Node-Based Cluster Groups; Load Balancing; File Share Resource Planning Issues; Resource Planning - HP X1600 - StorageWorks Network Storage System 5.4TB SAS Model NAS Server User Manual

When creating groups, the administrator's first priority is to gain an understanding of how to manage
the groups and their resources. Administrators may choose to create a resource group and a virtual
server for each node that will contain all resources owned by that node, or the administrator may
choose to create a resource group and virtual server for each physical disk resource. Additionally,
the administrator should try to balance the load of the groups and their resources on the cluster
between the nodes.

Node-based cluster groups

Creating only one resource group and one virtual server for each node facilitates group and resource
administration. This setup allows administrators to include all file share resources under one group.
Clients access all of the resources owned by one node through a virtual server name.
In node-based cluster groups, each group has its own network name and IP address. The administrator
decides on which node to place each physical disk resource. This configuration provides a very coarse
level of granularity. All resources within a group must remain on the same node. Only two IP addresses
and network names are required. This configuration creates less overhead for resource and network
administration. A possible disadvantage of this approach is that the resource groups can potentially
grow large when many file shares are created.

Load balancing

The creation of separate cluster groups for each virtual server provides more flexibility in balancing
the processing load on the cluster between the two nodes. Each cluster group can be assigned to a
cluster node with the preferred owner parameter. For example, if there are two cluster groups, the
cluster could be set up to have the first cluster group owned by Node A and the second cluster group
owned by Node B. This allows the network load to be handled by both devices simultaneously. If
only one cluster group exists, it can only be owned by one node and the other node would not serve
any network traffic.

File share resource planning issues

CIFS and NFS are cluster-aware protocols that support the Active/Active cluster model, allowing
resources to be distributed and processed on both nodes at the same time. For example, some NFS
file share resources can be assigned to a group owned by a virtual server for Node A and additional
NFS file share resources can be assigned to a group owned by a virtual server for Node B.
Configuring the file shares as cluster resources provides for high availability of file shares. Because
the resources are placed into groups, ownership of the files can easily move from one node to the
other, as circumstances require. If the cluster node owning the group of file shares should be shut
down or fail, the other node in the cluster will begin sharing the directories until the original owner
node is brought back on line. At that time, ownership of the group and its resources can be brought
back to the original owner node.

Resource planning

1. Create a cluster group for each node in the cluster with an IP address resource and a network
name resource.
Cluster resource groups are used to balance the processing load on the servers. Distribute
ownership of the groups between the virtual servers.
X1000 and X3000 Network Storage System 99