Planning for a shared Cluster

Planning for a Shared Disk Cluster

One of the most important elements in configuring a shared-disk cluster is thorough, up-front planning.
This section provides some basic considerations, ideas, and information that you might find useful when designing a shared-disk cluster.

To help you determine the appropriate hardware for your shared-disk cluster, consider the following:

•  What are the objectives and functional requirements for the cluster?
   Know what problems are to be resolved and what expectations have been identified as reasons for  implementing the cluster.

•  What are the long-term requirements for the cluster?
   Planning for future growth will help you select servers and expansion enclosures that you can expand  easily as the needs of your business increase.

•  What type of application software will reside on the servers and what type of data will reside  on the shared disks?
   Evaluating the type of data and software applications will help you determine if additional memory or  microprocessors might be required. For example, if the data requires extensive computation, you  might need to install additional microprocessors in the servers to maintain adequate performance for  your environment.

•  What are the disk-storage requirements for the cluster?
   Understanding the disk-storage requirements will help you select storage enclosures and hard disk  drives that meet your needs today and provide expansion capabilities for the future.

•  In addition to the shared disks, are there any other mission-critical functions that the clustered  servers will need to provide?
   Considering all requirements will help you determine if each server might require additional memory,  microprocessors, I/O slots, or drive bays. Keep in mind that the shared-disk cluster will use two or  three PCI expansion slots and two or more drive bays in each server.

Other considerations might include such things as your budget and security needs. An important point to remember is that a decision to use a specific configuration does not limit future expansion.
Many of the IBM Netfinity and PC Server hardware elements used to create the shared-disk clusters are very flexible and can be customized and expanded as your needs increase.

'Shared-Disk Hardware Examples' contains illustrations, descriptions, and parts listings for several dual-node, shared-disk cluster examples.

For detailed information about the IBM servers, storage enclosures, and optional devices that you can use to configure a shared-disk cluster, see 'Selecting Servers and Enclosures'.

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