Administration Guide
Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture is the inter-node communication
protocol alternative to TCP/IP in a Windows NT massively parallel
processing (MPP) environment. VI is a new communication architecture
that was developed jointly by Intel, Microsoft, and Compaq to improve
performance over a System Area Network (SAN). Refer to
http://www.viarch.org for more information on
the architecture.
Products exist which may be acquired separately from DB2 Universal Database
that have a VIA-enabled network interface card (NIC), switch, and software
driver implementation. Several Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) have
released, or plan to release, such products.
VI Architecture has low latency, high bandwidth, and lower CPU consumption
when compared to TCP/IP. In a communication-intensive
environment, using VI Architecture improves the overall system
throughput. The greater the number of nodes in the cluster, and the
greater the amount of data transferred, the greater the benefit from using VI
Architecture.
DB2 Universal Database supports VI Architecture implementations that comply
with the Virtual Interface Architecture Specification,
Version 1.0; the Intel Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture Developers'
Guide, Version 1.0; and pass the "Virtual Interface Architecture Conformance
Suite". The specification is found at
http://www.intel.com/design/servers/vi/the_spec/specification.htm
on the Web. The Developer's Guide is found at
http://www.intel.com/design/servers/vi/developer/ia_imp_guide.htm
on the Web. Information on the conformance suite is also found at this
same URL.
IBM announced support for Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture with DB2
Universal Database EEE V5.2.
To find out about other products adhering to VI Architecture and supported
by DB2 Universal Database EEE, please contact the DB2 Universal Database
support organization at
http://www.software.ibm.com/data
or call 1-800-237-5511 (only in the U.S.A. and
Canada).
The products that have been tested with DB2 Universal Database
include:
There may be other products that work with DB2 Universal Database.
Check with the vendor of that product, and with IBM Service and Support, to
ensure that the other product is supported.
Examples of the prerequisites for the network hardware setup using VI
are:
- GigaNet Interconnect.
Setup Procedure for GigaNet Interconnect has the overview of the hardware, software, and protocol
information needed for this choice.
To find out about GigaNet products, or to contact GigaNet Service and
Support, please use the following URL:
http://www.giganet.com/
- Compaq ServerNet Interconnect.
Setup Procedure for ServerNet Interconnect has the overview of the hardware, software, and protocol
information needed for this choice.
To find out about ServerNet products, or to contact ServerNet Service and
Support, please use the following URL:
http://www.servernet.com/
- Fujitsu Synfinity Interconnect.
Setup Procedure for Synfinity Interconnect has the overview of the hardware, software, and protocol
information needed for this choice.
To find out about Synfinity products, or to contact Synfinity Service and
Support, at Fujitsu System Technologies, please use the following URL:
http://www.fjst.com/
You must configure DB2 to use VI. Enabling DB2 to Run Using VI has the necessary information for you to use VI.
The list of the hardware and software required to setup
this environment include the following products:
- GigaNet GNN1000 Network Interface Card
- GigaNet GNX5000 Switch
- GigaNet GNCxx11 Copper Interconnect Cables
- GigaNet cLAN Software, Version 2.0.
The steps required to ensure that GigaNet Interconnect can work with DB2
Universal Database are shown below. Each step is a summary of what is
required at each step: all of the details associated with each step are
not presented here. You should also use the referenced documentation at
each step which does provide detailed instructions and direction
needed.
Each GigaNet GNN1000 is packaged with a GigaNet cLAN Software
CD-ROM. The CD-ROM contains all of the necessary software to set-up the
GigaNet Interconnect. In addition, the CD-ROM also contains the VI
Architecture SDK and Adobe Acrobat Reader. These two items are only
needed by those individuals that are developing VI-enabled
applications.
Summary of steps:
- Install Adapter Cards
- Install Switches and Cables
- Install Adapter Drivers
- Install cLAN Management Console
- Test the Interconnect
Here are the steps:
- Install the GigaNet GNN1000 Network Interface Card. Please refer to
the GigaNet GNN1000 User Guide for installation instructions.
- Install the GigaNet GNX5000 Switch and Cables. Please refer to the
GigaNet GNX5000 User Guide for installation instructions.
- Install the GigaNet GNN1000 Adapter Driver software on each node connected
to the GNX5000 Switch. Please refer to the GigaNet GNN1000 User
Guide for installation instructions. Here are additional details if you are
installing drivers provided by GigaNet:
- Remove any previous version of the GNN1000 Driver already
installed. Removal requires the node to be re-booted.
