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Managing a Node Network
A node network is a series of two or more connected nodes. Once a connection between two or more nodes has been defined, all searches produce listings of configured users and resources from both local and remote nodes. This basic information is maintained on each computer in the node network. All calendaring data for each user and resource, however, resides only on that entity's local node, thus eliminating the space and consistency problems created by replicated databases. All exchanges of this information between nodes is done in real-time, making the scheduling of meetings with people or resources on remote nodes completely transparent to the user.
When setting up a node it is important to note that the node-ID cannot be changed once the node has been created. Furthermore, an existing local node will be deleted if a new local node is given a node-ID currently in use on the same computer. A warning prompt will be issued before this action is taken.
Node-IDs must be unique not only locally, but also across the enterprise. If two nodes in a network are assigned the same node-ID, connection between the two nodes will not be possible.
In this chapter the following node network management tasks are detailed:
- Connecting nodes
- Moving a node
- Coexistence of LDAP and non-LDAP nodes
- Caveat: LDIF differences UNIX and NT
Connecting nodes
The network configuration is stored in one file (/users/unison/misc/nodes.ini) managed using the uninode utility or the CorporateTime Server Administrator. The file must reside on only one of the host members of the node network, and commands can only be executed from this host. Both the uninode utility and the centralized administration tool are used to add or delete nodes in the node network, and to set the number of TCP/IP connections between the nodes.
Note
The number of connections to establish between each pair of nodes in a node network is dependent in large part on the size and configuration of your CorporateTime installation. As a general guideline, smaller implementations are well served by a configuration in which a single node has two connections to each node in the network. Thus, a network of 3 nodes would have a total of 12 connections:
A different set of guidelines applies to larger installations which fit within the following configuration parameters:
- hardware configuration adequately supports the demands of the software (see Appendices A, B and C)
- CorporateTime clients used are not web-based (i.e. Windows, Mac or Motif clients)
- configured users per host does not exceed 5,000
- logged-on users per host does not exceed 2,500
- logged-on users per node does not exceed 1,000
- logged-on users per node is greater than 250
- connected nodes per host does not exceed 4
- number of nodes in a network does not exceed 10
- dac_itemget = FALSE
For these installations it is recommended that, using the uninode utility, 4 connections are established each way between a local node and a remote node. For nodes contained on the same host, set 3 connections each way between nodes.
The uninode utility is used for all node management tasks for the CorporateTime Server. See full documentation for this utility in Appendix G.
Cmd line
To connect two or more CorporateTime nodes:
Admin GUI
- Select the server which will be used to manage your CorporateTime node network.
- Run uninode -init to create and initialize a /users/unison/misc/nodes.ini file.
- % uninode -init
- uninode: checking password for node 444, please wait...
- Enter SysOp password:
- uninode: connected to mica, node 444
- uninode: extracted existing connection information
- uninode: WARNING: CS&T strongly recommends at least 2 connections be created for each link in the network
- uninode: created the "/users/unison/misc/nodes.ini" file
- The newly created /users/unison/misc/nodes.ini file contains the following header with a summary of uninode syntax and connection rules.
- % more nodes.ini
- #Description File (nodes.ini)
- #-------------------------------------------------------
- #INCLUDE NODE: + H=Vancouver/N=10/ALIAS=Finance
- #EXCLUDE NODE: - H=Toronto/N=20
- #NODE FOR MAIL:
- + H=Montreal/N=30/S=unison/G=unison/OU1=CS&T/OU2=R&D
- #ABSOLUTE RULE: all:2
- #RELATIVE RULE: Vancouver->Montreal:+1
- Run uninode -edit and use a text editor to add the nodes to be connected, and the rules governing this connection, to the nodes.ini file. See the following discussion of uninode syntax, connections and rules.
- + H=mica/N=444
- + H=mica/N=445
- all:2
- ~
- "/users/unison/tmp/newnd1933" 11 lines, 386 characters
- uninode: no errors detected
- uninode: 2 node(s) to ADD
- uninode: edit the temporary node file again? (y/n) n
- uninode: LAST CHANCE TO ABORT, process changes? (y/n) y
- uninode: checking password for node 444, please wait...
- Enter SysOp password:
- uninode: connected to mica, node 445
- uninode: added 445->444, TCP/IP connection
- uninode: placed a request in the CWS queue to get node 444 user directory
- uninode: connected to mica, node 444
- uninode: added 444->445, TCP/IP connection
- uninode: placed a request in the CWS queue to get node 445 user directory
To connect two or more CorporateTime nodes:
- Select Connections | Node Network to open the "Node Connections" form.
- Enter the host to be added to the node network in the indicated edit box and click Add.
- In the Configuration edit box, replace the "-" with a "+" in the column to the left of the node(s) you want to add. If you wish to delete a node from the network, replace the "+" with a "-" in the column to the left of the node(s) you want to delete. See the following section "Syntax" for a more detailed discussion.
- From the list box following Apply configuration to, select a rule to apply.
- Select the Force Directory Synchronization checkbox to automatically import remote directories. If this functionality is disabled, the application will check for directory inconsistencies and prompt you to confirm each update.
- Enter the SYSOP password in the indicated box.
Syntax
The nodes.ini file contains the list of the nodes and the list of rules that describe the network configuration. The minimal syntax for a node is:
- H=HOSTNAME/N=NODE-ID
A node can either be included (+) in the network or excluded (-) from the network.
If the ALIAS field is specified, it will be easier for users on all servers to identify where remote users are located, as this information will be displayed by the client.
The group name is given by the administrator and will be used as an alias for a group of nodes. The interaction between the nodes of a specific group should be greater than with nodes of other groups. In most cases, a group name will represent a geographical area or a company subdivision.
