Dell Ax4-5 Manual

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering41
 Create a zone for each HBA port and its target storage devices.
 Each AX4-5 storage processor port can be connected to a maximum of 64 
HBA ports in a SAN-attached environment.
 Each host can be connected to a maximum of four storage systems.
 The 
integrated bridge/SNC or fibre-channel interface on a tape library 
can be added to any zone.
Installing and Configuring the Shared Storage 
System
 NOTE: You must configure the network settings and create a user account to 
manage the AX4-5 storage system from the network.
To install and configure the Dell/EMC storage system in your cluster:
1
Install and use Navisphere® Storage System Initialization Utility from a 
node or management station to initialize your AX4-5 storage system. 
2Install the expansion pack using Navisphere Express (optional).
3Install the Navisphere Server Utility on each cluster node.
4Register the cluster node with the storage system.
5Assign the virtual disks to the cluster nodes.
Installing Navisphere Storage System Initialization Utility
The Navisphere Storage System Initialization Utility provides a user interface 
to initialize your AX4-5 storage system. Using the utility, you can configure 
the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway address for the storage system’s 
SPs, and assign user names and password for storage system access. 
1
To install the software from the support media that is shipped with the 
storage system:
aInsert the installation media in the CD/DVD drive. 
bIn the Choose Language Setup screen, select the appropriate 
language and click 
OK. 
cOn Server screen, click Install Products.
dIn the Install Products menu, click Navisphere Storage System 
Initialization Utility
. 
						

							42Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
eFollow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
2To initialize the storage system:
aSelect Start→ Programs→ EMC→ Navisphere→ Navisphere Storage 
System Initialization
.
bRead the license agreement, click I accept and then click Next. 
cFrom the Uninitialized Systems list, select the storage system to be 
initialized, and click 
Next.
dFollow the on-screen instructions to complete the initialization.
Installing the Expansion Pack Using Navisphere Express
Each storage system in the cluster is centrally managed by one host system 
(also called a management station) running EMC Navisphere Express—a 
centralized storage management application used to configure Dell/EMC 
storage systems.
If you have an expansion pack option for the storage system and it has not 
been installed, install it now by following the steps listed below:
1
From the management host, open an Internet browser.
2Enter the IP address of an SP in the storage system.
3Log in to Navisphere Express with the username and password that you 
specified during the storage system initialization.
4In the Navisphere Express navigation pane under System, click Software.
5In the System Software screen, click Upgrade Software.
6Insert the expansion pack media into the CD/DVD drive on the host from 
which you are running Navisphere Express.
7Browse for the expansion tier enabler software file (.ena file), and click 
Upgrade.
You can use Navisphere Express to perform tasks such as creating disk pools, 
binding the virtual disks, and downloading the firmware. Additionally, you 
can use Snapshot Management to capture point-in-time images of a virtual 
disk for backups or testing without affecting the contents of the source virtual 
disk. You can also use the SAN Copy™ feature in Navisphere Express to move 
data from the virtual disks on one storage system to the virtual disks on 
another storage system without using the host CPU cycles. 
						

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering43
Installing Navisphere Server Utility
The Navisphere Server Utility registers the cluster node HBAs with the 
storage systems, allowing the nodes to access the cluster storage data. The 
tool is also used for the following cluster node maintenance procedures:
 Updating the cluster node host name and/or IP address on the storage 
array
 Updating file system information
 Adding, removing, or replacing an HBA
 Starting and stopping a snapshot
To install Navisphere Server Utility:
1
Log in to the Windows server using an account with administrative 
privileges.
2Insert the installation media in the CD/DVD drive.
3In the Choose Language Setup screen, select the appropriate language 
and click 
OK.
4In the main menu, click Install Products on Server.
5In the Install Products menu, click Navisphere Server Utility.
6Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Registering a Server With a Storage System
To register the server with the storage system:
1
Start the Navisphere Server Utility by clicking Start→ Programs→ EMC→ 
Navisphere→ Navisphere Server Utility.
2In the Choose Language Setup screen, select the appropriate language 
and click 
OK.
3In the Navisphere Server Utility dialog window, select Register this server to 
all connected storage systems
. The utility automatically scans for all 
connected storage systems and lists them under Connected Storage Systems.
4Select the WWN of the HBA you just installed. The HBA should appear 
once for every SP port it is connected to.
5Click Next to register the server with the storage system.
6Click Finish to exit the utility. 
						

