DB2 10.5 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows

Installation prerequisites for DB2 pureScale Feature (Linux)

Before you install IBM® DB2® pureScale® Feature, you must ensure that your system meets the installation prerequisites.

Ensure you have created your DB2 pureScale Feature installation plan. Your installation plan helps ensure that your system meets the prerequisites and that you have performed the preinstallation tasks. This topic details requirements for: software prerequisites (including operating system, GPFS™, and Tivoli® SA MP), storage hardware requirements, network prerequisites, and hardware and firmware prerequisites.

Software prerequisites

In DB2 Cancun Release 10.5.0.4 and later fix packs, the DB2 pureScale Feature supports Linux virtual machines.

The libraries and additional packages, listed for each specific Linux distribution in the following table are required on the cluster caching facilities and members. Before installing DB2 pureScale Feature or updating to the latest fix pack, update hosts with the required software.

Table 1. Minimum Linux software requirements
Linux distribution	Kernel version level	Required packages	OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED) package
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.9¹	2.6.18-348.el5	`libstdc++` (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) `glibc++` (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) `cpp` `gcc` `gcc-c++` `kernel-headers` `kernel-devel` `binutilsOpenSSH` `sg3_utils` pam (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) ntp-4.2.2p1-15.el5_7.1 ksh-20100621-12.el5	To install OFED on RHEL 5.9 and higher, run a group installation of "OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution".
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.1 through 6.5⁴ RHEL 6.6 is not supported	2.6.32-131.0.15.el6	For InfiniBand network type (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries unless specified) : libibcm dapl (64-bit libraries only) ibsim (64-bit libraries only) ibutils (64-bit libraries only) libibverbs librdmacm libcxgb3 libibmad libibumad libipathverbs (64-bit libraries only) libmlx4 libmthca libnes (64-bit libraries only) libmlx4 rdma (no architecture) libgcc file libgomp make patch For RoCE network type (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries unless specified) : ibibcm dapl (64-bit libraries only) ibsim (64-bit libraries only) ibutils (64-bit libraries only) libibverbs-rocee librdmacm libcxgb3 libibmad libibumad libipathverbs (64-bit libraries only) libmlx4-rocee libmthca libnes (64-bit libraries only) rdma (no architecture) ntp-4.2.4p8-2.el6.x86_64/ntpdate-4.2.4p8-2.el6.x86_64 libstdc++-4.4.5-6.el6.x86_64 libstdc++-4.4.5-6.el6.i686 glibc-2.12-1.25.el6.x86_64 glibc-2.12-1.25.el6.i686 gcc-c++-4.4.5-6.el6.x86_64 gcc-4.4.5-6.el6.x86_64 kernel-2.6.32-131.0.15.el6.x86_64 kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.0.15.el6.x86_64 kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.0.15.el6.x86_64 kernel-firmware-2.6.32-131.0.15.el6.noarch ntp-4.2.4p8-2.el6.x86_64 ntpdate-4.2.4p8-2.el6.x86_64 sg3_utils-1.28-3.el6.x86_64 sg3_utils-libs-1.28-3.el6.x86_64 binutils-2.20.51.0.2-5.20.el6.x86_64 binutils-devel-2.20.51.0.2-5.20.el6.x86_64 openssh-5.3p1-52.el6.x86_64 cpp-4.4.5-6.el6.x86_64 ksh-20100621-16.el6.x86_64 libgcc file libgomp make patch	For InfiniBand network type, run a group installation of "InfiniBand Support" package. For RoCE network type, subscribe to the Red Hat High Performance Network, then run a group install of "InfiniBand Support" package. This automatically installs the "RHEL server High Performance Networking" package which is mandatory for RDMA over Ethernet support on RoCE network.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 Service Pack (SP) 4	2.6.16.60-0.85.1-smp	libstdc++ (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) glibc-32bit-2.4-31.109.1 glibc-2.4-31.109.1 cpp gcc gcc-c++ kernel-source binutils OpenSSH ksh-93t-13.17.19 xntp-4.2.4p3-48.19.20	For SLES 10 SP4, you must install OFED packages from the maintenance repository with the following additional packages that OFED depends on: ofed ofed-doc ofed-kmp-default (or the correct ofed-kmp for the installed kernel) dapl dapl-32bit dapl2 dapl2-doc dapl2-32bit ibutils ibutils-32bit ibvexdmtools infiniband-diags libcxgb3 libcxgb3-32bit libibcm libibcm-32bit libibmad5 libibmad5-32bit libibumad3 libibumad3-32bit libibverbs libibverbs-32bit libipathverbs libipathverbs-32bit libmlx4 libmlx4-32bit libmthca libmthca-32bit librdmacm librdmacm-32bit libsdp libsdp-32bit mpi-selector mstflint opensm opensm-32bit qlvnictools sdpnetstat srptools For more information about installing OFED, see Configuring the network settings of hosts for a DB2 pureScale environment on an InfiniBand network (Linux)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 Service Pack (SP) 2	3.0.13-0.27 (SP2)	libstdc++ (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) glibc++ (both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries) cpp gcc gcc-c++ kernel-source binutils OpenSSH ntp-4.2.4p8-1.3.28 ksh-93u-0.8.1	The minimum level required for OFED packages is 1.5.2 For SLES 11 SP2 and later service packs, you must install OFED packages from the maintenance repository with additional packages that OFED depends on. For more information about installing OFED on SLES 11, see Configuring the network settings of hosts for a DB2 pureScale environment on an InfiniBand network (Linux).

