Compaq ProLiant 7000 Supported Ethernet Interconnects for Compaq Parallel Data - Page 4

Supported Ethernet Interconnects for Compaq Parallel Database Clusters using Oracle Parallel Server 4 Communication points of failure Several components make up the physical network of the client LAN and cluster interconnect communication paths. The failure of any one of these components renders the entire path inoperable. Unless redundancy has been designed into the communication paths, a component failure can cause a complete disruption of access to certain cluster resources. The following four hardware items are the primary points of possible failure. • A port on a dual-ported network controller (LAN or cluster interconnect) • An entire network controller (LAN, cluster interconnect or a combination of both) • A network cable • A port on a switch • A switch An integration of hardware and software technologies can create redundancy to maintain a robust cluster, thus supplying defenses against points of failure in the architecture. This increases both the resiliency of cluster communications, and the overall availability of cluster applications and data. To protect against any communication disruption, Compaq highly recommends you implement the fully redundant communications paths specified in this document. The following are the redundancy characteristics of both the cluster interconnect and the client LAN connections in the fully redundant configurations recommended in the following sections. The cluster interconnect remains available if: a network controller port used for the primary interconnect path fails. a network controller used for the primary interconnect path fails. the network cable(s) used for the primary interconnect path fails. the port(s)on the switch used for the primary interconnect path fails. the switch used for the primary interconnect path fails. Point(s) of Failure: None, if all client connections to the cluster interconnect switch are redundant. The client LAN remains available if: a network controller port used for the primary client LAN path fails. a network controller used for the primary client LAN path fails. the network cable(s) used for the primary client LAN path fails. the port(s) on the switch used for the primary client LAN path fails. the switch used for the primary interconnect path fails. Point(s) of Failure: None, if all client connections to the client LAN switch are redundant. ECG062/0299