Dell Ax4-5 Manual

 Dell/EMC AX4-5 Fibre Channel
Storage Arrays With
Microsoft
®Windows Server®
Failover Clusters
Hardware Installation
and Troubleshooting
Guide 

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
 NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use 
of your computer.
 
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data 
if instructions are not followed.
 
WARNING:  A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal 
injury, or death.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2008-2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner...

Contents3
Contents
1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Cluster Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
Cluster Hardware Requirements
 . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
Cluster Nodes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
Cluster Storage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   10
Supported Cluster Configurations
. . . . . . . . . . . .   11
Direct-Attached Cluster
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   11
SAN-Attached Cluster
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   12
Other...

4Contents
3 Preparing Your Systems
for Clustering
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
Cluster Configuration Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . .   35
Installation Overview
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
Installing the Fibre Channel HBAs
. . . . . . . . . . . .   38
Installing the Fibre Channel HBA Drivers
. . . . . .   38
Installing EMC PowerPath
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38
Implementing Zoning on a Fibre Channel 
Switched Fabric
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   39...

Contents5
A Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  47
B Cluster Data Form
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  55
C Zoning Configuration Form
 . . . . . . . . . . .  57
Index
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59 

6Contents 

Introduction7
Introduction
A failover cluster combines specific hardware and software components to 
provide enhanced availability for applications and services that are run on the 
cluster. A failover cluster is designed to reduce the possibility of any single 
point of failure within the system that can cause the clustered applications or 
services to become unavailable. It is recommended that you use redundant 
components like server and storage power supplies, connections between the 
nodes and the...

8Introduction
Cluster Solution
Your cluster implements a minimum of two node to a maximum of either eight 
nodes (for Windows Server 2003) or sixteen nodes (for Windows Server 2008) 
clustering and provides the following features:
 8-Gbps and 4-Gbps Fibre Channel technologies
 High availability of resources to network clients
 Redundant paths to the shared storage 
 Failure recovery for applications and services
 Flexible maintenance capabilities, allowing you to repair, maintain, or 
upgrade a node or...

Introduction9
Cluster Nodes
Table 1-1 lists the hardware requirements for the cluster nodes.
 
 NOTE: For more information about supported systems, HBAs and operating system 
variants, see the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell 
High Availability Clustering website at dell.com/ha. Table 1-1. Cluster Node Requirements
Component Minimum Requirement
Cluster nodes A minimum of two identical Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers are 
required. The maximum number of nodes that is supported...

10Introduction
Cluster Storage
Cluster nodes can share access to external storage systems. However, only one 
of the nodes can own any redundant array of independent disks (RAID) 
volume in the external storage system at any time. Microsoft Cluster Services 
(MSCS) controls which node has access to each RAID volume in the shared 
storage system.
Table 1-2 lists supported storage systems and the configuration requirements 
for the cluster nodes and stand-alone systems connected to the storage 
systems....