Symantec provides a “High Availability Solution for VMware” which includes the “Symantec High Availability Console” software package that is installed on a dedicated console server which can itself be a VM (Virtual Machine). At this version the console basically provides another tab in the vSphere interface, which allows installing VCS (Veritas Cluster Server) only on a VM — this is what the “Guest Components” refers to: just a VCS installation. Once VCS is installed on the VM, then it can be managed through the vSphere interface on the same tab. The Single Sign On that is referred to in the Symantec HA VMware solutions documents is just referring to configuring VCS to use Windows namespace (usernames and passwords) for cluster login rather than using the cluster internal namespace (usernames and passwords). The HA Console is not necessary to use VCS in a VMware environment. Since HA Console also only installs VCS as a “guest component”, if SFW (Storage Foundation for Windows) Volume Manager is needed in the configuration it must be installed separately, so it’s just as well to install SFWHA on the VM’s rather than using Console to install the “guest components,” aka VCS. A point of contention here: Symantec now refers to Volume Manager as “Storage Foundation,” but the Storage Foundation product line can also include other functionality including VCS, DMP (Dynamic MultiPathing) and VVR (Veritas Volume Replicator). Referring to Volume Manager as SFW just leads to confusion. I recommend making the distinction between Volume Manager, the tool that provides for diskgroups and volumes, and Storage Foundation. VEA (Veritas Enterprise Administrator), the GUI for Volume Manager and VVR, is NOT Volume Manager.
See Symantec High Availability Solutions Guide for VMware, the Symantec High Availability Solutions Guide for Custom Application in VMware Environment, the Symantec High Availability Console Installation and Upgrade Guide, and Veritas Cluster Server Bundled Agents Reference Guide which can be found at https://sort.symantec.com/documents/doc_details/sfha/6.0.1/Windows/ProductGuides/ or go to sort.symantec.com, hover over “Downloads” and pick Documents, then select Veritas Storage Foundation and High Availabililty in the left selection box, and Windows in the middle selection box, and finally the “Product Guides” link for the appropriate version under the Windows column.
One Response