Chapter 25. Configuring a high-availability cluster by using the ha_cluster RHEL System Role

A boolean flag that determines whether the ha_cluster System Role manages the firewall. When ha_cluster_manage_firewall is set to true, the firewall high availability service and the fence-virt port are enabled. When ha_cluster_manage_firewall is set to false, the ha_cluster System Role does not manage the firewall. If your system is running the firewalld service, you must set the parameter to true in your playbook.

You can use the ha_cluster_manage_firewall parameter to add ports, but you cannot use the parameter to remove ports. To remove ports, use the firewall System Role directly.

As of RHEL 7.9, the firewall is no longer configured by default, because it is configured only when ha_cluster_manage_firewall is set to true.

A boolean flag that determines whether the ha_cluster System Role manages the ports belonging to the firewall high availability service using the selinux System Role. When ha_cluster_manage_selinux is set to true, the ports belonging to the firewall high availability service are associated with the SELinux port type cluster_port_t. When ha_cluster_manage_selinux is set to false, the ha_cluster System Role does not manage SELinux.

If your system is running the selinux service, you must set this parameter to true in your playbook. Firewall configuration is a prerequisite for managing SELinux. If the firewall is not installed, the managing SELinux policy is skipped.

You can use the ha_cluster_manage_selinux parameter to add policy, but you cannot use the parameter to remove policy. To remove policy, use the selinux System Role directly.

A boolean flag which, if set to true, determines that HA cluster will be configured on the hosts according to the variables passed to the role. Any cluster configuration not specified in the role and not supported by the role will be lost.

If ha_cluster_cluster_present is set to false, all HA cluster configuration will be removed from the target hosts.

The default value of this variable is true.

The following example playbook removes all cluster configuration on node1 and node2

- hosts: node1 node2
  vars:
    ha_cluster_cluster_present: false

  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.ha_cluster

List of additional packages to be installed. The default value of this variable is no packages.

This variable can be used to install additional packages not installed automatically by the role, for example custom resource agents.

It is possible to specify fence agents as members of this list. However, ha_cluster_fence_agent_packages is the recommended role variable to use for specifying fence agents, so that its default value is overridden.

The path to Corosync authkey file, which is the authentication and encryption key for Corosync communication. It is highly recommended that you have a unique authkey value for each cluster. The key should be 256 bytes of random data.

If you specify a key for this variable, it is recommended that you vault encrypt the key, as described in Encrypting content with Ansible Vault.

If no key is specified, a key already present on the nodes will be used. If nodes do not have the same key, a key from one node will be distributed to other nodes so that all nodes have the same key. If no node has a key, a new key will be generated and distributed to the nodes.

If this variable is set, ha_cluster_regenerate_keys is ignored for this key.

The default value of this variable is null.

The path to the Pacemaker authkey file, which is the authentication and encryption key for Pacemaker communication. It is highly recommended that you have a unique authkey value for each cluster. The key should be 256 bytes of random data.

If you specify a key for this variable, it is recommended that you vault encrypt the key, as described in Encrypting content with Ansible Vault.

If no key is specified, a key already present on the nodes will be used. If nodes do not have the same key, a key from one node will be distributed to other nodes so that all nodes have the same key. If no node has a key, a new key will be generated and distributed to the nodes.

If this variable is set, ha_cluster_regenerate_keys is ignored for this key.

The default value of this variable is null.

The path to the fence-virt or fence-xvm pre-shared key file, which is the location of the authentication key for the fence-virt or fence-xvm fence agent.

If you specify a key for this variable, it is recommended that you vault encrypt the key, as described in Encrypting content with Ansible Vault.

If no key is specified, a key already present on the nodes will be used. If nodes do not have the same key, a key from one node will be distributed to other nodes so that all nodes have the same key. If no node has a key, a new key will be generated and distributed to the nodes. If the ha_cluster System Role generates a new key in this fashion, you should copy the key to your nodes' hypervisor to ensure that fencing works.

If this variable is set, ha_cluster_regenerate_keys is ignored for this key.

The default value of this variable is null.

The path to the pcsd TLS certificate and private key. If this is not specified, a certificate-key pair already present on the nodes will be used. If a certificate-key pair is not present, a random new one will be generated.

If you specify a private key value for this variable, it is recommended that you vault encrypt the key, as described in Encrypting content with Ansible Vault.

If these variables are set, ha_cluster_regenerate_keys is ignored for this certificate-key pair.

The default value of these variables is null.

Creates a pcsd private key and certificate using the certificate System Role.

If your system is not configured with a pcsd private key and certificate, you can create them in one of two ways:

The following operational considerations apply to the use of the ha_cluster_pcsd_certificate variable:

The default value of this variable is [].

