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Solaris Cluster
FAQs for Solaris ClusterHere are the answers to your general questions.
General
General
What is Solaris Cluster software?
A:
Previously known as Sun Cluster, the Solaris Cluster framework
extends high availability features of Solaris - it includes Solaris
Cluster, Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition, developer tools and
support for commercial and open-source applications through Solaris
Cluster agents. The integrated software provides high
availability and disaster recovery for local, campus, metropolitan and
worldwide clusters.
Q:
What is the difference between Sun Cluster and Solaris Cluster?
A:
There is no difference. The name of Sun Cluster has been changed
recently to Solaris Cluster.
Q:
How does Solaris Cluster work?
A:
By tightly coupling Sun's servers, storage and networking solutions,
Solaris Cluster provides the maximum level of service availability and
performance for a cluster system.
The servers (nodes) in a cluster communicate through private interconnects. These interconnects carry important cluster information (data as well as a cluster "heartbeat"). This heartbeat lets the servers in the cluster monitor the health of the other servers within the cluster, ensuring that each server is "alive". If one of the servers goes offline and its heartbeat disappears, the rest of the devices in the cluster isolate the server and "fail-over" any application or data from the failing node to another node. This fail-over process is quick and transparent to users of the application. By exploiting the redundancy in the cluster, Solaris Cluster ensures the highest levels of availability. A typical Solaris Cluster configuration has the following components: Hardware Components:
Q:
What is Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition?
A:
Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition software enables a multi-site
disaster recovery solution that manages the availability of
application services and data across geographically dispersed
Solaris Clusters. In the event that a primary cluster goes down, system administrators are informed immediately. Solaris
Cluster Geographic Edition enables them to start up automatically
business applications with replicated data on the secondary Solaris
Cluster.
Q:
What is a Solaris Cluster Agent?
A:
A Solaris Cluster agent is a k-sh script, a C-program, or a binary
that manages the availability of an application. The agent starts,
stops, monitors the health of the application, and takes corrective
action to regain application availability upon failure. Applications
do not need to be modified to benefit from the enhanced availability offered
by the Solaris Cluster agent.
Applications can run either directly on Solaris on a physical system , in logical domains, in dynamic domains or within Solaris Containers.
The Solaris Cluster development team, as well as other third-party software vendors, have created tailored agents for popular applications such as Java Enterprise System applications, Oracle, Siebel, SAP, Sybase, MySQL, Apache and many others. If your application does not have an available tailored agent, you can create your own using the Solaris Cluster Agent Builder (included with the Solaris Cluster software). This agent builder has an easy to use, "wizard" graphical user interface which leads the user through the steps of creating an agent. After the user completes the agent build process, a ready-to-use agent is available for immediate use. (The whole process takes only a few minutes from start to finish).
Q:
What are the new features with the second update of Solaris Cluster 3.2, (3.2 1/09)?
A:
The key new features for Solaris Cluster Core are:
Q:
What is the Sun Java Enterprise System?
A:
The Java Enterprise System is an innovative way for businesses to reduce IT cost and complexity while accelerating the adoption of business solutions for employees, customers, and partners. It is a radical approach for synchronizing IT investments with business priorities through:
Q:
What is the Sun Java Availability Suite?
A:
Sun Java Availability Suite - is a subset of Sun Java Enterprise System (JES).
Java Availability Suite delivers a subscription-based license for Solaris Cluster components.
Q:
What is the Solaris Cluster Advanced Edition for Oracle RAC software about?
A:
Solaris Cluster Advanced Edition for Oracle RAC is an enhanced software offering that delivers unmatched availability, performance and manageability at the lowest total cost of ownership for Oracle RAC deployments on Solaris 10.
This end-to-end Sun stack consisting of Sun StorageTek QFS software, Solaris Cluster RAC agent and Solaris Volume Manager extensions provides unprecedented scalability and the most cost effective deployment platform for commercial grid environments that use Oracle RAC, a component of the Oracle 9i, 10g, 11g database products.
