book.book Page 1 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Dell™ PowerEdge™ Cluster Systems Using Dell Blade Servers in a Dell PowerEdge High Availability Cluster w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l .
book.book Page 2 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Notes, Notices, and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. ____________________ Information in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2007 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
book.book Page 3 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Contents 1 Introduction . Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Supported PowerEdge Blade Server Cluster Components . . . . . . . . . PowerEdge Server Enclosure Supported Cluster Configurations . Direct-Attached Cluster 6 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
book.book Page 4 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cabling the Storage Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Direct-Attached Cluster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Network-Attached Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the Operating System and Configuring Your Cluster . . . . . . . Maintaining Your Cluster 4 Contents 32 . . . . . . . . . . 43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
book.book Page 5 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM 1 Introduction This document provides information for installing and managing your Dell™ PowerEdge™ blade server in a Dell PowerEdge cluster system and specific information about clustering your PowerEdge blade server modules with supported Dell PowerVault™ and Dell|EMC storage systems. Use this document in conjunction with the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for your supported Dell PowerEdge cluster solution.
book.book Page 6 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Supported PowerEdge Blade Server Cluster Components The following sections discuss the various cluster components that are supported with your PowerEdge blade server cluster configuration. PowerEdge Server Enclosure The Dell PowerEdge cluster solution supports the Dell PowerEdge blade server enclosures. These systems function as enclosures for multiple PowerEdge server modules that can be configured together into multiple clusters.
book.book Page 7 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 1-1 provides a front and back view of the PowerEdge 1855/1955 system. Figure 1-2 provides a front and back view of the PowerEdge M1000e system. Figure 1-1.
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book.book Page 9 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 1-2.
book.book Page 10 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM 1 server module 8 I/O bay A2 2 power switch and KVM ports 9 I/O bay B2 3 control panel 10 I/O bay C2 4 DRAC/MC module 11 I/O bay C1 5 KVM module 12 I/O bay B1 6 fan module 13 I/O bay A1 7 power supply module The power supply modules, fan modules, Dell Remote Access Controller/Modular Chassis (DRAC/MC), and I/O modules are shared resources of the server modules in the chassis.
book.book Page 11 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Dell Remote Access Controller/Modular Chassis (DRAC/MC) The DRAC/MC is a management module located in the back of the blade server system chassis that provides all of the chassis management functionality. The DRAC/MC provides serial and out-of-band Ethernet management ports to allow for management of the chassis and some basic blade functions. The following is a list of features available on the DRAC/MC.
book.book Page 12 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Table 1-1. PowerEdge Blade Server Features Server Enclosure 1855/1955 M1000e Supported blade server modules PowerEdge 1855, 1955 PowerEdge M600, M605 Maximum number of server 10 modules per server enclosure 16 Number of mezzanine card slots per server module 2 1 In a Dell PowerEdge high availability cluster configuration, each server module requires at least one expansion card.
book.book Page 13 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Gigabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet provides the following network connections, depending on your configuration: • Public connection from the server modules to the public network • Private node-to-node connection between the server modules for the private network • iSCSI connection between the server modules and storage system(s). For more information, see "Supported Cluster Configurations" on page 16.
book.book Page 14 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Gigabit Ethernet Pass-Through Module The Gigabit Ethernet pass-through module provides a non-switched connection between the server modules and an external Gigabit Ethernet device. NOTE: The Gigabit Ethernet pass-through module ports are preset to communicate at 1000 Mb and will not auto-negotiate to a slower speed. As a result, the Gigabit Ethernet pass-through module only supports a 1000-Mb connection.
book.book Page 15 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Fibre Channel Switch Module The Fibre Channel switch module provides a switched connection between the Fibre Channel daughter card in the server modules and a supported Fibre Channel device. The switch module functions as a director, mapping requests and responses between the interconnected devices. Additionally, the Fibre Channel switch module includes an internal serial port that communicates with the DRAC/MC module.
book.book Page 16 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Supported Cluster Configurations The PowerEdge blade servers support both Fibre Channel and iSCSI cluster configurations using either Fibre Channel mezzanine cards or Gigabit Ethernet mezzanine cards to connect to the corresponding shared storage system in either direct-attached or network-attached environments. Direct-Attached Cluster In a direct-attached cluster, the cluster nodes are directly attached to a single storage system.
book.book Page 17 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Network-Attached Cluster Network-attached clusters provide configuration flexibility, expandability, and performance. In a network-attached cluster, all of the nodes (server modules) are attached to redundant switch fabrics.
book.book Page 18 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 1-5.
book.book Page 19 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 1-6. Network-Attached Cluster Connected to an External SAN Using Embedded Switch Modules public network cluster node embedded switch module private network inter-switch link cluster node embedded switch module inter-switch link external switch external switch storage system NOTE: It is recommended that you configure the paired inter-switch links (ISLs) as shown in Figure 1-6 for clusters with Fibre Channel storage systems.
