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Connecting Nonpeer Nodes to the Cluster Through Additional Physical Interfaces

This section describes how a nonpeer node can be connected to the cluster network through additional physical interfaces on the peer nodes. This configuration is preferable to that in Connecting Nonpeer Nodes Directly to a Cluster Network for the following reasons:

  • The cluster network is separate from the external network, giving better security and performance.

  • The cluster network management is simplified.

  • There are no restrictions on the external network addressing model.

All of the supported node hardware for the Foundation Services can be configured with more than two physical interfaces.

Figure 5-3 shows an example of how a nonpeer node can be connected to a cluster through the physical interface hme2.

Figure 5-3 Example of a Nonpeer Node Connected to the Cluster Network Through Additional Physical Interfaces on Peer Nodes

Diagram shows  an example of how a nonpeer node can be connected to the cluster network through additional physical interfaces on peer nodes.

For simplicity, in Figure 5-3 the nonpeer node is connected to each peer node through a single interface. This configuration would introduce a single point of failure. In highly available platforms, single points of failure must be avoided.

Addressing Physical Interfaces That Are Connected to an External Network

Table 5-2 shows the IP addresses of the master node in Figure 5-3. In addition to the addresses in Figure 5-3, the master node has a floating address for each interface. The Node State Manager configures the floating external address, hme2:1.

Table 5-2 Example IP Addresses for a Master Node With Three Physical Interfaces

Address Group

Interface IP Address 

Master Node Addresses

hme0

10.200.1.10

hme1

10.200.2.10

cgtp0

10.200.3.10

hme2

192.168.1.10

Floating Addresses

hme0:1

10.200.1.1

hme1:1

10.200.2.1

cgtp0:1

10.200.3.1

Floating External Address

hme2:1

192.168.1.0

Connecting Nonpeer Nodes to the Cluster Network Through a Router

This section describes how a nonpeer node can be connected to the cluster network through a router. The router node can contain the Network Address Translation (NAT) service to protect the cluster from unwanted external traffic.

The use of a router is advantageous compared to the scenario in Connecting Nonpeer Nodes Directly to a Cluster Network for the following reasons:

  • Internal traffic can be prevented from leaving the cluster network.

  • External traffic can be prevented from entering the cluster network.

However, the use of a router is disadvantageous compared to the scenario in Connecting Nonpeer Nodes to the Cluster Through Additional Physical Interfaces for the following reasons:

  • It complicates the network configuration because routers must be configured.

  • It could allow external traffic to enter the cluster network, reducing network performance.

  • If the external network is connected to one of the cluster networks only, the traffic on the two cluster network paths can become asymmetric.

The following figure shows an example of how several nonpeer nodes can be connected to a cluster network through a router.

Figure 5-4 Example of Nonpeer Nodes Connected to the Cluster Network Through a Router

Diagram shows an example of  several nonpeer nodes can be connected to the cluster network through a router.
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