Hardware and Software Requirements

You can install the software either on a Sun server from Oracle based on UltraSPARC technology or on a server based on AMD Opteron x64 technology.

For information about additional requirements for the web server host for the SAM-QFS Manager browser interface tool, see SAM-QFS Manager Requirements.

The software package runs on many Sun workstations and servers. Before installation, verify the compatibility of the hardware and the version of the Oracle Solaris operating system.

Operating System Requirements

Before installation, verify the applicability of the hardware and the version of the operating system. To install the software, you also must have root-level access to your system.

SAM-QFS Manager and Sun QFS 5.3 software require the following minimum operating system releases:

• Oracle Solaris 10 10/08 or later

• Oracle Solaris 11

In addition, you can use any of the following operating systems as a client in a shared file system:

• Oracle Solaris 10 10/08 or later

• Oracle Solaris 11

• Oracle Solaris 10 10/08 or later for x86 (32-bit)

• Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.6 for x64 platforms

• Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.4 for x64 platforms

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 for x64 platforms (via OEL 5.6)

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 for x64 platforms (via OEL 5.4)

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5 for x64 platforms

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (service pack 4) for x64 platforms

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (service pack 3) for x64 platforms

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (service pack 2) for x64 platforms

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (server pack 1) for x64 platforms

How to Verify the Environment

Repeat these steps for each host on which you want to install the software.

1. Verify that your system can support the physical media or that it can access the SAM-QFS release package from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud https://edelivery.oracle.com.
2. Log in to your system as root.

   You must have root access to install the software.

3. Verify that your system runs at least the Oracle Solaris 10 10/08 OS.

   # cat /etc/release

Installing Oracle Solaris OS Patches

Customers who have a maintenance contract can obtain Oracle Solaris patches through physical media or at the My Oracle Support (MOS) site .

To install a patch after you install the Sun QFS or SAM-QFS release packages, load the physical media or transfer the patch software to your system. Follow the instructions in the Patch Installation Instructions and Special Install Instructions in the README file included in the patch or jumbo patch cluster.

Software Host Requirements

If you plan to install the software in a multihost environment, such as a SAM-Remote configuration, all host systems must be running the same software release level.

Verifying Shared File System Requirements

This section describes the system requirements for a Sun QFS shared file system.

Metadata Server Requirement

You must have at least one Oracle Solaris metadata server. If you want to be able to change the metadata server, you must have at least one other Oracle Solaris host that can become the metadata server. These additional host systems are known as potential metadata servers. The potential metadata servers must all be running on the same hardware platform, either SPARC or x64. You cannot mix metadata server hardware platforms. In an Oracle Solaris Cluster environment, all nodes that are included in a shared file system are potential metadata servers.

Note the following configuration recommendations with regard to metadata storage:

• Ensure that a shared file system has multiple metadata (mm) partitions to spread out metadata I/O and improve file system throughput.

• Ensure that a shared file system uses a separate, private metadata network so that typical user traffic does not interfere with metadata traffic. A switch-based (not hub-based) network is recommended.

Operating System and Hardware Requirements

Ensure that your configuration meets the following operating system and hardware requirements:

• All host systems to be configured in the Sun QFS shared file system are connected by a network.

• All metadata servers and potential metadata servers have the same processor type.

• Online data storage devices are directly accessible to all hosts.

• Online metadata storage devices are directly accessible to all potential metadata server hosts.

You can install the Oracle Solaris operating system or one of the supported operating systems on the client systems. For a complete list of supported operating systems, see Operating System Requirements.

Sun Storage Archive Manager and Sun QFS Release Levels

Ensure that your configuration meets the following requirements:

• Each host to be configured in the shared file system has the same software package installed.

• Software installed on the systems in the shared file system is at the same release level.

  For example, if one host has the SAM-QFS 5.3 packages, all hosts that are part of the shared file system must have the SAM-QFS 5.3 packages installed.

  This requirement ensures that all systems in a shared file system have identical over-the-wire protocol versions. If these levels do not match, the system writes the following message to the metadata server's /var/adm/messages file when mounting is attempted:

  SAM-FS: client client package version x mismatch, should be y.

• The same patch has been applied to all hosts that have access to the shared file system. You might see unexpected results if not all host systems are running the same patch revision.

Verifying Third-Party Compatibilities

The SAM-QFS software operates with many different hardware and software products from third-party vendors. Depending on your environment, you might need to upgrade other software or firmware before installing the SAM-QFS package. For more information about the third-party licenses and notices, see Sun QFS and Sun Storage Archive Manager 5.3 Program Documentation.