4.1 Planning the Internet Agent in a Cluster

A main system configuration difference between a GroupWise system in a clustering environment and a GroupWise system in a regular environment is that you need to create a separate domain to house each GroupWise gateway, including the Internet Agent.

The Section 4.4, Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet lists all the information you need as you set up the Internet Agent in a clustering environment. You should print the worksheet and fill it out as you complete the tasks listed below:

4.1.1 Planning a Domain for the Internet Agent

The considerations involved in planning a domain for the Internet Agent are much the same as planning any other domain. In preparation, review Planning a New Domain, then print and fill out the Domain Worksheet in Domains in the GroupWise 7 Administration Guide.

Keep in mind the following cluster-specific details:

  • When you specify the location for the domain directory on the Domain Worksheet, include the shared volume where you want the domain directory to reside.

  • Do not concern yourself with the GroupWise agent information on the Domain Worksheet. You can stop with item 10. You will plan the MTA installation later.

When you have completed the Domain Worksheet, transfer the key information from the Domain Worksheet to the Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 1: Shared Volume for Internet Agent, transfer the domain location to the Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet.

Under Item 2: Internet Agent Domain Name, transfer the domain name and database directory to the Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet.

4.1.2 Deciding Whether to Cluster-Enable the Internet Agent Volume

You should plan to cluster-enable the shared volume where the Internet Agent domain will reside. For a review of the benefits of cluster-enabling volumes, see Section 2.6, Deciding Whether to Cluster-Enable the Shared Volumes Used by GroupWise, which describes the issues in the context of planning MTA and POA installations.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 1: Shared Volume for Internet Agent, mark Yes under Cluster Enabled?.

Cluster-enabling relies on successful short name resolution throughout your system. Review Section 2.7, Ensuring Successful Name Resolution for GroupWise Volumes, which describes the issues in the context of planning MTA and POA installations.

4.1.3 Determining an Appropriate Failover Path for the Internet Agent Volume

As with the MTA and the POA, you need to decide which nodes in the cluster would be appropriate locations for the Internet Agent volume to fail over to. For a review of failover paths, see Determining Appropriate Failover Paths for the Agents, which describes the issues in the context of planning MTA and POA installations.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 3: Internet Agent Failover Path, list the nodes that you want to have in the Internet Agent volume failover path.

4.1.4 Planning a Secondary IP Address and Cluster-Unique Port Numbers for the Internet Agent and Its MTA

As with the MTA and the POA, the Internet Agent needs a secondary IP address and cluster-unique port numbers. As part of planning to install the MTA and POA, you should already have determined the secondary IP address and cluster-unique port numbers for the Internet Agent and its MTA as you filled out the IP Address Worksheet. If you do not have a filled-out copy of this worksheet for your system, print it now and fill in current system information.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 5: MTA Network Information, transfer the MTA secondary IP address and cluster-unique port numbers from the Internet Agent section of the IP Address Worksheet to the Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet.

Under Item 1: Shared Volume for Internet Agent, copy the MTA secondary IP address under Cluster Volume IP Address as well, because they are the same.

Under Item 7: Internet Agent Network Information, transfer the Internet Agent secondary IP address (the same as for its MTA) and the cluster-unique Internet Agent port number from the Internet Agent section of the IP Address Worksheet to the Internet Agent Clustering Worksheet.

4.1.5 Preparing Your Firewall for the Internet Agent

The Internet Agent receives incoming messages on the secondary IP address of the Internet Agent domain volume. Your firewall configuration must be modified to allow inbound TCP/IP traffic from the Internet to the Internet Agent secondary IP address on the following standard ports:

Table 4-1 Standard Ports

Protocol

Standard Port

IMAP4

143

LDAP

389

POP3

110

SMTP

25

By default, the Internet Agent sends outgoing messages on the primary IP address of the server where it is running. If you decide to use this default configuration, your firewall must be configured to allow outbound TCP/IP traffic from all nodes in the Internet Agent volume failover path.

If the Internet Agent has a large number of nodes on its failover path, you could configure the Internet Agent to send outgoing messages to a relay host, which would then send them out through the firewall using its own IP address rather than the address of the particular node where the Internet Agent was running. This reduces the amount of modification to your firewall required to set up the Internet Agent. However, if the relay host goes down, outgoing messages are delayed.

As another alternative, you can configure the Internet Agent to use its secondary IP address for sending as well as receiving messages. Setup instructions for this configuration are provided in Forcing Use of the Internet Agent Secondary IP Address, which you can complete after installing the Internet Agent.

In preparation for installing the Internet Agent, configure your firewall as needed to handle the Internet Agent’s use of primary and secondary IP addresses when sending and receiving messages.

4.1.6 Deciding Where to Install the Internet Agent and Its MTA

As with the MTA and the POA, you can choose to install the Internet Agent and its MTA to the sys:\system directory of each node or to a vol:\system directory on the Internet Agent volume. For a discussion of these alternatives, see Deciding Where to Install the Agent Software, which describes the issues in the context of planning MTA and POA installations. If you only have one Internet Agent for your GroupWise system with several servers in its failover path, it is an easy choice: Install it once to a vol:\system directory on the Internet Agent volume.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 4: MTA Installation Location and Item 6: Internet Agent Installation Location, mark whether you will install the Internet Agent and its MTA to a vol:\system directory on the Internet Agent volume or to sys:\system on each node in the cluster. If necessary, specify where the MTA startup file and the Internet Agent configuration file will be stored.

4.1.7 Deciding Whether to Run the Internet Agent and Its MTA in Protected Memory

As with the MTA and the POA, you can choose whether to run the Internet Agent in protected memory. For a review of the benefits of protected memory, see Deciding Whether to Run the Agents in Protected Memory, which describes the issues in the context of planning MTA and POA installations.

You might think that protected memory is not necessary if you have only one Internet Agent for your GroupWise system because it could never fail over to a node where another Internet Agent was running. However, because the Internet Agent in a cluster is installed into its own domain with its own MTA, this MTA could fail over to a node where another MTA was already running. Therefore, it is safest to load the MTA into protected memory. Loading the Internet Agent into protected memory is also recommended. Load each agent into its own memory space and mark each memory space as restartable.

INTERNET AGENT CLUSTERING WORKSHEET

Under Item 8: Load Internet Agent and Its MTA in Protected Memory?, mark whether you need to run the Internet Agent and its MTA in protected memory. If you do, provide a protected memory address space name for each agent.

4.1.8 Planning the MTA Installation

Follow the instructions in Planning the NetWare Agent Installation, then return to this point. After you follow the instructions, you have a filled-out NetWare Agent Worksheet to use when you install the MTA.

IMPORTANT:Do not install the NetWare MTA until you are instructed to do so in Section 4.2, Setting Up the Internet Agent in a Cluster.

4.1.9 Planning the Internet Agent Installation

Aside from the cluster-specific issues discussed in the preceding sections, the considerations involved in planning to install the Internet Agent are the same in a clustering environment as for any other environment. Review the installation instructions in NetWare and Windows: Installing the Internet Agent Software in Installing the GroupWise Internet Agent in the GroupWise 7 Installation Guide. You might want to print this section and write down the types of planning information you have provided on worksheets in other sections. You will need this information as you install the Internet Agent in your cluster.

IMPORTANT:Do not install the Internet Agent software until you are instructed to do so in Section 4.2, Setting Up the Internet Agent in a Cluster.