- Use Start-->Setting-->Control
Panel-->Networks-->Adapters-->Add to install the
driver.
- Click Have Disk... and specify the Driver
directory on the CD-ROM. For example, if F: is your CD-ROM drive,
then you would use F:\Driver
- Select "GNN1000 NDIS Adapter" and then click OK.
- Configure Network protocols to complete the installation.
GigaNet Adapter Driver software is also available on GigaNet's web
site, http://www.giganet.com. Please
refer to the download and installation instructions found on the support page
of GigaNet's web site.
The installation of the GNN1000 Adapter Driver causes the node to
re-boot.
- The GigaNet cLAN Management Console (GMC) can be used to test the
integrity of the GigaNet Interconnect. The GigaNet cLAN Management
Console is comprised of two parts: the Console, and the Agent.
The Agent must be installed on all nodes in the cluster. The Console
can be installed on any network node that has access to the nodes in the
cluster. The most versatile and recommended installation is that which
has both the Console and the Agent installed on each node in the
cluster.
Install the GigaNet cLAN Management Console. Please refer to the
GigaNet GNN1000
User Guide for installation instructions and additional information about the cLAN
Management Console. Here are additional details on the installation
procedure:
- Insert the cLAN Software CD into the CD-ROM drive.
- Wait for the CD automatic installation menu to appear.
- Click on "Install cLAN Management Console."
- Repeat this installation procedure on each remaining node in the
cluster.
GigaNet cLAN Management Console software is also available on
GigaNet's web site,
http://www.giganet.com. Please refer to
the download and installation instructions found on the support page of
GigaNet's web site.
The installation of the cLAN Management Console may cause the node to
re-boot.
- Test that the GigaNet Hardware is working. This can be done by
doing the following:
- Open the GMC. (Programs-->GigaNet-->cLAN
Management Console)
- A dialog box is displayed showing all accessible machines in the
LAN. Press ESC.
- Select Console-->Local from the menu bar.
- Confirm that all the members in the cluster are shown and that they are
all "Active".
- Select Utilities-->VI Throughput from the menu
bar. This will run a throughput test to check that the data is actually
going through the hardware.
- Enter in uppercase letters the computer names of the two nodes you wish to
use in the test. Identify the local node as the source node.
- Click Start Measuring. You should see data being
transferred at a rate of at least 65 MB per second.
- Click Stop Measuring to stop the connection test.
- Repeat the test for the other nodes in the cluster by measuring throughput
between the local node (Source) and the other nodes (Sink).
If the connection test does not appear to be working, refer to the
troubleshooting sections of the GigaNet GNN1000 User Guide and the GigaNet GNX5000 User Guide.
Refer to DB2 Enterprise - Extended Edition for Windows
Quick Beginnings for information on how to install and implement DB2 Universal Database for
Windows NT.
The list of the hardware and software required to setup
this environment include the following products:
- ServerNet PCI Adapter Driver (SPAD), (product ID T0089), version
1.3.5 or later
- ServerNet Switch 1
- ServerNet Area Network Manager (SANMan), (product ID T0087), version
1.1.3 or later.
The following are the steps required to ensure that ServerNet Interconnect
can work with DB2 Universal Database. Each step is a summary of what is
required at each step: all of the details associated with each step are
not presented here. You should also use the referenced documentation at
each step which does provide detailed instructions and direction
needed.
The steps shown below also assume that you are only using up to six (6)
nodes in the cluster. Contact ServerNet if you have a requirement to
use more than six nodes.
Here are the steps:
- Install the ServerNet Network Interface Card. Please refer to the
ServerNet-I Virtual Interface Software
Release Document, (product ID N0031) for installation instructions.
- Install the ServerNet Switch 1. Please refer to the
ServerNet-I Virtual Interface Software Release
Document, (product ID N0031) for installation instructions.
- Uninstall previous ServerNet drivers. (Skip this step if this is
your first time installing ServerNet.)
- Open the Network control panel.
(Start-->Setting-->Control Panel-->Network)
- Click on the Adapters Tab.
- Remove Tandem ServerNet PCI Adapter Driver.
- Click on the Services Tab.
- Remove SANMan.
- Click on the Protocols Tab.
