8.4 Adding OES 2015 SP1 Nodes to an OES 2 SP3 Cluster (Rolling Cluster Upgrade)

Performing a rolling cluster upgrade from OES 2 SP3 to OES 2015 SP1 lets you keep your cluster up and running and lets your users continue to access cluster resources while the upgrade is being performed.

During a rolling cluster upgrade, one OES 2015 SP1 server is added at a time, either by adding a new node or upgrading an OES 2 SP3 node:

  • Add an OES 2015 SP1 node and migrate resources to it.

  • Remove (cluster leave command) an OES 2 SP3 node, upgrade it to OES 2015 SP1, return it to the cluster, and migrate resources to it.

After all desired OES 2015 SP1 nodes are present in the cluster, remove any remaining OES 2 SP3 nodes that will not be upgraded, migrating their resources to OES 2015 SP1 nodes. You should complete the upgrade as soon as possible. Don’t leave the cluster in a mixed-mode state for an extended period.

To perform a rolling cluster upgrade:

  1. Make a note of the OES components that are installed on the OES 2 SP3 cluster nodes.

    You will probably want to install the same OES components on the OES 2015 SP1 nodes that you add to the cluster.

  2. Prepare some OES 2015 SP1 nodes for the cluster, but do not allow them to join the cluster.

    IMPORTANT:If you are upgrading an OES 2 SP3 cluster node to OES 2015 SP1, leave the cluster before the upgrade and do not rejoin until Step 4.

    1. Install SLES and the desired OES Services, including Novell Cluster Services, but do not configure the node for the cluster at this time.

    2. Verify that the server is functioning properly.

    3. In YaST, go to the Novell Cluster Services Configuration page as described in Section 5.5.4, Accessing the Novell Cluster Services Configuration Page in YaST.

    4. Configure the node for the existing OES 2 SP3 cluster as described in Section 5.5.6, Adding a Node to an Existing Cluster.

      Parameter

      Action

      LDAP administrator user password

      Specify the password of the user name shown, then click OK.

      Typically, this is the LDAP administrator identity that was used when the OES Services were installed, or the identity configured after the install in Section 5.5.3, Using Different LDAP Credentials for the Cluster Configuration.

      New or existing cluster

      Select Existing Cluster.

      Directory Server Address

      Select the check box next to the IP address of the LDAP server you want to use as the default for this node. The local LDAP server is selected by default.

      You can add, remove, or change the order of available LDAP servers for the node after the setup is complete. See Section 9.13.1, Changing the Administrator Credentials or LDAP Server IP Addresses for a Cluster.

      Cluster FDN

      Click Browse, navigate the tree to select the existing Cluster object for the OES 2 SP3 cluster, click OK, then click Next.

      NCS Proxy User Name

      Specify one of the following users as the NCS Proxy user for this server, then click Next:

      • OES Common Proxy User (default if it was configured for the server)

      • LDAP Admin User

      • Another Administrator User

      IP address of this node

      From the drop-down list, select the IP address that Novell Cluster Services will use for this node.

      Start Cluster Services now

      Deselect the check box.

      Do not start cluster services on this node or join the cluster until Step 4, after all of the Linux POSIX cluster resources have been taken offline.

    5. Click Finish, review the summary, then click Next to complete the configuration.

    6. Click Finish to close the OES Configuration dialog box.

  3. On each OES 2 SP3 node, prepare each of the existing Linux POSIX cluster resources for OES 11x by doing the following:

    1. Take the Linux POSIX cluster resource offline.

    2. Disable the Resource Follows Master option for the resource.

    3. Modify the resource’s load, unload, and monitor scripts.

      Use one of the following methods to prepare the resource, depending on how it is configured:

    4. Modify other resource policy settings as desired, but do not enable the Resource Follows Master option.

    5. Do not bring a Linux POSIX resources online until you are ready to do so in Step 5.b, after its Preferred Nodes list has been modified to use only OES 11x nodes.

    6. Repeat Step 3.a to Step 3.e for each Linux POSIX cluster resource.

  4. For each of the new OES 2015 nodes, start Novell Cluster services manually by using one of the following methods, and allow the node to join the OES 2 SP3 cluster.

    • Reboot the cluster server.

    • At a command prompt, go to the /etc/init.d directory, then enter the following as the root user:

      ./novell-ncs start 
      
    • At a command prompt, enter the following as the root user:

      rcnovell-ncs start
      
  5. For each of the Linux POSIX cluster resources in turn, do the following:

    1. In iManager, modify the resource’s Preferred Nodes list to include only OES 11x nodes as described in Section 15.7, Configuring the Preferred Nodes and Cluster Settings for a CSM Cluster Resource.

    2. In iManager, bring the resource online on its first preferred node. Click Clusters > My Clusters, then select the cluster. On the Cluster Manager page, select the resource object, then click Online.

      You can also use the cluster online command. Open a terminal console as the root user, then enter

      cluster online <resource_name> <node_name>
      
    3. Verify that the resource and any related services are working properly for the resource.

    4. Repeat Step 5.a to Step 5.c for each Linux POSIX cluster resource.

  6. If you add more OES 11x nodes, ensure that you modify the Preferred Nodes list accordingly for each of the Linux POSIX cluster resources.

  7. For each of the existing OES 2 SP3 cluster nodes that you want to upgrade to OES 2015:

    1. Log in to the node as the root user, then open a terminal console.

    2. Use the cluster leave command to remove the node from the cluster.

      Any cluster resources that were running on the server should fail over to another server in its preferred nodes list.

      You can also manually cluster migrate the resources to another server in the cluster prior to bringing down the server.

    3. Stop Novell Cluster Services by entering

      rcnovell-ncs stop
      
    4. Apply the OES 2015 and Novell Cluster Services upgrade, and fully patch the system.

    5. Start Novell Cluster Services by entering

      rcnovell-ncs start
      
    6. Use the cluster join command to rejoin the node to the cluster.

    7. Modify the Preferred Nodes list accordingly for each of the cluster resources.

    8. Repeat these steps for each OES 2 SP3 node that you want to upgrade.

  8. Bring down each of the OES 2 SP3 cluster nodes that you want to remove from the cluster.

    Any cluster resources that were running on the server should fail over to another server in its preferred nodes list.

    You can also manually migrate the resources to another server in the cluster prior to bringing down the server.

  9. After the last cluster resource has been moved to the OES 11x nodes and all OES 2 SP3 nodes have left the cluster, the conversion is complete.