Table C-1 compares the features and capabilities of Novell Cluster Services 1.8.5 for Linux on Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES) 2 Linux to Novell Cluster Services 1.8.5 for NetWare on NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 7 or later.
Table C-1 Comparison of Novell Cluster Services for OES 2 Linux and NetWare 6.5 SP7 or Later
Feature or Capability |
Cluster Services for Linux |
Cluster Services for NetWare |
---|---|---|
Operating system |
OES 2 Linux (OES 2 built on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1) or later |
NetWare 6.5 SP7 or later |
Two-node cluster with OES 2 license |
Yes |
Yes |
Up to 32 nodes in a single cluster |
Yes |
Yes |
Guest servers on Xen VMs as cluster nodes |
Yes |
Yes |
Business Continuity Clustering support |
BCC 1.2 for OES 2 SP1 Linux and later |
BCC 1.1 SP2 for NetWare 6.5 SP8 and later |
Administrator users |
The administrator user whose credentials you provide during the install is the cluster administrator. The tree admin is not automatically given rights. Rights must be granted manually. For information, see Section 5.6, Configuring Additional Administrators. |
The administrator user whose credentials you provide during the install is the cluster administrator. For NetWare, rights are automatically extended to the tree administrator user. |
Directory-based cluster configuration |
Common schema for NetWare and Linux |
Common schema for NetWare and Linux |
Schema extension during the Novell Cluster Services install |
In OES 2 Linux, the user who installs Novell Cluster Services must have schema extension rights. In OES 2 SP1 Linux and later, the schema extension is performed separately from the Novell Cluster Services install. A user with schema extension rights extends the schema. For information, see Section 5.2, Extending the eDirectory Schema to Add Cluster Objects. Afterwards, any administrator with sufficient rights can install Novell Cluster Services. For information, see Section 5.3, Assigning Install Rights for Container Administrators (or Non-Administrator Users). |
Yes; the user who installs Novell Cluster Services must have schema extension rights. |
Forward migration for Novell Cluster Services |
OES 1 SP2 Linux to OES 2 Linux or later. Down cluster and rolling cluster upgrade are supported. |
NetWare 6.5 SP6 to NetWare 6.5 SP7 or later. Down cluster and rolling cluster upgrade are supported. NetWare 6.0 to NetWare 6.5 SP7 or later. Down cluster and rolling cluster upgrade are supported. NetWare 5.1 to NetWare 6.5 SP7 or later. Only the down cluster upgrade is supported. |
Cluster conversion from NetWare to Linux |
NetWare 6.5 SP7 or later to OES 2 Linux or later NetWare 6.5 SP6 to OES 2 Linux or later NetWare 6.0 with latest service packs and patches to OES 2 Linux. Uses the same process as NetWare 6.5 to OES 2 Linux. |
Not applicable |
Mixed-node Linux and NetWare clusters |
Supported only for rolling cluster conversions from NetWare to Linux. NSS pools created on Linux cannot fail over to NetWare nodes. In a mixed-cluster environment, you cannot add storage to the cluster or modify the existing storage pools. After adding a Linux node to a NetWare cluster, it is no longer possible to add new NetWare nodes. Only Linux nodes can be added. |
Supported only for rolling cluster conversions from NetWare to Linux. NSS pools created on NetWare can fail over to Linux nodes. |
SBD (split-brain detector) |
Yes; during the install on the first server in the cluster, or by using the sbdutil after the install and before adding a second node to the cluster. |
Yes; during the install on the first server in the cluster. |
Mirrored SBD |
Yes; by using evmsgui after the install and before adding a second node to the cluster. |
Yes; during the install on the first server in the cluster. |
Shared disks |
Fibre Channel SAN LUNs iSCSI SAN LUNs SCSI disks (shared external drive arrays) |
Fibre Channel SAN LUNs iSCSI SAN LUNs SCSI disks (shared external drive arrays) |
Cluster-aware shared devices |
Yes; requires using the EVMS Cluster Segment Manager to provide cluster-awareness similar to NetWare Media Manager. |