- Remove Tandem ServerNet-I VI Protocol.
- Install the Tandem ServerNet PCI Adapter Driver. Here are
additional details if you are installing using the software CD provided by
ServerNet:
- Open the Network control panel.
(Start-->Setting-->Control Panel-->Network)
- Click on the Adapters Tab. (The Adapters screen
appears.)
- Ensure the new ServerNet driver is placed in a separate drive and/or
directory. Then, from the command prompt referencing the correct drive
and/or directory, type "ernnn.exe -d" to start the
self-extracting program. ("ernnn.exe" is the name of the
Engineering Release followed by a number -- ERnnn.EXE -- that
identifies the specific version of the ServerNet driver to be
installed.)
- Change to the drive and/or directory where the extracted files are
located. Change to the "Spad n.n.n \ Free"
subdirectory (where "n.n.n" is the specific version of the
product). (If you are working in a troubleshooting or a development
environment, then change to the "Spad n.n.n \
Checked" subdirectory instead of the "Spad n.n.n \
Free" subdirectory.)
- Rename the "oemsetup.multi_node" file to
"oemsetup.inf".
- Choose Add in the Adapters Tab. (The Select Adapters
screen appears.)
- Click Have Disk.... (The Insert
Disk screen appears.)
- Enter the drive and/or directory where the oemsetup.inf file
is located.
- Ensure the dialog box shows "Tandem ServerNet PCI Adapter Driver" and
then click OK. Ensure the list of adapters now shows the
ServerNet adapter. Click Close.
- Choose Yes to restart the computer. Or, select
No and continue installing SANMan and the VI Software
Developer's Kit (SDK).
- Install SANMan. Here are additional details if you are installing
using the software CD provided by ServerNet:
- Open the Network control panel.
(Start-->Setting-->Control Panel-->Network)
- Click on the Services Tab. (The Services screen
appears.)
- Ensure the new ServerNet driver is placed in a separate drive and/or
directory. Then, from the command prompt referencing the correct drive
and/or directory, type "ernnn.exe -d" to start the
self-extracting program. ("ernnn.exe" is the name of the
Engineering Release followed by a number -- ERnnn.EXE -- that
identifies the specific version of the ServerNet driver to be
installed.)
- Choose Add in the Services Tab. (The Select Services
screen appears.)
- Change to the drive and/or directory where the extracted files are
located. Change to the "SANMan n.n.n \Free"
subdirectory (where "n.n.n" is the specific version of the
product). (If you are working in a troubleshooting or a development
environment, then change to the "SANMan n.n.n \
Checked" subdirectory instead of the "SANMan n.n.n \
Free" subdirectory.)
- Determine if the Switch is X or Y by looking at the light on the
Switch. One light says "X", and the one light says
"Y".
- If an X Switch, select X=1 and Y=0. Ensure all cables are connected
to the X port on the network cards.
- If a Y Switch, select X=0 and Y=1. Ensure all cables are connected
to the Y port on the network cards.
- Provide the port number of the switch to which the network card on the
current machine is connected.
- Select "PC" for all six (6) ports.
- Install the Virtual Interface Protocol. Here are additional details
if you are installing using the software CD provided by ServerNet:
- Open the Network control panel.
(Start-->Setting-->Control Panel-->Network)
- Click on the Protocols Tab. (The Network Protocols
screen appears.)
- Ensure the new ServerNet driver is placed in a separate drive and/or
directory. Then, from the command prompt referencing the correct drive
and/or directory, type "ernnn.exe -d" to start the
self-extracting program. ("ernnn.exe" is the name of the
Engineering Release followed by a number -- ERnnn.EXE -- that
identifies the specific version of the ServerNet driver to be
installed.)
- Choose Add in the Protocols Tab. (The Select Network
Protocols screen appears.)
- Click Have Disk.... (The Insert
Disk screen appears.)
- Enter the drive and/or directory where the extracted files are
located.
- Test that the ServerNet Hardware is working. There are no test
programs available. Instead, simply use DB2 to test the ServerNet
hardware.
If the hardware does not appear to be working, refer to the
ServerNet-I Virtual Interface Software Release Document,
(product ID N0031) for additional troubleshooting help.
Refer to DB2 Enterprise - Extended Edition for Windows
Quick Beginnings for information on how to install and implement DB2 Universal Database for
Windows NT.
