A better NetWare cluster

Novell recently released an update to its NetWare Cluster Services (NWCS) product, called Version 1.01. Now, normally a .01 update is something that's not terribly important - perhaps it has a bug fix or two, documentation updates or a tool to simplify installation or maintenance. In this case, however, there's a major change.

NWCS supported clusters of up to 32 servers, but for anything more than eight servers you needed to contract with a hardware provider and Novell Consulting Services. With NWCS 1.01, provided you have supported hardware, you can do the installation and setup all by yourself.

Specific enhancements to NetWare Cluster Services 1.01 include the following:

• Support for NetWare 5.1. NWCS now supports networks built on NetWare 5 or NetWare 5.1.
• Increased scalability. NWCS 1.01 can scale out of the box from two to 32 Intel Architecture network servers, or nodes, to create a cluster.
• Dynamic cluster growth. NWCS 1.01 lets administrators add additional nodes to a cluster dynamically, without bringing the cluster down or even adjusting the current cluster resource configurations.
• Cluster management. Improved ConsoleOne snap-ins simplify administration by providing better performance, supporting multiple management sessions and allowing the cluster status to be saved to an HTML file for viewing through a Web browser.

While many are drawn to cluster services by the promise of maximizing network uptime, NetWare Cluster Services also simplifies the management of data through the support of storage-area networks (SAN). SANs, which allow a group of servers to share storage, are being deployed as a way to cope with the exponential growth in data that must be stored indefinitely, and with the need for server consolidation.

Once NetWare Cluster Services is deployed in conjunction with a SAN, the data within that SAN becomes more manageable in two ways. First, using Novell Directory Services eDirectory and ConsoleOne, NWCS allows administrators to move data and applications from one server to another without interruption to clients. This lets administrators maintain and upgrade clustered servers without disrupting worker productivity. Second, NWCS mitigates the risks associated with server consolidation. Though server consolidation reduces management costs, it also puts more users on each individual server in a network - posing an increased risk to company productivity if a server goes down. NWCS eliminates that risk by automatically transferring applications and data from one clustered server to another during planned and unplanned downtime.

Cluster services aren't cheap, and they're not for everyone. But if you need to guarantee 24-7 uptime, or if you need to be able to load balance application access, then NetWare Cluster Services might be just what you need.

Dave Kearns is a writer and consultant in Silicon Valley. His most recent book is "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networks" published by SAMS. Dave's company, Virtual Quill, provides content services to network vendors: books, manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing, technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill provides "words to sell by..." Find out more at Virtual Quill or by e-mail at info@vquill.com

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Clustering software keeps NetWare humming
Network World, 02/21/00.

NetWare 5 clustering strategy taking form
Network World, 06/07/99.

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