Installation manual

Preparing to Upgrade in an OpenVMS Cluster Environment

6.2 Adding a New System to the Cluster

If you need to add a new computer supported by OpenVMS VAX Version 7.3 to an

existing OpenVMS Cluster conﬁguration, Compaq supports two options, listed in

the following preferred order:

1. Upgrade the entire cluster to OpenVMS VAX Version 7.3 and add the new

computer as a member.

2. If you need to keep some systems in the cluster running an older version of

OpenVMS VAX, you must upgrade a system disk in the cluster to OpenVMS

VAX Version 7.3 using the rolling upgrade procedure. Then boot the new

computer into the cluster using the upgraded system disk.

6.3 Types of Upgrades

There are two types of cluster upgrades: concurrent and rolling. The type of

upgrade you use depends on whether you want to maintain the availability of the

cluster during the upgrade and whether you have more than one system disk.

Review this chapter and then perform the preliminary tasks for the upgrade

procedure (concurrent or rolling) that best suits your conﬁguration.

6.3.1 Concurrent Upgrades

During a concurrent upgrade, you must shut down the entire cluster and upgrade

each system disk. No one can use the cluster until you upgrade each system disk

and reboot each VAX computer. If all systems in the cluster environment are

booted from one system disk, you must perform a concurrent upgrade.

Note

For OpenVMS VAX Version 7.3 concurrent upgrades, all nodes in the

cluster must be running at least OpenVMS VAX Version 7.1.

To perform a concurrent upgrade, go to Section 6.4.

6.3.2 Rolling Upgrades

During a rolling upgrade, you can keep some of the VAX computers in the cluster

running while you upgrade others (you must have more than one system disk).

The cluster runs temporarily with different versions of the operating system.

Note

For OpenVMS VAX Version 7.3 rolling upgrades, all nodes in the cluster

must be running at least OpenVMS VAX Version 7.1.

To perform a rolling upgrade, go to Section 6.5.

6–2 Preparing to Upgrade in an OpenVMS Cluster Environment