This paper includes the following sections:
Caché, the post-relational database from
InterSystems,
has the features professional developers need to quickly create Web and client/server
applications. Caché benefits developers by giving them their choice
of development tools, programming languages, and methods of data access. Caché
benefits transaction processing applications by providing outstanding performance,
massive scalability, real-time data analytics, and robust reliability. All
these capabilities are tied together in an easy-to-use rapid development environment.
Network Appliance, Inc., (NetApp) manufactures high-performance multiprotocol
file servers (or filers) and caching appliances for UNIX (NFS), Windows (CIFS),
and Web (HTTP) environments. Since OpenVMS works on DECNET and not IP, there
is no OpenVMS support.
This document describes the steps necessary to implement Caché
on Windows and UNIX-based operating systems with database data and log files
located on a NetApp filer running Data ONTAP(tm) version 5.3.6x and higher.
This paper assumes you are familiar with
Caché and the operation of NetApp filers. It also assumes you are familiar with
the operation of your specific operating system. These configurations were
tested using Caché version 5.0, running on Windows 2000 (SP4) and various
UNIX-based platforms listed in the UNIX section. The filer was running Data
ONTAP version 5.3.6R2.
Within the context of Caché, everything you do with a database
on a filer is the same as what you would do to a database stored on a local
disk. To create a new database on the filer, create it in the NetApp mount
directory.
Integration on Windows 2000
Integration of a NetApp filer with Caché on Windows 2000 has
certain infrastructure requirements and configuration recommendations to provide
optimal performance and reliability.
The following are the infrastructure requirements to integrate Caché
with a NetApp filer on Windows 2000.
-
Caché is running on Windows 2000.
-
Equipment satisfies the system requirements for running Caché.
-
Hardware is on the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List.
-
Caché and the filer participate in a Windows domain.
-
Filer is running Data ONTAP version 5.3.6x or later.
-
Filer is running the CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol.
-
Network connection exists between the Caché machine
and the filer.
-
A Gigabit Ethernet network is recommended to reduce latency
and to improve performance.
Make sure there are enough disks (HDs), to allow striping, partitioning,
and load balancing algorithms to work properly.
Configuration Recommendations
Recommended configuration settings and integration techniques used to
implement a successful Caché/NetApp Filer configuration are described
in the following sections:
For better performance and a more reliable system environment there
are several recommended options and configurations. Most of these options
are set on both the filer and on the Windows platform. They are described
in the following
Recommended Configuration Options table.
Recommended Configuration Options
Option |
Description |
On Filer |
On Windows |
MaxMpxCt |
The maximum of outstanding requests the
NT client can have against the filer. |
Yes |
Yes |
TCPWindow |
The maximum transfer size for data across
the network. |
Yes |
Yes |
minra |
Minimal filer
read ahead. |
Yes |
No |
no_atime_update |
Setting this option can improve
CPU usage if accurate times are not important. |
Yes |
No |
security |
The security
style is the method the filer uses to determine whether a user has access
to a file. CIFS qtree should use ntfs security style. |
Yes |
No |
On the NetApp filer, set the following options.
-
options cifs.max_mpx 50 Must match
MaxMpxCt (default
is 50, other possible values are 126, 253, and 1124). Look at the performance
monitor Redirector-Current Commands statistic. If this is constantly running
at the current value, increase the value.
-
These are recommended settings.
See the
na_options manual
page for more information.
-
vol options minra on When this
option is on, the filer performs minimal read-ahead on the volume. By default,
this option is off, causing the filer to perform very aggressive read-ahead
on the volume.
-
vol options no_atime_update on
When this option is on, it prevents the update of the access time on an inode
when a file is read. This option is useful for volumes with extremely high
read traffic, since it prevents writes to the inode file for the volume from
contending with reads from other files. Use this option when you know in advance
that the correct access time for inodes is not needed for files on that volume.
These are recommended settings. See the
na_vol manual
page for more information.
qtree security qtreename ntfs
The qtree security command changes the security style for files and directories.
When using the
ntfs security style for CIFS requests, Windows
NT permissions determine user access.
This is the recommended setting. See the
na_qtree manual
page for more information.
