ps ha clusters

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iss: businessapplications

solutions

ActiveAnswers january 2003

implementing PeopleSoft 8applications in a Microsoftclustered environment on ProLiantservers

technical guide

abstract: PeopleSoft 8 High Availability solutions currently require the useof four ProLiant servers for optimum redundancy and fault tolerance acrossthe Database, Application, and Web servers. This guide intends toprovide an overview of the implementation of PeopleSoft 8 with a load-balanced Web server farm in a Microsoft-certified cluster environment. Italso provides a section with answers and explanations of questionsassociated with setting up such an environment.

This guide provides you with the basic building blocks of information toassist in the setup and configuration of both Microsoft SQL Server and thePeopleSoft 8 application in a clustered Microsoft Windows 2000Advanced Server environment. It is a supplemental document intended to

be used with specific knowledge and/or the appropriate installation andconfiguration guides for PeopleSoft, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoftcluster service.

contents

introduction..................... 3assumptions................ 3

overview......................... 4HP-PeopleSoft clustersolutions.......................... 5

softwarerequirements............... 6hardware

requirements............... 6HP/PeopleSoft

cluster solution -hardwareconfigurations............. 8HP/PeopleSoftcluster solution softwareconfigurations........... 14

Conclusion .................... 17Appendix A:Frequently AskedQuestions...................... 19


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implementing PeopleSoft 8 applications in a Microsoft clustered environment on ProLiant servers 2

notice

The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Microsoft, Windows and Windows NTare either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other

countries. Intel, Pentium and Pentium III Xeon are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of IntelCorporation.

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introduction

The environment discussed in this guide consists of the following: two servers configured ina clustered environment running Microsoft Cluster Server for the application and databaseservers, and two servers configured as Web servers load-balanced in the web server farm.

The application server and the database server represent the two members of the cluster,which are able to failover to each other if needed. In the event of a database/applicationtier failure, a physical 4-tier environment running the database and application tier on twoservers becomes a logical 4-tier environment running on one server. The implementation ofa Fibre storage system environment for the shared storage of the cluster is recommended.

The Web servers operate in a Distributed Internet Server Array (DISA) architecture on aseparate tier. The Web servers are configured in a Network Load Balancing (NLB) clusteror using a hardware-based load-balancing appliance solution for fault tolerance. Multiplehardware-based load-balancing appliances can be deployed to eliminate single points offailure in the Web server farm. In the event of a Web tier server failure, the load-balancing component removes the failed server from the configuration and balances thetraffic over the remaining surviving nodes.

For more details on these various solutions areas, refer to theProLiant Servers andStorageWorks Storage Area Network (SAN) in a PeopleSoft 8 Environment Solutions

Guide and the Overview of the HP Dynamic Internet Solutions Architecture (DISA)document at the website for ActiveAnswers .

assumptions

documentation

Since this is an implementation overview, users of this guide should have access to thelatest version of the following documentation:

ProLiant Servers and StorageWorks Storage Area Network (SAN) in a PeopleSoft 8Environment

Microsoft Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Cluster Service

PeopleSoft 8 Installation and Configuration (from PeopleSoft)

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http://h71019.www7.hp.com/ActiveAnswers/Render/1,1027,1-6-100-225-1,00.htmhttp://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/server/clustersteps.asphttp://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/planning/server/clustersteps.asphttp://h71019.www7.hp.com/ActiveAnswers/Render/1,1027,1-6-100-225-1,00.htm


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Microsoft Configuring Network Load BalancingOr

Intel NetStructure 7280 XML Director (or equivalent provided with the product)

knowledge

This guide assumes sufficient technical knowledge of the following systems, applications,and procedures:

Microsoft SQL Server Configuration, Implementation and Administration

Microsoft Cluster Service Installation and Configuration

PeopleSoft 8.12.10 Installation and Configuration

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

General Windows 2000 Networking Knowledge

Microsoft Network Load Balancing (NLB) ConfigurationOr

Intel NetStructure 7280 XML Director (or equivalent) Configuration

overview

Even though server hardware has become more reliable through the use of redundant and

hot-pluggable components, it is still far from providing 100% availability. It is commonnowadays to hear of requirements of 99.5% availability or 99.9% availability forlarge PeopleSoft multi-tier enterprise server environments. What does this really mean interms of How much server downtime does it represent per year? and the terminologyused to achieve the targeted uptime.