On Red Hat Linux:
- For single communication adapter ports at CFs on InfiniBand network, the minimum support level is RHEL 5.9.
- For multiple communication adapter ports on InfiniBand network and single or multiple communication adapter port at CFs on RoCE network, the minimum support level is RHEL 6.1.
  i686 which is 32-bit packages might not get installed by default when installing x86_64 server. Make sure that all the 32-bit dependencies are explicitly installed. For example:
```
libstdc++-4.4.5-6.el6.i686, pam-1.1.1-8.el6.i686, pam_krb5-2.3.11-6.el6.i686, 
pam-devel-1.1.1-8.el6.i686, pam_pkcs11-0.6.2-11.1.el6.i686, 
pam_ldap-185-8.el6.i686
```
  (on RHEL 5.9, the extension is .i386 ) Alternatively, run the yum command after creating a source from local DVD or after registering to RHN:
```
yum install *.i686
```
- On RHEL 6.5, the librdmacm and ibacm packages must be at, or higher than, librdmacm-1.0.18.1-1.el6.x86_64.rpm and ibacm-1.0.9-0.git49af5a8.el6.x86_64.rpm, respectively. The level of these packages installed as part of the “InfiniBand Support” group package, might be lower than the required levels.
On SLES 10 Service Pack 4, the minimum supported kernel version level is the default kernel (2.6.16.60-0.85.1-smp).
In some installations, if Intel TCO WatchDog Timer Driver modules are loaded by default, they should be blacklisted, so that they do not start automatically or conflict with RSCT. To blacklist the modules, edit the following files:
1. To verify if the modules are loaded
```
lsmod | grep -i iTCO_wdt; lsmod | grep -i iTCO_vendor_support
```
2. Edit the configuration files:
  - On RHEL 5.9 and RHEL 6.1, edit file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf:
```
# RSCT hatsd
blacklist iTCO_wdt
blacklist iTCO_vendor_support
```
  - On SLES, edit file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist:
```
add
blacklist iTCO_wdt 
blacklist iTCO_vendor_support 
```

Note: The minimum supported host and guest operating system level for KVM Virtualization is RHEL 6.2. Fibre Channel adapters and 10 GE adapters are required by the virtual machines via PCI Passthrough. For instructions on setting up PCI Passthrough of devices for guest VMs, see the Red Hat website: https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/Virtualization_Host_Configuration_and_Guest_Installation_Guide/chap-Virtualization_Host_Configuration_and_Guest_Installation_Guide-PCI_Device_Config.html

Note:

GPFS:
- On Version 10.5 Fix Pack 8 and later fix packs, if you have IBM General Parallel File System ( GPFS) already installed, it must be GPFS 4.1.1.4 efix 14.
- On DB2 Cancun Release 10.5.0.4 and later fix packs, if you have IBM General Parallel File System ( GPFS) already installed, it must be GPFS 3.5.0.17. The installation of DB2 pureScale Feature performs the update to the required level automatically.
- On Version 10.5 Fix Pack 3 and earlier fix packs, if you have IBM General Parallel File System ( GPFS) already installed, it must be GPFS 3.5.0.7.
Tivoli SA MP:
- On DB2 Cancun Release 10.5.0.4 and later fix packs, if you have IBM Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms (Tivoli SA MP) already installed, it must be Tivoli SA MP 3.2.2.8. The installation of DB2 pureScale Feature upgrades existing Tivoli SA MP installations to this version level.
- On Version 10.5 Fix Pack 3 and earlier fix packs, if you have Tivoli SA MP already installed, it must be Tivoli SA MP Version 3.2.2.5.

Storage hardware requirements

DB2 pureScale Feature supports all storage area network (SAN) and directly attached shared block storage. Configuring DB2 cluster services managed shared storage is recommended for better resiliency. For more information about DB2 cluster services support, see the “Shared storage considerations” topic. The following storage hardware requirements must be met for DB2 pureScale Feature support.

