MSA1000 and Netware 6.5

[CA1079311]

I am building NetWare 6.5 Cluster using an MSA1000. I want to create 4 NetWare Partitions (each partition would one pool and one volume ). When I configure the logical drives (all one array) at the MSA1000 level is there any difference if I create one big logical drive that has 4 NSS Partitions on it or 4 logical drives for each NSS Partition.
One big logical drive seems more flexible but you can't expand an NSS Partition anyway.

Any input would be appreciated

[Ben Wold]

You can expand an NSS volume. You may have to present more space to it as a different LUN and then use the online configuration utility to do it or use portlock/servermagic. NSS will use the additional space. Did it a few months ago.

Make seperate partitions. Use SSP to manage presentation. It's easier to work with at a later date and you will need the free space to create additional cluster resources in the future. Don't forget to make your SB partition seperate as well. I have a few NW6.x clusters with MSA1000/1500 and EVA3K.

Good luck on your cluster.

[CA1079311]

I created a separate partition and Use SSP to manage presentation. Used NSSMU and could see the new disk, But I could not do anything at the NSS partition level. I could add at the NSS pool level.
So now my NSS pool is bigger then it's associated NSS Partition. What I see now is a NSS pool that is spanning two devices and NSS Partitions. Is it advisable to have pools spanning two Partitions. I remember under the old Novell Legacy File System they didn't recommend this But maybe in an NSS environment it's O.K.

Please see the attachment (NSS Pool CSSANV11)

Thanks again for you help

[Ben Wold]

Spreading a Pool across more than one logical devices is really not that big a deal if they are RAID protected. If you have them spread across multiple single drives, then it is a concern.BTW, you should be able to expand on the fly with minimal degradation (depending on throughput/usage).

The following is a cut and paste from a very recent Novell TID.

goal

How to add a volume segment to an existing volume in NetWare
How to expand an existing volume with NSS in NetWare

fact
NetWare 6.5
NetWare 6.0

fix


If you decide to extend your volume space by adding new hard drives or LUN'S provided by a RAID or NAS, it is sometimes confusing to complete this process without compromising data.

The first step in this process is actually to add the new drives or LUN's and make sure you do a SCAN FOR NEW DEVICES.

You may verify the present adapters and devices in NetWare Remote Manager in the 'Manage Server - Partition Disks section'

The easiest way to add the new devices to your volume is to use NSSMU from the server console.

1.) in NSSMU select 'Devices' and select the device-id you just added. Once selected, press Enter you check if there are any partitions listed. There shouldn't be any partitions visible. If there are, make sure you've selected the correct device-id.

2.) Now go back to the Main Menu and select 'Partitions' and press Ins in order to insert your newly added device-id.

3.) Go back to the Main-Menu and select 'Pools' and select the Pool that contains the Volume you want to expand. Select this Pool and press F3. You'll see a list of available Partitions, when correct you'll see the one you just have been adding under section 2. Select this partition and return to the Main Menu.

4.)Go to the 'Volumes' section and verify the the volume you intended to increase. You might notice that the entire space of the device you added was added to the size of the volume. In some cases not all the space will be added to your volume, as you might have multiple volumes in the pool you have been adding to. The added space will then be divided over all the volumes in that specific pool.

5.) Check in NetWare Remote Manager in the 'Manage Server - Partition Disks section' whether the volume size is displayed correctly.