5.5 Configuring Virtual IP Addresses

The routers in a virtual IP address configuration must be running the RIP I or RIP II protocols. For a business continuity cluster, RIP II is the preferred protocol and should be used whenever possible. In NetWare, this can be accomplished by configuring the NetWare RIP Bind Options to use RIP I and RIP II, or RIP II only. Also, the command SET RIP2 AGGREGATION OVERRIDE=ON must be added to the autoexec.ncf file of any NetWare routers in this configuration.

After the appropriate virtual IP addresses and host masks have been determined, you can enable virtual IP addresses in a business continuity cluster by using the following process:

  1. The autoexec.ncf file on each node in both clusters must be modified to add the following two lines. The first line loads the virtual driver and creates a virtual board named VNIC. The second line disables RIP 2 route aggregation on the cluster nodes.

    LOAD VNIC NAME=VNIC
    
    SET RIP2 AGGREGATION OVERRIDE=ON
    
  2. The command to bind a virtual IP address for the service must be added to the cluster resource load script.

    The following is an example of a cluster resource load script for a standard NetWare volume called Homes. This example uses host masks and assumes the virtual board has been named VNIC. Notice that the command to add a secondary IP address has been replaced with the BIND IP VNIC Mask=255.255.255.255 Address=10.1.1.1 command, which binds the virtual IP address 10.1.1.1 to the virtual board.

    nss /poolactivate=HOMES
    
    mount HOMES VOLID=254
    
    CLUSTER CVSBIND ADD BCC_HOMES_SERVER 10.1.1.1
    
    NUDP ADD BCC_HOMES_SERVER 10.1.1.1
    
    BIND IP VNIC Mask=255.255.255.255 Address=10.1.1.1
    
  3. The command to unbind the virtual IP address must be added to the cluster resource unload script.

    The following is the matching cluster resource unload script for the same NetWare volume discussed above. Notice the command to delete the secondary IP address has been replaced with the UNBIND IP VNIC Address=10.1.1.1 command, which unbinds the virtual IP address 10.1.1.1 from the virtual board.

    UNBIND IP VNIC Address=10.1.1.1
    
    CLUSTER CVSBIND DEL BCC_HOMES_SERVER 10.1.1.1
    
    NUDP DEL BCC_HOMES_SERVER 10.1.1.1
    
    nss /pooldeactivate=HOMES /overridetype=question
    
  4. If the cluster resource is a clustered-enabled pool or volume, the IP address of that resource needs to be changed to the virtual IP address. You can do this using ConsoleOne®, Novell Remote Manager, or iManager. This change is not needed for any non-volume cluster resources like DHCP.

5.5.1 Displaying Bound Virtual IP Addresses

To verify that a virtual IP address is bound, enter display secondary ipaddress at the server console of the cluster server where the virtual IP address is assigned. This displays all bound virtual IP addresses. A maximum of 256 virtual IP addresses can be bound.