GL645 · 5 days · 9+ hrs hands-on labs

Enterprise Linux High Availability Clustering

Available for RHEL

Build production-ready high availability clusters on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, progressing from cluster architecture fundamentals through advanced shared storage. Starting with network topology design and five-nines availability concepts, this course covers every layer of the HA stack: Corosync cluster communication and quorum management, STONITH fencing strategies for split-brain prevention, and the complete Pacemaker resource management framework.

Pacemaker coverage is extensive, spanning resource agent architecture and the Cluster Information Base (CIB) through primitive resources, resource groups, clone resources, and multi-state configurations. Students master the constraint system including colocation, ordering, and location rules, then apply scoring logic and migration thresholds to design resilient failover behavior. The shared storage track covers iSCSI target and initiator deployment with targetcli, device mapper multipathing, advanced LVM features including RAID volumes, thin provisioning, and automated storage tiering, clustered LVM with clvmd, and GFS2 cluster file systems.

Every chapter includes hands-on lab exercises on multi-node cluster environments, with over 25 labs covering cluster builds, fencing validation, resource failover testing, iSCSI configuration, multipath setup, and GFS2 deployment. Students leave prepared to architect and operate HA clusters for mission-critical enterprise workloads.

Who Should Attend

Senior Linux system administrators and infrastructure engineers responsible for designing, deploying, and maintaining high availability cluster infrastructure on Red Hat Enterprise Linux for mission-critical applications and services.

Skills Students Will Gain

Design high availability cluster architectures using active/passive, active/active, and N+1 patterns
Configure Corosync cluster communication and manage quorum policies with votequorum
Implement STONITH fencing to prevent split-brain scenarios and data corruption
Manage Pacemaker cluster resources including primitives, groups, clones, and multi-state resources
Configure resource constraints including colocation, ordering, and location rules
Deploy iSCSI targets with targetcli and configure initiator discovery and authentication
Configure device mapper multipathing for redundant SAN storage access
Manage advanced LVM configurations including snapshots, RAID volumes, thin provisioning, and caching
Deploy clustered LVM with clvmd and the Distributed Lock Manager for shared storage
Administer GFS2 cluster file systems for concurrent multi-node read-write access
Troubleshoot cluster failover scenarios using crm_simulate, crm_verify, and crm_mon
Perform cluster maintenance including configuration backup, restore, and rolling upgrades

Chapters & Labs

22 labs · 9+ hours hands-on
  1. Introduction to Clustering and Storage Management 2 topics 3 labs · 50 min
  2. Corosync and Quorum Management 5 topics 5 labs · 70 min
  3. STONITH and Fencing 4 topics 2 labs · 75 min
  4. Pacemaker Cluster Resource Manager 17 topics 2 labs · 75 min
  5. Advanced Resource Configuration 9 topics 3 labs · 70 min
  6. Storage Technologies 6 topics 1 lab · 10 min
  7. iSCSI 3 topics 1 lab · 20 min
  8. Kernel Device Management 4 topics 1 lab · 15 min
  9. Device Mapper and Multipathing 1 topic 1 lab · 45 min
  10. Advanced LVM & Cluster LVM 9 topics 2 labs · 35 min
  11. Global File System (GFS) 2 1 topic 1 lab · 30 min

Apply for partner access to see full topic and lab details.

Prerequisites

Strong Linux system administration skills including storage management, networking, and service configuration. GL250 (Enterprise Linux Systems Administration) or equivalent experience required. Familiarity with LVM and iSCSI concepts is recommended.