Installing Ethernet-Based Cluster Interconnect Hardware

Table 3-1 lists procedures for installing Ethernet-based cluster interconnect hardware. Perform the procedures in the order that they are listed. This section contains a procedure for installing cluster hardware during an initial cluster installation, before Sun Cluster software is installed.

Table 3-1 Task Map: Installing Ethernet-Based Cluster Interconnect Hardware

Task	For Instructions, Go To
Install host adapters.	The documentation that shipped with your nodes and host adapters
Install the cluster transport cables (and transport junctions for clusters with more than two nodes).	"How to Install Ethernet-Based Transport Cables and Transport Junctions"

How to Install Ethernet-Based Transport Cables and Transport Junctions

1. If not already installed, install host adapters in your cluster nodes.

   For the procedure on installing host adapters, see the documentation that shipped with your host adapters and node hardware.

2. Install the transport cables (and optionally, transport junctions), depending on how many nodes are in your cluster:

   • A cluster with only two nodes can use a point-to-point connection, requiring no cluster transport junctions. Use a point-to-point (crossover) Ethernet cable if you are connecting 100BaseT or TPE ports of a node directly to ports on another node. Gigabit Ethernet uses the standard fiber optic cable for both point-to-point and switch configurations. See Figure 3-1.

     Figure 3-1 Typical Two-Node Cluster Interconnect

     
     

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     Note -

     If you use a transport junction in a two-node cluster, you can add additional nodes to the cluster without bringing the cluster offline to reconfigure the transport path.

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   • A cluster with more than two nodes requires two cluster transport junctions. These transport junctions are Ethernet-based switches (customer-supplied). See Figure 3-2.

     Figure 3-2 Typical Four-Node Cluster Interconnect

     
     

Where to Go From Here

You install the cluster software and configure the interconnect after you have installed all other hardware. To review the task map for installing cluster hardware and software, see "Installing Sun Cluster Hardware".