Installation Notes

Install Update within Cluster

Please read the following release notes carefully, before continuing. When installing this update on a Collax V-Cube+ cluster the following steps have to be performed:

Note: If starting the update from 6.1.8 to 6.1.10 no down time of the running virtual machines or applications is required.

Procedure

1. If the nodes have the version 6.1.8 or prior: Please read the appropriate notes for that release including the documented procedure first.
2. The software packages can be downloaded whithin a running Cluster to prepare the update and minimize the planned downtime. Go to the local administration of each node and access the form System Operation → Software → Systemupdate. Then click Get Package List. This will download the list of available update packages. The successful update of the package list is indicated by the message Done!. Click Get Packages. If the packages are downloaded successfully then the message Done! will be displayed.
3. Put one node into standby mode. Go to Status/Maintenance → Cluster Nodes and execute the action Standby. Please wait until the cluster resources are stopped or the VMs are migrated.
4. Now, put this node into maintenance mode. Go to the dialog Status/Maintenance → Cluster Services and stop the service HA Cluster for this node.
5. Click Install within the dialog Systembetrieb → Software → Systemupdate to install all update packages. The end of this process is indicated by the message Done!.
6. If a new kernel is going to be installed the system will be rebooted automatically after installing the update. An appropriate note will be shown. Please wait for the reboot in that case.
7. Start the service HA Cluster on the node that has been updated. Please wait until the service ist started and information about Cluster Resources are available before you proceed with the next step.
8. Once the service HA Cluster has been started resume the node by using the action Set active within the dialog Status/maintenance → Cluster Nodes .
9. Afterwards check the status of the eSAN-disk synchronization in the form Cluster Administration → Virtual Hard Disks. Do not continue with the next step until the column Status shows 100% or OK for all eSAN disks.
10. Please repeat this procedure from step 2 on the next node that needs to be updated.

Install Update on a Collax V-Cube

To install this update on a Collax V-Cube without a Cluster interconnection please follow these steps:

Procedure

1. Please read this document before proceeding to the next step.
2. In the administration interface go to System → System Operation → Software → System Update and then click Get Package List. This will then download the listed update packages. The successful update of the package list is indicated by the message “Done!”.
3. Click Get Packages to download the software packages.
4. Click Install. This action installs the update. The end of this process is indicated by the message Done!.
5. A new kernel is going to be installed. The system will be rebooted automatically after installing the update. An appropriate note will be shown once the update process is completed.
6. If the server is updated and booted the virtual machines can be started again.

New in this Version

Virtualization: Collax VM Tool for virtual Machines

From this update on the new Collax VM Tool is provided. The tool offers current paravirtualization (virtio) drivers for Windows VMs and new functions that guarantee the graceful shutdown of VMs. It prevents e.g that the shutdown is locked by user login session.

V-Cube+: Collax Fencing Device for Supermicro Mainboards

From this update on the new Collax fencing device is supported for two node clusters with Supermicro Mainboards. Two Collax fencing devices are connected with a cable, the length is limited to maximum of 5 meter. It enables fencing without socket devices or network configuration and is fully supported by the Collax Software.^

Misc: Important System Components

The following important system components will be installed with this update.

• Kernel 3.2.49

Misc: IOMMU/VT-D is Deactivated by Default in Kernel after Installation

From this update on the option IOMMU or VT-D (PCI Passthrough) is deactivated by default when installing a new Collax System. On running systems where this option is already used of activated within the server BIOS is will be kept activated after this update.

Issues Fixed in this Version

Virtualization: Windows 2003 Server Partly Loose Network Connection or Freeze

If the network connection to a VM Windows 2000/2003 Server and the I/O backend of the host was used extensively the VM could loose the network connecion or the VM could freeze. This ist going to be fixed with an update of the kernel virtualization module within this update.

Virtualization: Boot of VM With Numerous RAM Took Long if RAM Cache of Host Was Filled

If VMs had numerous amount of RAM and the RAM Cache of the host system was filled up the boot of a VM could take an extraordinary long time. This was caused because Windows operating systems allocate the entire RAM when booting while the host system tried to defragment to generate huge pages within the RAM. From this update on the defragmentation of the RAM is skipped when RAM needs to be allocated, instead the defragmentation is processed in the background when the allocation has finished. Virtual machines can now boot fast even they have numerous amount of RAM.

Virtualization: Shutdown of virtual Machines

If the action Shutdown for a VM is triggered within the administration GUI an ACPI call is sent to the virtual machine to tell to shutdown. To ensure an appropriate shutdown of an VM these ACPI calls are enforced from this update on for VMs that are locked up by the Screensaver.

Virtualization: Restore or Create Shapshots

More improvementes are implemented within the snaphot backend from this update on. The time out for the virtualization backend is increased when creating a snapshot, the order of snapshot is corrected when a snapshot is restored to the base image and the memory allocation of VMs is modified when a snapshot is created.

Virtualization: Boot of an VM if ISO file was removed

Up to now a VM could not boot if the referenzd ISO file was removed on the Collax System. This is fixed from this update on. The boot of an VM can be initiated independendly from an referenced ISO file.

V-Cube+: Fencing Event if Time Out of SMB/CIFS

If the cluster with numerous VMs backed up data on a Windows file share and the connection to the file share had been blocked or the target had not been available any more for some reason a fencing event could be initiated and a cluster node could be powered off. This is going to be fixed with this update, which implements the Linux kernel 3.2.49.

V-Cube+: Define VM name in Capitals and in Lowercase, dcsyncd Process crashes

If a VM name within the cluster was defined with capitals and the same name as a VM name was defined in V-Cube in lowecase the process dcsyncd could crash. With this update an extended check is implemented to prevent creating VMs with the same name.

V-Cube+: State Unknown of eSAN Hard Disks

If using numerous eSAN disks combined with a fast cluster connection and more than 10 VMs actions for snapshots or disk extension could lead to a error state of an eSAN disk. The eSAN disk status change from Primary/Primary to Unknown/Secondary. This is going to be fixed with a patch in this software version.

Backup/Restore: Wrong Status if CIFS Target Filled Up to 100%

If a backup was written to a CIFS share which file system was filled up to 100% the backup system still wrote the status OK even if the backup failed. This is fixed from this update of, the backup system reports the correct status in this case.

File: Logfiles of rsync fill up Hard Disk

With this update the logging of rsync is going to be improved.

System Management: Error when 61% Capacity of LSI BBU Battery

New battery backup units of LSI controller are charging only to 61% of the total capacity. This generated false-positive messages by the monitoring system. This is fixed with this software version.

Hardware: UPS which use bcmxcp_usb driver (e.g. Eaton Powerware PW5115)

If a uninterrupted power supply (UPS), which needs the driver bcmxcp_usb, was connected to the USB port, the driver could not initialized correctly. The message Fatal error: ‘vendorid’ is not a valid variable name for this driver. was shown. From this version on the initialization of the driver bcmxcp_usb is corrected, the UPS can be used properly.

Notes

Virtualization: Number of CPU Sockets for VMs with Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 and 2012R2/8.1

The number of cpu sockets for virtual machines with the operating system Windows Server 2012/Windows 8 and 2012R2/8.1 must be set to one. Otherwise the installation will stop with a blue screen. The number of CPU cores may be set higher than one.

Misc: Windows Setup notes Error Message 0x80300001

If Windows Server 2008 R2 and above is to be installed on Virtio hard disks using the Virtio driver CD for Windows, Windows reports the error code 0x80300001. The error message occurs if the partitions are recognized and the user clicks the button Next. The message means, that the installation CD of Windows needs to be inserted again.