Storage Foundation for Sybase ASE CE 7.4 Administrator's Guide - Linux

Last Published:
Product(s): InfoScale & Storage Foundation (7.4)
Platform: Linux
  1. Overview of Storage Foundation for Sybase ASE CE
    1. About Storage Foundation for Sybase ASE CE
      1.  
        Benefits of SF Sybase CE
    2.  
      How SF Sybase CE works (high-level perspective)
    3. About SF Sybase CE components
      1. Communication infrastructure
        1.  
          Data flow
        2.  
          Communication requirements
      2. Cluster interconnect communication channel
        1.  
          Low Latency Transport
        2.  
          Group Membership Services/Atomic Broadcast
      3.  
        Low-level communication: port relationship between GAB and processes
      4. Cluster Volume Manager (CVM)
        1.  
          CVM architecture
        2.  
          CVM communication
        3.  
          CVM recovery
        4.  
          Configuration differences with VxVM
      5. Cluster File System (CFS)
        1.  
          CFS architecture
        2.  
          CFS communication
        3.  
          CFS file system benefits
        4.  
          CFS configuration differences
        5.  
          CFS recovery
        6.  
          Comparing raw volumes and CFS for data files
      6. Cluster Server (VCS)
        1.  
          VCS architecture
        2. VCS communication
          1.  
            About the IMF notification module
        3. About resource monitoring
          1.  
            How intelligent resource monitoring works
        4.  
          Cluster configuration files
      7. About I/O fencing in SF Sybase CE environment
        1.  
          About preferred fencing
        2. About preventing data corruption with I/O fencing
          1.  
            About SCSI-3 Persistent Reservations
          2.  
            About I/O fencing operations
          3. About I/O fencing components
            1.  
              About data disks
            2.  
              About coordination points
          4.  
            How I/O fencing works in different event scenarios
      8.  
        Sybase ASE CE components
    4. About optional features in SF Sybase CE
      1.  
        Typical configuration of SF Sybase CE clusters in secure mode
      2.  
        Typical configuration of VOM-managed SF Sybase CE clusters
      3.  
        About SF Sybase CE global cluster setup for disaster recovery
    5.  
      How the agent makes Sybase highly available
    6.  
      About Veritas InfoScale Operations Manager
  2. Administering SF Sybase CE and its components
    1. Administering SF Sybase CE
      1.  
        Setting the environment variables for SF Sybase CE
      2. Starting or stopping SF Sybase CE on each node
        1.  
          Starting SF Sybase CE using the script-based installer
        2.  
          Starting SF Sybase CE manually on each node
        3.  
          Stopping SF Sybase CE using the script-based installer
        4.  
          Stopping SF Sybase CE manually on each node
      3.  
        Applying operating system updates on SF Sybase CE nodes
      4.  
        Adding storage to an SF Sybase CE cluster
      5.  
        Recovering from storage failure
      6.  
        Enhancing the performance of SF Sybase CE clusters
      7.  
        Verifying the nodes in an SF Sybase CE cluster
    2. Administering VCS
      1.  
        Viewing available Veritas device drivers
      2.  
        Starting and stopping VCS
      3.  
        Environment variables to start and stop VCS modules
      4.  
        Adding and removing LLT links
      5.  
        Configuring aggregated interfaces under LLT
      6.  
        Displaying the cluster details and LLT version for LLT links
      7.  
        Configuring destination-based load balancing for LLT
      8.  
        Enabling and disabling intelligent resource monitoring for agents manually
      9.  
        Administering the AMF kernel driver
    3. Administering I/O fencing
      1.  
        About administering I/O fencing
      2. About the vxfentsthdw utility
        1.  
          General guidelines for using the vxfentsthdw utility
        2.  
          About the vxfentsthdw command options
        3. Testing the coordinator disk group using the -c option of vxfentsthdw
          1.  
            Removing and replacing a failed disk
        4.  
          Performing non-destructive testing on the disks using the -r option
        5.  
          Testing the shared disks using the vxfentsthdw -m option
        6.  
          Testing the shared disks listed in a file using the vxfentsthdw -f option
        7.  
          Testing all the disks in a disk group using the vxfentsthdw -g option
        8.  
          Testing a disk with existing keys
      3. About the vxfenadm utility
        1.  
          About the I/O fencing registration key format
        2.  
          Displaying the I/O fencing registration keys
        3.  
          Verifying that the nodes see the same disk
      4. About the vxfenclearpre utility
        1.  
          Removing preexisting keys
      5. About the vxfenswap utility
        1.  
          Replacing I/O fencing coordinator disks when the cluster is online
        2.  
          Replacing the coordinator disk group in a cluster that is online
        3.  
          Refreshing lost keys on coordinator disks
      6.  
        Enabling or disabling the preferred fencing policy
      7.  
        About I/O fencing log files
    4. Administering CVM
      1.  
        Establishing CVM cluster membership manually
      2. Changing the CVM master manually
        1.  
          Errors during CVM master switching
