Newbie question

[Patrick Austria]

Hi,

I have a Problem with my EVA4000..
The Configuration from the EVA looks ok!

My problem is I do not knows how I can add a shared vdisk a Windows server?

I see the Disk in the Managemend Console...
If i create a new Volume its also no Problem,
but i must connect a 2nd Computer in the same vDisk (SQL-Failover-Cluster)

There is there a tool or a software?

I have installed the VDS/VSS Driver from the EVA but i have know Ideeas...

thanks, and sorry for my bad English

best regards Patrick

[Uwe Zessin]

Patrick,

Windows out-of-the-box CANNOT share an NTFS filesystem, if that is what you are looking for.

If you are running MSCS (Microsoft Cluster Server), the virtual disk is just presented to the second computer. MSCS will use SCSI reservations so that only one computer can access the NTFS file system at a time.

The VDS provider is used for some abstract management functions with Windows's 'simple SAN management' MMC plugin or the Windows 2008 grow/shrink function. The EVA VSS hardware provider is used for array-based snapshots.

[Patrick Terlisten]

Hello Patrick,

you can present a vdisk to more then one server without any problems. But the filesystem should understand those procedures. NTFS can't handle multiple access from different servers.

You need to present the vdisk to one server. Create the volume, change drive letters etc. Shutdown this server. Add the vdisk to the second server, boot it up and assign drive letters, check access etc. Shutdown this server. Startup the other server and start the cluster setup. After creating the cluster you can start the other node and join the cluster.

This is the way it work. Both nodes online with access to the vdisks isn't possible without losing data. The cluster software manages the access of both nodes, the failover etc.

Best regards,
Patrick

[Patrick Austria]

Hi,

thanks for Answer..

But i think this dont solved my Problem..

I work i think 3years ago on a EMC San there givs a SoftwareSolution with there i cn say

SERVER1 --> Use lun XY
SERVER2 --> Use lun XY

..and the Sofftware is mapping my Disks


There are such solutions even under hp ??

regrds Patrick

[Uwe Zessin]

I am not sure I understand...

The tool to do this is Command View EVA!

Go to the Virtual Disk's properties page.
Press the [Presentation] tab.
Press the [Present] button.

Now you have two choices:

- select one or more servers and then press "Present Vdisk" - CV-EVA will assign the vdisk to the next available LUN address

- select one(1) server and press [Assign LUN] -- now you can explicitly choose the virtual disk's LUN address for this host.

-- you cannot assign a LUN address when multiple hosts are selected, but you can use the same LUN address for multiple hosts -- something which is not so easy on EMC (I've been told). On the EVA you can keep separate host objects and don't need to stick all server WWNs in one large 'host group'.

[Sheldon Smith]

As Uwe wrote, it's Very Easy to present the same vdisk to multiple servers. But it is up to software ON the servers to properly SHARE the vdisk. For example, with Windows, you would need something like MSCS (Microsoft Cluster Server). Which from your first posting, sounds like you already have.

[Emil Velez]

With the HP Polyserve cluster product you can present a lun to multiple nodes and create a cluster file system across those luns and create a SQL failover database instance using a virtual IP.

I think that is what you are looking for.

[Patrick Austria]

Hi,

thanks, i think HP Polyserve cluster is the softwere what i search..

Do you know its possible to get a trial verison from this ??

best regards Patrick

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hi Patrick,

what are you trying to achieve? An SQL-Cluster?
This can be done with a normal Windows Cluster (MSCS). You need the Enterprise Editions of Windows Server 2003 and MSSQL Server, as the standard versions do not support clustering.

@Uwe: you can create a Host Group for each node on an EMC Clariion, and assign the same disks to both Groups, with the same Host LUN numbers. Or put all nodes in a single storage group.

Regards,
Stephen

[Sheldon Smith]

While the best practice is to define a host entry for each server, I have seen customers define a host entry named for the cluster, and put all PWWNs of all cluster servers in the single cluster host entry. They had no scenario where any server would not want the same LUN list as any other in the cluster.

Alternatively, keeping the concept of a single host entry per server, first create a folder in the Hosts tree with the name of the cluster. Then move all the cluster hosts into the folder.
Assuming the LUN Presentation list is initially the same for all cluster members, when Presenting a new LUN, select the cluster folder and all cluster members will receive the presentation. Using this method, you can't select a particular LUN number; the first available LUN number (which should be the same at this point for all servers) will be assigned.

Or, you can use the Storage System Scripting Utility (SSSU) -- CLI utility. "CAPTURE CONFIG file", edit the file (with Notepad?), find existing ADD LUN lines, edit with the name of the new host, run the modified ADD LUN lines.

As always, all of this assumes you already have either Microsoft Cluster or HP Polyserve running to make the servers properly share access to the vdisk(s).


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