Configuring protocols on a separate cluster

The process for configuring Cluster Export Services (CES) in a multi-cluster environment in many respects is the same as for a single cluster, however, there are a few differences mainly in the procedure order.

This procedure assumes an environment with the server, network, storage, and operating systems are installed and ready for IBM Spectrum Scale™. For more information, see Installing.

Do the following steps:
  1. Install IBM Spectrum Scale on all nodes that are in the storage and protocol clusters.
    Note: If you install a protocol cluster into an environment with an existing IBM Spectrum Scale cluster, the IBM Spectrum Scale version used should comply with the protocol cluster. The installation can be performed either manually or by using the installation toolkit. Do not create clusters or file systems or Cluster Export Services yet.
  2. Create the storage and protocol clusters.
    Note: Proceed with cluster creation of the storage cluster and one or more protocol clusters. Ensure that the configuration parameter maxBlockSize is set to the same value on all clusters.
  3. Create file systems on the storage cluster, taking the following into consideration:
    • CES shared root file system – Each protocol cluster requires its own CES shared root file system. Having a shared root file system that is different from the file system that serves data eases the management of CES.
    • Data file systems – At least one file system is required for each protocol cluster configured for Cluster Export Services. A data file system can only be exported from a single protocol cluster.
  4. Before installing and configuring Cluster Export Services, consider the following points:
    • Authentication - Separate authentication schemes are supported for each CES cluster.
    • ID mapping - The ID mapping of users authenticating to each CES cluster. It is recommended to have unique ID mapping across clusters, but not mandatory.
      Note: You must judiciously determine the ID mapping requirements and prevent possible interference or security issues.
    • GUI - GUI support for remote clusters is limited. Each cluster should have its own GUI. The GUI may be installed onto CES nodes but performance must be taken into consideration.
    • Object - Object is not supported in multi-cluster configurations.
    • For a list of limitations, see Limitations of protocols on remotely mounted file systems.
  5. Configure clusters for remote mount. For more information, see Mounting a remote GPFS file system.
  6. Install and configure Cluster Export Services by using the installation toolkit or manually. For more information, see Installing IBM Spectrum Scale on Linux nodes with the installation toolkitManually installing the IBM Spectrum Scale software packages on Linux nodes.
    Note: Use the remotely mounted CES shared root file system.
  7. Once SMB and/or NFS is enabled, new exports can be created on the remotely mounted data file system.
Parent topic: Using NFS/SMB protocol over remote cluster mounts