Planning the Solaris Operating Environment
This section provides guidelines for planning Solaris software installation in a cluster configuration. For more information about Solaris software, refer to the Solaris installation documentation.
Guidelines for Selecting Your Solaris Installation Method
You can install Solaris software from a local CD-ROM or from a network install server by using the JumpStartTM installation method. In addition, Sun Cluster software provides a method for installing both the Solaris operating environment and Sun Cluster software by using custom JumpStart. If you are installing several cluster nodes, consider a network install.
Refer to "How to Use JumpStart to Install the Solaris Operating Environment and Establish New Cluster Nodes" for details about the custom JumpStart installation method. Refer to Solaris installation documentation for details about standard Solaris installation methods.
System Disk Partitions
Add this information to the "Local File System Layout Worksheet" in Sun Cluster 3.0 Release Notes.
When the Solaris operating environment is installed, ensure that the required Sun Cluster partitions are created, and that all partitions meet minimum space requirements.
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swap - Allocate at least 750 Mbytes or twice the physical memory, whichever is greater.
-
/globaldevices - Create a 100-Mbyte file system that will be used by the scinstall(1M) utility for global devices.
-
Volume manager - Create a 10-Mbyte partition for volume manager use on a slice at the end of the disk (slice 7). If your cluster uses VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM) and you intend to encapsulate the root disk, you need to have two unused slices available for use by VxVM.
To meet these requirements, you must customize the partitioning if you are performing interactive installation of the Solaris operating environment.
Refer to the following guidelines for additional partition planning information.
Guidelines for the Root (/) File System
As with any other system running the Solaris operating environment, you can configure the root (/), /var, /usr, and /opt directories as separate file systems, or you can include all the directories in the root (/) file system. The following describes the software contents of the root (/), /var, /usr, and /opt directories in a Sun Cluster configuration. Consider this information when planning your partitioning scheme.
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root (/) - The Sun Cluster software itself occupies less than 40 Mbytes of space in the root (/) file system. Solstice DiskSuiteTM software requires less than 5 Mbytes, and VxVM software requires less than 15 Mbytes. For best results, configure ample additional space and inode capacity for the creation of both block special devices and character special devices used by either Solstice DiskSuite or VxVM software, especially if a large number of shared disks are in the cluster. Therefore, add at least 100 Mbytes to the amount of space you would normally allocate for your root (/) file system.
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/var - The Sun Cluster software occupies a negligible amount of space in /var at installation time. However, set aside ample space for log files. Also, more messages might be logged on a clustered node than would be found on a typical standalone server. Therefore, allow at least 100 Mbytes for /var.
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/usr - Sun Cluster software occupies less than 25 Mbytes of space in /usr. Solstice DiskSuite and VxVM software each require less than 15 Mbytes.
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/opt - Sun Cluster framework software uses less than 2 Mbytes in /opt. However, each Sun Cluster data service might use between 1 Mbyte and 5 Mbytes. Solstice DiskSuite software does not use any space in /opt. VxVM software can use over 40 Mbytes if all of its packages and tools are installed. In addition, most database and applications software is installed in /opt. If you use SunTM Management Center software (formerly named Sun Enterprise SyMONTM) to monitor the cluster, you need an additional 25 Mbytes of space on each node to support the Sun Management Center agent and Sun Cluster module packages.
Guidelines for the swap Partition
The minimum size of the swap partition must be either 750 Mbytes or twice the amount of physical memory on the machine, whichever is greater. In addition, any third-party applications you install might also have swap requirements. Refer to third-party application documentation for any swap requirements.
Guidelines for the /globaldevices File System
Sun Cluster software requires that you set aside a special file system one of the local disks for use in managing global devices. This file system must be separate, as it will later be mounted as a cluster file system. Name this file system /globaldevices, which is the default name recognized by the scinstall(1M) command. The scinstall(1M) command later renames the file system /global/.devices/node@nodeid, where nodeid represents the number assigned to a node when it becomes a cluster member, and the original /globaldevices mount point is removed.The /globaldevices file system must have ample space and inode capacity for creating both block special devices and character special devices, especially if a large number of disks are in the cluster. A file system size of 100 Mbytes should be more than enough for most cluster configurations.
Volume Manager Requirements
If you use Solstice DiskSuite software, you must set aside a slice on the root disk for use in creating the replica database. Specifically, set aside a slice for this purpose on each local disk. But, if you only have one local disk on a node, you might need to create three replica databases in the same slice for Solstice DiskSuite software to function properly. Refer to the Solstice DiskSuite documentation for more information.
If you use VxVM and you intend to encapsulate the root disk, you need two unused slices available for use by VxVM, as well as some additional unassigned free space at either the beginning or end of the disk. Refer to the VxVM documentation for more information about encapsulation.
Example--Sample File-System Allocations
Table 1-2 shows a partitioning scheme for a cluster node that has less than 750 Mbytes of physical memory. This scheme will be installed with the Solaris operating environment End User System Support software group, Sun Cluster software, and the Sun Cluster HA for NFS data service. The last slice on the disk, slice 7, has been allocated with a small amount of space for volume manager use.
This layout allows for the use of either Solstice DiskSuite software or VxVM. If you use Solstice DiskSuite software, you use slice 7 for the replica database. If you use VxVM, you can later free slice 7 by assigning it a zero length. This layout frees two slices, 4 and 7, and it provides for unused space at the end of the disk.
Table 1-2 Sample File-System Allocation|
Slice |
Contents |
Allocation (in Mbytes) |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
/ |
1168 |
441 Mbytes for Solaris operating environment software. 100 Mbytes extra for root (/). 100 Mbytes extra for /var. 25 Mbytes for Sun Cluster software. 55 Mbytes for volume manager software. 1 Mbyte for Sun Cluster HA for NFS software. 25 Mbytes for the Sun Management Center agent and Sun Cluster module agent packages. 421 Mbytes (the remaining free space on the disk) for possible future use by database and application software. |
|
1 |
swap |
750 |
Minimum size when physical memory is less than 750 Mbytes. |
|
2 |
overlap |
2028 |
The entire disk. |
|
3 |
/globaldevices |
100 |
The Sun Cluster software later assigns this slice a different mount point and mounts it as a cluster file system. |
|
4 |
unused |
- |
Available as a free slice for encapsulating the root disk under VxVM. |
|
5 |
unused |
- |
|
|
6 |
unused |
- |
|
|
7 |
volume manager |
10 |
If Solstice DiskSuite software, used for replica database. If VxVM, later free the slice and some space at the end of the disk. |
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