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Eighteen-Node Cluster With Netra CT 820 Server

Following is an example of a hardware configuration for an 18-node cluster:

  • One Netra CT 820 server fitted with the following:

    • Two Netra CP2300 system controller boards configured as master-eligible nodes

    • Sixteen Netra CP2300 satellite processor boards configured as diskless nodes

    • Two Distributed Management Cards (alarm cards)

    • One Sun StorEdge 3310 disk array

  • Two Ethernet switches

  • A terminal server to manage the consoles

  • (Optional) Supplemental PMC (PCI Mezzanine Card) Ethernet cards on each CP2300 board to configure the external network of the master-eligible nodes

Considerations for Choosing a Hardware Configuration

The Foundation Services run on a range of Netra servers that have different characteristics. The following sections describe some of the implications of choosing one type of Netra server over another type of Netra server as your cluster hardware.

Types of Disks

Foundation Services support SCSI, FC-AL, and IDE disks.

SCSI Disks

Netra T1, Netra 120, and Netra 240 servers contain SCSI disks. The CP2140 boards also contain SCSI disks. CP2300 cards can be used with SunStorEdge 3310 disk arrays.

FC-AL Disks

Netra 20 servers contain FC-AL disks. To use FC-AL disks, you must install the volume management feature of the Solaris operating system for all partitions managed by Sun StorEdge™ Network Data Replicator (SNDR). The disk scanning mechanism of these FC-AL disks does not guarantee that the slot positions of the disks provide unique, reproducible unit numbers when the disks are plugged on FC-AL. To remove this constraint, you must create a disk partition on each master-eligible node to store the volume management metadevice database.

For details on how to install and configure the volume management feature for FC-AL disks while using the nhinstall tool, see the Netra High Availability Suite Foundation Services 2.1 6/03 Custom Installation Guide and the cluster_definition.conf(4) man page.

IDE Disks

The CP2300 boards can accept optional IDE disks. For information about configuring the Foundation Services for IDE disks, see the Netra High Availability Suite Foundation Services 2.1 6/03 Custom Installation Guide.

Types of Hardware Watchdogs

There are two types of hardware watchdogs for use with Netra servers and boards:

  • Watchdogs located at the Lights-Off Management (LOM) level

  • Watchdogs located at the OpenBoot™ PROM (OBP) level

    CompactPCI boards have OBP-level watchdogs. These watchdogs can be enabled by specifying the value true for the watchdog-enable? parameter at the ok prompt. These hardware watchdogs are monitored by the platform's software eliminating the need to use the Foundation Services Watchdog Timer.

The following table lists the type of watchdog that is available on each type of Netra server and board.

Table 2-1 Types of Hardware Watchdogs

Servers and Boards

Type of Hardware Watchdog

Netra T1 servers

LOM-level hardware watchdog

Netra 20 servers

LOM-level hardware watchdog

Netra 120 servers

LOM-level hardware watchdog

Netra 240 servers

LOM-level hardware watchdog

CP2140 boards

OBP-level hardware watchdog

CP2160 boards

OBP-level hardware watchdog

CP2300 boards

OBP-level hardware watchdog

Use the Foundation Services Watchdog Timer to monitor the LOMlite 2 hardware watchdogs on the Netra T1, Netra 20, Netra 120, and Netra 240 servers only.

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