3.1.2 Matrix Server Administration Guide

Matrix Administration

PolyServe Matrix Server can be administered either with the

Management Console or from the command line.

Administrative Considerations

You should be aware of the following when managing Matrix Server:

• Normal operation of the matrix depends on a reliable network

hostname resolution service. If the hostname lookup facility becomes

unreliable, this can cause reliability problems for the running matrix.

Therefore, you should ensure that your hostname lookup services are

configured to provide highly reliable lookups, particularly for the

hostnames that are critical to matrix operation. These critical

hostnames include the hostnames of all servers in the matrix and the

hostnames of all FibreChannel switches being used with the matrix.

One easy way to ensure reliable hostname lookups is to put all critical

hostnames and their IP addresses in /etc/hosts on each of the servers

(see the hosts(5) man page). After you have done this, ensure that the

host lookup order in /etc/nsswitch.conf specifies that the hosts file will

be examined first (see the nsswitch.conf(5) man page). Other

mechanisms, apart from /etc/hosts, can also be used, depending on

your site network configuration.