Shared Disk System Requirements

A shared disk system (Storage Area Network or SAN) is required for each cluster if you want data to be highly available. If a shared disk subsystem is used, ensure the following:

• At least 15 MB of free disk space on the shared disk system for creating a special cluster partition

  The Novell Cluster Services installation automatically allocates one cylinder on one drive of the shared disk system for the special cluster partition. Depending on the location of the cylinder, the actual amount of space used by the cluster partition may be less than 15 MB.

• The shared disk system is properly set up and functional according to the manufacturer's instructions

  Prior to installation, verify that all the drives in your shared disk system are recognized by NetWare by running the LIST DEVICES command on each server you intend to add to your cluster. If any of the drives in the shared disk system do not show up in the list, consult your NetWare documentation or the shared disk system documentation for troubleshooting information.

• The disks contained in the shared disk system are configured in a mirroring or RAID 5 configuration to add fault tolerance to the shared disk system

  WARNING:  If the disks in the shared disk system are not configured to use mirroring or RAID 5, a single disk error can cause a volume failure. Novell Cluster Services software will not protect against such faults.