Dell Ax4-5 Manual

							Cabling Your Cluster Hardware31
 The shared storage systems and firmware must be identical. Using 
dissimilar storage systems and firmware for your shared storage is not 
supported.
 MSCS is limited to 22 drive letters. Because drive letters A through D are 
reserved for local disks, a maximum of 22 drive letters (E to Z) can be used 
for your storage system disks. 
 Windows Server 2003 and 2008 support mount points, allowing greater 
than 22 drives per cluster.
For more information, see Assigning Drive Letters and Mount Points 
section of 
Dell Failover Clusters with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 
Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
 or Dell Failover Clusters with 
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
 on 
the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com/manuals.
Figure 2-11 provides an example of cabling the cluster nodes to four 
Dell/EMC storage systems. 
Figure 2-11. PowerEdge Cluster Nodes Cabled to Four Storage Systems
private network cluster node
Fibre Channel 
switch 
storage systems (4)Fibre Channel 
switch  cluster node 
						

							32Cabling Your Cluster Hardware
Connecting a PowerEdge Cluster to a Tape Library
To provide additional backup for your cluster, you can add tape backup 
devices to your cluster configuration. The Dell PowerVault™ tape libraries 
may contain an integrated Fibre Channel bridge, or Storage Network 
Controller (SNC), that connects directly to your Dell/EMC Fibre Channel 
switch. 
Figure 2-12 shows a supported PowerEdge cluster configuration using 
redundant Fibre Channel switches and a tape library. In this configuration, 
each of the cluster nodes can access the tape library to provide backup for 
your local disk resources, as well as your cluster disk resources. Using this 
configuration allows you to add more servers and storage systems in the 
future, if needed. 
 NOTE: While tape libraries can be connected to multiple fabrics, they do not 
provide path failover.
Figure 2-12. Cabling a Storage System and a Tape Library
Obtaining More Information
See the storage and tape backup documentation for more information on 
configuring these components.
private network cluster node
Fibre Channel 
switch 
storage systemsFibre Channel 
switch  cluster node
tape library 
						

							Cabling Your Cluster Hardware33
Configuring Your Cluster With SAN Backup
You can provide centralized backup for your clusters by sharing your SAN 
with multiple clusters, storage systems, and a tape library.
Figure 2-13 provides an example of cabling the cluster nodes to your storage 
systems and SAN backup with a tape library.
Figure 2-13. Cluster Configuration Using SAN-Based Backup
cluster 2 cluster 1
Fibre Channel switch 
storage systems
tape library Fibre Channel switch  
						

							34Cabling Your Cluster Hardware 
						

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering35
Preparing Your Systems for 
Clustering
 CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove and access 
any of the components inside the system. See the safety information that shipped 
with your system for complete information about safety precautions, working 
inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Cluster Configuration Overview
1Ensure that your site can handle the cluster’s power requirements. 
Contact your sales representative for information about your regions 
power requirements.
2Install the systems, the shared storage array(s), and the interconnect 
switches (example: in an equipment rack), and ensure that all these 
components are powered on.
 NOTE: For more information on step 3 to step 7 and step 10 to step 13, see 
Preparing your systems for clustering section of Dell Failover Clusters with 
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Installation and Troubleshooting Guide or Dell 
Failover Clusters with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Installation and 
Troubleshooting Guide located on the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com/manuals.
3Deploy the operating system (including any relevant service pack and 
hotfixes), network adapter drivers, and storage adapter drivers (including 
Multipath I/O drivers(MPIO)) on each of the systems that will become 
cluster nodes. Depending on the deployment method that is used, it may 
be necessary to provide a network connection to successfully complete this 
step. 
 NOTE: To help in planning and deployment of your cluster, record the relevant 
cluster configuration information in the Cluster Data Form on page 55 and 
zoning information in the Zoning Configuration Form on page 57. 
						

