14.3 Configuring an LVM Volume Group Cluster Resource with NSS Management Tools

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

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

If you have not already done so, initialize the SAN device that you want to use for the LVM volume group.

LVM allows only one device per volume group. See Section 14.2, Initializing a SAN Device.

Launch NSSMU:

nssmu

In the NSSMU main menu, select Linux Volumes, then press Enter.

On the Linux Volumes page, press Insert to launch the volume creation wizard, then enter the following information as you are prompted for it:

Parameter	Action
Select LVM type	Select Cluster Enabled LVM2 Volume, then press Enter.
NCP Enable volume?	Specify whether to enable the LVM logical volume for NCP file access. Press y (yes) to allow NCP file access, or press n (No) to disallow NCP file access at this time. If you enable NCP, NSSMU automatically adds commands to the resource scripts that mount, dismount, and monitor an NCP volume. The NCP volume is named the same as the LVM logical volume name, and all letters in the name are uppercase. The tools automatically create an NCP Virtual Server object for the resource. If you do not enable NCP at this time, you can manually create an NCP virtual server, create an NCP Volume object, and add NCP commands to the scripts. See Section 14.5, Creating a Virtual Server Object for an LVM Volume Group Cluster Resource.
Enter volume name	Type the name for the LVM logical volume (such as vol44), then press Enter. The specified name is also used for the LVM volume group, which is used in the name of the LVM volume group cluster resource. If you enable NCP for the volume, the specified name is also applied to the NCP volume. An NCP volume name can be up to 14 alphanumeric characters. Underscores are allowed. All letters in the LVM volume name are uppercase for the NCP volume name. For example, if the LVM volume name is vol44, the NCP volume name is VOL44.
Enter volume IP address	Type the IP address to use for the LVM cluster resource in IPv4 format (such as 10.10.10.44), then press Enter.
Select Volume type	Select one of the following the Linux POSIX file systems, then press Enter: btrfs This option is displayed only if the btrfsprogs package is installed. ext2 ext3 resiserfs xfs
Enter full mount point path	Type the full mount point path for the LVM logical volume (such as /mnt/vol44), then press Enter. The default path is /usr/novell/<lx_volume_name>, such as /usr/novell/vol44. If NCP is enabled, the specified path is also used as the mount point path for the NCP volume.
Enter any make options	Press Enter to continue without specifying options, or specify the desired make options for the file system type you are making, then press Enter. For a list of the supported file system options for the file system type you are making, see the mkfs(8) man page and the man page for the specific file system: mkfs.btrfs(8), mkfs.ext2(8), mkfs.ext3(8), mkfs.reiserfs(8), or mkfs.xfs(8). IMPORTANT:The file system creation fails if you specify a make option that is not supported by the specified file system type.
Enter any mount options	Press Enter to accept the default read and write options (rw). The Read/Write (rw) option is specified by default. You can add other mount options, or modify this option. For a list of available options that work with the specified file system type, see the mount(8) man page.
Device	From the list of available devices, select the device that you initialized in Section 14.2, Initializing a SAN Device, such as sdf, then press Insert or Enter to select the device. The LVM volume group requires the entire device. You cannot specify the amount of space to use. The device’s free available space is displayed in the Free Size field.

Press F3 to accept the setup you entered for the volume group cluster resource.

The resource is created and brought online on the node where you created it. The resource is named <volume_group_name>_resource. In the example, the name of the volume group is the same as the logical volume, so the resource name is vol44_resource.

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

In the Linux Volumes list, select the newly created volume and view information about it.

Press Escape twice to exit NSSMU.

Continue with Section 14.3.4, Configuring the LVM Cluster Resource Settings.

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

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

If you have not already done so, initialize the SAN device that you want to use for the LVM volume group.

See Section 14.2, Initializing a SAN Device.

