Cluster Systems Management Cookbook for pSeries

Cluster Systems Management Cookbook for pSeries

by Dino Quintero, Thomas Braunbeck, Ong Swee Thye, Andrei Vlad, Peter Zutenis
Released December 2004
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: None

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Book description

This IBM Redbooks publication is a practical cookbook that provides up-to-date information about Cluster Systems Management (CSM) for AIX 5L for a pSeries environment. The book provides information about the latest CSM for AIX 5L enhancements, including implementation techniques, installation changes, installation tools, system management tools, monitoring tools, hardware control, file distribution, problem determination, and management server high availability.

This book summarizes the latest news in CSM 1.4.0. It contains a Q&A chapter, a CSM installation scenario, a CSM advanced chapter, CSM migration scenarios, and a CSM cluster administration chapter. We include information about how to manage Linux nodes on pSeries hardware including operating system installation and node management in a mixed cluster environment.

This book is targeted to technical professionals (consultants, IT architects, and IT specialists) who are responsible for providing pSeries clustering solutions.

Table of contents

  1. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  2. Preface
    1. The team that wrote this redbook
    2. Become a published author
    3. Comments welcome
  3. Chapter 1: Introduction
    1. What is Cluster Systems Management (CSM)?
    2. CSM 1.4.0 highlights
    3. CSM differentiators
    4. Why consider CSM?
    5. What is covered in this redbook
  4. Chapter 2: New features in CSM 1.4.0
    1. New hardware support
    2. New software support
    3. CSM Highly Available Management Server
      1. Hardware support
      2. Software support
    4. Monitoring Service Focus Point using CSM
    5. Changes in Linux distribution support
    6. 1024 way xSeries nodes support
    7. Hardware control command
  5. Chapter 3: CSM installation scenario
    1. Assumptions and planning
    2. Our environment
    3. Installation of the CSM management server
      1. Installation of AIX
      2. Apply maintenance to AIX
      3. Installation and customization of NIM
      4. Install and apply maintenance to the CSM server
      5. Customize the CSM server
    4. Installation of nodes
      1. Define nodes to CSM
      2. Node definition
      3. Create nodegroups
      4. Validate hardware control
      5. Get adapter information
    5. Set up cluster file management
    6. NIM steps
      1. Define NIM clients
      2. NIM machine groups
      3. NIM CSM preparation
      4. Add OpenSSL and OpenSSH bundles
      5. NIM resource allocation
    7. Network boot node
      1. Verify resources
      2. Initiate netboot
      3. Monitoring the install
    8. Integration of Linux pSeries nodes
      1. Check the node software
      2. Copy Linux packages to the correct directory
      3. Verify node definitions
      4. Create CSM node groups
      5. Set up the cluster configuration
      6. Add Linux nodes to the cluster
      7. Verify nodes
  6. Chapter 4: CSM advanced features implementation
    1. Building a Linux repository for pSeries
      1. Setting up the network installation server
      2. Red Hat repository
      3. SUSE LINUX SLES8 repository
      4. SUSE LINUX SLES9 repository
      5. Creating the autoinstallation files (1/3)
      6. Creating the autoinstallation files (2/3)
      7. Creating the autoinstallation files (3/3)
      8. Install the CSM client on Linux
    2. Install Linux using the AIX NIM server
      1. Switch the netboot method from BOOTP to DHCP
      2. Prepare AIX 5L V5.x NIM machine definitions
      3. Activating NIM clients to create entries in /etc/bootptab
      4. Converting BOOTP information to DHCP syntax
      5. Deallocate NIM clients to remove entries from /etc/bootptab
      6. Deactivate BOOTP service from inetd
      7. Configure and activate DHCP
      8. Booting Linux on pSeries
    3. CSM performance, scalability, and challenges
      1. Firewall
      2. WAN network
  7. Chapter 5: CSM migration scenario
    1. General planning for migrations
      1. Where we want to go
      2. Where we come from
      3. Gather prerequisites information
      4. Checking for latest updates available
      5. Planning for recovery
    2. Migrate CSM on the management server
      1. Get the necessary software