							36Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
4Establish the physical network topology and the TCP/IP settings for 
network adapters on each server node to provide access to the cluster 
public and private networks. 
5Configure each cluster node as a member in the same Microsoft® 
Windows Active Directory® Domain. 
 NOTE: You can configure the cluster nodes as Domain Controllers. For more 
information, see “Selecting a Domain Model” section of Dell Failover Clusters 
with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Installation and Troubleshooting Guide 
or Dell Failover Clusters with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Installation and 
Troubleshooting Guide located on the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com/manuals.
6Establish the physical storage topology and any required storage network 
settings to provide connectivity between the storage array and the servers 
that will be configured as cluster nodes. Configure the storage system(s) as 
described in your storage system documentation. 
7Use storage array management tools to create at least one logical unit 
number (LUN). The LUN is used as a cluster Quorum disk for Windows 
Server 2003 Failover cluster and as a Witness disk for Windows Server 
2008 Failover cluster. Ensure that this LUN is presented to the servers that 
will be configured as cluster nodes. 
 NOTE: For security reasons, it is recommended that you configure the LUN on 
a single node as mentioned in step 8 when you are setting up the cluster. 
Later, you can configure the LUN as mentioned in step 9 so that other cluster 
nodes can access it.
8Select one of the systems and form a new failover cluster by configuring 
the cluster name, cluster management IP, and quorum resource. For more 
information, see Preparing Your Systems for Clustering on page 35. 
 NOTE: For Windows Server® 2008 Failover Clusters, run the Cluster 
Validation Wizard to ensure that your system is ready to form the cluster. 
9Join the remaining node(s) to the failover cluster. For more information, 
see Preparing Your Systems for Clustering on page 35.
10Configure roles for cluster networks. Take any network interfaces that are 
used for iSCSI storage (or for other purposes outside of the cluster) out of 
the control of the cluster. 
11Test the failover capabilities of your new cluster.  
						

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering37
 NOTE: For Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters, you can also use the 
Cluster Validation Wizard. 
12Configure highly-available applications and services on your failover 
cluster. Depending on your configuration, this may also require providing 
additional LUNs to the cluster or creating new cluster resource groups. 
Test the failover capabilities of the new resources. 
13Configure client systems to access the highly available applications and 
services that are hosted on your failover cluster.
Installation Overview
Each node in your Dell Windows Server failover cluster must have the same 
release, edition, service pack, and processor architecture of the Windows 
Server operating system installed. For example, all nodes in your cluster may 
be configured with Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition. If the 
operating system varies among nodes, it is not possible to configure a failover 
cluster successfully. It is recommended to establish server roles prior to 
configuring a failover cluster, depending on the operating system configured 
on your cluster. 
For a list of Dell PowerEdge Servers, Fibre Channel HBAs and switches, and 
recommended list of operating system variants, specific driver and firmware 
revisions, see the Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on Dell 
High Availablity Cluster website at dell.com/ha.
For more information on deploying your cluster with Windows Server 2003 
operating systems, see the Dell Failover Clusters with Microsoft Windows 
Server 2003 Installation and Troubleshooting Guide. For more information on 
deploying your cluster with Windows Server 2008 operating systems, see the 
Dell Failover Clusters with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Installation and 
Troubleshooting Guide.
The following sub-sections describe steps that must be taken to enable 
communication between the cluster nodes and your shared Dell/EMC AX4-5 
Fibre Channel storage array, and to present disks from the storage array to the 
cluster. Install and configure the following components on each node: 
1
The Fibre Channel HBA(s) and driver on each cluster node
2EMC PowerPath on each cluster node
3Zoning, if applicable 
						

							38Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
4The shared storage system
5A failover cluster
Installing the Fibre Channel HBAs
Fo r  d u a l-HBA configurations, It is recommended that you install the Fibre 
Channel HBAs on separate peripheral component interconnect (PCI) buses. 
Placing the adapters on separate buses improves availability and performance. 
See the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High 
Availability Clustering website at dell.com/ha for more information about 
your systems PCI bus configuration and supported HBAs.
Installing the Fibre Channel HBA Drivers
See the EMC documentation that is included with your HBA kit for more 
information. 
See the Emulex support website located at emulex.com or the Dell Support 
website at support.dell.com for information about installing and configuring 
Emulex HBAs and EMC-approved drivers. 
See the QLogic support website at qlogic.com or the Dell Support website at 
support.dell.com for information about installing and configuring QLogic 
HBAs and EMC-approved drivers. 
See the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High 
Availability Clustering website at dell.com/ha for information about 
supported HBA controllers and drivers.
Installing EMC PowerPath
EMC® Po w e r Pa t h® detects a failed storage path and automatically re-routes 
I/Os through an alternate path. PowerPath also provides load balancing of 
data from the server to the storage system. To install PowerPath:
1
Insert the PowerPath installation media in the CD/DVD drive.
2On the Getting Started screen, go to the Installation section, and click the 
appropriate link for the operating system that is running on the node.
3Select Run this program from its current location and click OK.
4In the Choose Language Setup screen, select the required language, and 
click 
OK. 
						