Note: HP Services is offering 99.5% as well as 99.9% packaged Uptime Guaranteesfor Windows NT/2000 on ProLiant servers. See the HP High Availability UptimeGuarantee website for the exact terms and conditions of these offers. Also, you cancontact HP Global Services for a custom HP Global High Availability service offering athttp://h18005.www1.hp.com/services/available/

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http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q240/9/97.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=q240997&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=WIN2000http://www.intel.com/network/idc/products/director_7280.htmhttp://www.intel.com/network/idc/products/director_7280.htmhttp://www.intel.com/network/idc/products/director_7280.htmhttp://www.compaq.com/services/available/av_uptime.htmlhttp://www.compaq.com/services/available/av_uptime.htmlhttp://h18005.www1.hp.com/services/available/http://h18005.www1.hp.com/services/available/http://www.compaq.com/services/available/av_uptime.htmlhttp://www.compaq.com/services/available/av_uptime.htmlhttp://www.intel.com/network/idc/products/director_7280.htmhttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q240/9/97.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=q240997&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=WIN2000


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Table 1. High Availability Uptime

% Uptime Max downtime/year Technology

99 87 Hours Conventional

99.5 43 Hours High Availability

99.9 8.5 Hours High Availability

99.99 1 Hour Fault Resilience

99.999 5 Minutes Fault Tolerance

99.9999 32 Seconds Fault Tolerance

As can be seen from Table 1, providing a 99.9% uptime to end-users allows for eighthours of downtime in a year. This includes planned (maintenance) and unplanned outages(failure). This downtime does not take into consideration the many outages due tooperator error. The issue of system availability motivated the introduction of the server-clustering paradigm. The server-clustering paradigm presents the following features:

High Availability to ensure as little downtime as possible by providing failing overof resources between nodes (also known as a resource failover) in case of node failureor simply upon management request

Combined power to provide computing power scalabilityin the cluster bybalancing a given load on multiple nodes also known as load balancing

Ease of management operations in a cluster are carried out only once for allmembers of that cluster, no matter how many nodes are present (using a cluster is no

different from using a single node as it appears to system managers and to end-usersas a Single System Image) also known as a Virtual Serveron Windows 2000

Through the use of clusters, two ProLiant servers running Microsoft Windows 2000Advanced Server can be configured to provide maximum availability, combined power,and ease of management.

HP-PeopleSoft cluster solutions

Todays clustering technology is designed to keep server-based applications highlyavailable, regardless of individual component failures. This section provides the followinginformation:

The basic software and hardware requirements to configure a HP-PeopleSoft clustersolution

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The logical flow of an HTML-based client transaction for a PeopleSoft 8 highavailability clustered environment

A description of the PeopleSoft 8 application cluster/server components along withillustrations of the system modes in the event of an application, database, or Web

server failure.

software requirements

The software configurations discussed in this guide are:

Application: PeopleSoft 8 Applications

PeopleTools 8.12.10

PeopleSoft Edition of BEA TUXEDO v6.5/BEA Jolt 1.1

PeopleSoft Internet Architecture 8.12.10BEA WebLogic 5.1.0

Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

Cluster: Microsoft Cluster Service (incl. with Windows 2000 Advanced

Server)

Microsoft Network Load Balancing (incl. with Windows 2000Advanced Server as a service)

OS: Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server (Build 2195)

Support: SmartStart5.1 or greater

ManagementCD 5.1 or greater

Support Paq (CSP) for Windows 2000 (from SmartStartCD)

Array ConfigurationUtility(ACU) (from SmartStartCD)

Survey Utility(from Management CD)

Insight ManagerServer Agents (from Management CD)

hardware requirements

To avoid hardware incompatibilities, HP recommends that you use a hardwareconfiguration recommended by the HP PeopleSoft Competency Centers. They can becontacted by e-mail mailto:at [email protected]

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A sample configuration recommended for the application and database server nodes areas follows:

Two ProLiant DL760 servers, similarly configured to include:

Dual Port NIC (Netelligent Dual 10/100TX PCI UTP Controller)

Two 4GB (minimum) logical disk partitions

Enough disks to support an external database. A private network interconnect usedfor cluster heartbeats and other cluster protocol exchanges (Null 100Mbit NetworkCrossover Cable can be used)

An interconnected Fibre Channel disk subsystem. Can be located on a StorageArea Network (SAN) such as the StorageWorks MSA1000 SAN or theStorageWorks Modular Array 8000 / Enterprise Modular Array 12000(MA8000/EMA12000) or dedicated storage for the cluster (that is, MSA1000connected via a fibre channel switch/hub).

A sample recommended configuration for the Web server nodes is as follows:

Two ProLiant DL360 servers, similarly configured to include:

Dual Port Embedded NIC (Netelligent Dual 10/100TX PCI UTP Controller)

Two 4GB (minimum) logical disk partitions

HP offers many additional cluster configurations in its support of high availability. Thesesolutions can be complex and may contain many components or even a cluster package.

The main components of a cluster are: ServerMost models of the ProLiant server platforms are supported in a cluster.

InterconnectHP strongly recommends the use of a private network connectionbetween cluster nodes.

