We've run web servers in primary/backup mode for years, but are now looking to cluster two servers and potentially add a third. Currently we run the servers using Unison to sync the data partitions, then the secondary server takes over web services using its local copy of the data should the primary fail. This process is fairly slow (unison runs twice a day examining about 60 Gbytes of data.

I'd like to move toward a clustered environment with both servers responding to web requests and maintaining a redundant shared data store. This would allow us to add a third server to the cluster for increased reliability and performance, while maintaining two nodes as the redundant "file" servers. The question I have relates to the best way to share the data between the first two servers.

I'm looking at two potential options for redundant data storage on the network:

1) DRDB to mirror a data drive from ServerA to ServerB, then use NFS failover to mount whichever one is acting as primary. Could GFS work instead of NFS here? 2) NDB + RAID to mirror a data drive from serverA to serverB, then use NFS failover to mount whichever one is acting as primary. Again, could GFS work here?

I'm looking for recommendations from anyone who has specifically used either of these two solutions in terms of ease of management, speed, and above-all, stability of the platform. Also, we're planning on using ext3 as the filesystem. Any recommendations otherwise?

If I missed anything that might work well in this senario, I'd love a heads-up. Unfortunately, shared SCSI, and that type of dedicated hardware etc., is not an option.

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

sean

--
Sean Fulton
GCN Publishing, Inc.
Internet Design, Development and Consulting For Today's Media Companies
http://www.gcnpublishing.com
(914) 937-2451, x203


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