How To Install Redline in a Cluster

  • 7019714
  • 17-Aug-2007
  • 07-Aug-2017

Environment

Redline 2.5.x Redline 3.x

Situation

How to install Redline in a cluster

Resolution



Redline fully supports an installation in a NetWare Cluster. This document details how to configure such an installation.

1. Install the Redline Agents on each cluster node. The binary nlms will be placed on each node's SYS volume. Since Redline Agents only collect data and send it to the Control Center, only the Redline Agent log files will increase in size. Redline can be configured to save its log files to the cluster resources instead of the SYS volume.

2. Instead of loading the rlagent.conf file (main Redline Agent Configuration file) in the traditional SYS:\opt\beginfinite\redline\conf directory, simply copy it and place it on the cluster resource with the GroupWise agents that you wish to monitor. We recommend creating a /redline/conf directory on the cluster resource and placing the file in there. Open the rlagent.conf file in a text editor and enable the agents you wish to monitor. Additionally, create another folder in that /redline folder called "logs", then modify the log path in the rlagent.conf file to /mnt/posix/VOL1/redline/logs. (NOTE THE DIRECTION OF THE SLASHES)

3. Add the SYS:\opt\beginfinite\redline\bin to the search path for each node if it does not already exist. (NOTE THE DIRECTION OF THE SLASHES)

4. Create a directory in the /mnt/posix directory on the SYS volume for each volume. DO NOT create the /mnt/posix directory structure. Only create a directory inside the /mnt/posix directory for each respective volume. They must remain blank, nothing can be in them.

NOTE: If you do not have a /mnt directory, rather than create it, launch the Redline Agent on that node (type RLAG at the console), then unload it after a minute or so. This will create the directory structure. There have been problems with the /mnt directory when it has been manually created.

5. Create a pathtab entry for each cluster volume/resource to enable posix mapping in the SYS:\ETC\pathtab file (textfile with no extension). If the file does not exist, create one. A copy of this file belongs on each node of the cluster. The entries for each volume will look similar to this example:

/mnt/posix/vol1 vol1:
/mnt/posix/vol2 vol2:
/mnt/posix/gwise gwise:

This means that any path requested by NetWare that contains VOL1: before the path will resolve to the /mnt/posix/vol1 file structure on the SYS volume. Since POSIX is not capable of resolving Netware volumes by VOL1:\ as it can only read the file system on the SYS volume, you must map the other volumes through the pathtab in order for Redline to access them.

6. Finally, to load the Redline Agent, create a script or launch the Redline Agent from the cluster resource using the following command sequence:

load address space=rlvol1 rlag6 -c VOL1:/redline/conf/rlagent.conf -d2

You will want to load the Redline Agent in protected memory. In the event of failover, in order for multiple Redline Agents to load against different configuration files, the Redline Agent must load in protected memory.
Make sure your libc.nlm is dated later than May 8, 2006 to avoid a nasty abend when loading Redline Agents into protected memory.

***New Redline 3 Installation Documentation has shipped with Redline 3. It has updated cluster configuration instructions. It is recommended to consult the new documentation first, and try this article if that does not work.

Additional Information

This article was originally published in the GWAVA knowledgebase as article ID 4.