How You Install the Ingres Cluster Solution for OpenVMS

Follow these steps to install and configure Ingres in a VMS Cluster environment.

1. Install Ingres in a stand-alone configuration, using locations that reside on cluster mounted disks.

Typically, it is easier to resolve any configuration issues at this stage because only one machine is in use.

3. When you are confident that the stand-alone Ingres is operating correctly, shut down the installation. As the user that owns the installation, execute the iimkcluster utility, as follows:

The utility prompts you for a node number.

Node numbers are unique integers in the range 1 through the maximum supported cluster members for your platform (currently 15). During a partial cluster failure, the surviving cluster member (node) with the lowest node number is responsible for recovering transactions on behalf of the failed nodes, so you should assign low numbers to the more powerful machines in the cluster.

The iimkcluster utility renames the transaction logs and certain diagnostic log files (iircp.log, iiacp.log, and so on) by appending the host name of the machine on which the cluster member is running. Also created is a sub-directory in the II_SYSTEM:[ingres.files.memory] directory with the name of the host machine, and directory II_SYSTEM:[ingres.admin.hostname], which is currently unused.

This step keeps entities that are normally operated upon by only one node separate from corresponding objects that will be created by the other nodes.

4. Restart Ingres. Confirm that all processes have started. Confirm the initial node is operational by performing a few sanity checks such as creating and destroying a scratch database.

You should also perform application testing to confirm that certain Ingres Cluster Solution restrictions, such as lack of support for row-level locking, will not impact the usability of your applications.

6. Run the iisunode utility on each node. As the user that owns the installation, enter the following:

The utility prompts you for a unique node number. Once entered and confirmed, iisunode does the following:

• Adds the same directories for the new node as iimkcluster created for the initial node