Site Planning for Fault-Tolerant Systems
1-2 Stratus ftServer V 2302, V 4304, and V 6308 Systems: Site Planning Guide (R624)
Other Infrastructure requirements
Understand Ethernet requirements. Provide sufficient network and telephone
connection points.
Provide a PC to act as a system PC console. Stratus provides a serial cable for
connecting the PC to the server. You must provide an Ethernet cable to connect
the system PC console to the ftServer system.
Use the “Site Planning Checklist” on page 1-5 to track your site preparation progress.
For information about obtaining documents related to your ftServer system, see
“System Documentation” on page 1-9.
During the site planning and preparation processes, work closely with your facilities
group or contractor to determine space, power, and environmental requirements. Enlist
their help to provide a suitable location with sufficient alternating current (AC) power,
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) capabilities, and network and
telephone connections.
If your system is covered by a service agreement and you need help with site planning,
contact the Stratus Customer Assistance Center
(CAC) or your authorized Stratus
service representative. If you have a contract with the CAC or your authorized Stratus
service representative to install the system, contact them after you have prepared the
installation site and moved the system to the site. For more information about the CAC,
see the
http://www.stratus.com/support/cac/ Web site.
See Chapter 5, “Supported Configurations” for illustrations of the rack configurations of
your ftServer system and other rack-mounted components, and Appendix A, “System
Specifications” for the specifications of the base ftServer systems and of PDUs. See
the Stratus ftServer Systems: Peripherals Site Planning Guide (R582) for
specifications of other components, both rack-mounted and external to the rack.
Site Planning for Fault-Tolerant Systems
Consider the following specific fault-tolerant features of ftServer systems as you plan
the site:
Lockstep technology means that the systems contain redundant hardware. The
systems contain two enclosures, each containing a full computing environment that
consists of a CPU element and an I/O element.
If a component in a CPU element malfunctions, the corresponding CPU element in
the other enclosure, which is processing the same information in lockstep,
continues processing without interruption. If a component in the I/O element
malfunctions, the system fails operation over to the corresponding element in the
other enclosure and continues to operate normally. The only consequences are