Installation guide

20 Chapter 2. Hardware Installation and Operating System Conﬁguration

Cluster Hardware Component Serial

Ports

Ethernet

Ports

PCI

Slots

Point-to-point Ethernet connection for 2-node clusters

(optional)

One for

each

connec-

tion

Terminal server connection (optional) One

Table 2-10. Installing the Basic Cluster Hardware

Most systems come with at least one serial port. If a system has graphics display capabil-

ity, it is possible to use the serial console port for a power switch connection. To expand

your serial port capacity, use multi-port serial PCI cards. For multiple-node clusters, use a

network power switch.

Also, ensure that local system disks are not on the same SCSI bus as the shared disks.

For example, use two-channel SCSI adapters, such as the Adaptec 39160-series cards, and

put the internal devices on one channel and the shared disks on the other channel. Using

multiple SCSI cards is also possible.

Refer to the system documentation supplied by the vendor for detailed installation infor-

mation. Refer to Appendix A Supplementary Hardware Information for hardware-speciﬁc

information about using host bus adapters in a cluster.

2.3.2. Shared Storage considerations

In a cluster, shared disks can be used to store cluster service data. Because this storage

must be available to all nodes running the cluster service conﬁgured to use the storage, it

cannot be located on disks that depend on the availability of any one node.

There are some factors to consider when setting up shared disk storage in a cluster:

• It is recommended to use a clustered ﬁle system such as Red Hat GFS to conﬁgure Red

Hat Cluster Manager storage resources, as it offers shared storage that is suited for high-

availability cluster services. For more information about installing and conﬁguring Red

Hat GFS, refer to the Red Hat GFS Administrator’s Guide.

• Whether you are using Red Hat GFS, local, or remote (for example, NFS) storage, it

is strongly recommended that you connect any storage systems or enclosures

to redundant UPS systems for a highly-available source of power. Refer to

Section 2.5.3 Conﬁguring UPS Systems for more information.

• The use of software RAID or Logical Volume Management (LVM) for shared storage is

not supported. This is because these products do not coordinate access to shared storage

from multiple hosts. Software RAID or LVM may be used on non-shared storage on