Solaris Cluster
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Predecessor | Sun Cluster |
| Founder | Sun Microsystems |
| Products | High-availability cluster software |
| Owner | Oracle Corporation |
Oracle Solaris Cluster—also referred to as Sun Cluster or SunCluster—is a high-availability cluster solution designed for the Solaris platform. Initially created by Sun Microsystems, it became part of Oracle Corporation's portfolio following their 2010 acquisition. This software enhances the uptime of essential services including database systems, network file sharing, and e-commerce website operations. Solaris Cluster functions by utilizing multiple redundant machines, or nodes, which ensure uninterrupted service in the event one node experiences failure. These nodes may be situated within a single data center or spread across multiple geographic locations.
Background
Solaris Cluster achieves high availability (HA) by sustaining service continuity despite failures in individual nodes or components. It supports two principal HA service categories: failover services and scalable services.
To eliminate single points of failure, Solaris Cluster configurations incorporate redundant elements such as several network interfaces and shared storage accessed via a storage area network. This clustering technology plays a critical role in Business Continuity planning, with its Geographic Edition specifically tailored for disaster recovery scenarios.
As a kernel-level clustering solution, Solaris Cluster integrates tightly with the operating system to orchestrate failover processes and coordinate resource management.
In June 2007, Sun Microsystems contributed Solaris Cluster source code to the OpenSolaris HA Clusters community, fostering collaborative development efforts.
Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition
Launched in August 2005, the Solaris Cluster Geographic Edition (SCGE) enables management of two separate Solaris Cluster environments as a single entity, working in conjunction with data replication technologies. This configuration facilitates swift disaster recovery by continuously synchronizing data to remote locations, effectively reducing both the Recovery point objective (RPO) and Recovery time objective (RTO).
Proxy file system
PxFS (Proxy file system) is a distributed, highly available, and POSIX-compliant filesystem deployed within Solaris Cluster nodes. PxFS allows devices to be accessed globally across the cluster, promoting efficient resource sharing.
Supported applications
Solaris Cluster utilizes software modules known as agents to supervise application health and initiate corrective actions when problems occur. Provided agents cover major enterprise applications including Siebel Systems, SAP Livecache, WebLogic Server, GlassFish, MySQL, Oracle RAC, Oracle E-Business Suite, and Samba. Additionally, a wizard tool assists administrators in developing custom agents for other applications.
Releases
- Oracle Solaris Cluster 11.2
See also
- Computer cluster
- High-availability cluster
- SunPlex Manager, a graphical interface for Solaris Cluster monitoring and management