Three predefined groups can be used:
- all refers to all included (+) nodes
- out refers to all excluded (-) nodes
- ALL refers to all nodes (included or excluded)
Connections and Rules
Two kinds of rules can be used. The first is used to specify the default number of connections between all nodes or between nodes within a group.
Using the predefined group all in configuring our four nodes, we can easily specify that two SNC connections be established between all of our nodes:
- +H=mis-can1/N=1
- +H=mis-usa1/N=2
- +H=mis-eur1/N=3
- +H=mis-eur2/N=4
- all:2
The second kind of rule specifies the number of connections, from one node or group to another node or group.
- N1->N2:N
N1 and N2 could either be host names, node-IDs, or group names. N could either be a absolute number of connections (0, 1, 2, 3...), or a relative number of connections (+1, -1, +2, ...). Rules are interpreted from the first to the last rule of the file so that a rule of position "i" has precedence over the rules of position i-1, i-2, i-3, ... Consequently, the rules should be arranged from the most general to the most specific.
For example, to apply a more specific rule to this set of nodes, the group (GR) field can be useful in selecting these nodes.
- +H=mis-can1/N=1/GR=Canada
- +H=mis-usa1/N=2/GR=USA
- +H=mis-eur1/N=3/GR=Europe
- +H=mis-eur2/N=4/GR=Europe
- all:2
- Europe:+1
In the above example, we are able to add an additional SNC connection (for a total of 3) to each of the European nodes relative to the absolute value defined on the line above.
Had we not wanted to use groups, we could also have said:
- +H=mis-can1/N=1
- +H=mis-usa1/N=2
- +H=mis-eur1/N=3
- +H=mis-eur2/N=4
- all:2
- mis-eur1 ->mis-eur2:3
- mis-eur2 ->mis-eur1:3
Note that in this case we must specify the number of connections in each direction as the SNC connections are unidirectional.
Adding (including) a node in the network
Replace the exclusion sign (-) of the host with the inclusion sign (+).
Deleting (excluding) a node from the network
Replace the inclusion sign (+) of the host with the exclusion sign (-).
WarningDeleting a node from the node network, even temporarily, will result in the loss of data. Removing this node will effectively delete all remote records which were created on this node.
Increasing or decreasing the number of connections between nodes
To modify the number of connections between nodes make the necessary changes to the rule entry. It is possible to add, delete or modify a rule entry.
Example: To increase the number of connections from Los Angeles to Cupertino, add the following rule to the end of the file:
- angeles->cupertino:+2
Moving a node
Complete nodes can be moved from one host to another.
NoteThe instructions below document moving nodes between Intel hosts or UNIX hosts. The following procedure will not work between a UNIX host and an Intel host (or vice versa) unless a database conversion utility is used. Please contact your support provider for more information about the unib2lendian (UNIX to Intel), unil2bendian (Intel to UNIX) and unidbfix (database maintenance and repair) utilities.
To move an entire node from one computer to another:
- Stop all CorporateTime daemons / services.
- Run unidbfix -c to ensure that the database is not corrupted. Contact your support provider for the most current version of this utility.
- Perform a full copy backup of the /users/unison/db/nodes/<Nx> directory where <Nx> contains the node that you are moving.
- Copy the backup file to the new host and, using the same backup tool, restore the file.
- Modify the /users/unison/misc/unison.ini file on both systems to reflect the changes that you have made (i.e. Computer A has lost a node and Computer B has gained a node).
- Run unidbfix -export -n all on the source host.
- Step 5 will create a file in each of the databases (i.e.: in each /users/unison/db/nodes/NX/perm) called remotenode.ini. This file contains information about all nodes remote to this node. Initially, all nodes will still think that the moved node is on the old or source host. Edit all of the remotenode.ini files, replacing all references to the source host name with the destination hostname.
- Run unidbfix -k on the destination node to create the key files.
- Run unidbfix -import -n all on all nodes.
- Edit the remotenode.ini files for all other nodes in the node network to reflect the host name changes. Repeat steps 5 through 7 for all other servers in the node network. Services must be brought down on those machines to run unidbfix.
- Edit the /users/unison/misc/nodes.ini to reflect the host name changes.
- Update the directory server using the ldapmodify tool, changing the source host name to the destination host name on all migrated nodes. This attribute exists for each SYSOP special user.
- Start all CorporateTime daemons / services.
- Ensure that all nodes point at the same directory server.
Coexistence of LDAP and non-LDAP nodes
To allow for the coexistence of LDAP (CorporateTime Server 3.5 and higher when used with CorporateConnect) and non-LDAP (CorporateTime Server 2.60 and lower or CorporateTime Server 4.0 without CorporateConnect) nodes in your CorporateTime Server network, you must execute the following steps:
- Backup all nodes in the existing node network. See "Backup procedures" in Chapter 8 for more instructions.
- Shut down all servers hosting CorporateTime nodes that use a directory server (where the parameter in the /users/unison/misc/unison.ini file [DAS] enable=TRUE).
- Edit the parameter dir_internal_nodes in the [node-ID] section of the unison.ini file on all 3.x/4.x servers to include a list of all non-LDAP or internal directory nodes.
- Bring up all servers once the changes are complete.
- Run unidssync to synchronize the LDAP or external directory and the non-LDAP or internal directory.
- Run uninode -import on the non-LDAP nodes to import the remote directory of items from the LDAP nodes.
- Run unidssync on a regular basis (at least once a week for most installations) to keep the LDAP and non-LDAP directories synchronized.
Caveat: LDIF differences UNIX and NT
Slight differences in the UNIX and NT LDIF file formats must be understood in order to successfully transfer data from a NT to a UNIX server. Before importing NT generated LDIF files to UNIX, ensure that:
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