Introduction

A system administrator can easily manage a large cluster of machines with ease and comfort. Beginners who have very little knowledge about setting up a CSM environment can use this article as a guide. The main example considers a homogeneous environment, which means that all the machines in a cluster have the same operating system installed.

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Hardware, software, and setup

Use the following hardware and software for your setup:

• xSeries® server model: x345 (8670-IQS) with dual processors
• IBM CSM Version 1.4.0.13
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Advanced Server Version 3.0 with update 3 or 4 / SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for POWER (SLES) 9.1
• i386 architecture

Follow these steps to properly install the CMS tool:

1. Follow the installation and configuration information for your hardware and software.
2. Set up the network connectivity among the machines, as shown in Figure 1.
3. Set up the CSM master:
   1. Identify and designate the CSM master machine. In your setup, choose master.my.com as your CSM master.
   2. Update the /etc/hosts file for the hostname/IP details.

      10.10.10.100 master.my.com my # IP master 10.10.10.1 node1.my.com node1 # IP of 1st node 10.10.10.2 node2.my.com node2 # IP of 2nd node

      
      
   3. Insert the CSM CD in the DVD/CDROM drive.
      1. Extract the CSM code into the /dump/csm_dump directory.

         #tar xvf /dump/csm_dump/csm-linux-1.4.0.13.i386.tar.gz

         
         
      2. Copy the Red Hat CDs into the /dump/rereqs directory, as some Red Hat RPMs are required prerequisites for the CSM master.
      3. Download autoupdate rpms from http://freshmeat.net/projects/autoupdate.
   4. Install the CSM core file.

      #rpm -ivh /dump/csm_dump/csm.core-1.4.0.13-105.i386

      
      

      This copies the necessary installation scripts in the /opt/csm/bin folder.

   5. Run installms, where /dump/prereqs/RedHat/RPMS contains Red Hat RPMS and /dump/csm_dump contains CSM code.

      #cd /opt/csm/bin #./installms -p /dump/csm_dump:/dump/prereqs/RedHat/RPMS

      
      

      The above image doesn't show the complete output.

   6. Before you can use this master, you have to activate the "Try and Buy" or the "Permanent license" option, enter:

      #csmconfig

      
      

      Note : "MaxNumNodesInDomain = 0" and "ExpDate = ".

      1. To activate the Try and Buy license option, enter:

         #/opt/csm/bin/csmconfig -L

         
         

         When you accept the license message, you are free to test the master for next 90 days.

      2. For activating the Permanent license option, enter:

         #/opt/csm/bin/csmconfig -L /dump/csm_dump/csmlum.full

         
         

         The csmlum.full license file is available on your purchased CD.

   7. To check the status of the license, enter:

      #csmconfig

      
      
      • The Try and Buy option displays the following:

        Note : "ExpDate = Fri Jul 08 05:29:59 2005" and "MaxNumNodesInDoamin = -1 (unlimited)".

      • The Permanent license options displays "BLANK" next to the ExpiryDate.

        ExpiryDate =

        
        
4. Now CSM master is ready and you're all set to define the nodes. The nodes that are managed by this master are known as ManagedNodes.
   1. To set the PATH variable, enter:

      #export PATH=/opt/csm/bin:$PATH

      
      
   2. You can define the nodes in two ways:

      1. #definenode -n node1 #definenode -n node2

         
         

      2. #definenode -f node_def_file

         
         

         The node_def_file contains stanzas for each node as follows:

         node1.my.com: ManagementServer=master.my.com InstallOSName=Linux InstallCSMVersion=1.4.0 InstallDistributionName=RedHatEL-AS InstallDistributionVersion=3 node2.my.com: ManagementServer=master.my.com InstallOSName=Linux InstallCSMVersion=1.4.0 InstallDistributionName=RedHatEL-AS InstallDistributionVersion=3

         
         

   3. After you add the node definition on the master, you can see the defined nodes by executing:

      #lsnode -l -n node1

      
      
   4. Now its time to register the nodes.

      Make sure the /etc/hosts file is up to date on all the nodes before executing the next command.

      #updatenode -n node1 #updatenode -n node2

      
      

      Or, try the following:

      #updatenode -a [All the nodes]

      
      
   5. The Monitorinstall command shows you the status of all the nodes.

      #monitorinstall Node Mode Status ------------------------------------------ node1 Managed Installed node2 PreManaged Not Installed

      
      
5. Make sure your CSM master and nodes are successfully installed and configured.
   
   
   1. To test, enter:

      #export DSH_LIST=/etc/node_list

      
      

      The node_list contains a shortname of your nodes, one hostname per line.

      node1 node2

      
      

   2. To display the date output from both nodes, enter:

      #dsh date

      
      
   3. To show the status of all the nodes, whether they are "alive" or not, enter:

      #lsnode -p

      
      

      node1: 1 (Alive) node2: 1 (Alive)

      
      

6. The Distributed Command Execution Manager (DCEM) GUI is included in the CSM for management of nodes.

   #/opt/csm/dcem/dcem

   
   
7. You need to make a back up of the CSM and ERRM after every major change in the setup.
   1. Use the backup command to perform the backup:

      #csmbackup

      
      
      This command will back up the CSM master in the /var/opt/csm/csmdata directory.
   2. To back up other files where <my_files> are /etc/dhcpd.conf, /etc/hosts, and so forth, enter:

      #csmbackup -f <my_files>

      
      
   3. To back up the node data, enter:

      #lsnode -F > /csmbackup/node.data #nodegrp -L > /csmbackup/nodegrp.data

      
      
   4. To backup ERRM data, enter:

      #lsrsrc -i IBM.Condition > / csmbackup/errmconditions.data #lsrsrc -i IBM.Response > / csmbackup/errmresponses.data #lscondresp -lx > /csmbackup/errmcondresp.data

      
      

      You should always back up the following directories:

      • /csminstall
      • /etc/opt/csm
      • /var/opt/csm

8. Perform the following steps to restore.
   1. To restore, enter:

      #csmrestore

      
      

      The hostname and operating system on the master shouldn't change while performing the backup.

   2. To restore node data, enter:

      #definenode -f /csmbackup/node.data #nodegrp -f /csmbackup/nodegrp.data

      
      

      IBM.ConditionI and IBM.Response should be deleted before restoring the ERRM data.

   3. To restore ERRM data, enter:

      #mkrsrc -f /csmbackup/errmconditions.data IBM.Condition #mkrsrc -f /csmbackup/errmresponses.data IBM.Response

      
      

Resources

• Download the CSM code at https://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/csm/download.
  
  
• Browse the CSM Documentation for the latest information.
  
  
• The CSM for Linux V1.4.0.10 Planning and Installation Guide provides planning and installation information for setting up a CSM cluster for Linux.
  
  
• Backing up and restoring CSM and ERRM data discusses how to back up and restore CSM and ERRM data.
  
  
• Browse for books on these and other technical topics.
  
  
• Want more? The developerWorks eServer zone hosts hundreds of informative articles and introductory, intermediate, and advanced tutorials on the eServer brand.
  
  
• Get involved in the developerWorks community by participating in developerWorks blogs.
  
  
• The IBM developerWorks team hosts hundreds of technical briefings around the world which you can attend at no charge.
  
  

About the author

Harish has been with IBM since 1998 and has 14 years of experience. During his last eight years with IBM, he has spent five years at the India Research Lab and one year at the IBM T.J.Watson Research Center. Harish has been leading the Linux Center of Competency in Bangalore, India for the past year and a half. You can contact him at hchauhan@in.ibm.com.

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• Hardware, software, and setup
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

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