HP P6000 Cluster Extension Software Administrator Guide (5697-2274, November 2012)

User configuration file
P6000 Cluster Extension provides a user configuration file to customize failover behavior. You can
specify all customizable objects of P6000 Cluster Extension in this file.
See User configuration file (page 42) for more information.
Force flag
The force flag forces P6000 Cluster Extension to skip the internal logic and enables write access
to the local vdisks regardless of the DR group member state. You can set this flag when you are
sure that the current site contains the latest data, even though a previous application service startup
process failed because P6000 Cluster Extension discovered a DR group member state that could
not be handled automatically.
To use the force flag feature, before starting the application service that uses P6000 Cluster
Extension, you must create a file called application_name.forceflag in the directory specified
by the ApplicationDir property. The application_name is the name of the P6000 Cluster
Extension resource. Before creating this file, ensure that the application service is not running
elsewhere. This file is removed after it is detected by P6000 Cluster Extension.
You cannot use the force flag if the local vdisk state is a combination of destination and copying,
which indicates that a copy operation is in progress. A disk cannot be put in read/write access
mode when a write operation is in progress to that vdisk; in this case, P6000 Cluster Extension
returns a global error.
Planning for P6000 Cluster Extension
Consider the dependencies described in this section before configuring P6000 Cluster Extension.
HP P6000 Command View and HP P6000 SMI-S dependencies
P6000 Cluster Extension depends on HP P6000 Command View and HP P6000/EVA SMI-S, as
well as the cluster software it is integrated with.
Before you configure P6000 Cluster Extension, verify that the host and storage systems are properly
configured. Ensure that:
• The storage system and its remote peer have been properly configured.
• The host system recognizes the storage systems.
• The P6000 Continuous Access links are working properly in both directions.
• You are familiar with the disk configuration of the operating system.
HP SMI-S configuration
When using HP SMI-S and P6000 Cluster Extension, note the following requirements:
• To function properly, P6000 Cluster Extension requires at least one instance of HP P6000/EVA
SMI-S running on a management server. You must, therefore, set up at least one management
server with HP SMI-S in each data center.
• In a P6000 Continuous Access environment, both P6000/EVA storage systems should be
actively managed by the same management server during the P6000 Cluster Extension resource
configuration procedures. After resources are configured, P6000 Cluster Extension can complete
failover with a management server that is passively/actively managing the array.
• If P6000 Cluster Extension cannot connect to the first management server in the list, it can
switch to any of the configured HP P6000/EVA SMI-S instances on the alternate management
servers. To interface with the local array, P6000 Cluster Extension will try all local management
servers before resorting to the remote management servers. To interface with the remote array,
P6000 Cluster Extension will also try the local management servers first, unless the intersite
User configuration file 13