book.book Page 20 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cluster Nodes Table 1-4 lists the hardware requirements for the server modules in the PowerEdge server enclosure. Table 1-4.
book.book Page 21 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cluster Storage Table 1-5 lists supported storage systems and the configuration requirements for the cluster nodes and stand-alone systems connected to the storage systems. Table 1-5. Cluster Storage Requirements Storage Configuration Requirement Supported storage See the Platform Guide for your PowerEdge cluster solution on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
book.book Page 22 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Other Documents You May Need CAUTION: The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty information may be included within this document or as a separate document. 22 • The Platform Guide provides information about the platforms that support your cluster configuration. • The Rack Installation Guide included with your rack solution describes how to install your system into a rack.
book.book Page 23 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM • The EMC PowerPath documentation that came with your Fibre Channel module kit(s). • Updates are sometimes included with the system to describe changes to the system, software, and/or documentation. NOTE: Always check for updates on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com and read the updates first because they often supersede information in other documents.
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book.book Page 25 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cabling Your Blade Cluster Hardware 2 NOTE: The cluster nodes represent the individual server modules in your Dell™ PowerEdge™ server enclosure. The designations namely, node 1 and node 2 and the server enclosure are used for illustrative purposes only. The system and the storage components in your cluster configuration may vary.
book.book Page 26 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-1.
book.book Page 27 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cabling the Private Network The private (heartbeat) network is used for sharing cluster health and status information between the cluster nodes. Each cluster node connects to the private network through the second embedded NIC port on the server module system board. The second NIC port connects to the internal connections in the system chassis to the second Ethernet switch module or the associated port in the corresponding Gigabit pass-through module.
book.book Page 28 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Table 2-2. Cabling the Private Network (continued) Module Type Cluster Configuration Private Network Configuration Gigabit Ethernet Two nodes in one or Connect a standard Ethernet cable to the pass-through two PowerEdge server corresponding cluster node ports on the module enclosure(s). Ethernet pass-through module. OR Connect a standard Ethernet cable from the corresponding cluster node ports on each Ethernet pass-through module to an external switch.
book.book Page 29 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cabling the Storage Systems This section provides information for connecting your cluster to a storage system in a direct-attached configuration, or to one or more storage systems in a network-attached configuration. NOTE: The cluster nodes represent the individual server modules in the PowerEdge server enclosure. The designations namely, node 1 and node 2 and the server enclosure are used for illustrative purposes only.
book.book Page 30 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-2 shows an example of a direct-attached, two-node cluster configuration using redundant connections to server modules 5 and 6. See your Dell PowerEdge system documentation for more information about the Fibre Channel/Ethernet pass-through module.
book.book Page 31 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-2.
book.book Page 32 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Network-Attached Cluster A network-attached cluster is a cluster configuration where all cluster nodes are attached to a single storage system or to multiple storage systems through a network using a redundant switch fabric. Network-attached cluster configurations provide flexibility, expandability, and performance with either iSCSI or Fibre Channel storage arrays.
book.book Page 33 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-3.
book.book Page 34 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM In Figure 2-4, a PowerEdge 1855/1955 server enclosure is connected to the Dell|EMC iSCSI storage systems. The server and storage components in your configuration may vary. Figure 2-4.
book.book Page 35 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Cabling One PowerEdge Server Enclosure to a Tape Library To provide additional backup for your cluster, you can add a tape backup device to your cluster configuration. The Dell PowerVault™ tape libraries contain an integrated Fibre Channel bridge or a storage network controller (SNC) that connects directly to your Dell|EMC Fibre Channel switch.
book.book Page 36 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM For more information on configuring the tape and storage components, see the storage and tape backup documentation. Cabling Two PowerEdge Server Enclosures to One or Two Dell|EMC Storage Systems The PowerEdge blade cluster supports up to two PowerEdge server enclosures and up to two Dell|EMC storage systems.
book.book Page 37 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-6.
book.book Page 38 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-7.
book.book Page 39 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Network-Attached Cluster Connected to an External Fabric External Switches incorporate the external switch network or SAN connected to the PowerEdge Enclosure through the pass-through modules or switch modules. These configurations allow you to extend the Fibre Channel/iSCSI network by connecting more storage systems. The following sections provide examples for these configurations.
book.book Page 40 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-8.
book.book Page 41 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM NOTE: Figure 2-8 is for illustration purposes only. Some cluster connections are routed internally through the PowerEdge server enclosure. The server and storage components in your cluster configuration may vary. Cabling PowerEdge Server Enclosures With Embedded Switch Modules to an External Fabric Figure 2-9 shows an example of a PowerEdge M1000e system cluster with embedded Fibre Channel switch modules connected to an external SAN-attached fabric.
book.book Page 42 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Figure 2-9.
book.book Page 43 Monday, December 31, 2007 3:41 PM Installing the Operating System and Configuring Your Cluster For information about installing the operating system, Microsoft Cluster Services, and configuring your cluster, see the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for your cluster system located on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.
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