Tivoli Storage Manager for Windows Quick Start


Planning for the Cluster

Before you set up your cluster, you should review the steps in this section and record your information in the worksheet provided.

  1. Decide which type of cluster configuration to use. Each virtual server needs a separate set of disk resources on the shared disk subsystem. Therefore, you may have problems if you configure the I/O subsystem as one large array in the active/passive configuration and then later decide to support the active/active configuration.
  2. Identify the disk resources to be dedicated to TSM. A shared disk should not be divided into multiple partitions with each partition assigned to a different application and thus a different cluster group. For example, Application A, a stable application, could be forced to failover due to a software problem with Application B if both applications use partitions that are part of the same physical disk. This could happen, for example, when a software problem with Application B occurs. This problem causes the Cluster Services to failover Application B and its corequisite disk resource. Because the partitions exist on the same physical drive, Application A is also forced to failover. Therefore, we recommend that you dedicate a shared disk as a single failable resource along with the Tivoli Storage Manager application.
  3. Ensure you have enough IP addresses. You need at least seven addresses to set up an active/active TSM server cluster that follows Microsoft's default recommendations:
  4. Obtain Network Names for each TSM server instance in the configuration. For an active/active configuration, two Network Names are required and they must be associated with the IP Addresses set aside for each TSM server.
  5. Each TSM server instance requires a cluster resource group. Initially, the group should contain only disk resources. You can create a new group and move disk resources to it. You may choose just to rename an existing resource group that contains only disk resources.
  6. MSCS does not provide for resource management for SCSI tape devices. You can attach tape devices in either of the following configurations:
    Attach to the node on which the TSM server instance is currently active. Attach to a third, non-clustered system on which an additional instance of the TSM server is active.
    This configuration allows high performance backup and restore. However, it is not entirely automated. Operator intervention is required to service a failover where repair delays take more than 2 days. This configuration may not be acceptable in installations with low bandwidth communications between the servers in the cluster and the tape device controller server.
    Define enough disk-based data volume space to keep more than 2 days worth of average data. Define enough disk-based data volume space to keep more than 2 days worth of average data.
    Set up a storage pool hierarchy so that data is migrated efficiently to the tape device. Use the virtual volumes to enable migration of the data from the local disk volumes to the tape device.
    When a failover occurs, manually disconnect the tape device and reattach it to the node on which the server was newly active. When a failover occurs, no operator intervention is required; the newly active server continues to use the virtual volumes as before.
  7. Tivoli Storage Manager is installed to a local disk on each node in the cluster. Determine the disk to be used on each node. We strongly recommended that the same drive letter be used on each machine.

Clustering Configuration Worksheet

To gather information needed for Tivoli Storage Manager clustering, use the following worksheet for each virtual server instance.

Cluster Resource Group
Physical Disk Resources


IP Address
Subnet Mask
Network
Network Name (server name)
Nodes


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