Changing LifeKeeper Configuration Values

There are a number of values in LifeKeeper that may need to be changed after LifeKeeper has been configured and set up. Examples of values that may be modified include the uname of LifeKeeper servers, comm path ip addresses, ip resource addresses and tag names. To change these values, carefully follow the instructions below.

1. Stop LifeKeeper on all servers in the cluster using the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lkcli stop

There is no need to delete comm paths or unextend resource hierarchies from any of the servers.

2. If you are changing the uname of a LifeKeeper server, change the server’s hostname using the Linux hostname(1) command.

3. Before continuing, ensure that any new host names are resolvable by all of the servers in the cluster. If you are changing comm path addresses, check that the new addresses are configured and working (the ping and telnet utilities can be used to verify this).

4. If more than one LifeKeeper value is to be changed, old and new values should be specified in a file on each server in the cluster in the following format:

old_value1=new_value1

....

old_value9=new_value9

5. Verify that the changes to be made do not have any unexpected side effects by examining the output of running the lk_chg_value command on all servers in the cluster. If there is more than one value to change, run the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -Mvf file_name

where file_name is the name of the file created in Step 4.

If there is only one value to change, run the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -Mvo old_value -n new_value

The -M option specifies that no modifications should be made to any LifeKeeper files.

6. Modify LifeKeeper files by running the lk_chg_value command without the -M option on all servers in the cluster. If there is more than one value to change, run the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -vf file_name

where file_name is the name of the file created in Step 4.

If there is only one value to change, run the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -vo old_value -n new_value

7. Restart LifeKeeper using the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lkcli start

If the cluster is being viewed using the LifeKeeper GUI, it may be necessary to close and restart the GUI.

Example:

Server1 and Server2 are the LifeKeeper server unames in a two-node cluster. Server1 has a comm path with address 172.17.100.48. Server2 has an ip resource with address 172.17.100.220 which is extended to Server1. To change the following values for Server1:

The following steps should be performed to make these changes.

1. Stop LifeKeeper on both Server1 and Server2 using the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lkcli stop

2. Change the uname of # Server1 to Newserver1 using the command:

hostname Newserver1

3. Create the file, /tmp/subs, with the content below, on both Newserver1 and Server2:

Server1=Newserver1

172.17.100.48=172.17.105.49

172.17.100.220=172.17.100.221

4. Verify that the changes specified will not have any unexpected side effects by examining the output of running the following command on both servers:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -Mvf /tmp/subs

5. Modify the LifeKeeper files by running the lk_chg_value command without the -M option on both servers:

$LKROOT/bin/lk_chg_value -vf /tmp/subs

6. Restart LifeKeeper on both servers using the command:

$LKROOT/bin/lkcli start

*Note: To see the changes lk_chg_value will make without modifying any LifeKeeper files, use the -M option. To see the files lk_chg_value is examining, use -v. To not modify tag names, use the -T option. To not modify resource ids, use the -I option.