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Stage 1 Results

At the end of stage 1, the following elements are created:

  • A generic flash archive is created and contains a snapshot of all the software installed on the prototype machine.

    The flash archive is created using standard Solaris Flash tools. The flash archive can be deployed on any machine with a similar architecture to the machine on which the flash archive was created.

    A flash archive is required for each master-eligible node group or dataless node group that is to be deployed to the cluster. The following rule determines the number of flash archives required for a cluster:

    (Flash Archive) = 1 + N

    • 1 is the mandatory flash archive associated with the master-eligible node group. This flash archive can embed the environment for diskless node groups.

    • N is the number of dataless node groups associated with the cluster.

    A generic flash archive has the following characteristics:

    • Is site independent.

    • Is not adapted to any particular cluster and is, therefore, not deployable.

    • Helps generate deployable flash archives for a set of similar clusters. These flash archives are based on the topology defined in the cluster.conf file.

    • Is created by using the flcreate command.

  • A software repository and a software load repository are created.

    The software repository is the largest repository in the deployment environment. The software repository stores the software packages that are to be deployed to the cluster. The software repository includes the Foundation Services packages, patches, and any user applications and user-defined configuration data. By having all the software packages in one repository, flash archives can be rebuilt if necessary. In addition, several versions of the same packages can be managed from the software repository location.

    The software load repository stores the software loads that have already been created. In addition, the software load repository stores the Foundation Services and user-defined configuration data associated with these software loads. A software load can be restored by using the data stored in this repository.

    The software repository and software load repository are located on the build server. Both of these repositories are managed by the SMCT software load commands, that is, the slxxx commands.

  • The Solaris JumpStart configuration files that are used by the Solaris JumpStart mechanism to deploy node group software to the prototype machine are created.

For more information on stage 1, see Chapter 5, Configuration Stage 1: Creating a Generic Flash Archive.

Configuration Stage 2: Adding User-Defined Data to the Flash Archive

If you do not plan to deploy user applications, go to stage 3. See Configuration Stage 3: Configuring the Flash Archive for Deployment.

In stage 2, you define data specific to user applications in a configuration file. These applications are to be deployed to node groups on your cluster and are included in the generic flash archive. You use the SMCT commands to add this data to the generic flash archive.

The following diagram illustrates stage 2.

Figure 2-3 Overview of Configuration Stage 2

Flow diagram shows the second stage of configuring the flash archive by adding user application configuration data to the generic flash archive.

The user-defined configuration data consists of user application data and installation scripts. These installation scripts add the user application data at deployment time. There is one user application configuration file for each node group. For more information, refer to the userapp.conf(4) man page.

After you configure the userapp.conf file, you use the slconfig, slexport, and flconfig commands to add the user-defined configuration data to the generic flash archive.

configured flash archive. At the end of stage 2, you have a A configured flash archive is a generic flash archive that also contains user applications and user-defined configuration data. In addition, the software load repository on the build server is updated with the user-defined configuration data.

For more information on stage 2, see Chapter 6, Configuration Stage 2: Adding User-Defined Data to the Flash Archive.

Configuration Stage 3: Configuring the Flash Archive for Deployment

In stage 3, you configure the flash archive to prepare to create the deployable flash archive for the cluster. The following diagram illustrates stage 3.

Figure 2-4 Overview of Configuration Stage 3

Flow diagram shows the third stage of creating a deployable flash archive by adding final configuration data to the configured flash archive.

Stage 3 Configuration Tasks

To complete stage 3, you perform the following tasks:

  1. You transfer the SMCT environment from the build server to the installation server.

  2. You modify the cluster configuration files, cluster.conf and machine.conf, to add specific target cluster data to the generic or configured flash archive. In addition, you configure the network model configuration file, network.conf, to define the network environment of your cluster. The network.conf configuration file is associated with the network model. For more information, refer to the network.conf(4) man page.

  3. If you have a configured flash archive, you can modify the user-defined configuration data in order to manage application-to-site dependencies. For more information, refer to the userapp.conf(4) man page.

  4. You use the sldeploy, slexport, and fldeploy SMCT commands to create the deployable flash archive.

Stage 3 Results

At the end of stage 3, the following elements are created or updated:

  • A deployable flash archive is created for each master-eligible node group or dataless node group. Each node group has a cluster-specific configuration. Diskless node groups are embedded in the master-eligible node groups. The deployable flash archives are created by using the fldeploy command.

  • The Solaris JumpStart configuration files are created for each node of each master-eligible node group and dataless node group in the cluster. These files are used by the Solaris JumpStart mechanism to deploy the software load to the target cluster.

  • The software load repository is updated.

  • The Foundation Services configuration files are generated.

    The configuration files for the Foundation Services are used to configure the individual Foundation Services, such as Reliable NFS and Cluster Membership Manager (CMM).

For more information on stage 3, see Chapter 7, Configuration Stage 3: Configuring the Flash Archive for Deployment.


Note - After completing the three configuration stages and deploying the Foundation Services to the target cluster, you can rerun the configuration stages individually. The redeployment depends on the reconfiguration that you want to perform. For more information on rerunning the deployment stages, see Chapter 9, Reconfiguring Your Deployment Environment.


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