Guidelines for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations

This document provides comprehensive guidelines for designing, configuring, and managing OpenVMS Cluster systems. It covers a wide range of topics, including:

• Cluster Configuration: Hardware and software components, general configuration rules, and strategies for heterogeneous environments (Alpha and Integrity server systems).
• Requirements: Determining business and application needs, including budget, availability, and scalability.
• Interconnects: Guidelines for choosing and configuring cluster interconnects, such as SCSI, Fibre Channel, LAN, and MEMORY CHANNEL, along with multipath configurations for increased reliability.
• Storage Subsystems: Strategies for storage capacity planning, performance optimization (including disk striping and caching), and availability (using volume shadowing).
• System Management: Strategies for managing system disks, environments, quorum, and cluster state transitions.
• Multiple-Site Clusters: Overview of configuring and managing clusters across geographically distant sites using technologies like FDDI, ATM, and DS3.

It is intended for individuals involved in purchasing or configuring OpenVMS Cluster products.