NT Clustering Solutions Compared
Jane Wright
NT clustering solutions, including Microsoft's Cluster Server (Wolfpack), provide affordable ways of maintaining high availability of computing resources. Wolfpack is slated to ship soon , but other solutions already offer capabilities that Microsoft doesn't (yet).
Digital's Clusters for Windows NT
Phone: 800-344-4825
Internet:
http://www.digital.com/
With Digital's Clusters for Windows NT, two active servers are coupled via a shared SCSI bus to create a single system environment. Each storage device on the
SCSI bus is assigned to one or the other server. If one server fails, the other server assumes the failed server's workload and shared storage and file shares. Applications automatically re-start on the second server, and Windows clients are automatically reconnected. The two servers need not be identical, but they must both be either Alpha servers or Prioris (Intel) servers. The disks in the shared storage do not need to be Digital disks.
Digital's Clusters for Windows NT boasts numerous application recovery scripts. The cluster management software is strong and offers better integration with server management software than other solutions.
Microsoft's Cluster Server
Phone: 206-882-8080
Internet:
http://www.microsoft.com
MSCS allows failover between two servers in a share
d storage cluster. A second version, expected in late 1998 (or 1999), will support larger clusters and additional cluster functionality, including scalability.
MSCS will initially be supported only on validated configurations. If MSCS is in your plans, ensure that your servers, including the hard drive and network cards, have been validated. Currently, MSCS requires both servers to be identical models.
MSCS is a safe, albeit minimal, choice. You'll have to write many of your own application failover agents or wait for Microsoft and other developers to provide them. MSCS doesn't support automatic failback, and the lack of a TCP/IP recovery agent for MSCS is disappointing.
NCR's LifeKeeper
Phone: 800-774-7406
Internet:
http://www.ncr.com
Datapro believes that NCR's LifeKeeper
is the most comprehensive and flexible clustering solution currently on the market. With its ability to run on many vendors' servers, its support for failover plus a degree of load balancing, its numerous application recovery kits, its two-node active/active or three-node active/standby configurations, its ability to reconnect all client types without additional client software, and its choice of shared or mirrored storage, LifeKeeper should be given first consideration by any organization that's planning to install an NT cluster.
Veritas' FirstWatch
Phone: 800-258-8649
Internet:
http://www.veritas.com
FirstWatch is available from Veritas or its distributors (Data General, for example, provides a bundle called Cluster In A Box with its Aviion NT servers). Configurations can consis
t of two servers that are normally active and can failover to each other. Or, a FirstWatch configuration can consist of up to four active servers that may each failover to an idle standby server. FirstWatch also includes a management tool that can be used locally or remotely with any Web browser.
For more on Datapro reports: 609-764-0100; fax: 609-764-2814;
http://www.datapro.com
.
|
| Clusters for Windows NT
| Cluster Server
(WolfPack phase 1)
| LifeKeeper
| FirstWatch
|
| Developer
| Digital Equipment
| Microsoft
| NCR
| Ver
itas
|
| Platforms supported
| Digital Prioris servers, Digital Alpha servers
| Validated server models from a variety of vendors
| NCR, Amdahl, IBM, HP, Sequent
| Certified Intel/NT servers
|
| Automatic failback
| Yes
| No
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Bidirectional failover
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Max. number of servers in cluster
| 2
| 2
| 3
| 5
|
| Number of application recovery kits available
| 9
| 4
| 9
| 8
|
| List price per server (US$)
| $995
| Pricing information not yet available
| $2000
| $2475
|
Datapro Report