      3.  
        Importing a shared disk group manually
      4.  
        Deporting a shared disk group manually
      5.  
        Verifying if CVM is running in an SF Sybase CE cluster
      6.  
        Verifying CVM membership state
      7.  
        Verifying the state of CVM shared disk groups
      8.  
        Verifying the activation mode
    5. Administering CFS
      1.  
        Adding CFS file systems to a VCS configuration
      2.  
        Uses of cfsmount to mount and cfsumount to unmount CFS file system
      3.  
        Resizing CFS file systems
      4.  
        Verifying the status of CFS file system nodes and their mount points
    6. Administering the Sybase agent
      1.  
        Sybase agent functions
      2.  
        Monitoring options for the Sybase agent
      3.  
        Using the IPC Cleanup feature for the Sybase agent
      4.  
        Configuring the service group Sybase using the command line
      5.  
        Bringing the Sybase service group online
      6.  
        Taking the Sybase service group offline
      7.  
        Modifying the Sybase service group configuration
      8.  
        Viewing the agent log for Sybase
  3. Troubleshooting SF Sybase CE
    1. About troubleshooting SF Sybase CE
      1. Gathering information from an SF Sybase CE cluster for support analysis
        1.  
          Gathering configuration information using SORT Data Collector
        2.  
          Gathering VCS information for support analysis
        3.  
          Gathering LLT and GAB information for support analysis
        4.  
          Gathering IMF information for support analysis
      2. SF Sybase CE log files
        1.  
          Collecting important CVM logs
      3.  
        About SF Sybase CE kernel and driver messages
      4. VCS message logging
        1.  
          GAB message logging
        2.  
          About debug log tags usage
        3.  
          Enabling debug logs for agents
        4.  
          Enabling debug logs for the VCS engine
        5.  
          Enabling debug logs for IMF
        6.  
          Message catalogs
      5. Troubleshooting tips
        1.  
          Sybase installation error log
        2.  
          Veritas log files
        3.  
          OS system log
        4.  
          GAB port membership
    2.  
      Restarting the installer after a failed network connection
    3.  
      Installer cannot create UUID for the cluster
    4. Troubleshooting I/O fencing
      1.  
        The vxfentsthdw utility fails when SCSI TEST UNIT READY command fails
      2.  
        Node is unable to join cluster while another node is being ejected
      3.  
        System panics to prevent potential data corruption
      4.  
        Cluster ID on the I/O fencing key of coordinator disk does not match the local cluster's ID
      5. Fencing startup reports preexisting split-brain
        1.  
          Clearing preexisting split-brain condition
      6.  
        Registered keys are lost on the coordinator disks
      7.  
        Replacing defective disks when the cluster is offline
    5. Troubleshooting Cluster Volume Manager in SF Sybase CE clusters
      1.  
        Restoring communication between host and disks after cable disconnection
      2.  
        Shared disk group cannot be imported in SF Sybase CE cluster
      3.  
        Error importing shared disk groups in SF Sybase CE cluster
      4.  
        Unable to start CVM in SF Sybase CE cluster
      5.  
        CVM group is not online after adding a node to the SF Sybase CE cluster
      6.  
        CVMVolDg not online even though CVMCluster is online in SF Sybase CE cluster
      7.  
        Shared disks not visible in SF Sybase CE cluster
    6. Troubleshooting interconnects
      1.  
        Network interfaces change their names after reboot
      2.  
        Example entries for mandatory devices
    7. Troubleshooting Sybase ASE CE
      1.  
        Sybase private networks
      2.  
        Sybase instances under VCS control
      3.  
        Node does not reboot
      4.  
        Sybase instance not starting
  4. Prevention and recovery strategies
    1. Prevention and recovery strategies
      1.  
        Verification of GAB ports in SF Sybase CE cluster
      2.  
        Examining GAB seed membership
      3.  
        Manual GAB membership seeding
      4.  
        Evaluating VCS I/O fencing ports
      5.  
        Verifying normal functioning of VCS I/O fencing
      6. Managing SCSI-3 PR keys in SF Sybase CE cluster
        1.  
          Evaluating the number of SCSI-3 PR keys on a coordinator LUN, if there are multiple paths to the LUN from the hosts
        2.  
          Detecting accidental SCSI-3 PR key removal from coordinator LUNs
      7.  
        Identifying a faulty coordinator LUN
      8.  
        Starting shared volumes manually
      9.  
        Listing all the CVM shared disks
      10.  
        I/O Fencing kernel logs
  5. Tunable parameters
    1. About GAB tunable parameters
      1.  
        About GAB load-time or static tunable parameters
      2.  
        About GAB run-time or dynamic tunable parameters
    2. About LLT tunable parameters
      1.  
        About LLT timer tunable parameters
      2.  
        About LLT flow control tunable parameters
      3.  
        Setting LLT timer tunable parameters
    3. About VXFEN tunable parameters
      1.  
        Configuring the VXFEN module parameters
  6. Appendix A. Error messages
    1.  
      About error messages
    2.  
      VxVM error messages
    3. VXFEN driver error messages
      1.  
        VXFEN driver informational message
      2.  
        Node ejection informational messages