Table 2. Minimum and recommended free disk space
	Recommended free disk space	Minimum required free disk space
Disk to extract installation	3 GB	3 GB
Installation path	6 GB	6 GB
/tmp directory	5 GB	2 GB
/var directory	5 GB	2 GB
/usr directory	2 GB	512 MB
Instance home directory	5 GB	1.5 GB¹

The disk space that is required for the instance home directory is calculated at run time and varies. Approximately 1 to 1.5 GB is normally required.

The following shared disk space must be free for each file system:

Instance shared files: 10 GB¹
Data: dependent on your specific application needs
Logs: dependent on the expectant number of transactions and the applications logging requirements

A fourth shared disk is required to configure as the DB2 cluster services tiebreaker disk.

Network prerequisites

On a TCP/IP protocol over Ethernet (TCP/IP) network, a DB2 pureScale environment requires only 1 high speed network for the DB2 cluster interconnect. Running your DB2 pureScale environment on a TCP/IP network can provide a faster setup for testing the technology. However, for the most demanding write-intensive data sharing workloads, an RDMA protocol over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) network can offer better performance.

InfiniBand (IB) networks and RoCE networks using RDMA protocol require two networks: one (public) Ethernet network and one (private) high speed communication network for communication between members and CFs. The high speed communication network must be an IB network, a RoCE network, or a TCP/IP network. A mixture of these high speed communication networks is not supported.

Note: Although a single Ethernet adapter is required for a DB2 pureScale environment, you should set up Ethernet bonding for the network if you have two Ethernet adapters. Ethernet bonding (also known as channel bonding) is a setup where two or more network interfaces are combined. Ethernet bonding provides redundancy and better resilience in the event of Ethernet network adapter failures. Refer to your Ethernet adapter documentation for instructions on configuring Ethernet bonding. Bonding high speed communication network is not supported.

The rest of this network prerequisites section applies to using RDMA protocol.

Table 3. High speed communication adapter requirements rack mounted servers
Communication adapter type	Switch	IBM Validated Switch	Cabling
InfiniBand (IB)	QDR IB	Mellanox part number MIS5030Q-1SFC Mellanox 6036SX (IBM part number: 0724016 or 0724022)	QSFP cables
10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE)	10GE	Blade Network Technologies RackSwitch G8124 Cisco Nexus 5596 Unified Ports Switch	Small Form-factor Pluggable Plus (SFP+) cables

DB2 pureScale environments with Linux systems and InfiniBand communication adapter require FabricIT EFM switch based fabric management software. For communication adapter port support on CF servers, the minimum required fabric manager software image that must be installed on the switch is image-PPC_M405EX-EFM_1.1.2500.img. The switch might not support a direct upgrade path to the minimum version, in which case multiple upgrades are required. For instructions on upgrading the fabric manager software on a specific Mellanox switch, see the Mellanox website: http://www.mellanox.com/content/pages.php?pg=ib_fabricit_efm_management&menu_section=55. Enabling subnet manager (SM) on the switch is mandatory for InfiniBand networks. To create a DB2 pureScale environment with multiple switches, you must have communication adapter on CF servers and configure switch failover on the switches. To support switch failover, see the Mellanox website for instructions on setting up the subnet manager for a high availability domain.
Cable considerations:
- On InfiniBand networks: The QSFP 4 x 4 QDR cables are used to connect hosts to the switch, and inter-switch links. If using two switches, two or more inter-switch links are required. The maximum number of inter-switch links required can be determined by using half of the total communication adapter ports connected from CFs and members to the switches. For example, in a two switch DB2 pureScale environment where the primary and secondary CF each have four communication adapter ports, and there are four members, the maximum number of inter-switch links required is 6 (6 = (2 * 4 + 4 )/2).
- On a RoCE network, the maximum number of ISLs can be further limited by the number of ports supported by the Link Aggregate Communication Protocol (LACP) which is one of the setup required for switch failover. As this value can differ in different switch vendors, refer to the switch manual for any such limitation. For example, the Blade Network Technologies G8124 24 port switch with Blade OS 6.3.2.0, has a limitation of maximum 8 ports in each LACP trunk between the two switches effectively cap the maximum of ISLs to four (4 ports on each switch).
In general, any 10GE switch that supports global pause flow control, as specified by IEEE 802.3x is also supported. However, the exact setup instructions might differ from what is documented in the switch section, which is based on the IBM validated switches. Refer to the switch user manual for details.

