Creating a IBM Spectrum Scale Primary configuration pattern

Use the Pattern Builder to create a virtual application pattern for deploying a IBM Spectrum Scale Server Primary configuration.

1. Click Patterns > Virtual Application Patterns.
2. Click Create New.
3. To build your virtual application pattern:
   1. Select the IBM Spectrum Scale Pattern Type 1.2 pattern type from the menu.
   2. Select the IBM Spectrum Scale Primary virtual application template.
   3. Click Start Building.
      The Pattern Builder opens in a new window where you can add components and policies.
4. In the pattern properties pane, specify the following information:

   Name

   The name of the virtual application pattern, such as IBM Spectrum Scale Server - Primary Config.

   Description

   The description of the virtual application pattern. This field is optional.

   Type

   Leave Pattern selected to create a virtual application pattern or select Pattern Template to create a virtual application template that is used as the basis for creating other virtual application patterns.

   Lock option for plug-in usage

   Specify how this virtual application pattern is affected by upgrades to the pattern type or to IBM® Foundation Pattern.

   Unlock plug-ins

   If the pattern type is upgraded, use the latest versions of pattern type plug-ins. If IBM Foundation Pattern is upgraded, use the latest version.

   Lock all plug-ins except Foundation plug-ins

   If the pattern type is upgraded, do not change the version of the plug-ins that are associated with this virtual application pattern. If IBM Foundation Pattern is upgraded, use the latest version.

   Lock all plug-ins

   Do not change the version of plug-ins or the version of the IBM Foundation Pattern associated with this virtual application pattern when an upgrade occurs.

   Note: If you select Lock all plug-ins except Foundation plug-ins or Lock all plug-ins, you can view a list of which plug-ins are locked. Click the Source tab in Pattern Builder. The application model source is displayed. Search for the element plugins to view the list.

5. Click Save and save the virtual pattern definition.
   You can alternatively click Save As to save as a new virtual application template that you can use to create other virtual application patterns.
6. Configure the IBM Spectrum Scale Server component in Pattern Builder.
   1. With the IBM Spectrum Scale Server component selected in the canvas, configure the following settings in the properties pane:

      Name

      A unique name that identifies the IBM Spectrum Scale Server component in the Pattern Builder.

      Key Management section

      You can optionally provide the various SSH keys that the deployed IBM Spectrum Scale configuration uses. You can also specify keys at deployment time. These keys are generated on each deployment automatically if no keys are provided by the deployer. You can retrieve keys that are generated or updated after deployment, by using the Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager operations view. If you do specify any keys at deployment time, ensure that you specify both private and public keys, using a tar.gz compression format.

      You can specify the following types of keys:

      IBM Spectrum Scale Managers Key

      This key is used by the IBM Spectrum Scale Manager virtual machines to communicate with other IBM Spectrum Scale Manager virtual machines.

      For example, when you attach a IBM Spectrum Scale Mirror or IBM Spectrum Scale Tiebreaker configuration to a IBM Spectrum Scale Primary configuration, all three managers, from the Primary, Mirror, and Tiebreaker deployments must have the same IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key installed. If not, you receive an error message indicating that the IBM Spectrum Scale Manager virtual machine from the Primary configuration is unable to communicate with the IBM Spectrum Scale Manager from the Mirror or Tiebreaker configurations. You must then install the same IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key on all managers, and try to attach again.

      When you create the IBM Spectrum Scale Server component by using the virtual application template, a default IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key, artifacts/manager_key_linux.tar.gz is provided for you in this field.

      All IBM Spectrum Scale Server virtual application templates use the same default tar.gz file for the IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key, so when you deploy Primary, Mirror, Tiebreaker or Passive configurations using these virtual application templates, their managers can already communicate with each other because they are sharing the same key.

      If you need to install the same IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key in these various configurations, you can follow this procedure:

      1. Retrieve the IBM Spectrum Scale Managers key from the Primary configuration. Select Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager > Manage Keys > Retrieve Key and select Manager.
      2. Pass the retrieved tar.gz file to the Mirror, Tiebreaker, or Passive configurations by using either of the following methods:
         • Specify the tar.gz file in the Key Management section of the configuration during deployment time.
         • If the configurations are already deployed, select Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager > Manage Keys > Install Key, then select Manager, and specify the tar.gz file obtained from the Primary configuration.

      IBM Spectrum Scale Cluster Key

      This key is installed on all of the IBM Spectrum Scale Server nodes, and is used by the IBM Spectrum Scale application to communicate within the nodes server cluster.

      IBM Spectrum Scale Clients Key

      This key is used to access the IBM Spectrum Scale Manager from a IBM Spectrum Scale Client. This is required so that the IBM Spectrum Scale Client can send requests to the IBM Spectrum Scale Manager virtual machine and pass any extra parameters required to add itself to the IBM Spectrum Scale cluster.