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering39
5In the We l c o m e window of the setup wizard, click Next.
6In the CLARiiON AX-Series window, select and click Next. Follow the 
onscreen instructions to complete the installation. 
7Click Ye s to reboot the system.
Implementing Zoning on a Fibre Channel 
Switched Fabric
A Fibre Channel switched fabric consists of one or more Fibre Channel 
switches that provide high-speed connections between servers and storage 
devices. The switches in a Fibre Channel fabric provide a connection through 
inbound and outbound points from one device (sender) to another device or 
switch (receiver) on the network. If the data is sent to another switch, the 
process repeats itself until a connection is established between the sender and 
the receiver. 
Fibre Channel switches provide you with the ability to set up barriers between 
different devices and operating environments. These barriers create logical 
fabric subsets with minimal software and hardware intervention. Similar to 
subnets in the client/server network, logical fabric subsets divide a fabric into 
similar groups of components, regardless of their proximity to one another. 
The logical subsets that form these barriers are called zones. 
Zoning automatically and transparently enforces access of information to the 
zone devices. More than one PowerEdge cluster configuration can share 
Dell/EMC storage system(s) in a switched fabric using Fibre Channel switch 
zoning. By using Fibre Channel switches to implement zoning, you can 
segment the SANs to isolate heterogeneous servers and storage systems from 
each other.
Using Worldwide Port Name Zoning
PowerEdge cluster configurations support worldwide port name zoning. 
A worldwide name (WWN) is a unique numeric identifier assigned to Fibre 
Channel interfaces, such as HBA ports, storage processor (SP) ports, and 
Fibre Channel to SCSI bridges or storage network controllers (SNCs). 
						

							40Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
A WWN consists of an 8-byte hexadecimal number with each byte separated 
by a colon. For example, 10:00:00:60:69:00:00:8a is a valid WWN. Using 
WWN port name zoning allows you to move cables between switch ports 
within the fabric without having to update the zones.
Table 3-1 provides a list of WWN identifiers that you can find in the 
Dell/EMC cluster environment.
 WARNING: When you replace a switch module, a storage controller, or a Fibre 
Channel HBA in a PowerEdge server, reconfigure your zones to provide continuous 
client data access. 
Single Initiator Zoning
Each host HBA port in a SAN must be configured in a separate zone on the 
switch with the appropriate storage ports. This zoning configuration, known 
as single initiator zoning, prevents different hosts from communicating with 
each other, thereby ensuring that Fibre Channel communications between 
the HBAs and their target storage systems do not affect each other. 
When you create your single-initiator zones, follow these guidelines:
Table 3-1. Port Worldwide Names in a SAN Environment
Identifier Description
xx:xx:00:60:69:xx:xx:xxDell/EMC or Brocade switch
xx:xx:xx:00:88:xx:xx:xxMcData switch
50:06:01:6x:xx:xx:xx:xxDell/EMC storage processor
xx:xx:00:00:C9:xx:xx:xxEmulex HBA ports
xx:xx:00:E0:8B:xx:xx:xxQLogic HBA ports (non-embedded)
xx:xx:00:0F:1F:xx:xx:xxDell 2362M HBA port
xx:xx:xx:60:45:xx:xx:xxPowerVault 132T and 136T tape 
libraries
xx:xx:xx:E0:02:xx:xx:xxPowerVault 128T tape autoloader
xx:xx:xx:C0:01:xx:xx:xxPowerVault 160T tape library and Fibre 
Channel tape drives
xx:xx:xx:C0:97:xx:xx:xxPowerVault ML6000 Fibre Channel 
tape drives