Table 4. High speed communication adapter requirements for BladeCenter HS22 servers
Communication adapter type	Switch	Cabling
InfiniBand (IB)	Voltaire 40 Gb InfiniBand Switch¹, for example part number 46M6005	QSFP cables ²
10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE)³	BNT Virtual Fabric 10 Gb Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter, for example part number 46C7191

To create a DB2 pureScale environment with multiple switches, set up communication adapter for the CF hosts.
Cable considerations:
- On InfiniBand networks: The QSFP 4 x 4 QDR cables are used to connect hosts to the switch, and for inter-switch links, too. If using two switches, two or more inter-switch links are required. The maximum number of inter-switch links required can be determined by using half of the total communication adapter ports connected from CFs and members to the switches. For example, in a two switch DB2 pureScale environment where the primary and secondary CF each have four communication adapter ports, and there are four members, the maximum number of inter-switch links required is 6 (6 = (2 * 4 + 4 )/2). On a 10GE network, the maximum number of ISLs can be further limited by the number of ports supported by the Link Aggregate Communication Protocol (LACP) which is one of the setup required for switch failover. As this value can differ in different switch vendors, refer to the switch manual for any such limitation. For example, the Blade Network Technologies G8124 24 port switch with Blade OS 6.3.2.0, has a limitation of maximum 8 ports in each LACP trunk between the two switches effectively cap the maximum of ISLs to four (4 ports on each switch).
For more information about using DB2 pureScale Feature with application cluster transparency in BladeCenter, see this developerWorks® article: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/techarticle/dm-1110purescalebladecenter/.

Note: If a member exists on the same host as a cluster caching facility (CF), the cluster interconnect netname in db2nodes.cfg for the member and CF must be the same.

Hardware and firmware prerequisites

Note: Given the widely varying nature of such systems, IBM cannot practically guarantee to have tested on all possible systems or variations of systems. In the event of problem reports for which IBM deems reproduction necessary, IBM reserves the right to attempt problem reproduction on a system that may not match the system on which the problem was reported.

In DB2 Cancun Release 10.5.0.4 and later fix packs, the DB2 pureScale Feature is supported on any rack mounted server or blade server.

In DB2 Version 10.5 Fix Pack 1 and later fix packs, the DB2 pureScale Feature is supported on any x64 Intel compatible rack mounted server which supports these InfiniBand QDR or Ethernet RoCE adapters:

Mellanox ConnectX-2 generation card supporting RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE) or InfiniBand
Mellanox ConnectX-3 generation card supporting RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE) or InfiniBand

In DB2 Version 10.5 Fix Pack 5 and later fix packs, a geographically dispersed DB2 pureScale cluster (GDPC) environment is supported on any x64 Intel compatible rack mounted server which supports these Ethernet RoCE adapters:

Mellanox ConnectX-2 generation card supporting RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE)
Mellanox ConnectX-3 generation card supporting RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE)

IBM has validated these adapters, which are configurable options on IBM xSeries servers:

Mellanox ConnectX-2 Dual Port 10GbE Adapter for IBM System x (81Y9990)
Mellanox ConnectX-2 Dual-port QSFP QDR IB Adapter for IBM System x (95Y3750)
Mellanox ConnectX-3 FDR VPI IB/E Adapter for IBM System x (00D9550)
Mellanox ConnectX-3 10 GbE Adapter for IBM System x (00D9690)

Additionally, these server configurations with any of the specified network adapter types are also supported:

Table 5. Additional IBM validated server configurations
Server	10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) adapter	Minimum 10GE network adapter firmware version	InfiniBand (IB) Host Channel Adapter (HCA)	Minimum IB HCA firmware version
BladeCenter HS22 System x blades	Mellanox 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Expansion Card with RoCE, for example part number 90Y3570	2.9.1000	2-port 40 Gb InfiniBand Card (CFFh), for example part number 46M6001	2.9.1000
BladeCenter HS23 System x blades	Mellanox 2-port 10 Gb Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFh) with RoCE, part number 90Y3570	2.9.1000	2-port 40 Gb InfiniBand Expansion Card (CFFh) - part number 46M6001	2.9.1000
KVM Virtual Machine	Mellanox ConnectX-2 EN 10 Gb Ethernet Adapters with RoCE	2.9.1200	Not supported	N/A
IBM Flex System X 240 Compute Node IBM Flex System X 440 Compute Node	IBM Flex System® EN4132 2-port 10Gb RoCE Adapter	2.10.2324 + uEFI Fix 4.0.320	Not supported	N/A

Note:

Install the latest supported firmware for your System x server from http://www.ibm.com/support/us/en/.
KVM-hosted environments for a DB2 pureScale Feature are supported on rack-mounted servers only.
Availability of specific hardware or firmware can vary over time and region. Check availability with your supplier.

¹ For better I/O performance, create a separate GPFS file system to hold your database and specify this shared disk on the create database command.