Support for Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 Linux and Cluster Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 Linux on Intel Xeon 64 (EM64T) in 32-bit mode

Article:TECH35306

Created: 2006-01-17

Updated: 2006-01-17

Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH35306

Article Type
Technical Solution

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Problem

Support for Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 Linux and Cluster Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 Linux on Intel Xeon 64 (EM64T) in 32-bit mode

Solution

After the initial release of VERITAS Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 for Linux (Storage Foundation, Cluster Server, Volume Replicator, Cluster File System, Storage Foundation for Oracle RAC), it has become clear that Intel Xeon 64 (EM64T) systems can be supported on a system running the RedHat Enterprise Linux i686 kernel in 32-bit mode. This document outlines the requirements in order to install the proper kernel for installing VERITAS software.

Requirements:

1. Intel Xeon 64 (EM64T) Processor based system

2. System must be running the i686 RHEL3 Update 2 (or later updates) kernel

Intel XEON EM64T 32-bit Support for Storage/HA 4.0 on Red Hat

VERITAS now supports Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 and Cluster File Solutions 4.0 and 4.0M P1 in 32-bit mode on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Update 2 running on Intel Xeon EM64T machines. The following 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 Linux products are now supported on Intel Xeon EM64T:

• VERITAS Storage Foundation (tm)

• VERITAS Storage Foundation (tm) Cluster File System

• VERITAS Storage Foundation (tm) for Oracle RAC

• VERITAS Cluster Server (tm)

• VERITAS Volume Replicator (tm)

Customer choice:

VERITAS delivers platform flexibility and choice to customers who require storage management and high availability for Linux. VERITAS now adds Intel Xeon EM64T (i686-32bit) to the list of architectures, along with Intel Xeon (i686-32bit) and Intel Itanium2 (64-bit), from which customers can choose to run their Linux environments.

Note: Intel Itanium2 is currently supported only on VERITAS Foundation Suite 2.2.

Benefits:

Customers can now choose, based on price/features, from Linux on i686 32-bit architectures (Intel Xeon, Intel EM64T, AMD Opteron), or Linux on Intel Itanium.

Flexible investment Protection:

VERITAS allows investment in 64-bit servers to run 32-bit applications today
As ISVs port more applications to 64-bit, VERITAS will enable seamless migration of data to 64-bit without users having to buy new hardware tomorrow

Faster UNIX to Linux migration:

Rapid UNIX to Linux data migration enabled with the Storage Foundation PDC utility, now available for Intel EM64T systems

Ease of management:

Seamless management of complex Linux environments (Intel, AMD)

System requirements:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, Update 2 (i686 kernel)
Intel Xeon EM64T

Note: Previous Red Hat versions are not supported on the 4.0 release.

Storage Solutions 4.0 on Linux Hardware Compatibility List (HCL):

http://support.veritas.com/docs/271281

Frequently asked questions:

Intel Xeon EM64T 32-bit Support for Storage Solutions 4.0 and 4.0 MP1 and Cluster File Solution 4.0 and 4.0M P1 running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, Update 2

1. Intel Xeon EM64T supports both 32 and 64-bit applications. Does this mean that VERITAS Storage Solutions 4.0 products can now be run in 64-bit mode on Linux?

No. The Storage Foundation 4.0 Linux products have been ported to run on the Intel EM64T chip only in 32-bit mode. The EM64T machine must be booted in 32-bit mode to run the VERITAS software. The VERITAS software will not take advantage of 64-bit computing capabilities. The 64-bit OS support will be available in the 4.1 release.

2. What is Intel Xeon EM64T?

Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology is part of the Intel Xeon IA-32 architecture. Xeon processors with EM64T can run either 32-bit or 64-bit applications. For more information on Intel EM64T go to: http://www.intel.com/technology/64bitextensions

3. Is this a new product release? Are there new SKUs? Does new media have to be ordered?

No. The current Storage Solutions 4.0 and Cluster File Solutions 4.0 for Linux release will support Intel Xeon EM64T (see Q4 below for specific installation instructions). There are no new SKUs. Customers should order, or use, the current Storage Solutions 4.0 and Cluster File Solutions 4.0 media CD.

4. To install on Intel XEON EM64T is anything else needed besides the current Storage Solutions for Linux 4.0 media CD?

Storage Solutions 4.0 CD will run automatically on EM64T systems provided these systems are booted with 32-bit version of the operating system( i686 kernels).

Note: The "i686" set of Linux kernels must be installed from Red Hat.

5. Will there be any difference running VERITAS products in 32-bit mode on Intel XEON EM64T?

No. The same functionality/performance can be expected as running VERITAS products on i686 kernels on other processor architectures.

6. Are Linux products supported on Intel Itanium 64-bit?

Yes. The following products are supported:

• Foundation Suite 2.2 MP2 (Red Hat EL 3.0, Update 2)

• Cluster Server 2.2 (Red Hat EL 3.0, Update 2)

• OpForce (Red Hat/SUSE)

• NetBackup (Red Hat/SUSE)

See the HCLs for each of these products for the most current updates

7. What are the VERITAS Storage/HA plans for supporting Linux on 64-bit architectures?

VERITAS is in the process of rolling out the full storage management and high availability stack to customers wanting to deploy 64-bit architectures in their enterprise Linux environments. With the upcoming release of Storage Solutions 4.1 and Cluster File Solutions 4.1, 64-bit support will be delivered for both Red Hat and SUSE Linux environments on the AMD Opteron, Intel Itanium, and Intel XEON EM64T architectures.