Private Interconnect

Observe the following guidelines for the private interconnect in an Open HA Cluster configuration:

• Optional private interconnect – The use of a physical private interconnect is optional. You can instead use the public network for cluster traffic by configuring virtual network interfaces, or VNICs.

• Creation of VNICs – To use VNICs for the cluster transport, you can either configure the VNICs in advance or use the scinstall utility in Custom Mode to create them when you establish the cluster. For information about manually creating a VNIC, see How to Create a Virtual Network Interface (VNIC).

  When you use the scinstall utility in Custom Mode to create a new VNIC, you specify the following information:

  • The name of the physical adapter, or NIC, to use

  • The physical adapter's MAC address or choose automatic selection (auto)

  • The name to give the VNIC, using the naming convention vnicN

  The VNICs are created when cluster configuration and establishment is performed.

• Autodiscovery of adapters - If you use the scinstall utility in Custom Mode to create a VNIC for use by the first cluster node you configure, you cannot use autodiscovery of adapters for the rest of the cluster nodes. When you are prompted whether to use autodiscovery, type “No”.

• Coexistence of physical and virtual adapters – You can use a combination of physical and virtual adapters in the cluster or on a single node. However, if there is a large difference in the bandwidth for the different NICs and VNICs, performance can be impacted by the lower-speed NICs during peak loads. Ensure that the NICs and VNICs you use in the same cluster have comparable bandwidth.

• IP Security Architecture (IPsec) – Only use IPsec with Internet Key Exchange (IKE) for key management. Do not use the manual-key form of key management when you configure IPsec in an Open HA Cluster configuration.