  2. Log in as the root user to the master node in the cluster, then open a terminal console.

  3. At the console prompt, enter

    nssmu

  4. In the NSSMU, select Devices and press Enter.

  5. In the Devices list, select the device where you want to create the pool.

  6. If the device has not been initialized or if you want to delete the current partitioning structures on the device, press F3 to initialize the selected device.

    WARNING:Initializing a disk destroys all of the data on it.

    Wait for the page to refresh before continuing.

  7. Press F6 to mark the device as shareable for clustering.

    The Shareable for Clustering value changes from No to Yes.

  8. Repeat Step 5 through Step 7 for each device that you want to use in the pool.

  9. Exit NSSMU.

  10. Continue with Section 12.3.3, Creating a Cluster-Enabled Pool and Volume with NSSMU.

12.3.2 Creating a Cluster-Enabled Pool and Volume with iManager

  1. Ensure that the SAN device is attached to all of the nodes in the cluster.

  2. Log in to iManager as an administrator user.

  3. Create a clustered pool:

    1. In Roles and Tasks, select Storage > Pools.

    2. Browse to select the Cluster object () of the cluster.

      This automatically selects the server that is currently the master node in the cluster. The shared device will be assigned to this server and the pool will be created there. After you create the clustered pool and volume, you can modify the resource’s preferred node order, then cluster migrate the volume to its most preferred node.

    3. Click the New link to open the New Pool wizard.

    4. Specify the new pool name, then click Next.

    5. Select the check box next to the shared device where you want to create the pool, then specify the size of the pool.

    6. Select or deselect the Mount On Creation option.

      The Mount On Creation option determines if the pool you are creating is to be activated (the resource is brought online) as soon as it is created.

      The option is enabled by default. This allows you to create volumes immediately after you create the clustered pool. Default settings apply to the pool cluster resource and scripts, but you can modify them later.

      If you deselect the option, you can configure the resource and modify the scripts before you bring the resource online for the first time. You must bring the pool cluster resource online before you can create volumes on it.

    7. Select the Cluster Enable on Creation check box.

      This option is selected by default if the device is shared.

      If you deselect this option, you are not shown the Cluster Pool Information page. After you create a volume on the non-clustered pool, you can cluster-enable the pool and volume as described in Section 12.4, Cluster-Enabling an Existing NSS Pool and Its Volumes.

    8. On the Cluster Pool Information page, specify the following information:

      Parameter

      Action

      Virtual Server Name

      (Optional) Change the default name of the Virtual Server for the cluster resource.

      The default virtual server name for the resource is the cluster name plus the cluster resource name. For example, if the cluster name is cluster1 and the pool cluster resource name is POOL1_SERVER, then the default virtual server name is CLUSTER1_POOL1_SERVER.

      CIFS Server Name

      If CIFS is enabled as an advertising protocol, specify the name of the CIFS virtual server that CIFS clients see when they browse the network. The name can be up to 15 characters.

      A default name is specified in the form of clustername_poolname_W. If this exceeds 15 characters, characters are dropped from the left.

      If Novell CIFS is not installed and running, this field value is NOT_SUPPORTED.

      IP Address

      Specify an IP address for the pool cluster resource. Tab between the address fields.

      Each pool cluster resource requires its own unique IP address. The IP address assigned to the pool remains assigned to the pool regardless of which server in the cluster is accessing the pool.

      Advertising Protocols

      Select the check boxes of the advertising protocols (AFP, CIFS, NCP) that you want to enable for data requests to this shared pool. NCP is required to support authenticated access to data via the Novell Trustee model.

      Selecting a protocol causes commands to be added to the pool cluster resource’s load and unload scripts to activate the protocol for the resource. This lets you ensure that the cluster-enabled pool is highly available to users via the specified protocol.

      Novell CIFS and Novell AFP are available for OES 2 SP1 Linux and later. If Novell CIFS or Novell AFP are not installed and running, selecting the CIFS or AFP check box has no effect.

