2.0 Planning the Cluster Conversion

Upgrading a NetWare 6.5 SP8 cluster to Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 SP3 Linux is a multi-phase process referred to as a rolling cluster conversion. This approach lets you keep your cluster up and running and lets your users continue to access cluster resources while the conversion is in progress. During a rolling cluster conversion, one server is converted to OES 2 while the other servers in the cluster continue running NetWare 6.5. Then another server can be converted to OES 2, and then another, until all servers in the cluster have been converted. During the conversion, you can also add OES 2 servers to the cluster, and remove NetWare 6.5 servers from the cluster.

Before you begin a conversion, ensure that your system meets the requirements and caveats described in this section. In addition, your OES 2 Linux nodes and network environment must meet the cluster requirements as described in Planning for Novell Cluster Services in the OES 2 SP3: Novell Cluster Services 1.8.8 Administration Guide for Linux.