Managing Serviceguard 13th Edition, February 2007

Building an HA Cluster Configuration
Configuring the Cluster
Chapter 5226
The default value of 2 seconds for NODE_TIMEOUT leads to a best case
failover time of 30 seconds. If NODE_TIMEOUT is changed to 10 seconds,
which means that the cluster manager waits 5 times longer to timeout a
node, the failover time is increased by 5, to approximately 150 seconds.
NODE_TIMEOUT must be at least 2*HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL. A good rule of
thumb is to have at least two or three heartbeats within one
NODE_TIMEOUT. For more information about node timeouts, see “What
Happens when a Node Times Out” on page 129.
Optimization
Serviceguard Extension for Faster Failover (SGeFF) is a separately
purchased product. If it is installed, the configuration file will display the
parameter to enable it.
SGeFF reduces the time it takes Serviceguard to process a failover. It
cannot, however, change the time it takes for packages and applications
to gracefully shut down and restart.
SGeFF has requirements for cluster configuration, as outlined in the
cluster configuration template file.
For more information, see the Serviceguard Extension for Faster Failover
Release Notes posted on http://www.docs.hp.com -> High
Availability.
See also Optimizing Failover Time in a Serviceguard Environment at
http://www.docs.hp.com -> High Availability -> Serviceguard
-> White Papers.
Access Control Policies
Beginning with Serviceguard Version A.11.16, Access Control Policies
allow non-root user to use common administrative commands.
Non-root users of Serviceguard Manager, the graphical user interface,
need to have a configured access policy to view and to administer
Serviceguard clusters, packages and packages. In new configurations, it
is a good idea to immediately configure at least one monitor access policy.
Check spelling when entering text, especially when typing wildcards,
such as ANY_USER and CLUSTER_MEMBER_NODE. If they are misspelled,
Serviceguard will assume they are specific users or nodes. You may not
configure the access policy you intended to configure.
A root user on the cluster can create or modify access policies while the
cluster is running.