Co-hosting

To ensure uninterrupted library service and to avoid unanticipated problems due to resource contention, it is generally recommended that ACSLS run in a standalone environment on a dedicated server. However, some systems are designed to allow multiple applications to run in co-hosted fashion as though they are completely isolated from one another. Solaris Containers and Oracle Solaris VM Server for SPARC enable conditional co-hosting possibilities for use with ACSLS.

The following list details the conditions and limitations associated with the various co-hosting options for an ACSLS application:

• Solaris Zones (containers)

  Solaris zones enable a system administrator to partition a standard, low cost server into four independent Solaris systems, each with its own isolated file system, and its own instance of Solaris. You can assign network resources to each zone and you can reboot any local (non-global) zone without affecting applications in other zones on the same platform. However, the ability to share kernel resources, such as device drivers, across multiple zones is tenuous at best. Ideally, an application that requires kernel drivers would reside in the global zone. However, it is generally bad practice to install an application in the global zone since any irrecoverable error condition with the application could impact all other applications running in the other zones.

  ACSLS can reside in a Solaris zone only if it does not require drivers beyond the network interface. Any use of Logical Libraries requires a target-mode fibre-channel driver, and any connection to an SL500 or SL150 library requires an initiator-mode fibre-channel driver. Either of these configurations dictates that ACSLS must be installed in the global zone.

• Oracle VM Server for SPARC

  Oracle VM Server for SPARC (formerly Logical Domains or LDOMs) technology offers significant advantages over Solaris Containers to the extent that each domain is in control of its own Solaris kernel.

  A Solaris administrator can partition hardware resources across the system, assigning a specific resource to a specific domain. Network resources on this virtual machine can easily be shared across any of up to 128 guest domains on the server. But applications that require access to I/O devices through the PCIe bus must be installed in special I/O domains. The number of I/O domains that you can create on the VM Server depends on the number of discrete PCIe buses on the SPARC platform. On a system with a single PCIe bus, you can have two I/O domains, and one of these must be the control domain.

  Any ACSLS application that relies solely on network connectivity to the library and for client applications can be installed in a guest domain on this server. The virtual network set-up procedure is described in the document, Oracle VM Server for SPARC 2.1 Administration Guide in the section, entitled "Using Virtual Networks".

  If your ACSLS application is intended for use with logical libraries, or if you intend to connect to a fibre-channel library such as the SL500 or L700, then ACSLS must be installed in an I/O domain. Refer to the section "Setting up I/O Domains" in the Oracle VM Server for SPARC 2.1 Administration Guide.