Linux – Red Hat Cluster Suite (LNX6)

Unix-like systems, Linux - administration

This course introduces the Red Hat Cluster Suite with focus on its high availability features for building resilient services. You will learn core cluster concepts, deployment scenarios, and essentials for running reliable production clusters.

Hands-on labs cover installation, configuring iSCSI and shared storage, fencing methods, resource management and failover. You will practice diagnostics, quorum and network bonding to design and operate production-ready HA clusters.

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The course:

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  • Introduction to clusters
    1. Principles, cluster types, and common use cases
    2. Overview of HA (high availability) clusters
    3. Introduction to the Red Hat Cluster Suite implementation
  • Requirements for base installation and system configuration; hardware and infrastructure recommendations for reliable production operation (power, network, shared disk arrays)
  • Install and bring the cluster framework online on the first node
    1. Verify basic functionality
    2. Configure the iSCSI client and connect shared iSCSI NAS storage
    3. Expand the setup to a two-node cluster
    4. Verify cluster framework operation
    5. Assemble and finalize the cluster
  • Configure resources to evict non-responsive or faulty nodes from the cluster
  • Fencing
    1. Remote power control of a node
    2. Isolate a node from the shared disk array
  • Example installation and configuration of services in a cluster (WWW, SQL, NFS), including active/hot‑standby and active/active modes, and static load distribution (service affinity)
  • Diagnostics and handling common operational and failure states
    1. Starting services
    2. Stopping and migrating services between nodes
    3. Starting and stopping the entire cluster
    4. Handling cluster failure or split‑brain and reacting to service failures
    5. Network connectivity issues
    6. Shared disk array problems
  • Demonstration and discussion of communication options between nodes and quorum configuration
    1. Backup network links for node communication
    2. Use of a quorum disk for extended node health checks and to prevent total cluster failure on network loss
  • Shared disk space management
    1. Use of LVM in a cluster environment (CLVM) and cluster file systems GFS/GFS2
    2. Use of LVM in a cluster environment (CLVM) and cluster file systems GFS/GFS2
    3. Using LVM for HA shared storage (LVM mirror across two iSCSI arrays)
  • Use of multiple I/O paths to the disk array to increase availability and throughput (multipath I/O)
  • Considerations for clusters with more than two nodes
  • Discussion of replacing shared external storage with real‑time replication of local disks (DRBD)
  • Ethernet network configuration. Teaming/bonding — combining multiple NICs to increase reliability and/or throughput
Assumed knowledge:
Basic Linux system operation and administration skills.
Recommended previous course:
Linux – Basic Administration (LNX1)
Schedule:
3 days (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM )
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