The list of the hardware and software required to setup
this environment include the following products:
- Synfinity PCI Network Interface Card
- Synfinity six port Switch
- Synfinity Interconnect Cables
- Synfinity Cluster Manager Software, Version 1.10.
The steps required to ensure that Synfinity Interconnect can work with DB2
Universal Database are shown below. Each step is a summary of what is
required at each step: all of the details associated with each step are
not presented here. You should also use the referenced documentation at
each step which does provide detailed instructions and the direction
needed.
Each Synfinity System is packaged with a Synfinity Cluster Manager
Software, Version 1.10 CD-ROM. The CD-ROM contains all of the
necessary documentation and software to set-up the Synfinity
Interconnect. In addition, the CD-ROM also contains the Synfinity
Cluster User Guide.
If you have other VI hardware, software, and protocol installed, it may be
necessary to remove all of them before installing your Synfinity
interconnect.
Once installed, Synfinity interconnect is considered to be exotic hardware
and may not be viewed through the Windows NT control panel.
Summary of steps:
- Install Adapter Cards
- Install Synfinity Cluster Manager Software
- Install Switches and Cables
- Test the Interconnect
Here are the steps:
- Install the Synfinity PCI Network Interface Card. Please refer to
the Synfinity Cluster Manager Software User
Guide for installation instructions.
- Install the Synfinity Cluster Manager Software on a node connected to the
Switch. Please refer to the Synfinity Cluster User Guide for installation instructions.
The node you select will be the Cluster Manager. This is the only
node where you have to install the software from the CD.
Once installed, you should run the Synfinity Cluster Manager
software. The Cluster Manager will give you a cluster plan and help you
through a step-by-step guide to configuring the network, and advise the best
routing and cabling options. This step should be completed before any
cables are connected to the Synfinity switches and network cards. As
part of the planning process, the Cluster Manager will use the cluster plan to
create installable diskettes for use on the other nodes. This will
include the driver software for the cards that are on the other nodes.
Refer to the Synfinity Cluster Users guide for complete details.
- Install the Synfinity Switch and Cables. Please refer to the
Synfinity Cluster User Guide for installation instructions.
- Test that the Synfinity Hardware is working. This can be done by
doing the following:
- On any system in the cluster, open a "Command Prompt" window in MS
NT.
- Change directory to the "utils" subdirectory of where the Synfinity
Cluster Manager software was loaded.
- Type "vitest" and note the node number that is displayed.
- Move to any other system in the cluster, open a "Command Prompt"
window.
- Change directory to the "utils" subdirectory of where the Synfinity
Cluster Manager software was loaded on this other system.
- Type "vitest x" where x is the node number from step 3 above.
- A "CONNECTION GOOD" message should be displayed.
- If a "NO CONNECTION" message is displayed, check cabling and hardware
setup, refer to the Synfinity Cluster User Guide for further information
troubleshooting the problem, also check the support web pages for "Tech-tips"
at http://www.fjst.com/
Refer to DB2 Enterprise - Extended Edition for Windows
Quick Beginnings for information on how to install and implement DB2 Universal Database for
Windows NT.
Detailed installation information is found in DB2 Enterprise - Extended Edition for Windows Quick
Beginnings.
After completing the installation of DB2 as documented in DB2 Enterprise - Extended Edition for Windows Quick
Beginnings, set the following DB2 registry variables and carry out the
following tasks on each database partition server in the instance:
- Set DB2_VI_ENABLE=ON
- Set DB2_VI_DEVICE=nic0
Note: | With Synfinity Interconnect, this variable should be set
DB2_VI_DEVICE=VINIC. The device name (VINIC) must be
in upper case.
|
- Set DB2_VI_VIPL=vipl.dll
- Enter db2start on the MPP instance.
- Review the db2diag.log file. There should be one message for
each partition stating that "VI is enabled."
- Fast Communications Manager (FCM) configuration parameters may need to be
updated. Should you encounter a problem as a result of resource
constraints involving FCM, you should raise the values of the FCM
configuration parameters. If you are moving from another high speed
interconnect environment where you have increased the values for the FCM
configuration parameters, you may need to lower these values. Also, on
Windows NT, you may be required to set the DB2NTMEMSIZE registry variable to
override the DB2 defaults. See Appendix D, DB2 Registry and Environment Variables for more information on this registry variable.
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