Windows Registry Settings
On Windows 2000, InterSystems recommends you make the following modifications:
-
Increase TCP Windows sizes to 64KB
-
-
Increase negotiated CIFS buffer sizing
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
LanmanServer\parameters\MaxMpxCt
Datatype: DWORD
Value: To match the setting above for cifs.max_mpx
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
Tcpip\Parameters\TcpWindowSize
Datatype: DWORD
Value: 64240 (0xFAF0)
----> Global setting for all interfaces <---
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\interface\TcpWindowSize
Datatype: DWORD
Value: 64240 (0xFAF0)
Adapter Setting:
---> setting per interface <---
Create a share on the filer with security set to
Everyone Full
Control. For information about how to create a share on a filer, consult
the Data ONTAP Software Systems Administration guide that accompanied your
system.
Windows and Caché Configuration
The following configuration procedures ensure a proper setup of Caché
with a NetApp filer:
-
NetApp is properly joined to the Windows domain.
-
Users authenticate against a Windows domain server to access
shares on the filer.
-
The NetApp directory is mounted (use the
command from the
menu
of
Windows Explorer) with the same username and
password as your Windows login.
-
Note:
A useful test to check if the connection is configured correctly is
to
remotely telnet to Caché and open a file on
the drive mapped to NetApp. For example, input
Open "F:\B.TXT":"NWS",
where
F: is your mapped drive and
B.TXT is
an arbitrary file. If you return to the Caché prompt, the connection
is configured properly; if the session hangs indefinitely, it is not.
Integration on UNIX-Based Platforms
Integration of a NetApp filer with Caché on UNIX-based platforms
has certain infrastructure requirements and configuration recommendations
to provide optimal performance and reliability.
The following are the infrastructure requirements to integrate Caché
with a NetApp filer on UNIX-based platforms:
-
Equipment satisfies the system requirements for running Caché.
-
Caché is running on one of the listed supported platforms:
-
Tru64 UNIX 5.1, 5.1A, 5.1B
-
-
IBM P-series AIX 4.3.3, 5.1, 5.2
-
Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 3.0
-
-
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8.0
-
Filer is running
Data ONTAP version
5.3.6x or later.
-
Filer is running the NFS (Network File System) protocol.
-
NFS share is exported and mounted writable by the client.
-
Network connection exists between the Caché machine
and the filer
-
A Gigabit Ethernet network is recommended to reduce latency
and to improve performance.
Make sure there are enough disks (HDs), to allow striping, partitioning,
and load balancing algorithms to work properly.
Configuration Recommendations
Recommended configuration settings and integration techniques used to
implement a successful Caché/NetApp Filer configuration on UNIX-based
platforms are described in this section.
-
NFS Version 3, hard, intr, Readsize= 32768, Writesize= 32768, nolock
Detailed syntax depends on operating system.
-
Example options for Linux:
rsize=32768, wsize=32768, intr, rw, nolock, nfsvers=3, suid, hard, rw
-
Example options for Solaris:
rsize=32768, wsize=32768, intr, rw, vers=3, suid, hard
Where possible, specify TCP protocol, for example:
Use the
unix security style for the NFS qtree. The
following example sets the security style of the root volume:
Security style means the method the filer uses to determine whether
a user has access to a file. When the
unix security style
is used, the user's UID and GID, and the UNIX-style permission bits of the
file or directory determine user access. This is the recommended setting.
See the
na_qtree manual
page for more information.
The above options are recommended for high-speed connections.
Contact Network Appliance for a list of recommended kernel patches for
your operating system.
Network Appliance recommends enabling the feature of Data ONTAP (NetApp's
operating system software) which supports special error processing when connected
to a database server. To do this, enter the following command from the filer's
console or a telnet session:
vol options vol0 nvfail on
This causes the filer to issue appropriate error messages in the
\\FILER1\C$\etc\messages file
in the case of system failure that might affect the Caché database.
The administrator learns of these errors either by examining the message logs
or by the auto-support email notification feature of the filer.
In particular, this option enables some additional status checking when
the filer goes through its initialization sequence at boot time to verify
that the NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) is in a valid state. This
is the case for both a clean (normal) shutdown or a dirty (crash, power failure,
etc.) outage. Only a failure of the NVRAM card itself should cause it to become
invalid. If the contents of NVRAM are found to be invalid, an error message
is sent to the system console and to the filer log file. At that point, the
Caché system administrator ensures that the state of the database is
correct and valid.
Competitive database products may recommend using the optional rename
feature. However, to ensure the proper functioning of Caché and the
handling of its database, journal, and log files, InterSystems recommends
using the Caché built-in
Freeze on Error feature instead.
From the
Advanced tab of the Caché
Configuration
Manager, expand the
Miscellaneous branch
and set the
Freeze System on Journal I/O Error setting
to
Yes.