      IBM Spectrum Scale Configurations section

      In this section you select the type of IBM Spectrum Scale Server configuration to deploy. Available choices include:

      • Primary Configuration
      • Mirror Configuration
      • Passive Configuration
      • Tiebreaker

      Ensure that Primary Configuration is selected to deploy a IBM Spectrum Scale Server active instance that can be used by IBM Spectrum Scale clients.

      Configure the following attributes:

      Number of IBM Spectrum Scale Node(s)

      Specifies the number of IBM Spectrum Scale servers to deploy.

      You can deploy 1, 3, 5, or 7 nodes. Ensure that you have enough available compute nodes on the Cloud Pak System System where you are deploying this instance (there should be at least as many compute nodes as the number of IBM Spectrum Scale Servers that you are deploying, because they must be anti-collocated, that is, each in their own compute nodes). If you select to deploy one node, the deployed instance has 1 virtual machine for the GPFS_Manager role and 1 virtual machine for the GPFSServerMain role. If you select to deploy n IBM Spectrum Scale nodes, the deployed instance has n+1 virtual machines, one for the GPFS_Manager role, one for the GPFSServerMain role, and n-1 for the GPFSServer roles.

      Cluster Name

      A name that defines this IBM Spectrum Scale cluster. Do not specify the text string IBM Spectrum Scale in the cluster name.

      File System name for selected shared volumes

      The file system name for the shared volumes (disks) that are used by the IBM Spectrum Scale shared file system. Do not specify the text string IBM Spectrum Scale string in the file system name.

      Block size

      Required. Use this property to set the block size for the specified file system. The default value is set to 256 K. This value cannot be changed after the file system is created. If you cannot test your application performance with various file system blocksize settings, use the default of 256 K. For more information on the value to choose for your application, see:

      • Block size
      • File System Planning

      leaseRecoveryWait (seconds)

      Use this property to change the value of the leaseRecoveryWait for the IBM Spectrum Scale server cluster. The minimum allowed value is 10 seconds and the default value is 35 seconds. For a one node deployment, the leaseRecoveryWait is automatically set to 10 seconds; otherwise, the value is set to 35 seconds. Update this property with caution since lower values might result in data corruption when nodes in the cluster are down. Contact the IBM Spectrum Scale service team and read the IBM Spectrum Scale documentation to understand the implications before you update this value.

      You can change this property after deployment, by using the IBM Spectrum Scale server instance Change Configuration Administrative operation. Run the Change Configuration operation and set leaseRecoveryWait=<new value>. For more information, see Change Configuration operation.

      For more information about this property, see Tuning Parameters.

      failureDetectionTime (seconds)

      Use this property to change the value of the failureDetectionTime for the IBM Spectrum Scale server cluster. The minimum allowed value is 10 seconds and the default value is 35 seconds. Update this value with caution. Contact the IBM Spectrum Scale service team and read the IBM Spectrum Scale documentation to understand the implications before you update this value.

      You can change this property after deployment, by using the IBM Spectrum Scale server instance Change Configuration Administrative operation. The IBM Spectrum Scale server nodes must be down when this operation is invoked, so first run a Stop Nodes administrative operation. Next, run the Change Configuration operation and set failureDetectionTime=<new value>, and then run Start Nodes to restart the nodes. For more information about these operations, see:

      • Stop Nodes operation
      • Change Configuration operation
      • Start Nodes operation

      For more information about this property, see Tuning Parameters.

      Snapshot Interval (minutes)

      The IBM Spectrum Scale file system produces a snapshot every 60 minutes (the default interval). You can change this value before or after deployment, by using the instance operations available under Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager > Create and Manage Snaphots. You can use these snapshot operations to enable or disable snapshots, update snapshot time, delete a snapshot, or produce a one time snapshot. For more information, see the Related links.

      Active Configuration (Mirror and Tie) section

      Use this optional section to deploy a IBM Spectrum Scale Server Primary configuration that has a Mirror configuration and a Tiebreaker configuration attached to it. You must already have a Mirror configuration and a Tiebreaker configuration deployed on a Cloud Pak System System. You need to obtain the IP addresses for the GPFS_Manager virtual machine from both the Mirror and Tiebreaker configurations, and enter them in the fields provided in this section.

      You can also attach the Mirror and Tiebreaker configurations after this Primary configuration is deployed, by using the Add New Member operation available under Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager > Manage Cluster. Refer to the Related links for more information on these types of configurations.

      Passive Configuration section

      Use this optional section to deploy a IBM Spectrum Scale Server Primary configuration that has a Passive configuration attached to it. You must already have a Passive configuration deployed on a Cloud Pak System System. You need to obtain the IP addresses for the GPFS_Manager virtual machine from the Passive configuration, and enter it in the field provided in this section.

      You can also attach the Passive configuration after this Primary configuration is deployed, by using the Add New Member operation available under Manage > Operations > GPFS_Manager > Manage Cluster. Refer to the Related links for more information on this type of configuration.

7. Click Save.