Failsafe Linux cluster solution from Fujitsu Siemens for Primergy servers

 Bad Homburg 27 Oct 99 Fujitsu Siemens Computers presented the high-availability solution RMS (Reliant Monitor Software) for the open operating system Linux. The use of RMS ensures that applications running on Intel-based Primergy servers under Linux will in future be failsafe.

In the configuration demonstrated, two active Primergy servers back each other up in such a way that if one server fails the other will automatically immediately handle all the functions. The user data is kept permanently available via a common RAID-configuration fiber-channel memory subsystem. Typical application areas for the new solution include e-commerce as well as Web and application servers that require a particularly high level of availability. A high-availability R/3 solution based on Linux is also planned

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To make Linux suitable for corporate application, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has transferred the proven cluster solution RMS from the Unix-based RM servers onto Linux . This enables two Intel-based Primergy servers to be combined to form a high-availability cluster along with an "S40-DF" fiber-channel array. In the event of a hardware or software error the common data can quickly be used by the active system without shutting down operations or using a conventional SCSI switch - and without the user noticing anything has happened. Using a private Ethernet and IP aliasing (in other words dynamic switchover of a network address) an RMS cluster ensures that the attached clients can access applications and network services without interruption.

Under RMS for Linux both servers are normally available for active operation (active-active cluster). In contrast to simple failover solutions for failed hardware, RMS also monitors the availability of individual applications, thus removing the fixed relationship of application to hardware system. Regardless of the computer an application is running on, it is always available to the user. Using a graphical cluster administration tool the system administrator can migrate specific applications between the cluster nodes, for example to balance the system load manually. A Java-based graphical user interface is in preparation to allow simple user control of RMS via a browser.

 

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