The following section, “Guidelines for Configuring Clusters With Sun Fire Link 1.1 Software,” was omitted from Chapter 1, at the end of the section entitled, “Sun Fire Link Administration Overview.” This additional information is important to understand and consider when configuring clusters with Sun Fire Link (SFL) 1.1 software.
Guidelines for Configuring Clusters With Sun Fire Link 1.1 Software
Managing Cluster Configurations
Use a consistent method for managing cluster configurations. If you use the Sun Management Center 3.5 graphical user interface (GUI) to configure a cluster, you should continue using the GUI for any subsequent changes that you make to the cluster's configuration. Do not use the Fabric Manager command-line interface (CLI) to change the configuration data for a cluster that was created using the GUI.
Likewise, use the Fabric Manager CLI to change the contents of a cluster that was originally configured using the same interface. This consistency ensures that link mapping remains consistent over the life of the cluster.
You can monitor a cluster's state by using either the Sun Management Center 3.5 GUI or the Fabric Manager CLI, regardless of which method was used to configure the cluster.
Using an Extensible Markup Language (XML) File to Apply Multiple Changes to a Fabric Might Result in Out-of-Sync Configuration Data
If you use an XML file to apply multiple configuration changes to an existing fabric, any error in the XML file causes the reconfiguration to fail. One or more nodes might have data that are out of sync with the new configuration. This failure also happens if a hardware component that is required by the new configuration is faulty at the time the reconfiguration is attempted.
There are two ways to restore configuration consistency on the nodes:
If there was an error in the XML file, edit the file to correct the error. Reconfigure the fabric using the corrected file. If a hardware component was faulty, replace the component. Reconfigure the fabric using the XML file.
Remove the section of the XML file that produces the error and reconfigure the fabric using the modified XML file.
In either case, a reconfiguration using a valid XML file and functioning hardware corrects any data inconsistencies that might have been introduced by the previous reconfiguration failure.
Mixed Clusters Require That Sun Fire Link 1.1 Software Be Installed on the Fabric Manager Server and on All Nodes
If you want to configure a cluster that contains a combination of Sun Fire 6800 and Sun Fire High-End systems, you must have Sun Fire Link 1.1 software installed on the FM server, as well as on all nodes in the cluster. Clusters containing both Sun Fire 6800 and Sun Fire High-End nodes were not supported by Sun Fire Link 1.0 software.
The following detailed instructions describe how to import preconfigured XML files using the Manage XML Configurations option. These instructions were omitted from Appendix B.
The Sun Management Center console's Fabric Details window includes the Manage XML Configurations menu option. You can use this option to open an XML file for editing or to apply any configuration information that the file contains to an unconfigured fabric.
The term unconfigured fabric refers to a fabric that has been created and started, but does not yet contain any member data, such as descriptions of compute nodes.
An XML file can be opened for editing without being associated with an unconfigured fabric. However, if the file is used to configure a fabric, that fabric must first be created and started.
The following steps explain how to use the Manage XML Configurations option:
Before using the Manage XML Configuration option, you must create and start a fabric using the Fabric Manager (FM) CLI commands, createfabric and startfabric.
You must be superuser to execute the following FM commands.
# cd /opt/SUNWwcfm/bin |
# ./createfabric fabric-name |
# ./startfabric fabric-name |
Use the Sun Management Center console to load a FM agent module for the fabric. The “Loading FM Agent Modules” section provides detailed instructions for this step.
In the Fabric Details window, press mouse button 3 on the fabric icon. Select the Manage XML Configurations option from the pop-up menu that is displayed, or choose Manage XML Configurations from the Fabric menu.
At this point, the following invalid error message is displayed:
Getting FM Info Values |
This error message can be safely ignored.
Press the OK button in the Error dialog window.
The XML Configuration dialog box is now the active window.
In the Look In field of the Configuration dialog box, type the full path of the directory that contains the XML configuration file that you want to import. Press Return.
A scrolling list of the files that are contained in the specified directory is displayed.
Select the XML configuration file that you want to import.
The name of the file is displayed in the File Name field.
You must press Return in Step 5 and then select the XML file of interest as described in Step 6. Do not bypass these steps and type the file name in the File Name field. The file does not open if you type the file name.
Click Open to open the selected file.
The XML configuration file appears in the text area of the window.
Choose one of the following options:
If you want to edit the XML file, see Appendices B and C of the Sun Fire Link Fabric Administrator's Guide for specific information about XML file configurations and the Document Type Definition (DTD).
If you want to apply the XML information to configure a fabric, proceed to the next step.
If you want to save your changes as a new XML file, click the Save As button. Provide a new filename.
Click Configure to apply the XML file contents to the fabric.
For more information, see Manage Extensible Markup Language (XML) Configurations Option Produces an Invalid Error Message When Applying an XML File to a New Fabric (4855354).