							44Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
Assigning the Virtual Disks to Cluster Nodes
 NOTE: For best practice, have at least one virtual disk for each application. If 
multiple NTFS partitions are created on a single LUN or virtual disk, these partitions 
will not be able to fail over individually from node-to-node.
To perform data I/O to the virtual disks, assign the virtual disks to a cluster 
node by performing the following steps:
1
Open a Web browser.
2Type the storage system IP address in the Address field. 
The 
Navisphere Express console is displayed.
3Login with user name and password that were created during the storage 
initialization.
4In the Manage menu, 
aClick Disk Pools. You can create multiple disk pools.
bClick Virtual Disks. You can create multiple virtual disks for each disk 
pool.
cIn the Virtual Disks screen, select the virtual disks that you want to 
assign to the cluster node and click 
Assign Server.
5In Assign Server screen, select the cluster nodes that you want to assign to 
the virtual disk and click 
Apply.
6Repeat step 4 and step 5 for each virtual disk.
7Close the Navisphere Express window. 
8Verify that the PowerPath on the cluster nodes can access all paths to the 
virtual disks.
Advanced or Optional Storage Features
Your Dell/EMC AX4-5 storage array may be configured to provide optional 
features that can be used in with your cluster. These features include 
Snapshot Management, SANCopy, Navisphere Manager and MirrorView™. 
						

							Preparing Your Systems for Clustering45
Snapshot Management
Snapshot Management captures images of a virtual disk and retains the image 
independently of subsequent changes to the files. The images can be used to 
share virtual disks with another system without affecting the contents of the 
source virtual disk. Snapshot Management creates copies of either virtual 
disks or snapshots. Snapshots are virtual copies that create an image of the 
source virtual disk at the time the snapshot was created. This snapshot is 
retained independently of subsequent changes to the source virtual disk. You 
can use snapshots to facilitate backups or to allow multiple hosts to access 
data without affecting the contents of the source virtual disk.
 WARNING: To avoid data corruption, do not access a snapshot from the same 
node as its source.
SAN Copy
SAN Copy allows you to move data between storage systems without using 
host processor cycles or LAN bandwidth. It can be used in conjunction with 
SnapView™ or MirrorView and is managed from within Navisphere Manager.
Navishphere Manager
Optionally, you can also upgrade Navisphere Express to EMC Navisphere® 
Manager—a centralized storage management application used to configure 
Dell/EMC storage systems.
EMC Navisphere Manager adds the support for EMC MirrorView, an 
optional software that enables synchronous or asynchronous mirroring 
between two storage systems.
MirrorView 
MirrorView automatically duplicates primary storage system data from a 
cluster or stand-alone system to a secondary storage system. It can be used in 
conjunction with SnapView and is managed from within Navisphere Manager.  
						

							46Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
Installing and Configuring a Failover Cluster
You can configure the operating system services on your Dell Windows Server 
failover cluster, after you have established the private and public networks 
and have assigned the shared disks from the storage array to the cluster nodes. 
The procedures for configuring the failover cluster are different depending on 
the Windows Server operating system you use.
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.  
						

							Appendix:Troubleshooting47
Troubleshooting
This section provides troubleshooting information for your cluster 
configuration. 
Table A-1 describes general cluster problems you may encounter and the 
probable causes and solutions for each problem.
Table A-1. General Cluster Troubleshooting
Problem Probable Cause Corrective Action
The nodes cannot 
access the storage 
system, or the cluster 
software is not 
functioning with the 
storage system.The storage system is 
not cabled properly to 
the nodes or the 
cabling between the 
storage components is 
incorrect.Ensure that the cables are 
connected properly from the 
node to the storage system. See 
Cabling Your Cluster for Public 
and Private Networks for 
more information.
The length of the 
interface cables 
exceeds the maximum 
allowable length.Ensure that the fibre optic 
cables do not exceed 300 m 
(multimode) or 10 km (single 
mode switch-to-switch 
connections only).
One of the cables is 
faulty.Replace the faulty cable.
Switching zone is not 
configured correctly.Verify that all switched zones are 
configured correctly.
LUNs are not assigned 
to the hosts.Verify that all LUNs are assigned 
to the hosts.
The cluster is in a 
SAN, and one or more 
zones are not 
configured correctly.Verify the following:
 Each zone contains only one 
initiator (Fibre Channel 
daughter card).
 Each zone contains the 
correct initiator and the 
correct storage port(s). 
						

