Cluster node considerations for cloud services

This topic describes the cluster considerations that need to be followed before you install cloud services on the IBM Storage Scale cluster.

You can install the core cloud services packages on a maximum of 4 CES or NSD (or a combination of both) nodes that you want as members of your cloud services node class. We support up to 4 node classes. The client package is installed on all other nodes within the same cluster. Cloud data transfer (migration, recall, import, or export) occurs only from the cloud services nodes. However, you can initiate a cloud data transfer from either a server or a client node.

You can install the transparent cloud tiering server package on a non-gateway node. In this client-assisted recall configuration, the non-gateway node can recall from the same node instead of routing the commands through the gateway nodes. Except for recall, all other commands are routed through the gateway nodes. Thus, file-read requests originating on the client nodes are served immediately from the same node.

Use of client-assisted recall configuration is recommended in the following scenarios:
  • The non-gateway node has direct network access to the cloud object storage.
  • High CPU and memory resources are available on the node as the client-assist package starts a Java™ virtual machine per node-class managed
  • If a large number of recalls are initiated through the non-gateway nodes.
Do not use a mixed node cluster configuration in which there are nodes on the cluster that do not allow the installation of clients. For example, Windows nodes do not allow the installation of clients because there is no Transparent cloud tiering Windows client. These configurations:
  • Do not support transparent data recalling
  • Cannot respond to requests that initiate from nodes on which a client is not installed
  • Cannot efficiently perform deletions
cloud services is supported for use only in IBM Storage Scale clusters and on any associated remotely mounted clients, with Intel x86 Linux® and Power® LE Linux nodes. Use of Windows, PowerPC® Big Endian, Linux on Z or AIX® nodes that access file systems, where cloud services is used (either within the cluster or via a remotely mounted client), is untested and unsupported. Inclusion of such nodes is allowed only if there is no possibility that they will ever access cloud services; for example, such nodes are tested and supported for PowerPC Big Endian nodes in Elastic Storage Server (ESS) BE & LE servers, where no user applications are supported on Elastic Storage Server (ESS).