Software Installation and User’s Guide195Optional FeaturesOptional FeaturesAAppendix A, Optional Features provides instructions for server clustering with Microsoftand Novell operating systems and provides an overview of PCI Hot Plug. Refer to theHardware Guide of the specific ICP RAID controller to determine whether the optionalfeatures described in this chapter are supported.A.1 Server ClusteringIn today's information technology world, high availability systems are gaining greater andgreater importance. The demands on these systems are not only the continuous availabilityof important data, for example, 365 days x 24 hours, but also efficient resource sharing ofexpensive components. The secret behind clustering is the intelligent combination ofmany computer systems to increase the security and computing power of the wholesystem. A cluster appears to the user as one single system with extraordinarycharacteristics. Clustering software controls and manages the cluster and its members.There are several strategies when designing clustering systems. In the first model, themembers (also called nodes) are connected to each other through a LAN. In anothermodel, the nodes share an I/O bus. Host-based RAID controllers are ideally suited forcluster systems designed to avoid single points of failure (the components that cause asystem failure when they fail). The choice of host-based RAID controllers for the nodes ofa cluster system implements the appropriate redundancy and security in the mass storagepart of the system. In contrast, external RAID controllers carry the risk of becoming singlepoints of failure.Successful installation of a clustering system requires experience installing MicrosoftWindows NT/2000 Server, Microsoft Cluster Server, Novell NetWare, and ICP RAIDcontrollers. Information about the operating system, the functioning of the cluster andother system details may be found in their respective operating system manuals. Forinformation about the installation of the ICP RAID controller and the configuration ofdisk arrays, refer to the RAID user documentation.Clustering Guide AvailableClustering is applicable only for those RAID controllers that support this feature. See theHardware Guide of the controller to determine if clustering is supported.The ICP RAID Controller Clustering Guide, or Clustering Guide, describes how to set upclustering configurations using ICP RAID Controllers and ICP RAID controller software.Information on Operating Systems, Cluster functionality, and other system details may befound in their corresponding system manuals.
