Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 5 - ADMINISTRATION Manual

Also see for ENTERPRISE LINUX 5 - VIRTUAL SERVER ADMINISTRATION: Tuning guide Configuration guide Configuration guide Manual Use manual

Contents

Chapter 1.1Red Hat Cluster Configuration andManagement OverviewRed Hat Cluster allows you to connect a group of computers (called nodes or members) to worktogether as a cluster. You can use Red Hat Cluster to suit your clustering needs (for example, settingup a cluster for sharing files on a GFS file system or setting up service failover).1.1. Configuration BasicsTo set up a cluster, you must connect the nodes to certain cluster hardware and configure thenodes into the cluster environment. This chapter provides an overview of cluster configuration andmanagement, and tools available for configuring and managing a Red Hat Cluster.Configuring and managing a Red Hat Cluster consists of the following basic steps:1. Setting up hardware. Refer to Section 1.1.1, “Setting Up Hardware”.2. Installing Red Hat Cluster software. Refer to Section 1.1.2, “Installing Red Hat Cluster software”.3. Configuring Red Hat Cluster Software. Refer to Section 1.1.3, “Configuring Red Hat ClusterSoftware”.1.1.1. Setting Up HardwareSetting up hardware consists of connecting cluster nodes to other hardware required to run a RedHat Cluster. The amount and type of hardware varies according to the purpose and availabilityrequirements of the cluster. Typically, an enterprise-level cluster requires the following type ofhardware (refer to Figure 1.1, “Red Hat Cluster Hardware Overview”).For considerations abouthardware and other cluster configuration concerns, refer to "Before Configuring a Red Hat Cluster" orcheck with an authorized Red Hat representative.• Cluster nodes — Computers that are capable of running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 software, withat least 1GB of RAM.• Ethernet switch or hub for public network — This is required for client access to the cluster.• Ethernet switch or hub for private network — This is required for communication among the clusternodes and other cluster hardware such as network power switches and Fibre Channel switches.• Network power switch — A network power switch is recommended to perform fencing in anenterprise-level cluster.• Fibre Channel switch — A Fibre Channel switch provides access to Fibre Channel storage. Otheroptions are available for storage according to the type of storage interface; for example, iSCSI orGNBD. A Fibre Channel switch can be configured to perform fencing.• Storage — Some type of storage is required for a cluster. The type required depends on thepurpose of the cluster.