Guidelines for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations

This document, titled 'Guidelines for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations', is a comprehensive manual from Compaq Computer Corporation (June 2002) for designing and managing OpenVMS Cluster systems. It covers:

• Overview of Configurations: Hardware and software components (including systems, interconnects, and storage).
• Requirements Analysis: How to determine business and application needs, including budget, availability (conventional, 24x365, or disaster-tolerant), and scalability.
• Interconnects: Detailed comparisons of interconnect types such as Fibre Channel, CI, DSSI, SCSI, MEMORY CHANNEL, and LAN-based options (Ethernet, FDDI, ATM).
• Storage Subsystems: Designing storage for performance and availability, including volume shadowing, disk striping, and multipath SCSI/Fibre Channel configurations.
• Availability and Scalability Strategies: Techniques for creating highly available clusters (including multiple-site and disaster-tolerant configurations) and scaling systems (including satellite-based clusters).
• Management: System management strategies such as system disk choices, environment management, and quorum strategies.
• Appendices: Detailed technical information on SCSI as an interconnect, MEMORY CHANNEL, the CI-to-PCI adapter (CIPCA), and considerations for multiple-site clusters.