3.7.0 HP StorageWorks HP Scalable NAS File Serving Software administration guide - HP Scalable NAS 3.7 for Linux (AG513-96002, October 2009)

3 Cluster Administration
HP Scalable NAS can be administered either with the Management Console or from
the command line.
Administrative considerations
You should be aware of the following when managing HP Scalable NAS.
Network operations
• Normal operation of the cluster depends on a reliable network hostname resolution
service. If the hostname lookup facility becomes unreliable, this can cause reliab-
ility problems for the running cluster. Therefore, you should ensure that your
hostname lookup services are configured to provide highly reliable lookups,
particularly for the hostnames that are critical to cluster operation. These critical
hostnames include the hostnames of all servers in the cluster and the hostnames
of all Fibre Channel switches being used with the cluster.
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.
• Do not add or delete a network interface device from the operating system while
HP Scalable NAS is running. Attempting to do this can adversely affect the entire
cluster. If you need to add or delete a network interface on a particular server,
first stop HP Scalable NAS on that server. Then make your administrative change
and restart HP Scalable NAS.
• A network interface should not be modified or taken down while HP Scalable
NAS is running. Attempting to do this can cause adverse effects. If any part of a
network interface definition needs to be changed, stop HP Scalable NAS on the
affected server, shut down the network, and then make the change. When the
change is complete, bring up the network and restart HP Scalable NAS.
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