SunTM Cluster 3.1 software introduces new features and new SunPlexTM system agents. Sun Cluster 3.1 software is the key to building highly available SunPlex systems. The SunPlex environment is a "Service Level Management" platform which facilitates delivery of higher service levels at lower service level costs and reduced risks.

New Features

• Versioning Framework: Enables Rolling Upgrade to future Sun Cluster releases without having to shut down the entire cluster. This minimizes impact on service level during maintenance and reduces planned downtime.

• Resource Type Upgrade: Introduce a newer version of an agent via one single step of administration without taking the application service offline.

• Flexible Upgrade Path: Customers don't have to reinstall Sun Cluster software in order to take advantage of the new features introduced in Sun Cluster 3.1 software.

• Support for the SolarisTM 8 Operating System (Solaris OS) and Solaris 9 OS: (Note: At Sun Cluster 3.1 FCS, mixing Solaris 8 OS and Solaris 9 OS in one cluster is not supported.)

• VERITAS software support: Sun Cluster 3.1 software supports the following latest VERITAS software releases: VERITAS VxVM 3.5 and VERITAS VxFS 3.5 (in addition to existing Veritas VxVM 3.2 and VxFS 3.4 support).

• Integration/Support of SolarisTM 9 Resource Manager software: Offers more effective system resource usage in a SunPlex environment. Mission-critical data services can be guaranteed with resource requirements at all times. This feature also enables business accounting and billing. With Sun Cluster 3.1 software, Solaris 9 Resource Manager software can run across a cluster.

• Solaris IP Multipathing (IPMP) support: Public Network Management (PNM), Network Adapter Fail Over (NAFO) supported in Sun Cluster 3.0 software has been officially transitioned off the Sun price list (end of life). Starting with Sun Cluster 3.1 software, Solaris IPMP is the replaced technology to ensure public network availability on SunPlex systems. Solaris IPMP enables a server to have multiple network ports connected to the same subnet. It can detect failure and switch the network address to and from the alternative adapter. It also spreads packets across adapters, increasing data throughput.

• Sun Cluster Module Update in SunTM Management Center software: Provides a capability for third-party SNMP agents to collect configuration and state information about Sun Cluster software by communicating with the Sun Management Center software agent running on a cluster node.

• Client Affinity: Allows transaction requests from the same client machine to be always serviced by the same node in order to achieve better application service performance and throughput.

• Variable Secondaries: Provides flexibility to define a number of secondary data paths to one primary data path in a cluster.

• Scsetup(1M) utility enhancements: Provides more functionalities in the Resource Group management area to help improve ease of administration in Sun Cluster software.

• Apache Secure Server: Enables Apache to be used with SSL option on SunPlex systems. Security can be ensured by running either HA SunTM ONE Web Server (formerly iPlanetTM Web Server) or HA Apache Web Server on SunPlex systems.

New SunPlex System HA Agents for:

• SunTM ONE Application Server 7.0 (formerly iPlanetTM Application Server)
• SunTM ONE Message Queue (formerly iPlanetTM Message Queue for Java)
• BEA WebLogic Server 7.0
• SAP liveCache
• Siebel
• WebSphere MQ
• WebShpere MQ Integrator
• Samba
• DHCP

(The HA agents provide fast failure detection and automatic recovery and improve availability.)

Sun Cluster 3.1 software is supported on many NetraTM servers, Sun EnterpriseTM servers and Sun FireTM servers, and many Sun StorEdgeTM arrays. For details on supported interconnects and SAN switches, see the Full Source of this article. Also see the Full Source for details on which RTU licenses are being transistioned, upgrade information and part number changes. [...read more...]

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