About GAB run-time or dynamic tunable parameters

You can change the GAB dynamic tunable parameters while GAB is configured and while the cluster is running. The changes take effect immediately on running the gabconfig command. Note that some of these parameters also control how GAB behaves when it encounters a fault or a failure condition. Some of these conditions can trigger a PANIC which is aimed at preventing data corruption.

You can display the default values using the gabconfig -l command. To make changes to these values persistent across reboots, you can append the appropriate command options to the /etc/gabtab file along with any existing options. For example, you can add the -k option to an existing /etc/gabtab file that might read as follows:

gabconfig -c -n4

After adding the option, the /etc/gabtab file looks similar to the following:

gabconfig -c -n4 -k

Table: GAB dynamic tunable parameters describes the GAB dynamic tunable parameters as seen with the gabconfig -l command, and specifies the command to modify them.

Table: GAB dynamic tunable parameters

GAB parameter

Description and command

Control port seed

This option defines the minimum number of nodes that can form the cluster. This option controls the forming of the cluster. If the number of nodes in the cluster is less than the number specified in the gabtab file, then the cluster will not form. For example: if you type gabconfig -c -n4, then the cluster will not form until all four nodes join the cluster. If this option is enabled using the gabconfig -x command then the node will join the cluster even if the other nodes in the cluster are not yet part of the membership.

Use the following command to set the number of nodes that can form the cluster:

gabconfig -n count

Use the following command to enable control port seed. Node can form the cluster without waiting for other nodes for membership:

gabconfig -x

Halt on process death

Default: Disabled

This option controls GAB's ability to halt (panic) the system on user process death. If _had and _hashadow are killed using kill -9, the system can potentially lose high availability. If you enable this option, then the GAB will PANIC the system on detecting the death of the client process. The default behavior is to disable this option.

Use the following command to enable halt system on process death:

gabconfig -p

Use the following command to disable halt system on process death:

gabconfig -P

Missed heartbeat halt

Default: Disabled

If this option is enabled then the system will panic on missing the first heartbeat from the VCS engine or the vxconfigd daemon in a CVM environment. The default option is to disable the immediate panic.

