Ensure that your system meets the requirements for Dynamic File Services in Section 2.0, Planning the Installation.
Consider the additional clustering guidelines in this section when you install and set up DynamicFS in a Windows cluster.
The operating system used in the Windows cluster must be one of the supported Windows Server operating systems listed in Section 2.1, Supported Platforms. All nodes should run the same version of the operating system.
IMPORTANT:For information about Windows Clustering requirements, refer to the Microsoft documentation in the Microsoft TechNet Library.
The Microsoft references listed below can be helpful in using the Windows cluster management tools in Windows 2008 to set up the Dynamic File Service resource:
Your Windows cluster must provide shared disks to use for Dynamic File Services as follows:
Program, Data, and Log Files: The Dynamic File Services software and its related program files, data files, and log files must be stored in a folder on a shared disk.
Standard Pair: Consider the following guidelines for selecting paths for a standard pair in a cluster:
|
Standard Pair Data Location |
Primary Path |
Secondary Path |
|---|---|---|
|
Shared disk that is hosted on the same node as the Dynamic File Services software |
Specify the physical path, such as F:\home. Use the Windows Disk Management tool to bind the same drive letter to the primary shared disk on each node in turn. |
Specify the physical path, such as T:\home_secondary. You can use the Windows Disk Management tool to bind the same drive letter to the secondary shared disk on each node in turn. |
|
Share on a shared disk that is hosted in the cluster |
Not supported. |
Add the share as a resource for Dynamic File Services, then select the share when you create the pair. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the share path instead of the physical server name. The shared disk can fail over in the same or different resource than the one used for Dynamic File Services and the primary shared disks. For example, it could be in a separate File Share type resource. |
|
Remote share published in the same Active Directory domain |
Not supported. |
The remote share resides on a location that is not part of the cluster, but is in the same domain. The remote share can reside in a different cluster in the same domain if desired. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the UNC path. |
|
Cloud path |
Not supported. |
Not supported. |
Retention Pair: Consider the following guidelines for selecting paths for a retention pair in a cluster:
|
Retention Pair Data Location |
Primary Path |
Secondary Path |
|---|---|---|
|
Shared disk that is hosted on the same node as the Dynamic File Services software |
Specify the physical path, such as S:\home. You can use the Windows Disk Management tool to bind the same drive letter to the primary shared disk on each node in turn. |
Specify the physical path, such as T:\home_secondary. You can use the Windows Disk Management tool to bind the same drive letter to the secondary shared disk on each node in turn. |
|
Share on a shared disk that is hosted in the cluster |
Add the share as a resource for Dynamic File Services, then select the share when you create the pair. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the UNC share path instead of the physical server name. The shared disk must fail over in the same resource as the Dynamic File Services software. |
Add the share as a resource for Dynamic File Services, then select the share when you create the pair. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the UNC share path instead of the physical server name. The shared disk can fail over in the same or different resource than the one used for Dynamic File Services and the primary shared disks. For example, it could be in a separate File Share type resource. |
|
Remote share published in the same Active Directory domain |
The remote share resides on a location that is not part of the cluster, but is in the same domain. The remote share can reside in a different cluster in the same domain if desired. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the UNC path. |
The remote share resides on a location that is not part of the cluster, but is in the same domain. The remote share can reside in a different cluster in the same domain if desired. You must use the virtual cluster server name in the UNC path. |
|
Cloud path |
Not supported. |
The cloud account is defined in Dynamic File Services, and all nodes have access to the Internet. |
DynamicFS must be installed on each node of the cluster in turn. The destination folder for each installation uses the same path on a shared disk.
In an Active Directory domain, the active cluster node uses its own NDFS-servername proxy user to access files on remote shares that are used in pairs. Each node has its own NDFS-servername proxy user; there is no special proxy user for the cluster resource.
In a cluster, you must add the Windows Registry entry for Dynamic File Services setup (..\SOFTWARE\Novell\Dynamic File Services\Setup) to the cluster resource so that it follows Dynamic File Services to each node. Dynamic File Services functions in Evaluation Mode until a product license key is registered for the product. Only one key is needed. After the product installation, a user with Administrator privileges can register the license key from any node where Dynamic File Services is active. The InstallID key value in the registry is used to decrypt the license file, so this value must be the same on all nodes.
When you install Dynamic File Services on a cluster node, a self-signed certificate is created for the Dynamic File Service and stored in the Windows Registry entry for Dynamic File Services setup (..\SOFTWARE\Novell\Dynamic File Services\Setup). You add the setup location to the cluster resource so that the certificate follows Dynamic File Services to each node. The DswSSLCertThumbprint key contains the Service’s SSL certificate information that is used by any active node. You are prompted only once to accept the Dynamic File Services certificate, regardless of the node that is active in the cluster.
If you modify the certificate, the new thumbprint is stored in the registry where it is available to any active node. You are prompted to accept the new certificate when you next connect to the Service.
Use the Windows Cluster Administrator tool to configure cluster-managed network shares on the primary path of a pair. This allows users to connect to a single share for a standard pair and see the merged file-tree view regardless of the node where the shared primary disk currently resides.
Clients must be in the same Active Directory domain as the Dynamic File Services server in order to access the cluster-managed network shares.
The Dynamic File Service and other components run only on the active node in a cluster.
Instead of using the Dynamic File Service Controller menu to start or stop the Service, use the Windows Cluster Administrator tool to take the Dynamic File Service cluster resource offline and to bring it online.
The Dynamic File Service cluster resource should include all of the resources that are needed for DynamicFS to run in a cluster, such as:
A unique IP address for the cluster resource
The Dynamic File Service application (dswservice)
The shared disk resource that contains the Dynamic File Services folder, which contains the Dynamic File Services program files, data files, and log files
The Windows Registry entry for the Dynamic File Services setup
The domain-level unique name for the virtual cluster server on the network (such as NDFSCLR)
The shared disk resources that contain the primary paths and secondary paths that will be used in pairs
The cluster-managed network shares that you create for the paths in pairs
Specify dependencies for the Dynamic File Service so that it is not started until the related resources are started and available. The cluster group IP address, cluster disk drives, and shares must be mounted and available when the Dynamic File Service begins.