Deployment Guide

6 Introduction
Cluster Solution
Your iSCSI cluster implements a minimum of two node-clustering to a
maximum of either eight nodes (for Windows Server 2003) or sixteen nodes
(for Windows Server 2008) clustering and provides the following features:
• Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) technology
• High availability of system services and resources to network clients
• Redundant paths to the shared storage
• Failure recovery for applications and services
• Flexible maintenance capabilities, allowing you to repair, maintain, or
upgrade a cluster node without taking the entire cluster offline
Implementing iSCSI technology in a cluster provides the following
advantages:
• Flexibility - iSCSI as it is based on TCP/IP allows cluster nodes and
storage systems to be located at different sites.
•
Availability - iSCSI components use redundant connections, providing
multiple data paths and greater availability for clients.
•
Connectivity - iSCSI allows more device connections than SCSI. Because
iSCSI devices are hot-pluggable, you can add or remove devices from the
nodes without bringing down the cluster.
Cluster Hardware requirements:
Your cluster requires the following hardware components:
• Servers (Cluster nodes)
• Storage and storage management software
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