This section provides guidelines for the following Sun Cluster components that you configure:
Add this information to the appropriate configuration worksheet.
Table 1–4 Worksheets for Sun Cluster Configuration
Specify a name for the cluster during Sun Cluster configuration. The cluster name should be unique throughout the enterprise.
The node name is the name that you assign to a machine when you install the Solaris OS. During Sun Cluster configuration, you specify the names of all nodes that you are installing as a cluster. In single-node cluster installations, the default node name is the same as the cluster name.
You do not need to configure a private network for a single-node cluster.
Sun Cluster software uses the private network for internal communication between nodes. A Sun Cluster configuration requires at least two connections to the cluster interconnect on the private network. You specify the private-network address and netmask when you configure Sun Cluster software on the first node of the cluster. You can either accept the default private-network address (172.16.0.0) and netmask (255.255.0.0) or type different choices if the default network address is already in use elsewhere in the same enterprise.
After the installation utility (scinstall, SunPlex Installer, or JumpStart) has finished processing and the cluster is established, you cannot change the private-network address and netmask. You must uninstall and reinstall the cluster software to use a different private-network address or netmask.
If you specify a private-network address other than the default, the address must meet the following requirements:
The address must use zeroes for the last two octets of the address, as in the default address 172.16.0.0. Sun Cluster software requires the last 16 bits of the address space for its own use.
The address must be included in the block of addresses that RFC 1918 reserves for use in private networks. You can contact the InterNIC to obtain copies of RFCs or view RFCs online at http://www.rfcs.org.
You can use the same private network address in more than one cluster. Private IP network addresses are not accessible from outside the cluster.
Sun Cluster software does not support IPv6 addresses for the private interconnect.
Although the scinstall utility lets you specify an alternate netmask, best practice is to accept the default netmask, 255.255.0.0. There is no benefit if you specify a netmask that represents a larger network. And the scinstall utility does not accept a netmask that represents a smaller network.
See “Planning Your TCP/IP Network” in System Administration Guide, Volume 3 (Solaris 8) or “Planning Your TCP/IP Network (Task)” in System Administration Guide: IP Services (Solaris 9) for more information about private networks.
The private hostname is the name that is used for internode communication over the private-network interface. Private hostnames are automatically created during Sun Cluster configuration. These private hostnames follow the naming convention clusternodenodeid-priv, where nodeid is the numeral of the internal node ID. During Sun Cluster configuration, the node ID number is automatically assigned to each node when the node becomes a cluster member. After the cluster is configured, you can rename private hostnames by using the scsetup(1M) utility.
You do not need to configure a cluster interconnect for a single-node cluster. However, if you anticipate eventually adding nodes to a single-node cluster configuration, you might want to configure the cluster interconnect for future use.
The cluster interconnects provide the hardware pathways for private-network communication between cluster nodes. Each interconnect consists of a cable that is connected in one of the following ways:
Between two transport adapters
Between a transport adapter and a transport junction
Between two transport junctions
During Sun Cluster configuration, you specify the following information for two cluster interconnects:
Transport adapters – For the transport adapters, such as ports on network interfaces, specify the transport adapter names and transport type. If your configuration is a two-node cluster, you also specify whether your interconnect is direct connected (adapter to adapter) or uses a transport junction. If your two-node cluster is direct connected, you can still specify a transport junction for the interconnect.
If you specify a transport junction, you can more easily add another node to the cluster in the future.
Consider the following guidelines and restrictions:
SBus SCI adapters – The SBus Scalable Coherent Interface (SCI) is not supported as a cluster interconnect. However, the SCI–PCI interface is supported.
Logical network interfaces – Logical network interfaces are reserved for use by Sun Cluster software.
See the scconf_trans_adap_*(1M) family of man pages for information about a specific transport adapter.
Transport junctions – If you use transport junctions, such as a network switch, specify a transport junction name for each interconnect. You can use the default name switchN, where N is a number that is automatically assigned during configuration, or create another name. The exception is the Sun Firelink adapter, which requires the junction name sw-rsmN. The scinstall utility automatically uses this junction name after you specify a Sun Firelink adapter (wrsmN).
Also specify the junction port name or accept the default name. The default port name is the same as the internal node ID number of the node that hosts the adapter end of the cable. However, you cannot use the default port name for certain adapter types, such as SCI-PCI.
Clusters with three or more nodes must use transport junctions. Direct connection between cluster nodes is supported only for two-node clusters.
You can configure additional private-network connections after the cluster is established by using the scsetup(1M) utility.
For more information about the cluster interconnect, see “Cluster Interconnect” in Sun Cluster Overview for Solaris OS and Sun Cluster Concepts Guide for Solaris OS.
Add this planning information to the Public Networks Worksheet.
Internet Protocol (IP) Network Multipathing groups, which replace Network Adapter Failover (NAFO) groups, provide public-network adapter monitoring and failover, and are the foundation for a network-address resource. A multipathing group provides high availability when the multipathing group is configured with two or more adapters. If one adapter fails, all of the addresses on the failed adapter fail over to another adapter in the multipathing group. In this way, the multipathing-group adapters maintain public-network connectivity to the subnet to which the adapters in the multipathing group connect.
Consider the following points when you plan your multipathing groups.
Each public network adapter must belong to a multipathing group.
For multipathing groups that contain two or more adapters, you must configure a test IP address for each adapter in the group. If a multipathing group contains only one adapter, you do not need to configure a test IP address.
Test IP addresses for all adapters in the same multipathing group must belong to a single IP subnet.
Test IP addresses must not be used by normal applications because the test IP addresses are not highly available.
In the /etc/default/mpathd file, the value of TRACK_INTERFACES_ONLY_WITH_GROUPS must be yes.
The name of a multipathing group has no requirements or restrictions.
Most procedures, guidelines, and restrictions that are identified in the Solaris documentation for IP Network Multipathing are the same for both cluster and noncluster environments. Therefore, see the appropriate Solaris document for additional information about IP Network Multipathing:
For the Solaris 8 OS, see “Deploying Network Multipathing” in IP Network Multipathing Administration Guide.
For the Solaris 9 OS, see “Administering Network Multipathing (Task)” in System Administration Guide: IP Services.
Also see “IP Network Multipathing Groups” in Sun Cluster Overview for Solaris OS and Sun Cluster Concepts Guide for Solaris OS.
Sun Cluster configurations use quorum devices to maintain data and resource integrity. If the cluster temporarily loses connection to a node, the quorum device prevents amnesia or split-brain problems when the cluster node attempts to rejoin the cluster. You configure quorum devices by using the scsetup(1M) utility.
You do not need to configure quorum devices for a single-node cluster.
Consider the following points when you plan quorum devices.
Minimum – A two-node cluster must have at least one shared disk assigned as a quorum device. For other topologies, quorum devices are optional.
Odd-number rule – If more than one quorum device is configured in a two-node cluster, or in a pair of nodes directly connected to the quorum device, configure an odd number of quorum devices. This configuration ensures that the quorum devices have completely independent failure pathways.
Connection – You must connect a quorum device to at least two nodes.
For more information about quorum devices, see “Quorum and Quorum Devices” in Sun Cluster Concepts Guide for Solaris OS and “Quorum Devices” in Sun Cluster Overview for Solaris OS.