Storage Most external StorageWorks RAID Array storage systems are supported.The maximum number of storage subsystems that can be attached to a server isdependent on the server. HP supports both SCSI and fibre optical external storagesystems connections.

Operating System Both Windows NT 4.0 Server Enterprise Edition and

Windows 2000 Advanced Server are supported. Cluster Kits HP offer cluster kits that include cables, documentation, and clustering

software utilities.

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Figure 2 illustrates the logical flow of HTML-based client transactions. PeopleSoftapplication and Microsoft SQL Server are installed in a standard running mode in aMicrosoft cluster. PeopleSoft is running in a physical 4-tier environment with the databaseon one server and the application residing on the other server. The Web servers are load-balanced with a hardware-based load balancer.

Client connects to Director across the network topology Director selects server to fulfill client request

A B1.Do I have specific rules for request? Port/URL No No2.Is server working? Yes Yes3.How fast is server responding? 50ms 35ms

Client requests are switched to the fastest server automatically. This selection processis completely dynamic and adjusts to server loads automatically

BEA TUXEDO listens for client request from Web Server farm

Client requests are directed to the active PeopleSoft Services domain within the clusterby Cluster Services

PeopleSoft application logic processes the request and retrieves the data requestedfrom the active database node within the cluster

Figure 2: PeopleSoft 8 HTML-based Client Transaction Logical Flow

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As shown in Figure 3, PeopleSoft is installed in a standard running mode in a Microsoftcluster. PeopleSoft is running in a physical 4-tier environment with the database on oneserver and the application residing on the other server.

Figure 3: Initial Software Configuration

The system in Database Server Failure Mode is illustrated in Figure 4. PeopleSoft isrunning in a logical 4-tier environment with the database server and the application serverrunning on the same system.

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Figure 4: Database Server Failure

Figure 5 illustrates the system in the Application Server Failure Mode. PeopleSoft isrunning in a logical 4-tier environment with the database server and the application serverboth running on the same system.

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Figure 5: Application Server Failure

As illustrated in Figure 6, the system is in Web Server Failure Mode while participating ina Network Load Balancing (NLB) cluster. The Web servers are configured with multiplenetwork adapters in unicast mode. PeopleSoft continues to run in a physical 4-tierenvironment with the surviving Web server handling the Web client load. The databaseserver and the application server both continue to run on separate systems.

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Figure 6: Web Server Failure Running Network Load Balancing (NLB)

As illustrated in Figure 7, the system is in Web Server Failure and/or Hardware LoadBalancer Failure Mode. The Web servers are configured with multiple network adaptersand redundant Load Balancers are deployed to eliminate single points of failure in theserver farm. PeopleSoft continues to run in a physical 4-tier environment with the surviving

Web server and Load Balancer handling the Web client load. The database server andthe application server both continue to run on separate systems.

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Figure 7: Web Server and/or Hardware Load Balancer Failure

HP/PeopleSoft cluster solution software configurations

The system in a standard running mode is illustrated in Figure 8. PeopleSoft is running in aphysical 4-tier environment with the database on one server and the application residing

on the other server.

Note: PeopleSoft Edition of BEA TUXEDO v6.5/BEA Jolt 1.1 runs on both systems at thesame time; however, only one is active.

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Figure 8: Initial Software Configuration

As illustrated in Figure 9, the Cluster Group containing the PeopleSoft application servicemigrates to the database server if the application server fails.

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Figure 9: Configuration after Application Server Failure

As illustrated in Figure 10, the Cluster Group containing the PeopleSoft database

resources migrates to the application server if the database server fails.

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Figure 10: Configuration after Database Server Failure

As can be seen from the illustrations, understanding the PeopleSoft application programarchitecture is a key requirement for implementing high availability. The PeopleSoft

application is designed around: the client/server architecture, the IP network protocol, andthe ability of a client to communicate with its server. The server components arecandidates for cluster failovers as they are designed to maintain data integrity. The clientcomponents can disconnect from the failed server component and re-establish theconnection with the surviving server component. Most PeopleSoft application componentscan be maintained at a highly available level by allowing one server component to switchto an alternative when failure occurs. The client software is designed to experience little orno interruption when the function moves from one server to the other.

ConclusionThe ability of a server or an application solution to tolerate hardware and softwarefailures is a key requirement in implementing high availability. High availability usuallyimplies system uptime of 99.5 - 99.9% and higher. The use of an alternative hardwaresource composed of redundant software using the same data path is one way in whichhigh availability can be implemented with todays cluster technology. Clustering protectsthe availability of the data, but not the data itself.

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HP and PeopleSoft have developed failover configurations that test the behavior of thePeopleSoft 8 application while making the database and application servers highlyavailable. These configurations were tested for application server, Web server, and

database server failures. Tests were successfully conducted to provide general guidelinesto configure high availability servers as detailed in this document.

