[NTLUG:Discuss] VMWare server mirror strategy
Stuart Johnston
saj at thecommune.net
Tue May 20 09:02:20 CDT 2008
Depending on what type of files you are storing in the tank, you should
be able to rsync just the files, rather than the full file-system. In
this case, you would not need to stop vmware. It really depends on what
services you are running and how they access the files.
Daniel Hauck wrote:
> I'm seeking strategy advice. Here's what I want to do:
>
> I have two identical machines, each with 1TB (4 x 250MB) with SATA RAID
> controller. Each RAID is configured the same with 4 volumes defined
> (all as RAID5) where 200MB is designated /boot, 2GB is designated
> {swap}, 10GB is designated / and 700+GB is designated "Tank." I think
> the volumes are self explanatory.
>
> The OS installed is CentOS 5.1 64 bit. VMWare server 1.05 is installed
> as well. A non-gui installation and running mode are active.
>
> What I'd like to do is keep the "Tank" drives on each machine
> synchronized. Ideally, this should be happening at all times. The two
> machines will be running VMs and neither will be running both. What I
> expect to see is a "cold failover" scenario where, if one machine is
> having problems or has failed, I can go to the working machine and turn
> up the remaining machines until I can get his twin brother back online.
>
> The strategy that sounds most interesting to me is GFS + GNBD. In this
> strategy, I would set up some sort of mirrored cluster between the two
> machines and then share them between each other. But I have problems
> with this approach largely because I don't really seem to understand
> what I'm reading. I get the general idea but the setup and
> configuration seems to be so difficult, I get dizzy just trying to read
> it. Parts of what I read sounds like it could work and other parts seem
> to suggest that what I want to do with this will not.
>
> It has been suggested that "rsync" should be used, but somehow I'm
> doubting rsync can be used against live, currently in use, files as
> would be the case with vmware server. (If it can be done that way, I'd
> be really glad to learn this since it would seem to be the most simple
> solution.) But my guess is that I'd have to set up a job to stop the
> VMs, then do the rsync, then start them up again. Not the most ideal
> solution but certainly easier to wrap my head around.
>
> Does anyone have anything to offer in this situation? If GFS is a
> viable option, might someone offer some steps, tips or even assistance
> in getting it running? I'm willing to pay some to make it happen if
> that's what it takes. I worry that even if GFS is viable, it might suck
> too much processing power away from the VMs being hosted though.
>
> I know I can't be the first person ever to want to do this. I just
> can't seem to find much on the web about it.
>
>
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