HSM in cluster environments

Installation, configuration, and use of the HSM for Windows client in a cluster environment requires special considerations.

The HSM for Windows client manages threshold migration and reconciliation during failover and failback.

A migration job that is running when a node fails must be manually started on another node of the cluster. When the job is started on another node, files that were processed before the node failed are not processed again. Only the remaining files are migrated. You can configure the same or similar jobs on several nodes of a cluster.

The HSM for Windows client must be installed on each cluster node on which files are migrated and recalled. For example, assume that you have a three node cluster. You plan to migrate data from one cluster volume. If this cluster volume is available on only node1 and node2, you need to install the HSM for Windows client on only node1 and node2. If the volume can fail over to node3, you must install the HSM for Windows client on node3, too.

Each HSM for Windows client uses its own node name to authenticate with the Tivoli® Storage Manager server. By default, the Tivoli Storage Manager node name for the computer is the computer host name. But you can change that name when you run the initial configuration wizard. To access the data from the cluster volumes on all nodes, the data is stored on the Tivoli Storage Manager server under a common node name. This common node name must be the cluster name. You must grant access for each node to the common cluster node name by using the grant proxynode command. The configuration wizard shows you the appropriate command to be run on the Tivoli Storage Manager server.

Each HSM for Windows client has its own set of configuration data. The configuration data and the migration jobs and log files are stored by default in subdirectories of the installation directory. You can configure the directory that contains the jobs file to a common directory that is accessible by other HSM for Windows client nodes in the cluster. Do not configure a common directory for the logs and list files or for the configuration file directory and temporary files directory.

The HSM for Windows client must be installed on each cluster node to a local drive, like the system drive. The HSM executable files must be available at any time. Do not install the HSM for Windows client on a cluster drive.

If you want to use the Tivoli Storage Manager backup-archive client, it must be installed, configured, and registered appropriately for an MSCS cluster environment. If you want files to be backed up before migration, the options file must specify the clusternode=yes option. For example, assume that your cluster volume is E and your backup-archive client scheduler is configured to run the daily backup with the option file E:\TIVOLI-TSM\dsm_cluster_E.opt. Select E:\TIVOLI-TSM\dsm_cluster_E.opt as the options file for the backup before migration.

Important: HSM for Windows client stores the cluster name as file recall information in stub files. If you change the cluster name, you must apply the appropriate hardware volume mappings before you continue.

If you remove a volume from a cluster and reconfigure it as a local volume on one node, you must use hardware volume mappings to link the local volume to the old cluster volume name.

When you install the HSM for Windows client on a cluster system, the HSM services require the cluster services. If the cluster services are not running, the HSM services do not start. After you restart the system, the HSM services attempt to start automatically two times. If the cluster services are not running at the second automatic attempt, you must start the HSM services manually.

If you change a cluster name, only the HSM for Windows client GUI starts. Use the GUI to map the new cluster name to the old cluster name. When you confirm the mapping that is created by using the wizard, the HSM for Windows client creates hardware mappings from the new cluster name to the old cluster name. The mappings are replicated over the Tivoli Storage Manager server to other cluster nodes where the HSM for Windows client is installed.