The manner in which the PeopleSoft 8 application tolerates its software failures is a keyrequirement for implementing high availability in a PeopleSoft 8 application environment.PeopleSoft 8 is designed around the client/server architecture, the IP network protocol,and the ability of a client to communicate with its server. The server components arecandidates for cluster failovers as they are designed to maintain data integrity. The clientcomponent is able to disconnect from the failed server component and re-establishconnection with a new server component.

HP offers many high availability configurations that increase a servers availability byallowing a fully automated switchover of server operations to another server. Theseconfigurations support Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server operating system aswell as a majority of disk controllers and StorageWorks subsystems. They can be used tomake PeopleSoft 8 application server components highly available.

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Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions

This section details the most frequently asked questions about the Microsoft, PeopleSoft,and Microsoft SQL Server cluster solution provided by HP. This information along with theappropriate installation and configuration guides will assist in the set up of the PeopleSoft8 clustered environment.

1. Which versions of SQL Server and PeopleSoft software were tested?

The following versions of SQL Server and PeopleSoft Software were tested in cooperationwith the Alliance Solution Center.

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

PeopleSoft 8.12.10 PeopleTools

PeopleSoft 8 Applications

PeopleSoft Edition of BEA TUXEDO v6.5/BEA Jolt 1.1

PeopleSoft Internet Architecture 8.12.10

PeopleSoft currently does not certify any hardware vendor's high availability software.However, PeopleSoft and HP have successfully completed projects testing this MicrosoftCluster Service Solution with PeopleSoft applications.

2. Is the Microsoft Cluster Service failover automatic or manual?It is completely automatic for both hardware failure and software failure. In addition, therecovery after a failure correction is also completely automatic with no user interventionrequired.

3. How long does it take the database and/or application server to beoperational again when failover occurs?

It will vary from system to system depending on the size of the database, the number ofusers working on the system at the time of failure, and the amount of time since the last

checkpoint. Typical recovery time is typically from 20 seconds to 3 minutes.

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4. Are there any special steps required to implement PeopleSoft failover?

Yes, but they are not complicated. Contact the HP PeopleSoft Competency Centers fordetails.

Note: The HP PeopleSoft Competency Centers can be contacted by e-mail at:mailto:[email protected]

5. How many nodes does Microsoft Cluster Service support?

Currently, Microsoft with the Windows 2000 Advanced Server Cluster Service supports amaximum of two cluster nodes. A two-node cluster will be an ideal solution for a singleinstance database. You can configure multiple instances in a two-node clusterconfiguration, but nodes in the cluster should be sized properly keeping in mind that incase of failover, all the instances will be on one system.

6. How many nodes does Microsoft support in a Network Load Balancing(NLB) Cluster?

Currently Microsoft with the Windows 2000 Advanced Server Network Load BalancingService supports a maximum of 32 nodes. A two-node NLB cluster is the minimumsolution for an implementation however the cluster should be sized properly keeping inmind that in case of a Web server failure all the Web traffic will be distributed among thesurviving Web servers. Please contact the HP PeopleSoft Competency Centers for anappropriate sizing.

7. Do you need Microsoft Cluster Service failover for the PeopleSoftapplication server?

In general, the PeopleSoft application server has built-in High Availability (HA) features soit is not required to have Microsoft Cluster Service on the application server. Multipleapplication servers would be used for built-in load balancing and redundancy. However,in this four- server configuration the application server and the database server areconfigured for failover to each other using the cluster service and therefore it is requiredfor fault tolerance.

8. What is the impact on users that are logged-in but idle?

There is no impact on idle users. Unless a transaction is issued during the failure window,they will see nothing.

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The advantages of this configuration are:

Both database servers in the cluster can be configured and tuned for optimaldatabase performance

The resources on each database server are being utilized in parallel and areoperational under normal conditions

The application servers are configured strictly and optimally for business logic use.

The disadvantage is that in the event of a database server failure, the combined loadof both databases residing on the single remaining database server would beextremely high and overall system performance may be affected.

Active/Passive Database Only - This configuration utilizes two database servers,one running its own database and the other one idling or performing minimal taskswhile on standby (should the other database server fail). This configuration requiresthat two application servers be utilized and that BEA Tuxedo failover features be usedto eliminate the single point of failure for the application servers.

The advantages of this configuration are:

Both database servers in the cluster can be configured and tuned for optimaldatabase performance

In the event of a database server failure, overall system performance should not beadversely affected when both database server nodes have been configuredidentically

The application servers are configured strictly and optimally for business logic use.

The disadvantage is the capital expenditure on a database server that only idles maynot be considered cost effective.

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