[Linux-cluster] can't start GFS on Fedora

[Robert Peterson]

Jose Guevarra wrote:
> yes, I'm trying to get a test HPC cluster going with GFS  to be used as a
> SAN and shared among several nodes.
>
> I'm currently using Fedora Core 4 which was the first version to come 
> with
> GFS.  As you say that there is now
> a "new" infrast.  would you recommend that I simply upgrade to Fedora 
> Core
> 6?
>
> In terms of CCSD, 'service ccsd start' simply returns [Failed].  the logs
> show ..
>
> Mar  2 11:28:09 IQCD1 ccsd[8651]: Starting ccsd 1.0.0:
> Mar  2 11:28:09 IQCD1 ccsd[8651]:  Built: Jun 16 2005 10:45:39
> Mar  2 11:28:09 IQCD1 ccsd[8651]:  Copyright (C) Red Hat, Inc.  2004  All
> rights reserved.
>
> That's it.  I've now discovered that cluster.conf is nowhere to be 
> found on
> my system.  The probably
> explains CCSD failing.  ccs-1.0 is installed.  What package installed a
> default cluster.conf file?
>
> Thanks.
Hi Jose,

Well, I can't tell you to go to FC6, but I can tell you this much:
I like FC6 a lot better than FC4, plus all the cluster code has had a lot
of bug fixes and improvements.  The current CVS development tree
is geared toward newer (upstream) kernels, so FC6 will get you closer
if you want to build it from source. 

There is no default cluster.conf file.  The cluster.conf file defines
your cluster: what computers ("nodes") are in your cluster, what
fencing device(s) you are using, and the services you want for
High Availability.  There's no way any of that can be determined by
default.  That's determined by the boxes in your network.
There is, however, a couple of GUIs that may make your
life easier.  The first one is called Conga, and it's web based.
The second one is called system-config-cluster, but it's not as
user friendly as Conga.  I don't think they'll work on FC4 though.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to check out
my "NFS/GFS Cookbook" that will walk you through the
process of setting up and configuring a cluster, although that's
geared more toward RHEL4 (not the new infrastructure).
http://sources.redhat.com/cluster/doc/nfscookbook.pdf

I recently posted a link to a quick install guide to getting
the STABLE cvs branch working on an upstream kernel too.
The STABLE branch is much like the RHEL4, in that it
uses the old infrastructure.  That link is:
https://rpeterso.108.redhat.com/files/documents/98/247/STABLE.txt
The advantage of doing this is that more people on this list are
familiar with that infrastructure and can therefore answer questions.
It should work for FC6.

Hopefully this gets you going.  Learning how to set up
and manage a cluster can be a frustrating and confusing learning
experience.  At least it was for me!  But once you get going you'll
be alright.  You may have a lot of questions, and perhaps the cluster
FAQ can help with some of those:
http://sources.redhat.com/cluster/faq.html

Otherwise, the people on this list are pretty friendly and helpful.

Regards,

Bob Peterson
Red Hat Cluster Suite