Installing Load Balancer on Linux operating systems

This topic instructs you on Load Balancer installation using system packaging tools and requirements for Linux operating systems.

Before you begin

For information on hardware and software requirements, including supported browsers, refer to the following Web page: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27006921.

You cannot have two installations of the Dispatcher component installed on the same system. If you have a previous version of the Edge components installed, uninstall the Dispatcher component before starting the installation process for Load Balancer for IPv4 and IPv6. Refer to Uninstalling Load Balancer for more information.

About this task

The Java 2 SDK automatically installs with Load Balancer on all platforms. If you are migrating from a previous version of Load Balancer, or reinstalling the operating system, prior to installation you can save any of your previous configuration files or script files for Load Balancer.
  • After installation, place your configuration files in the install_root/configurations/dispatcher directory.
  • After installation, place your script files in the install_root/servers/bin directory in order to run them.
[Linux] Special Considerations for Linux systems
  • Linux on zSeries systems require libstdc++.so.5: There is a requirement that Linux on zSeries systems must have rpm package libstdc++.so.5 in order to install correctly, otherwise the install will fail.
  • Restriction when using qeth/OSA interface: For Linux on zSeries systems, there is a restrictions when using a qeth/OSA interface. Forwarding out of a qeth/OSA interface natively is not supported. However, there is a workaround because Linux systems run in user space and can support Linux tunneling.
  • Use layer2 OSA with Load Balancer for IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, if available: When you use Load Balancer for the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols on Linux for zSeries (s390x) operating system, use an OSA/qeth device and layer2 to possibly improve performance, reduce overhead, and simplify some configuration settings.

    Non-ethernet, non-Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) interface types present specific challenges to Load Balancer because Load Balancer uses ARP and ICMP6 (Internet Control Message Protocol for IPv6) to advertise and move cluster addresses in high availability mode. The most effective way to deploy the Load Balancer Dispatcher component on the Linux for zSeries operating system is to deploy in an ethernet-like environment. Using OSA/qeth in layer2 mode provides this capability.

    Special configuration steps are not required when you use Load Balancer for IPv4 and IPv6 with layer-2 OSA on the Linux for zSeries operating system.

  • Linux tunneling support: Load Balancer for IPv4 and IPv6 installations can forward across tunnels such as IPIP and IPGRE. When using Linux on zSeries machines with a qeth/OSA interface, a Linux tunnel may be defined to traverse the qeth/OSA interface. Linux systems can forward between machines located on the same or other qeth/OSA devices, or anywhere else on the network.

Procedure

  1. Prepare to install. Log in as root.
  2. Issue the install command from the same directory where the RPM files reside. Issue the following command to install each package:
    rpm -i package.rpm
    The following is the list of packages:
    Table 1. Linux Install Images
    Package Name Install Image
    Base ibmulb-base-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    Dispatcher ibmulb-disp-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    License ibmulb-lic-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    Metric Server ibmulb-ms-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    Native ibmulb-native-7.0.0-0.i386.rpm
    where i386 can be
    • i386
    • ppc
    • ppc64
    • s390
    • s390x
    • x86_64
    Messages ibmulb-lang_language.7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    where language can be:
    • cs_CZ
    • en_US
    • de_DE
    • es_ES
    • fr_FR
    • hu_HU
    • it_IT
    • ja_JP
    • ko_KR
    • pl_PL
    • pt_BR
    • ru_RU
    • zh_CN
    • zh_TW
    You can choose to install some of the packages if you do not want the entire product installated. If you want to install Dispatcher, install the following packages:
    • Base
    • Dispatcher
    • License
    • Native
    If you want to install Metric Server, install the following packages:
    • Base
    • Metric Server
    • Native

    Red Hat Linux systems: An issue in the rpm command can lead to a deadlock during the installation of the product. IBM is working with Red Hat in order to resolve this issue, but until a resolution is achieved you need to perform the following actions in order to ensure a successful installation.

    1. Ensure that there are no instances of the rpm command running. Issue the following command to determine if any such instances exist:
      ps -ef | grep rpm
    2. Remove the __db.001, __db.002 and __db.003 files in the install_path/var/lib/rpm directory. These files contain temporary cache and locking data, and are regenerated when it is necessary. The deadlock that might occur is a result from invalid information in these files. Remove these files with the following command:
      rm -f /var/lib/rpm/__db.*
  3. Verify that the product is installed. Enter the following command:
    rpm -qa | grep ibmulb.noarch.rpm
    Installing the full product produces a listing like the following example:
    ibmulb-base-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    ibmulb-disp-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    ibmulb-lic-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    ibmulb-ms-7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm
    ibmulb-native-7.0.0-0.i386.rpm
    ibmulb-lang_language.7.0.0-0.noarch.rpm

What to do next

The installation process does not add the command directories for Load Balancer into the PATH environment variable. To run Load Balancer commands from the system root, add the command directories to the PATH environment variable.
Avoid trouble Avoid trouble: If you had previous installation of the Dispatcher component installed, be aware that Load Balancer for IPv4 versions of the Dispatcher component used commands in the /usr/bin directory, which might be in the PATH variable. Load Balancer for IPv4 and IPv6 has commands in the install_root/bin directory, so be aware that the directory entries point to the appropriate directories for the dsserver and dscontrol command.gotcha
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Last updated: September 10, 2012 09:00 AM EDT
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