Create a clustered LVM volume group and logical volume. At the command prompt, enter the following (all on the same line, of course):

nlvm [nlvm_options] create linux volume 
     type=<btrfs|ext2|ext3|reiserfs|xfs> 
     device=<device_name>
     [mp=</mount_path>]
     [mkopt=<option1[,option2,...]>] 
     [mntopt=<option1[option2[]...]>] 
     lvm
     name=<lvm_volume_name> 
     [group=<lvm_group_name>] 
     shared
     ip=<IP_address_for_LVM_volgroup_cluster_resource> 
     [ncp]

For details about using this command, see Create Linux Volume in the OES 2015 SP1: NLVM Reference.

Parameters and Options

nlvm create linux volume 
     type=ext3 
     device=sdf
     mp=/mnt/vol44
     mntopt=rw 
     lvm
     name=vol44
     group=vg44
     shared
     ip=10.10.10.44 
     ncp

If the command is successful, the response is

Linux clustered volume vol44 created.

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

Verify that the cluster resource was created and brought online by entering

cluster status

The resource is named <lv_name>_resource. In the following example, vol44_resource is in the Running state.

View the device information to see that the device shows the LVM format. At the command prompt, enter

nlvm list device <device_name>

Replace device_name with the name of the device that you used, such as sdf.

The command shows that the LVM container uses the entire device; the size and used space values are the same and the free space shows no space. The partitioning format is LVM.

For example, enter

nlvm list device sdf

Continue with Section 14.3.4, Configuring the LVM Cluster Resource Settings.

Open Novell iManager in a web browser, then log in as a cluster administrator user.

In Roles and Tasks, select Clusters > My Clusters.

Select the cluster where you created the volume group cluster resource.

If the cluster you want to manage is not in the list, you can add it. Click Add, browse to locate and select the Cluster object of the cluster, then click OK.

In the list of resources, locate the new resource, such as vol44_resource, and notice the state of the resource. It should be online and running.

Click the resource’s name link to open its Properties page.

You can alternatively go to the Cluster Options page, then click the resource’s name link, or select the check box next to the resource and click Details.

On the Resource Policies page, view and modify the resource’s Policy settings if needed. Click Apply if you make changes.

Enable and configure monitoring for the resource, then click Apply.

See Section 11.7, Enabling Monitoring and Configuring the Monitor Script.

Click the Preferred Nodes tab, assign preferred nodes for the resource by moving them from the Unassigned list to the Assigned list, then click Apply.

When you configure a volume group cluster resource with NSSMU or with NLVM commands, the node where you create it is automatically assigned as a preferred node for the resource.

When you bring a resource online, it is automatically loaded on the most preferred node in the list. If the node is not available, the other nodes are tried in the order that they appear in the list. You can modify the order of the nodes by clicking the Edit (pen) icon to open the list in a text editor. In the editor, click OK to close the editor, then click Apply to save your changes.

At the bottom of the page, click OK to close the Properties page and save your changes.

The changes do not take effect until the resource is taken offline and brought online again.

Continue with Section 14.3.5, Viewing or Modifying the LVM Resource Scripts.

In iManager, select Clusters > My Clusters.

Select the cluster where you created the volume group cluster resource.

Select the cluster resource’s name link to open the Properties page, then click the Scripts tab.

The Scripts tab automatically opens to the load script.

On the Load Script page, view or modify the load script. Click Apply if you make changes.

Ensure that all letters in the NCP volume name are uppercase letters A to Z. See the Sample LVM Resource Load Scripts Created by NSS Management Tools.

Click the Unload Script link to view or modify the unload script. Click Apply if you make changes.

Ensure that all letters in the NCP volume name are uppercase letters A to Z. See the Sample LVM Resource Unload Scripts Created by NSS Management Tools.

Click the Monitor Script link to view or modify the monitor script. Click Apply if you make changes.

Ensure that all letters in the NCP volume name are uppercase letters A to Z. See the Sample LVM Resource Monitor Scripts Created by NSS Management Tools.

At the bottom of the page, click OK to close the Properties page and save your changes.

The changes do not take effect until the resource is taken offline and brought online again.

If you modified the settings on any of the pages, you must take the resource offline and bring it online in order for the changes to take effect.