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6 Introduction
Cluster Solution
Your cluster supports a minimum of two nodes to a maximum of either eight
nodes (with Windows Server 2003 operating systems) or sixteen nodes (with
Windows Server 2008 operating systems) and provides the following features:
• Gigabit Ethernet technology for iSCSI clusters
• High availability of resources to network clients
• Redundant paths to the shared storage
• Failure recovery for applications and services
• Flexible maintenance capabilities, allowing you to repair, maintain, or
upgrade a node or storage system without taking the entire cluster offline
The iSCSI protocol encapsulates SCSI frames that include commands, data,
status and so on to Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
packets to be transported over Ethernet networks. The iSCSI data blocks are
sent between the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator that resides in the host and the
iSCSI target, which is usually a storage device. Implementing iSCSI in a
cluster provides the following advantages:
• Geographic distribution — Wider coverage of Ethernet technology allows
cluster nodes and storage systems to be located in different sites.
• Low cost for Availability — Redundant connections provide multiple data
paths that are available through inexpensive TCP/IP network components.
• Connectivity — A single technology for connection of storage systems,
cluster nodes and clients within existent local area network (LAN), wide
area network (WAN), and storage network.
Cluster Hardware Requirements
Your cluster requires the following hardware components:
• Cluster nodes
• Cluster storage