Cluster Interconnect FAQs

Question: Which cluster interconnects does the Oracle Solaris Cluster software support?

Answer: Currently, the Oracle Solaris Cluster software supports the following cluster interconnects:

• Ethernet (100BASE-T Fast Ethernet and 1000BASE-SX Gb) in both SPARC based and x86 based clusters

• InfiniBand in both SPARC based and x86 based clusters

Question: What is the difference between a “cable” and a transport “path”?

Answer: Cluster transport cables are configured by using transport adapters and switches. Cables join adapters and switches on a component-to-component basis. The cluster topology manager uses available cables to build end-to-end transport paths between hosts. A cable does not map directly to a transport path.

Cables are statically “enabled” and “disabled” by an administrator. Cables have a “state” (enabled or disabled), but not a “status.” If a cable is disabled, it is as if it were unconfigured. Cables that are disabled cannot be used as transport paths. These cables are not probed and therefore their state is unknown. You can obtain the state of a cable by using the cluster status command.

Transport paths are dynamically established by the cluster topology manager. The “status” of a transport path is determined by the topology manager. A path can have a status of “online” or “offline.” You can obtain the status of a transport path by using the clinterconnect status command. See the clinterconnect(1CL) man page.

Consider the following example of a two-host cluster with four cables.

node1:adapter0      to switch1, port0
node1:adapter1      to switch2, port0
node2:adapter0      to switch1, port1
node2:adapter1      to switch2, port1

Two possible transport paths can be formed from these four cables.

node1:adapter0      to node2:adapter0
node2:adapter1      to node2:adapter1