Where can I find information about Solaris Cluster Installation?
A:
To get information about Solaris Cluster Installation, go to:
Quick Start Guide
Q:
Where can I find information about Solaris Cluster Documentation?
A:
For Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 visit the Documentation Center
Visit Solaris Cluster 3.2 documentation for Concepts Guide, Release Notes, Quick Start Guide, Man Pages etc..
Q:
Are there any differences between Solaris Cluster software running on Solaris SPARC based systems and Solaris x86 based systems?
A:
No, there are no differences in functionality. All Solaris Cluster software features are available for Solaris Cluster software on both processor technologies.
However, there are differences in supported applications, their Solaris Cluster agents and supported hardware (storage, interconnect, ...).
Q:
Can I install Solaris Cluster on any x86 system?
A:
You can install Solaris Cluster on x86 systems that are
supported with Solaris Cluster.
The list of supported Sun servers is available on:
http://sun.com/software/solaris/cluster/specs.xml and is updated monthly. Solaris Cluster is also supported on non-Sun Servers thanks to the Sun Open Hardware Program. For more information and an up-to-date list of supported servers please check http://sun.com/software/cluster/ohp/index.jsp
What are the different ways in which customers can purchase Solaris Cluster and Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition software?
A:
Q:
Is a Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 Media Kit available?
A:
Yes, a Solaris/Sun Cluster DVD media kit can be ordered using either of the following part numbers:
CLUZ9-322-997M Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 (Release Specific) DVD Media Kit. CLUZS-999-99M9 Solaris Cluster Media Kit (latest release). (This part number always refers to the latest release of Solaris Cluster software.) The DVD includes Solaris Cluster, Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition software as well as the Solaris Cluster agents.
Q:
Where can customers obtain all the current Solaris Cluster agents?
A:
Current Solaris Cluster agents are available on the Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 DVD and on the
Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 DVD image on the Sun Download Center.
The Java Enterprise System components agents are available with their Java Enterprise System component.
Q:
Can customers evaluate the Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09?
A:
Yes, customers interested in evaluating Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 including the agents and the Geographic Edition can do so through the Sun Download Center.
Please check
http://sun.com/software/solaris/cluster/get.html
Q:
I'm currently running Solaris Cluster 3.1 or 3.0, and I would like to run Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09. How do I obtain the Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09?
A:
Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 is available for download on the Sun Download Center. Please go to
http://sun.com/software/solaris/cluster/get.html
Customers can also obtain the physical media kit for Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 by ordering CLUZ9-322-997M part number. For more information, please contact your Sun Sales Representative.
Q:
How can I obtain the latest version of Solaris Cluster?
A:
Order the following part number: CLUZS-999-99M9.
Q:
What license do I need to order to be able to use Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) 5.0 Cluster Functionality with Solaris Cluster and Oracle RAC?
A:
You need to order the Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) 5.0 Cluster
Functionality license part number: CLUI9-500-9999 in addition to a Veritas Storage Foundation license.
Q:
Can Solaris Cluster be used with Veritas Storage Foundation software?
A:
Solaris Cluster 3.2 supports Veritas File System (VxFS) 5.0 and
Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM and VxVM/CVM) 5.0 components delivered as
part of Veritas Storage Foundation 5.0 on Solaris 10 and 9 with SPARC platforms,
and on Solaris 10 with x64/x86 platforms.
What are the Solaris Cluster Licensing Tiers?
A:
Solaris Cluster license structure consists of 11 Tiers:
Q:
How do I upgrade my Solaris Cluster license from one Sun server to another?
A:
Solaris Cluster offers a comprehensive and flexible upgrade program based on an 11 tier structure which covers all Sun servers.
Customers can upgrade their existing Solaris Cluster server to a higher or the same/lower tier server by purchasing one Solaris Cluster server upgrade license per physical server. Offered server upgrade paths :
E3500->Sun Fire 3800: 1 T4->T5 Solaris Cluster upgrade server license required per physical server. E4500-> Sun Fire 6800: 1 T6->T7, 1 T7->T8, and 1 T8->T9 Solaris Cluster upgrade server licenses needed per physical server. E6500->SunFire V1280: 1 same Tier/Lower Tier Solaris Cluster upgrade server license needed per physical server.