This GAB option controls whether GAB can panic the node or not when the VCS engine or the vxconfigd daemon miss to heartbeat with GAB. If the VCS engine experiences a hang and is unable to heartbeat with GAB, then GAB will NOT PANIC the system immediately. GAB will first try to abort the process by sending SIGABRT (kill_ntries - default value 5 times) times after an interval of "iofence_timeout" (default value 15 seconds). If this fails, then GAB will wait for the "isolate timeout" period which is controlled by a global tunable called isolate_time (default value 2 minutes). If the process is still alive, then GAB will PANIC the system.

If this option is enabled GAB will immediately HALT the system in case of missed heartbeat from client.

Use the following command to enable system halt when process heartbeat fails:

gabconfig -b

Use the following command to disable system halt when process heartbeat fails:

gabconfig -B

Halt on rejoin

Default: Disabled

This option allows the user to configure the behavior of the VCS engine or any other user process when one or more nodes rejoin a cluster after a network partition. By default GAB will not PANIC the node running the VCS engine. GAB kills the userland process (the VCS engine or the vxconfigd process). This recycles the user port (port h in case of the VCS engine) and clears up messages with the old generation number programmatically. Restart of the process, if required, must be handled outside of GAB control, e.g., for hashadow process restarts _had.

When GAB has kernel clients (such as fencing, VxVM, or VxFS), then the node will always PANIC when it rejoins the cluster after a network partition. The PANIC is mandatory since this is the only way GAB can clear ports and remove old messages.

Use the following command to enable system halt on rejoin:

gabconfig -j

Use the following command to disable system halt on rejoin:

gabconfig -J

Keep on killing

Default: Disabled

If this option is enabled, then GAB prevents the system from PANICKING when the VCS engine or the vxconfigd process fail to heartbeat with GAB and GAB fails to kill the VCS engine or the vxconfigd process. GAB will try to continuously kill the VCS engine and will not panic if the kill fails.

Repeat attempts to kill process if it does not die

gabconfig -k

Quorum flag

Default: Disabled

This is an option in GAB which allows a node to IOFENCE (resulting in a PANIC) if the new membership set is < 50% of the old membership set. This option is typically disabled and is used when integrating with other products

Enable iofence quorum

gabconfig -q

Disable iofence quorum

gabconfig -d

GAB queue limit

Default: Send queue limit: 128

Default: Recv queue limit: 128

GAB queue limit option controls the number of pending message before which GAB sets flow. Send queue limit controls the number of pending message in GAB send queue. Once GAB reaches this limit it will set flow control for the sender process of the GAB client. GAB receive queue limit controls the number of pending message in GAB receive queue before GAB send flow control for the receive side.

Set the send queue limit to specified value

gabconfig -Q sendq:value

Set the receive queue limit to specified value

gabconfig -Q recvq:value

IOFENCE timeout

Default: 15000(ms)

This parameter specifies the timeout (in milliseconds) for which GAB will wait for the clients to respond to an IOFENCE message before taking next action. Based on the value of kill_ntries , GAB will attempt to kill client process by sending SIGABRT signal. If the client process is still registered after GAB attempted to kill client process for the value of kill_ntries times, GAB will halt the system after waiting for additional isolate_timeout value.

Set the iofence timeout value to specified value in milliseconds.

gabconfig -f value

Stable timeout

Default: 5000(ms)

Specifies the time GAB waits to reconfigure membership after the last report from LLT of a change in the state of local node connections for a given port. Any change in the state of connections will restart GAB waiting period.

Set the stable timeout to specified value

gabconfig -t stable

Isolate timeout

Default: 120000(ms)

This tunable specifies the timeout value for which GAB will wait for client process to unregister in response to GAB sending SIGKILL signal. If the process still exists after isolate timeout GAB will halt the system

gabconfig -S isolate_time:value

Kill_ntries

Default: 5

This tunable specifies the number of attempts GAB will make to kill the process by sending SIGABRT signal.

gabconfig -S kill_ntries:value

Driver state

This parameter shows whether GAB is configured. GAB may not have seeded and formed any membership yet.

Partition arbitration

This parameter shows whether GAB is asked to specifically ignore jeopardy.

See the gabconfig (1M) manual page for details on the -s flag.