Veritas Cluster Server
Encyclopedia
Veritas Cluster Server is a High-availability cluster
software, for Unix
, Linux
and Microsoft Windows
computer systems, created by Veritas Software
(now part of Symantec
). It provides application cluster capabilities to systems running databases, file sharing on a network, electronic commerce
websites or other applications.
which improve performance of applications by allowing them to run on multiple systems simultaneously.
Most Veritas Cluster Server implementations attempt to build availability into a cluster, eliminating single points of failure by making use of redundant components like multiple network cards, storage area networks
in addition to the use of VCS.
Similar products include Fujitsu PRIMECLUSTER, IBM HACMP
, HP ServiceGuard, IBM Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms (SA MP), Linux-HA
, Microsoft Cluster Server
(MSCS), NEC ExpressCluster, Red Hat Cluster Suite
, SteelEye LifeKeeper and Sun Cluster
. VCS is one of the few products in the industry that provides both high availability and disaster recovery across all major operating systems while supporting 40+ major application / replication technologies out of the box.
VCS is mostly a user-level clustering software; most VCS processes are normal system processes on the systems it operates on, and have no special access to the Operating System
or kernel functions in the host systems. However, the interconnect (heartbeat) technology used with VCS is a proprietary Layer 2 ethernet
-based protocol that is run in the kernel space using kernel modules. The group membership protocol that runs on top of the interconnect heartbeat protocol is also implemented in the kernel.
Veritas Cluster Server for Windows is available as a standalone product. It is also sold bundled with Storage Foundation
as Storage Foundation HA for Windows; Veritas Cluster Server for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris is supplied as a standalone product.
The Veritas Cluster Server product includes VCS Management Console, a multi-cluster management software that automates disaster recovery across data centers.
High-availability cluster
High-availability clusters are groups of computers that support server applications that can be reliably utilized with a minimum of down-time. They operate by harnessing redundant computers in groups or clusters that provide continued service when system components fail...
software, for Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
computer systems, created by Veritas Software
VERITAS Software
Veritas Software Corp. was an international software company that was founded in 1983 as Tolerant Systems, renamed Veritas Software Corp. in 1989, and merged with Symantec in 2005. It was headquartered in Mountain View, California...
(now part of Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
). It provides application cluster capabilities to systems running databases, file sharing on a network, electronic commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
websites or other applications.
Description
High availability clusters (HAC) improve availability of applications by failing them over or switching them over in a group of systems as opposed to High Performance ClustersHigh-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
which improve performance of applications by allowing them to run on multiple systems simultaneously.
Most Veritas Cluster Server implementations attempt to build availability into a cluster, eliminating single points of failure by making use of redundant components like multiple network cards, storage area networks
Storage area network
A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices...
in addition to the use of VCS.
Similar products include Fujitsu PRIMECLUSTER, IBM HACMP
High Availability Cluster Multiprocessing
HACMP is IBM's solution for high-availability clusters on the AIX Unix and Linux for IBM System p platforms and stands for High Availability Cluster Multiprocessing...
, HP ServiceGuard, IBM Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms (SA MP), Linux-HA
Linux-HA
The Linux-HA project provides a high-availability solution for Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and Mac OS X which promotes reliability, availability, and serviceability ....
, Microsoft Cluster Server
Microsoft Cluster Server
Microsoft Cluster Server is software designed to allow servers to work together as a computer cluster, to provide failover and increased availability of applications, or parallel calculating power in case of high-performance computing clusters .Microsoft has three technologies for clustering:...
(MSCS), NEC ExpressCluster, Red Hat Cluster Suite
Red Hat Cluster Suite
The Red Hat cluster suite includes software to create a high availability and load balancing cluster, it currently does not contain functionality for distributed computing. The cluster suite itself contains two products. Both can be used on the same system although this use case is unlikely. Both...
, SteelEye LifeKeeper and Sun Cluster
Sun Cluster
Solaris Cluster is a high-availability cluster software product for the Solaris Operating System, created by Sun Microsystems, a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation. It is used to improve the availability of software services such as databases, file sharing on a network, electronic commerce...
. VCS is one of the few products in the industry that provides both high availability and disaster recovery across all major operating systems while supporting 40+ major application / replication technologies out of the box.
VCS is mostly a user-level clustering software; most VCS processes are normal system processes on the systems it operates on, and have no special access to the Operating System
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
or kernel functions in the host systems. However, the interconnect (heartbeat) technology used with VCS is a proprietary Layer 2 ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
-based protocol that is run in the kernel space using kernel modules. The group membership protocol that runs on top of the interconnect heartbeat protocol is also implemented in the kernel.
Veritas Cluster Server for Windows is available as a standalone product. It is also sold bundled with Storage Foundation
Veritas Storage Foundation
Veritas Storage Foundation, previously known as Veritas Foundation Suite, combines Veritas Volume Manager and Veritas File System to provide a complete solution for online storage management...
as Storage Foundation HA for Windows; Veritas Cluster Server for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris is supplied as a standalone product.
The Veritas Cluster Server product includes VCS Management Console, a multi-cluster management software that automates disaster recovery across data centers.
See also
- High-availability clusterHigh-availability clusterHigh-availability clusters are groups of computers that support server applications that can be reliably utilized with a minimum of down-time. They operate by harnessing redundant computers in groups or clusters that provide continued service when system components fail...
- Sun ClusterSun ClusterSolaris Cluster is a high-availability cluster software product for the Solaris Operating System, created by Sun Microsystems, a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation. It is used to improve the availability of software services such as databases, file sharing on a network, electronic commerce...
- Computer cluster
- Symantec Operations Readiness Tools (SORT)