Yes; provided by NetWare Media Manager. |
Requires Novell Storage Services (NSS) |
Required only if you create NSS pools as cluster resources. |
Yes; NSS is the default file system on NetWare. Novell Cluster Services is not supported on NetWare traditional volumes. |
Disk format when using shared NSS pools |
NetWare Segment Manager |
NetWare Segment Manager |
Requires NCP (NetWare Core Protocol) |
Requires NCP Server to be installed if you create cluster resources that use NCP, such as NSS pools, NCP volumes, and Dynamic Storage Technology shadow volume pairs. |
Yes; NCP is the default file access protocol on NetWare. |
NSS pools as cluster resources |
Yes For information, see Section 12.0, Configuring Cluster Resources for Shared NSS Pools and Volumes. Shareable for Clustering Multiple-Server Activation Prevention (MSAP) Cluster volume broker; Linux kernel module handles NSS pool events. |
Yes For information, see Shareable for Clustering Multiple-Server Activation Prevention (MSAP) Cluster volume broker |
Linux POSIX file systems as cluster resources |
Yes For information, see Section 13.0, Configuring and Managing Cluster Resources for Shared Linux POSIX Volumes. |
Not applicable |
NCP volumes on Linux POSIX file systems as cluster resources |
Yes For information, see |
Not applicable |
Dynamic Storage Technology shadow volume pairs as cluster resources |
Yes; by combining the load and unload scripts for shared NSS pools and managing the pair as a single cluster resource. For information, see |
Not supported by Dynamic Storage Technology. |
Xen virtual machines as cluster resources |
Yes For information, see Section 14.2, Virtual Machines as Cluster Resources. |
Not applicable |
iManager 2.7 |
Yes |
Yes |
Clusters plug-in and Storage Management plug-in for iManager |
Yes |
Yes |
Cluster-enabling NSS pools by using the NSS plug-in for iManager |
Yes |
Yes |
Cluster-enabling NSS pools by using the NSS Management Utility (NSSMU) |
Yes |
Yes |
Command line interface |
Yes; using the terminal console |
Yes; using the terminal console |
XML-based API |
Yes; same as NetWare except that it uses the /_adminfs path on Linux. |
Yes; same as for Linux except that it uses the _admin: volume on NetWare. |
Load, unload, and monitor scripts |
Yes Script commands differ. Scripts are automatically translated from NetWare commands to Linux commands during the cluster conversion from NetWare to Linux. For a comparison of script commands, see |
Yes |
NCP support for accessing files on shared NSS pools |
Yes |
Yes |
NCP support for accessing files on shared NCP volumes on Linux POSIX file systems |
Yes |
Not applicable |
Novell AFP support for accessing files on shared NSS pools |
Yes; in OES 2 SP1 Linux and later |
Yes |
Novell CIFS support for accessing files on shared NSS pools |
Yes; in OES 2 SP1 Linux and later. Cross-protocol locking is not supported in OES 2 SP1. |
Yes; with cross-protocol locking |
Linux Samba/CIFS support for accessing files on shared NSS pools on Linux |
Yes; with support for cross-protocol locking that allows both NCP users and Linux Samba/CIFS users to concurrently access data. Requires users to be Linux-enabled with Linux User Management. Requires Universal Password. |
Not applicable |
Linux Samba/CIFS support for accessing files on shared NCP volumes on Linux POSIX file systems |
Yes; with support for cross-protocol locking that allows both NCP users and Linux Samba/CIFS users to concurrently access data. Requires users to be Linux-enabled with Linux User Management. Requires Universal Password. |
Not applicable |
Linux Samba/CIFS support for accessing files on shared Linux POSIX file systems |
Yes Requires users to be Linux-enabled with Linux User Management. Requires Universal Password. |
Not applicable |
Leverage Heartbeat 2 resource agents |
Yes |
Not applicable |
LAN fault tolerance |
Channel bonding For information, see /usr/src/linux/Documentation/bonding.txt |
NIC teaming For information, see |
Multipath I/O |
Device Mapper - Multipath I/O, or third-party MPIO solutions For information, see |
Media Manager Multipath I/O, or third-party MPIO solutions For information, see |