      For OES 2 Linux and earlier, Novell CIFS and Novell AFP are not available and these options do no apply for pools on Linux. Selecting the CIFS and AFP check boxes has no effect.

      Online Resource after Create

      The check box is deselected by default and dimmed so that you cannot change the setting.

      The pool is currently active on the server. You must deactivate the pool from the server before attempting to bring the resource online. You should also configure the resource load, unload, and monitoring scripts before you bring the resource online.

      Define Additional Properties

      Select the Define Additional Properties check box.

      This allows you to configure the resource policies for the start, failover, and failback modes, and to configure the preferred nodes.

    9. Click Finish.

      Typically, the pool creation takes less than a minute. However, if you have a large tree or the server does not hold an eDirectory replica, the create time can take up to 3 minutes.

      The pool cluster resource should be online and active on the master node if the Mount on Creation option was enabled.

  4. Create a volume on the clustered pool:

    Repeat the following procedure for each cluster volume that you want to create on the shared pool. We recommend using only one volume per shared pool.

    1. In iManager, select Storage, then select the Volumes.

    2. Browse to select the Cluster object () of the cluster.

      Selecting the Cluster object automatically selects the server that is currently the master node in the cluster.

    3. Click New.

    4. Specify the new volume name, then click Next.

      Each shared volume in the cluster must have a unique name across all nodes.

    5. Select the check box next to the cluster pool where you want to create the volume, select Allow the volume to grow to the size of the pool, then click Next.

    6. Review and change volume attributes by selecting or deselecting the check boxes next to the attributes.

      The Backup and Salvage Files attributes are selected by default.

      For information about volume attributes, see Volume Attributes in the OES 2 SP3: NSS File System Administration Guide for Linux.

    7. Choose whether you want the volume activated and mounted when it is created, then click Finish.

      Typically, the volume creation takes less than 10 seconds. However, if you have a large tree or the server does not hold an eDirectory replica, the create time can take up to 3 minutes.

  5. Verify that the pool cluster resource was created and is online.

    1. In iManager, select Clusters > Cluster Options.

    2. Browse to select the Cluster.

    3. In the Cluster Objects list, view the pool cluster resource, such as POOL1_SERVER.

    4. In iManager, select Clusters > Cluster Manager.

    5. If the resource is online, the state is Running.

  6. Continue with Section 12.5, Configuring a Load Script for the Shared NSS Pool.

12.3.3 Creating a Cluster-Enabled Pool and Volume with NSSMU

  1. Ensure that the SAN device is attached to all of the nodes in the cluster.

  2. On the master node, log in as the root user, then open a terminal console.

  3. Start NSSMU by entering nssmu at the terminal console prompt.

  4. Create a clustered pool:

    1. From the NSSMU main menu, select Pools.

    2. On the Pools page, press Insert, type a name for the new pool you want to create, then press Enter.

    3. From the list of available devices, select the shared device where you want the pool created (such as sdc), then press Enter.

    4. Specify the amount of space (in MB) to use, then press Enter.

    5. Press F3 to accept the device and size settings.

      The Cluster Pool Information page opens automatically because the selected device is shared.

    6. For the Activate On Creation option, specify whether you want the pool to be activated when it is created, then continue to the next field by pressing Enter.

      The Activate On Creation option determines if the pool you are creating is to be activated (the resource is brought online) as soon as it is created.

      The option is set to Yes (enabled) by default. This allows you to create volumes immediately after you create the clustered pool. Default settings apply to the pool cluster resource and scripts, but you can modify them later.

      If you set the value to No (disabled), you can configure the resource and modify the scripts before you bring the resource online for the first time. You must bring the pool cluster resource online before you can create volumes on it.

    7. Specify Yes for the Cluster Enable on Creation option.

      This option is selected by default if the device is shared.

      If you set the value to No, the values you set on the Cluster Pool Information page are ignored, and a pool cluster resource is not created. After you create a volume on the non-clustered pool, you can cluster-enable the pool and volume as described in Section 12.4, Cluster-Enabling an Existing NSS Pool and Its Volumes.

