Title Goes Asset Management

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1 Title Goes Asset Management MAXIMIZING UPTIME: BUILDING A FAULT-TOLERANT FACTORYTALK ASSETCENTRE SYSTEM WITH NEC EXPRESS5800/320F SERIES FAULT TOLERANT SERVERS

2 ASSET MANAGEMENT Introduction FactoryTalk AssetCentre software has proven to be the industry standard in asset management of automation controls plant wide. In the event of a hardware failure on the server running FactoryTalk AssetCentre, there is a risk of production down time. One way to mitigate this risk is to deploy FactoryTalk AssetCentre on an NEC hardware redundant server system. This white paper outlines a solution that provides users with a high-availability, faulttolerant server system to host their FactoryTalk AssetCentre application. NEC Corporation of America Fault Tolerant Servers NEC s fourth-generation Express5800/320F Series Fault Tolerant (FT) servers are the first in the industry to deliver lockstep support for the latest Intel CPU technology. With fully redundant modules running in lockstep, FT servers deliver the utmost in high availability through protection of memory and processing state. This allows organizations of any size to realize the highest level of availability and system integrity, with the added benefit of operational simplicity. The Express5800/320F (320F) is designed to prevent hardware failures from affecting normal operations. The 320F is basically a pair of identical servers whose resources are synced to provide a single, fault-tolerant server. This single server is normal to the user in every way except that all hardware components are backed up by the secondary server s components. Additionally, it is possible for the primary server to use components from the secondary without necessitating a complete failover. Thus, if a hardware failure then occurs (e.g., a hard drive failure), the secondary component automatically takes over without having to failover the entire server. Although there are two physical modules, the user will, in effect, only operate with one server. Since this is the case, software licensing only needs to be purchased once, as the software application(s) are only installed singly. Express F Technology Overview The most important part of the 320F system during runtime is to ensure that it is in duplex mode. Duplex mode indicates that the two server modules are completely synced with redundant hardware in both modules. When in this mode, both processors are executing the exact same commands (i.e., in lockstep), but only one is directing to the I/O. The other processor is simply directed to a buffer, which is discarded under normal operation. Note that the primary CPU is able to read and write to either module s I/O. The FT Switch is responsible for monitoring the health and controlling the traffic of the CPU to the correct set of I/O. Each module has an FT Switch (they are linked between modules) that resides between the CPU and the I/O. The modules incorporate an Intel baseboard management controller (BMC) to monitor the status of the hardware. The BMCs are linked together so they collectively know the current status of the hardware in each module. With respect to the hard drive(s), each drive is written to at the same time by the CPU, regardless of which is active. Thus, each drive is identical to its partner in the same bay of the opposite module (metadata including drive and module identification notwithstanding). 2

3 MAXIMIZING UPTIME Network communications should be designed such that the modules NICs are teamed. From there, three possible options are available depending on network architecture and desired functionality: Fault tolerant both NICs plugged into the same switch Fault tolerant with load balancing both NICs plugged into the same switch, but with the primary acting for input and output balanced between the two Fault tolerant with switches each NIC is plugged into a different switch Software The 320F comes bundled with the ESM Pro, FT Server Utility, and RDR software packages. The ESM Pro software allows the user to remotely monitor the 320F, including manual failover/failback functionality. The FT Server Utility provides similar functionality for users local to the server itself. Finally, the RDR package is used to monitor the health of the hard drives. Additionally, there are a number of debugging tools available to the user. Forking Earlier in this document, the concept of duplex mode was discussed, with duplex being defined as having the two modules completely synchronized and working in lockstep. The other option is simplex, which indicates that the two modules are not fully synched and are either attempting to sync currently or are incapable. When in simplex, fault tolerance is unavailable because the system is unable to perform any failovers as it is not currently synced. It is normal for a system to go into simplex mode for a finite amount of time on boot, allowing the two modules to sync. This is also normal behavior when recovering for a hardware failure (e.g., if a hard drive fails, the system will be in simplex until the replacement drive is mirrored to the existing drive). However, it is possible for the system to become forked, at which time it will stay in simplex mode indefinitely. For the system to become forked, the system must first experience a failure mode. Post failure, an event must occur after which the system is unable to determine which module should be the primary. For instance, NEC recommends that only one of the modules in a system use a UPS power backup. This is such that, during a power failure, one module very clearly goes down prior to the other, clearly establishing which should be the primary once power is returned. Were this not the case and both failed at the same time, the system may become forked when it is unable to determine which module should be given primary status. 3

4 ASSET MANAGEMENT Installation Procedure Software Version Qualified Products and versions tested on the NEC platform: Operating System: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 Enterprise Edition NEC Hardware: Express5800/320Fc-L FactoryTalk AssetCentre Version: CPR9 SR-1 (v ) Software Installation FactoryTalk AssetCentre installation should be accomplished using the FactoryTalk AssetCentre Installation Guide. No special considerations are needed when using the 320F system. Rockwell Software Considerations Co-location of Components While keeping the normal system resource recommendations in mind, it is recommended to install the FactoryTalk AssetCentre server, FactoryTalk Directory server, and Microsoft SQL Server components on the 320F system. This will allow the server components to be protected from a hardware fault-tolerant perspective. The FactoryTalk AssetCentre agent may also be co-located, if desired. Due to the loadbalancing nature of multiple agents, however, this component s operation is inherently fault tolerant. Final Notes To ensure reliable functioning of your newly configured FactoryTalk AssetCentre system: During the regularly scheduled maintenance for FactoryTalk AssetCentre, perform a full system backup of the virtual disk drive. This can be accomplished in exactly the same way as a standard Windows server, in that a standard system backup or imaging software can take an image while Windows is still running. Maintain the Microsoft SQL Server database according to the Microsoft best practices for reliable database operation. Plan the FactoryTalk AssetCentre system carefully, bearing in mind the FactoryTalk AssetCentre Installation Guide, Getting Results Guide, and Design Considerations. 4

5 MAXIMIZING UPTIME References NEC Corporation of America Fault Tolerant Servers Collateral Fault Tolerant Servers Family Brochure FT Express 5800/320Fc Brochure Rockwell Automation Support Documentation for FactoryTalk AssetCentre CPR FactoryTalk AssetCentre Installation Guide (FTAC-IN002C-EN-E) See and select Software Asset Management for these support documents. Factory Talk AssetCentre, Rockwell Software and Rockwell Automation are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc. All other products are the property of their respective companies. Publication FTALK-WP014A-EN-E January Copyright 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.