HP XC System Software Administration Guide Version 3.2

golden master and how to distribute software throughout the HP XC system, see Chapter 11
(page 139).
1.6 Installation and Software Distribution
HP XC System Software is installed during the initial installation (new installation), described
in the HP XC System Software Installation Guide. Periodically, later releases may require you to
reinstall the system software or upgrade it from its most recent version. To determine whether
the system software is a new installation or an upgrade, see “Determining the Installation Type”
(page 41).
System software, third-party software, and individual files must be distributed to target nodes
in the HP XC system. The section titled “Software Distribution” (page 41) provides an overview
of this topic.
1.6.1 Determining the Installation Type
It may be necessary to determine whether your system software is the result of a new installation
or upgraded from a previous version. Use any of the following methods to do so:
• Run the shownode command to determine the existence of the xc_prev_version
parameter.
— The following example indicates that the HP XC system was upgraded from Version
V3.0:
# shownode config sysparams | grep prev
xc_prev_version: V3.0
— The absence of output in following example indicates that the HP XC system is a new
installation:
# shownode config sysparams | grep prev
• Verify the existence of the /var/log/preupgradesys directory. If this directory exists,
the HP XC system was upgraded from a previous release. Otherwise, the system is a new
installation.
1.6.2 Software Distribution
The HP XC system uses the SystemImager tool to synchronize the configuration of nodes across
the cluster using image propagation. This simplifies installation of the initial software and
upgrading software and configuration files. For more information, see Chapter 11: Distributing
Software Throughout the System (page 139).
1.7 Improved Availability
The HP XC system offers improved availability, which enables the HP XC System Software to
interact with optional Availability tools, such as HP Serviceguard. These tools are optional: you
must order them from the manufacturer and install them according to the manufacturer's
prescribed installation procedure. The availability tools are located in a directory that the
manufacturer chooses.
Improved availability provides for the failover of configured services from a failed node to
another configured in the HP XC system.
For more information on improved availability, see Chapter 2 (page 47).
1.8 Networking
The HP XC system relies on networking services to communicate among its nodes. It uses the
Linux Virtual Server, Network Time Protocol, Network Address Translation, and Network
Information Service.
1.6 Installation and Software Distribution 41