13.1 Clustering OpenText eDirectory Services on Linux

This section describes how to configure OpenText eDirectory 9.3 by using high availability clustering on Linux.

13.1.1 Prerequisites

  • Two or more Linux servers with clustering software

  • External shared storage supported by the cluster software, with sufficient disk space to store all OpenText eDirectory and NICI data

  • Virtual IP address

  • OpenText eDirectory 9.1 or later

    NOTE:The nds-cluster-config utility only supports configuring the root OpenText eDirectory instance. OpenText eDirectory does not support configuring multiple instances and non-root installations of OpenText eDirectory in a cluster environment.

13.1.2 Installing and Configuring OpenText eDirectory

  1. Install and configure OpenText eDirectory on the server you want to use as the primary cluster node. For more information on installation and configuration procedures, refer to the Using the nds-install Utility to Install OpenText eDirectory Components.

    NOTE:

    • When configuring OpenText eDirectory, the default NCP server name is the host server name of the computer on which you installed OpenText eDirectory. Because OpenText eDirectory is hosted on multiple hosts in a clustered environment, however, you should specify an NCP server name that is unique to the cluster instead of using the default name. For example, you can specify the name clusterserver for the NCP server when you configure OpenText eDirectory on the primary cluster node.

    • During the configuration process, ensure you set the virtual IP address for your OpenText eDirectory installation. In a clustered environment, OpenText eDirectory only listens on the virtual IP address, not on the system IP address.

  2. After you install and configure eDirectory, navigate to the nds.conf file, which is located in the /etc/opt/novell/eDirectory/conf.

  3. Edit the nds.conf file to set the value of the n4u.nds.preferred-server setting to the virtual IP address of the clustered installation, then save and close the file.

  4. Verify the OpenText eDirectory installation by using the ndsstat command.

    OpenText eDirectory must be up and running on the primary cluster node.

  5. Mount the shared file system by using the cluster manager.

  6. Back up all data in the following directories before running the configuration utility:

    • /var/opt/novell/nici

    • /var/opt/novell/eDirectory/data (n4u.server.vardir)

    • /var/opt/novell/eDirectory/data/dib (n4u.nds.dibdir)

    • /etc/opt/novell/eDirectory/conf (n4u.server.configdir)

    • /var/opt/novell/eDirectory/log

    NOTE:If you install OpenText eDirectory in a non-default location, you can use the ndsconfig get command to find the vardir, dir paths used in your installation. nds.conf should be in the default location, which is /etc/opt/novell/eDirectory/conf/nds.conf.

  7. On the primary cluster node server, open a terminal and run the following command to stop the OpenText eDirectory service:

    ndsmanage stopall

  8. In the terminal, navigate to the location of the configuration utility, nds-cluster-config. The utility is located in the /opt/novell/eDirectory/bin directory.

  9. Run the following command:

    nds-cluster-config -s /<sharedfilesystem>

    Where <sharedfilesystem> is the location you want to use for the eDirectory shared cluster data.

    NOTE:You can also run the utility in unattended mode by using the -u option. If you use this option, the utility does not ask for confirmation when configuring OpenText eDirectory on a cluster.

    If you use the unattended option, you must also use the -s option and specify the shared cluster file system.

  10. After the utility verifies the cluster shared storage is valid, click y to continue with configuration on the cluster.

    The configuration utility moves the data in the directories above to the following locations on the shared file system:

    • <sharedfilesystem>/nici

    • <sharedfilesystem>/data

    • <sharedfilesystem>/data/

    • <sharedfilesystem>/conf

    • <sharedfilesystem>/log

  11. Start OpenText eDirectory services by running the following command:

    ndsmanage startall

  12. Check the status of OpenText eDirectory by using ndsstat. OpenText eDirectory services should be up and running.

  13. Stop OpenText eDirectory services by running the following command:

    ndsmanage stopall

  14. Log in to the server you want to use as the secondary node of the cluster.

  15. Use the cluster manager to move the shared storage to the secondary node.

  16. Install the same version of OpenText eDirectory on the secondary cluster node that you installed on the primary cluster node, but do not configure OpenText eDirectory.

  17. In the terminal, navigate to the location of the configuration utility on the secondary node. The utility is located in the /opt/novell/eDirectory/bin directory.

  18. Open a terminal and run the following command:

    nds-cluster-config -s /<sharedfilesystem>

    Where <sharedfilesystem> is the cluster shared storage. The path of the <sharedfilesystem> should be same as the path location specified when the primary node was configured.

    The nds-cluster-config utility links the secondary cluster node to the shared OpenText eDirectory data located on the shared cluster file system.

  19. Start OpenText eDirectory services by running the following command:

    ndsmanage startall

    Verify the status of eDirectory by using the ndsstat command.

  20. Stop OpenText eDirectory services on the secondary node by running the ndsmanage stopall command.

  21. After successfully configuring OpenText eDirectory on both nodes of the cluster, you must also change the startup mode of the ndsd service on each node by using the following command:

    chkconfig -d ndsd

  22. After the configuration utility finishes configuring the secondary node, you can use the cluster manager to add the OpenText eDirectory services in the cluster.

For more information on the cluster services on Linux, refer to the following documentation:

IMPORTANT:Ideally, the cluster manager checks that the same DIB is not accessed by two or more nodes simultaneously. However, you must ensure that ndsd does not run from two or more cluster nodes simultaneously. This is because accessing the same DIB through two or more nodes leads to DIB corruption.

13.1.3 Configuring SNMP Server in Clustered Linux Environments

  1. On all the nodes, modify the snmpd.conf file. For more information, see Installing and Configuring SNMP Services for OpenText eDirectory in the OpenText™ eDirectory CE 24.4 (v9.3) Administration Guide.

  2. Start ndssnmpsa.

  3. Select Yes as the Remember password option.

  4. To start the snmp service, perform either of the following:

    • Add /etc/init.d/ndssnmpsa start to the post_ndsd_start script and /etc/init.d/ndssnmpsa stop to the pre_ndsd_stop script.

    • Add ndssnmpsa as a cluster resource with a dependency on eDirectory resource.

NOTE:Because OpenText eDirectory is listening on a virtual IP address, traps have the IP address of the host, which is the Agent IP address.