Managing HP Serviceguard for Linux Ninth Edition, April 2009

If you use configured_node as the value for the failover policy, the package will
start up on the highest priority node available in the node list. When a failover occurs,
the package will move to the next highest priority node in the list that is available.
If you use min_package_node as the value for the failover policy, the package will
start up on the node that is currently running the fewest other packages. (Note that
this does not mean the lightest load; the only thing that is checked is the number of
packages currently running on the node.)
Automatic Rotating Standby
Using the min_package_node failover policy, it is possible to configure a cluster that
lets you use one node as an automatic rotating standby node for the cluster. Consider
the following package configuration for a four node cluster. Note that all packages can
run on all nodes and have the same node_name lists. Although the example shows
the node names in a different order for each package, this is not required.
Table 3-1 Package Configuration Data
FAILOVER_POLICYNODE_NAME ListPackage Name
min_package_nodenode1, node2, node3,
node4
pkgA
min_package_nodenode2, node3, node4,
node1
pkgB
min_package_nodenode3, node4, node1,
node2
pkgC
When the cluster starts, each package starts as shown in Figure 3-8.
54 Understanding Serviceguard Software Components