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.

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. Please have a look at the Collax V-Cube 6.8.14 Release Notes if the nodes have Version 6.8.12 or above and haven’t been updated yet.
3. Please shut down all virtual machines before continuing with the following steps.
4. In the administration interface go to Menu → Status/Maintenance → 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!”.
5. Click Get Packages to download the software packages.
6. Click Install. This action installs the update. The end of this process is indicated by the message Done!.
7. 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.
8. If the server is updated and booted the virtual machines can be started again.

New in this Version

Security: Linux Kernel 3.10.57

This update installs Linux kernel 3.10.57.

V-Cube+: Setting the Node to the Maintenance Mode

In the array, the two V-Cube+ servers are referred to as nodes. From this update on nodes can be set to maintenance mode by a single-click. Access the overview of the nodes via the dashboard and select the action Start Maintenance Mode. Activate Nodes is used to reactivate cluster nodes in the V-Cube+ cluster after maintenance work. The nodes that are currently in maintenance mode are displayed. Click the action to automatically reactivate all listed nodes.

V-Cube+: Booting a node

From this update on nodes that are connected to a PDU can be booted via right-click through the Web Administration interface.

GUI: New modern Web GUI

The configuration GUI has been restructured to make it even more user friendly and modern. Following the login, the user interface appears with a dashboard that shows key information on the status of the product.

GUI: Dashboard

The dashboard presents the overall status at a glance. In at least three graphical groups, the Collax Server shows analyses of the following information areas. Click one of the fields in order to get further information or configure settings. Jobs shows whether any jobs are currently active in the background. Storage shows the most important data areas along with their fill level. At a glance, the Monitoring section shows whether the services and hardware work correctly. An event log can be accessed with a click for further details.

GUI: Batch Management of the Dialogs

In the state-of-the-art user interface, certain dialogs are managed alongside each other in batches. These batches are displayed in the header bar of the user interface. Using the mouse, the focus can be switched between these batches. The advantage is that frequently-used dialogs can be kept open and are thus immediately available in the administration. You can open a dialog in a new batch using the middle mouse key.

GUI: Useful Key Combinations

• CTRL + F1: Administrator guide - CTRL + F9: Activate settings immediately - SHIFT + Tab: Switch through dialog batch - CTRL + SHIFT + F: Search - ESC: Close dialog

GUI: Search for forms

You can search for forms left-hand in the menu. The search result will be displayed in a batch dialog. You will be redirected to the form by klicking the search result.

GUI: Job Notifications

On the system, certain actions are executed in the background. To be able to see the exact status and progress of such background jobs, these are displayed in the administration interface without any delay. The right-upper corner of the Web administration shows whether any jobs are currently active in the background. Several jobs may be started simultaneously. The progress of a job is indicated in percent. Errors are highlighted in color.

GUI: System Information

Collax Server offer extensive possibilities to analyze the entire system. For this purpose, a lot of information is provided: from product information to the graphical presentation of the system load to detailed statistics. Product Information The left-hand side of the menu features some important basic information about the product, the current version, and the license status. Individual lines can be selected and copied with the mouse pointer. Current System Load The System Load section presents a graphical display of the current system load. More comprehensive and detailed statistical graphs can be accessed with a click. Statistics The statistical graphs show the CPU, RAM, hard disk, and network traffic load in the form of continuous performance curves.

GUI: Smart dialog guidance assists

During the configuration of the system, the smart dialog guidance assists you in certain configuration tasks. All needed parameters are queried under consideration of the context, and feedback is provided concerning any additional settings or actions.

GUI: Filter Table Search

You can filter search insied tables now.

GUI: Current system time

Collax Server offer extensive possibilities to analyze the entire system. The left-hand side of the menu features some important basic information about the product. This field displays the uptime since the last system boot and the average system load of the last minute, the last 5 minutes, and the last 15 minutes. From now on this field also displays the current system time in the local time zone.

System Management: Monitoring LSI SuperCAP

LSI RAID controllers with CacheVault technology are going to be monitored with this update. So called Supercapacitors (SuperCAPs) are being used instead of Battery Backup Units (BBUs).

Issues Fixed in this Version

Security: GNU Bash - ShellShock

In the source code of the GNU Bash security holes have been discovered. These holes will be closed within this Collax software update.

Assigned Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) numbers:

CVE-2014-6271

CVE-2014-6277

CVE-2014-6278

CVE-2014-7169

CVE-2014-7186

CVE-2014-7187

V-Cube+: UPS-Service

In the dialog UPS-Service, the access permission can be set for the UPS administration service for networks. Access to the UPS service is useful if a UPS is connected to the local server and information on power failures is to be forwarded to other nodes in the network. Due to an error the permission could be removed under certain circumstances after an configuration activation. This lead to an error message User-agent timeout in the Web Administration interface. With this update this is fixed and a patch is being implemented.

Misc: Nagios Swap-Check

An erroneous nagios configuration was written and produced wrong warnings, when the server had less swap than RAM.

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.