Cluster Solution - Dell PowerVault MD3600f Hardware Installation And Troubleshooting Manual

Cluster Solution

Your Fibre Channel cluster implements a minimum of two-node clustering
and a maximum of sixteen-node clustering and provides the following
features:
• 8 Gbps and 4 Gbps Fibre Channel technology.
• High availability of system services and 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 cluster node without taking the entire cluster offline.
Implementing Fibre Channel technology in a cluster provides the following
advantages:
• Flexibility—Fibre Channel allows a distance of up to 10 km between
switches without degrading the signal.
• Availability—Fibre Channel components use redundant connections,
providing multiple data paths and greater availability for clients.
• Connectivity—Fibre Channel allows more device connections than Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI) or Serial Attached SCSI (SAS).
Because Fibre Channel devices are hot swappable, you can add or remove
devices from the nodes without bringing down the cluster.
Cluster Requirements
Your cluster requires the following components:
• Servers (cluster nodes)
• Storage and storage management software
8
Introduction