    8. On the Cluster Pool Information page, specify the following information:

      Parameter

      Action

      Virtual Server Name

      (Optional) Change the default name of the Virtual Server for the cluster resource.

      The default virtual server name for the resource is the cluster name plus the cluster resource name. For example, if the cluster name is cluster1 and the pool cluster resource name is POOL1_SERVER, then the default virtual server name is CLUSTER1_POOL1_SERVER.

      CIFS Server Name

      If CIFS is enabled as an advertising protocol, specify the name of the CIFS virtual server that CIFS clients see when they browse the network. The name can be up to 15 characters.

      A default name is specified in the form of clustername_poolname_W. If this exceeds 15 characters, characters are dropped from the left.

      If Novell CIFS is not installed and running, this field value is NOT_SUPPORTED.

      IP Address

      Specify an IP address for the pool cluster resource. Tab between the address fields.

      Each pool cluster resource requires its own unique IP address. The IP address assigned to the pool remains assigned to the pool regardless of which server in the cluster is accessing the pool.

      Advertising Protocols

      Select the check boxes of the advertising protocols (AFP, CIFS, NCP) that you want to enable for data requests to this shared pool. NCP is required to support authenticated access to data via the Novell Trustee model.

      Selecting a protocol causes commands to be added to the pool cluster resource’s load and unload scripts to activate the protocol for the resource. This lets you ensure that the cluster-enabled pool is highly available to users via the specified protocol.

      Novell CIFS and Novell AFP are available for OES 2 SP1 Linux and later. If Novell CIFS or Novell AFP are not installed and running, selecting the CIFS or AFP check box has no effect.

      For OES 2 Linux and earlier, Novell CIFS and Novell AFP are not available and these options do no apply for pools on Linux. Selecting the CIFS and AFP check boxes has no effect.

      The default name of a pool cluster resource is the pool name plus the word SERVER, such as POOL1_SERVER. You can modify the resource name after the resource has been created by using the cluster rename command. For information, see Section 10.13, Renaming a Cluster Resource. Changing the resource name does not modify the pool name or the virtual server name.

    9. Select Apply, then press Enter to create and cluster-enable the pool.

      Typically, the pool creation takes less than a minute. However, if you have a large tree or the server does not hold an eDirectory replica, the create time can take up to 3 minutes.

  5. Press Esc to return to the NSSMU main menu.

  6. Create a volume on the clustered pool.

    Repeat the following procedure for each cluster volume that you want to create on the shared NSS pool. We recommend using only one volume per shared pool.

    1. On the NSSMU main menu, select Volumes.

    2. On the Volumes page, press Insert, type a name for the new volume you want to create, then press Enter.

      Each shared volume in the cluster must have a unique name across all nodes.

    3. Specify Y(es) to encrypt volume or N(o) to create a regular volume.

    4. From the list of available pools, select the clustered pool where you want the volume to reside, then press Enter.

      The new volume appears in the list of volumes.

      Typically, the volume creation takes less than 10 seconds. However, if you have a large tree or the server does not hold an eDirectory replica, the create time can take up to 3 minutes.

    5. (Optional) From the list of volumes, select the newly created volume, press F8 to view more options, press Enter to open the Properties page to review and change volume attributes, then select Apply and press Enter to save any changes.

      The Backup and Salvage Files attributes are selected by default.

      For information about volume attributes, see Volume Attributes in the OES 2 SP3: NSS File System Administration Guide for Linux.

    6. Exit NSSMU.

  7. Verify that the pool cluster resource was created.

    1. In iManager, select Clusters > Cluster Options.

    2. Browse to select the Cluster.

    3. In the Cluster Objects list, view the pool cluster resource, such as POOL1_SERVER.

    4. In iManager, select Clusters > Cluster Manager.

    5. If the resource is online, the state is Running.

  8. Continue with Section 12.5, Configuring a Load Script for the Shared NSS Pool.