      2. Check for prerequisites on client nodes and HMCs
      3. Back up the management server
      4. Commit previous installed updates
      5. Update and migrate the software
      6. Update the open source software packages
      7. Reboot the management server
      8. Accept the terms and conditions of the CSM license agreement
      9. Copy updated CSM files into /csminstall
      10. Verify the installation
      11. Perform a backup of the migrated system
    3. Migrate CSM on AIX client nodes
      1. Check for application software prerequisites
      2. Back up the client nodes
      3. Commit previously installed updates
      4. Stop the applications on the client nodes
      5. Update and migrate the nodes
      6. Reboot the client nodes
      7. Updatenode (when necessary)
      8. Verify CSM functions
      9. Start up and verify the applications on the client nodes
      10. Back up client nodes
    4. Migrate AIX on the client nodes
      1. Alternate disk migration installation
      2. Traditional AIX migration using NIM
    5. Migrate AIX on the management server
      1. Get the necessary software
      2. Check for prerequisites on client nodes and HMCs
      3. Back up the management server
      4. Perform the migration
      5. Apply updates to the migrated system
      6. Update the open source software packages
      7. Post migration actions
  8. Chapter 6: CSM cluster administration
    1. Use all available information sources
    2. Maintaining NIM lpp_sources for one AIX release
    3. Verify the AIX level of SPOT and backup
    4. Node status in csmstat command output
    5. Hardware control problems
      1. Invalid hardware control point message
      2. Error connecting to hardware control point
      3. Power status undefined
      4. Power on for a client node is not working
      5. IBM.HWCTRLRM trace and Java™ controls
  9. Chapter 7: CSM High Availability Management Server
    1. When to deploy CSM HA MS
    2. HA MS installation requirement
      1. Software support
      2. Storage support
      3. Network consideration
      4. Remote shell consideration
      5. Network Installation Management (NIM) consideration
      6. Symbolic link consideration
    3. HA MS implementation scenarios
      1. Environment setup
      2. CSM MS installation on the backup MS
    4. HA MS configuration
      1. HA MS installation
      2. Set up NTP on both management servers
      3. Shared disk configuration
      4. Create the HA MS definition file
      5. Customized scripts
      6. Activate the failover notification
    5. HA MS operations
      1. Start HA MS
      2. Stopping the HA MS
      3. Verify HA MS is active
      4. Manual HA MS failover
      5. Active MS shutdown
      6. Active MS crash
      7. Reintegration
      8. Pause the HA MS
      9. Things to do after an active MS failover
    6. HA MS administration
      1. Update HA MS definition file
      2. Back up the HA MS definition file
      3. HS MS PTF installation
    7. HA MS log and debug information
      1. HA MS logs
      2. Audit log
      3. Debugging tips
    8. High Availability Management Server Q&A
  10. Appendix A: Simple user management and authentication via LDAP
    1. Installation and configuration of AIX Directory Server
      1. Install and configure LDAP on a CSM management server
    2. Setup of AIX LDAP client
    3. Test the AIX LDAP server and AIX client
    4. Setup of Red Hat Linux client
    5. Setup of SUSE LINUX client
    6. Configuration of LDAP server replicas
    7. Additional information
  11. Appendix B: Managing IBM WebSphere Application Server with CSM
    1. Combined CSM cluster and WebSphere cell topology
    2. Using CSM node groups
    3. Setting up a WebSphere Application Server cell
      1. Installing WebSphere Application Server and third-party software on application server nodes
      2. File synchronization across the cell
      3. Managing the entire WebSphere infrastructure
    4. Summary
  12. Abbreviations and acronyms
  13. Related publications
    1. IBM Redbooks
    2. Other publications
    3. Online resources
    4. How to get IBM Redbooks
    5. Help from IBM
  14. Index (1/2)
  15. Index (2/2)
  16. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: Cluster Systems Management Cookbook for pSeries
  • Author(s): Dino Quintero, Thomas Braunbeck, Ong Swee Thye, Andrei Vlad, Peter Zutenis
  • Release date: December 2004
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: None