Troubleshooting an administrative server

This topic provides an overview of troubleshooting an administrative server.

Each metadata server in the SAN File System cluster runs an instance of the administrative server, which provides administrative access to the metadata server. The administrative server running on the engine that hosts the master metadata server is referred to as the primary administrative server. All other administrative server instances are referred to as secondary administrative servers.

Administrative server components

The administrative server contains three main components:
  • SAN File System console – a set of servlets that run on WebSphere® Application Server. The console provides a Web browser interface to the SAN File System. Users access the console through a secure connection by going to:

    https://master_metadata_server_IP_address:7979/sfs

    If users point to the IP address of a subordinate metadata server and the master metadata server is online, they will automatically be redirected to the IP address of the master metadata server.

  • Administrative command-line interface (CLI) – the program (called sfscli) that is available on each engine in the cluster. To access the Administrative CLI, users must initiate a secure shell (SSH) session with the master metadata server.

    Users who initiate an SSH session with a subordinate metadata server are not automatically redirected to the master. However, most Administrative CLI commands must be run from the master metadata server, so users should typically initiate the SSH session with the master.

    Many commands will provide output if run from a subordinate metadata server. However, the output may not be what you expect. For example, the lsserver command provides information about the metadata servers in the cluster if you run the command from the master metadata server. If you run this command from a subordinate metadata server, you will see details about that specific metadata server only.

  • Administrative agent – part of the SAN File System implementation of the Common Information Model (CIM), which is a model for describing management and information interchange between agents and managers. The administrative agent is used for all native SAN File System operations, such as:
    • Interfacing with the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server for user authentication
    • Automatically attempting to restart the metadata server in the event of a failure
    • Registering with the service location protocol (SLP), which is a CIM agent directory service

Startup sequence

If you have enabled the automatic restart service, the administrative agent performs these activities when it starts up:
  1. Connects to the local metadata server.
  2. Learns the location of the master metadata server.
  3. Connects to the LDAP server.
  4. Registers with the SLP daemon.

Parent topic: Troubleshooting

Related reference
Server diagnostic tools

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