I've downloaded and evaluated Solaris Cluster and would like to have a supported Solaris Cluster installation. What are the licensing and installation requirements?
A:
Solaris Cluster is available for download and usage at no cost if support is not required. However if you need support for your mission-critical applications, Sun requests you to purchase licenses and get a certified installation before being able to purchase a support plan.
Q:
Is training available for Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09?
A:
There is at the time of the release no specific course for Solaris Cluster 3.2 1/09 update. However following courses are available for Solaris Cluster 3.2: Solaris Cluster 3.2 Administration, 5-Day (ES-345 or VC-ES-345)
Q:
Is training available for Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition?
A:
The following course is available to support the Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition software product:
ES-361: Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition Installation, Configuration and Troubleshooting Visit the Sun Training Catalog for a complete list of courses on http://www.sun.com/training/catalog/cluster/path.xml.
What are the commercial and open-source applications which are pre-integrated with Solaris Cluster (e.g. for which Solaris Cluster Agents are available)?
A:
Sun Applications:
Is Solaris Cluster open source?
A:
Open High Availability (HA) Cluster is now available to the community. Over two million lines of code are being contributed as well as automated test suites, documentation, and globalization tools. Now, developers can customize and build flexible, complete, and best-of-breed HA solutions from non-encumbered source code over off-the-shelf hardware.
Q:
What is the difference between Solaris Cluster and Open HA Cluster?
A:
Open HA Cluster is an open source code base, along with build tools necessary to develop, build, and use the code. It's a mechanism to communicate and share
information about Solaris Cluster and Open HA Cluster, and provides
a community-based collaboration platform for adding new cutting-edge features to the code base.
In conjunction with the release of OpenSolaris 2009.06, Sun delivers Open HA Cluster 2009.06, a simple, thoroughly tested, and production-ready high availability cluster solution based on the Open HA Cluster open source code. For more info on Open HA Cluster 2009.06, please go to The main difference between Open HA Cluster 2009.06 and Solaris Cluster 3.2 is the operating system it runs on and the corresponding (optional) feature set:
Q:
Which parts of Solaris Cluster have been open-sourced?
A:
Sun's contributions included the core framework, the application modules, or agents, which enable open source or commercially available applications to become highly available in a clustered environment as well as the Geographic Edition software that enables multi-site disaster recovery by managing the availability of application services and data across geographically dispersed clusters. The Open HA Cluster includes code, test suites and documentation for the core Solaris Cluster infrastructure.
The complete list of agents is available at http://opensolaris.org/os/community/ha-clusters/ohac/Documentation/Agents/open-agents/ On the test side, the test tools (CTI for TET framework), the specific agent test suites (DATS - Data Services Automated Test Suite ) as well as the test suites for the core Solaris Cluster infrastructure have been open-sourced.
Q:
Why release Solaris Cluster as open source?
A:
Sun believes very strongly in the value of open source, and is the largest contributor to open source software. Sun is committed to providing open source for most of its software products. In the two years since Sun first opened the Solaris source code, the OpenSolaris project community has grown worldwide. Sun is releasing Open High Availability Cluster in response to interest and feedback from the OpenSolaris community.
Open source provides a number of benefits to the community:
Q:
What license is used for Open HA Cluster source code?
A:
The Open HA Cluster code is released under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL). Information about this license can be found at
https://opensolaris.org/os/licensing/opensolaris_license and at our website.
The CDDL is an OSI-approved open source license that is based on the Mozilla Public License (MPL) but adds additional benefits like extending the use of any covered patents to those that use the code and offering a degree of protection against patent litigation. Further, the CDDL is a file-based license, which ensures that any code released under the CDDL will remain open but does allow it to interact with code under other licenses (even closed source licenses). |
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