							48Appendix:Troubleshooting
One of the nodes takes a 
long time to join the 
cluster.
or
One of the nodes fail to 
join the cluster.The node-to-node 
network has failed due 
to a cabling or 
hardware failure.
Long delays in node-
to-node 
communications may 
be normal. Check the network cabling. 
Ensure that the node-to-node 
interconnection and the public 
network are connected to the 
correct NICs. 
Verify that the nodes can 
communicate with each other 
by running the ping command 
from each node to the other 
node. Try both the host name 
and IP address when using the 
ping command.
One or more nodes 
may have the Internet 
Connection Firewall 
enabled, blocking 
Remote Procedure 
Call (RPC) 
communications 
between the nodes. Configure the Internet 
Connection Firewall to allow 
communications that are 
required by the Microsoft
® 
Cluster Service (MSCS) and the 
clustered applications 
or services.
See Microsoft Knowledge Base 
article KB883398 at the 
Microsoft Support website at 
support.microsoft.com for more 
information. Table A-1. General Cluster Troubleshooting (continued)
Problem Probable Cause Corrective Action 
						

							Appendix:Troubleshooting49
Attempts to connect to 
a cluster using Cluster 
Administrator fail.The Cluster Service 
has not been started.
A cluster has not been 
formed on the system.
The system has just 
been booted and 
services are still 
starting.Verify that the Cluster Service is 
running and that a cluster has 
been formed. Use the Event 
Viewer and look for the 
following events logged by the 
Cluster Service:
Microsoft Cluster 
Service successfully 
formed a cluster on 
this node.
or
Microsoft Cluster 
Service successfully 
joined the cluster.
If these events do not appear in 
Event Viewer, see the Microsoft 
Cluster Service Administrator’s 
Guide for instructions on 
setting up the cluster on your 
system and starting the 
Cluster Service.
The cluster network 
name is not 
responding on the 
network because the 
Internet Connection 
Firewall is enabled on 
one or more nodes.Configure the Internet 
Connection Firewall to allow 
communications that are 
required by MSCS and the 
clustered applications 
or services.
See Microsoft Knowledge Base 
article KB883398 at the 
Microsoft Support website at 
support.microsoft.com for more 
information. Table A-1. General Cluster Troubleshooting (continued)
Problem Probable Cause Corrective Action 
						

							50Appendix:Troubleshooting
You are prompted to 
configure one network 
instead of two during 
MSCS installation.The TCP/IP 
configuration 
is incorrect.The node-to-node network and 
public network must be assigned 
static IP addresses on different 
subnets. For information about 
assigning the network IPs with a 
specific variant of the Windows 
Server operating system (for 
example: Windows Server 2003 
or Windows Server 2008), see 
Dell Failover Clusters with 
Microsoft Windows Server 
Installation and 
Troubleshooting Guide.
The private (point-to-
point) network is 
disconnected.Ensure that all systems are 
powered on so that the NICs in 
the private network 
are available.
Using Microsoft 
Windows NT
®4.0 to 
remotely administer a 
Windows Server 2003 
cluster generates error 
messages.Normal. Some 
resources in 
Windows Server 2003 
are not supported in 
Windows NT 4.0.Dell strongly recommends that 
you use Windows XP 
Professional or Windows Server 
2003 for remote administration 
of a cluster running Windows 
Server 2003.  Table A-1. General Cluster Troubleshooting (continued)
Problem Probable Cause Corrective Action