Installing and Configuring the Cluster Software

Instructions on installing the Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0 operating system and clustering software are provided in the Microsoft docu- mentation that accompanied the software. Refer to these documents for information about installing these soft- ware components.

Before installing Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition, be sure to have the NIC and PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller driver diskettes handy for installation. Refer to the Microsoft documentation for information about installing the device drivers.

Before you can use the cluster software on your cluster nodes, you must first upgrade the firmware on the Power- Edge systems servers and the SDS 100 storage system(s). You must also update the system configuration utility with the cluster configuration file.

Upgrading the PowerEdge 4200 Firmware

To enable clustering on the PowerEdge system nodes, both systems must have cluster-specific BIOS firmware installed. To update the system BIOS for a Power- Edge 4200 system, perform the following steps:

1.Insert the Customer BIOS Update for Dell Power- Edge 4200 diskette into drive A of the PowerEdge system and restart the system.

A message appears stating that the system is ready to update the BIOS.

2.Type y to upgrade the firmware.

While the BIOS is updating, a series of status mes- sages appears on the screen. Another message appears when the upgrade is complete.

3.Repeat steps 1 and 2 on the second PowerEdge system, if applicable.

Upgrading the PowerEdge SDS 100 Storage System Firmware

The updated PowerEdge system BIOS automatically downloads the cluster-specific BIOS to the SDS 100 stor- age system(s) via the system management bus (SMB)

cable during the power-on self-test (POST). Upgrade the SDS 100 firmware by first ensuring that the SMB cable is connected and then powering down the cluster and then starting it up again. During start-up, the cluster-specific firmware on the SMB-connected node checks the version of the SDS 100 firmware. If the SDS 100 is found to be running the wrong version of firmware, the node pro- ceeds to upgrade it automatically with the correct firmware version. Observe the system messages during POST to verify that the BIOS is downloading to the stor- age system(s).

Setting the Cluster Mode With BIOS Setup

Use the following BIOS Setup procedure to enable Clus- ter Mode on each node on the cluster:

1.Start the first cluster node and press <F2> during POST.

The Dell System PowerEdge 4200/xxx Setup screen appears.

2.Use the right-arrow key to select the Advanced menu.

3.Use the down-arrow key to select the Cluster option.

4.Press <Spacebar> to turn on Cluster Mode.

5.Select the Exit menu, select Save Changes & Exit, and press <Enter>.

6.Restart the system.

7.Repeat steps 1 through 6 on the second cluster node.

Installing and Configuring NICs

The PowerEdge Cluster requires at least two network interconnects for cluster operation—one network for the public LAN and one dedicated network for the node-to-node communications. Having two networks on the cluster enables fault-tolerance of the cluster’s net- work communications and enables NIC replacement or upgrades without losing network connectivity.

Upgrading to a Cluster Configuration

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