Managing Serviceguard Sixteenth Edition, March 2009

nameserver 15.243.160.51

3. Edit or create the /etc/nsswitch.conf file on all nodes and add the following

text (on one line), if it does not already exist:

• for DNS, enter (one line):

hosts: files [NOTFOUND=continue UNAVAIL=continue] dns [NOTFOUND=return UNAVAIL=return]

• for NIS, enter (one line):

hosts: files [NOTFOUND=continue UNAVAIL=continue] nis [NOTFOUND=return UNAVAIL=return]

If a line beginning with the string “hosts:” already exists, then make sure that

the text immediately to the right of this string is (on one line):

files [NOTFOUND=continue UNAVAIL=continue] dns [NOTFOUND=return UNAVAIL=return]

files [NOTFOUND=continue UNAVAIL=continue] nis [NOTFOUND=return UNAVAIL=return]

This step is critical, allowing the cluster nodes to resolve hostnames to IP addresses

while DNS, NIS, or the primary LAN is down.

4. Create a $SGCONF/cmclnodelist file on all nodes that you intend to configure

into the cluster, and allow access by all cluster nodes. See “Allowing Root Access

to an Unconfigured Node” (page 195).

NOTE: HP recommends that you also make the name service itself highly available,

either by using multiple name servers or by configuring the name service into a

Serviceguard package.

Ensuring Consistency of Kernel Configuration

Make sure that the kernel configurations of all cluster nodes are consistent with the

expected behavior of the cluster during failover. In particular, if you change any kernel

parameters on one cluster node, they may also need to be changed on other cluster

nodes that can run the same packages.

Enabling the Network Time Protocol

HP strongly recommends that you enable network time protocol (NTP) services on

each node in the cluster. The use of NTP, which runs as a daemon process on each

system, ensures that the system time on all nodes is consistent, resulting in consistent

timestamps in log files and consistent behavior of message services. This ensures that

applications running in the cluster are correctly synchronized. The NTP services daemon,

xntpd, should be running on all nodes before you begin cluster configuration. The

NTP configuration file is /etc/ntp.conf.

For information about configuring NTP services, refer to the HP-UX manual HP-UX

Internet Services Administrator’s Guide posted at http://docs.hp.com -> Networking

and Communication -> Internet Services.

Preparing Your Systems 199