5.3 NCS Installation and Configuration

Novell Cluster Services for Linux must be installed on the OES 2 server before you can configure Samba to work in a cluster. OES 2 includes NCS software and licenses for two cluster nodes. Additional licenses for up to 32 nodes can be purchased from Novell or from your Novell Authorized Reseller. NCS also provides a Samba resource template, which facilitates the configuration of Samba in a cluster environment.

5.3.1 Installing a Shared Disk Subsystem

Before you start installing NCS, review the Shared Disk Scenarios section of the OES 2 SP3: Novell Cluster Services 1.8.8 Administration Guide for Linux and identify a hardware configuration that meets your network’s needs.

If you plan to take advantage of the Xen virtualization technology available in SLES 10 SP1 and later to reduce your cluster hardware costs, also review the information on Configuring Novell Cluster Services in a Xen Virtualization Environment in the OES 2 SP3: Novell Cluster Services 1.8.8 Administration Guide for Linux.

A typical cluster configuration includes a shared disk subsystem (Storage Area Network, or SAN) that is connected to all servers in the cluster. The shared disk subsystem can be connected via Fibre Channel hardware, SCSI adapters, or iSCSI connections. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set up the shared disk subsystem and ensure that it is functional before proceeding.

5.3.2 Installing the Cluster Servers

The next step is to install the OES 2 servers that form the cluster, including the necessary cluster adapters and connection hardware. See the OES 2 SP3: Novell Cluster Services 1.8.8 Administration Guide for Linux for instructions on installing OES 2 with Novell Cluster Services.

In addition to selecting Novell Cluster Services as part of the OES 2 software installation, you should also select and configure the following:

  • Novell Samba must be installed on every server that will participate in the Samba cluster. This package can be installed when you install your OES server or afterward. For more information on installing and configuring Novell Samba, see Section 3.0, Installing Samba for OES 2.

    IMPORTANT:When configuring Novell Samba on subsequent OES 2 servers after the first server in the tree, be sure to select the IP address of the master LDAP server (the server holding the master replica of the partition) for the Directory Server Address setting, not the IP address of the server you are installing.

    By default, the Base Context for Samba Users is set to the same container where the eDirectory Admin user is created. The users you want to access the shared Samba resource must be located in this container or in a subcontainer. If your Samba users are located in a different branch of the tree, you must change the base context setting when you configure Novell Samba.

  • Novell eDirectory must be installed on the network in order for Novell Cluster Services to be able to create the necessary cluster objects in the tree. All servers in the cluster must be in the same eDirectory tree.

  • Novell iManager is required to configure and manage Novell Cluster Services, and must be installed on at least one server.

  • (Optional) Novell Storage Services (NSS) must be installed if you want to create and cluster-enable NSS pools.

For more information on installing and configuring OES 2 services, see the OES 2 SP3: Installation Guide.

5.3.3 Preparing the Shared Storage

In order for Samba users to access files on the shared disk subsystem, you must prepare the shared storage for this purpose. The procedure involves creating a container, volume, and file system on the shared disk subsystem. You then create mount points to this shared file system on each cluster server.

NOTE:Although you can use Samba on shared NSS volumes, the procedure below describes how to cluster-enable Linux POSIX volumes on the shared disk for use with Samba. This represents a typical configuration for a pure Samba/CIFS environment where the workstations accessing the shared data are not running the Novell Client software.

  1. Following the instructions in Creating Linux POSIX Volumes on Shared Devices in the OES 2 SP3: Novell Cluster Services 1.8.8 Administration Guide for Linux, use the evmsgui utility to create a traditional Linux volume and file system on the shared disk system using EVMS.

    As you go through this procedure, be sure to:

    • Have Novell Cluster Services already installed on the server where you are running evmsgui. It it is not installed, the utility cannot recognize the shared device.

    • Use an entire device (a disk or a LUN on a SAN) for the EVMS container. You cannot create a cluster container on a partition; the whole device must be used.

    • Remove the NWSegMngr (NetWare Segment Manager), if it is present on the disk to be shared.

    • Create a Cluster Segment Manager (CSM) container on the device.

    • Create an EVMS volume within the CSM container.

    • Create a Linux POSIX file system (ReiserFS or EXT3) on the EVMS volume.

    If necessary, click Help and use the Web links provided for documentation and information on using EVMS.

  2. Continue with Section 5.3.4, Creating Mount Points.

5.3.4 Creating Mount Points

On each OES 2 server that will participate in the cluster, you need to create a mount point for the shared file system you just created. For example, the mount point could be /mnt/samba (the default mount point in the Samba resource load and unload scripts).

  1. Log in as the root user and mount the shared disk (file system) that was created in Section 5.3.3, Preparing the Shared Storage.

    For example, depending on the mount point and directory names, you could enter a command similar to the following to mount the shared disk:

    mount /dev/evms/samba_vol /mnt/samba

  2. At the root of the mount point you just created (/mnt/samba), enter the following commands to create the directories specified:

    mkdir -p etc/samba

    mkdir etc/samba/log

    These directories must be owned by the root user, and the default group must be root. Also, the directories must have permissions of d rwx r_x r_x.

  3. Repeat thie above procedure on each cluster server.

  4. Continue with Section 5.4, Cluster Resource Configuration.