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that creates TLS certificates and key files in a high availability cluster, see Creating pcsd TLS certificates and key files for a high availability cluster.

Configures permissions to manage a cluster using pcsd. The items you configure with this variable are as follows:

The structure of the ha_cluster_pcs_permission_list variable and its default values are as follows:

ha_cluster_pcs_permission_list:
  - type: group
    name: hacluster
    allow_list:
      - grant
      - read
      - write

Sets the cluster transport method. The items you configure with this variable are as follows:

Configures Corosync totem. For a list of allowed options, see the pcs -h cluster setup help page or the setup description in the cluster section of the pcs(8) man page. For a more detailed description, see the corosync.conf(5) man page.

The structure of the ha_cluster_totem variable is as follows:

ha_cluster_totem:
  options:
    - name: option1_name
      value: option1_value
    - name: option2_name
      value: option2_value

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that configures a Corosync totem, see Configuring Corosync values in a high availability cluster.

Configures cluster quorum. You can configure the following items for cluster quorum:

A boolean flag which determines whether the cluster can use the SBD node fencing mechanism. The default value of this variable is false.

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that enables SBD, see Configuring a high availability cluster with SBD node fencing.

List of name-value dictionaries specifying SBD options. Supported options are:

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that configures SBD options, see Configuring a high availability cluster with SBD node fencing.

When using SBD, you can optionally configure watchdog and SBD devices for each node in an inventory. For information about configuring watchdog and SBD devices in an inventory file, see Specifying an inventory for the ha_cluster System Role.

List of sets of cluster properties for Pacemaker cluster-wide configuration. Only one set of cluster properties is supported.

The structure of a set of cluster properties is as follows:

ha_cluster_cluster_properties:
  - attrs:
      - name: property1_name
        value: property1_value
      - name: property2_name
        value: property2_value

By default, no properties are set.

The following example playbook configures a cluster consisting of node1 and node2 and sets the stonith-enabled and no-quorum-policy cluster properties.

- hosts: node1 node2
  vars:
    ha_cluster_cluster_name: my-new-cluster
    ha_cluster_hacluster_password: password
    ha_cluster_cluster_properties:
      - attrs:
          - name: stonith-enabled
            value: 'true'
          - name: no-quorum-policy
            value: stop

  roles:
    - rhel-system-roles.ha_cluster

This variable defines pacemaker resources configured by the System Role, including stonith resources, including stonith resources. You can configure the following items for each resource:

The structure of the resource definition that you configure with the ha_cluster System Role is as follows.

  - id: resource-id
    agent: resource-agent
    instance_attrs:
      - attrs:
          - name: attribute1_name
            value: attribute1_value
          - name: attribute2_name
            value: attribute2_value
    meta_attrs:
      - attrs:
          - name: meta_attribute1_name
            value: meta_attribute1_value
          - name: meta_attribute2_name
            value: meta_attribute2_value
    operations:
      - action: operation1-action
        attrs:
          - name: operation1_attribute1_name
            value: operation1_attribute1_value
          - name: operation1_attribute2_name
            value: operation1_attribute2_value
      - action: operation2-action
        attrs:
          - name: operation2_attribute1_name
            value: operation2_attribute1_value
          - name: operation2_attribute2_name
            value: operation2_attribute2_value

By default, no resources are defined.

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that includes resource configuration, see Configuring a high availability cluster with fencing and resources.

This variable defines pacemaker resource groups configured by the System Role. You can configure the following items for each resource group:

The structure of the resource group definition that you configure with the ha_cluster System Role is as follows.

ha_cluster_resource_groups:
  - id: group-id
    resource_ids:
      - resource1-id
      - resource2-id
    meta_attrs:
      - attrs:
          - name: group_meta_attribute1_name
            value: group_meta_attribute1_value
          - name: group_meta_attribute2_name
            value: group_meta_attribute2_value

By default, no resource groups are defined.

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that includes resource group configuration, see Configuring a high availability cluster with fencing and resources.

This variable defines pacemaker resource clones configured by the System Role. You can configure the following items for a resource clone:

The structure of the resource clone definition that you configure with the ha_cluster System Role is as follows.

ha_cluster_resource_clones:
  - resource_id: resource-to-be-cloned
    promotable: true
    id: custom-clone-id
    meta_attrs:
      - attrs:
          - name: clone_meta_attribute1_name
            value: clone_meta_attribute1_value
          - name: clone_meta_attribute2_name
            value: clone_meta_attribute2_value

By default, no resource clones are defined.

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that includes resource clone configuration, see Configuring a high availability cluster with fencing and resources.

This variable defines resource location constraints. Resource location constraints indicate which nodes a resource can run on. You can specify a resources specified by a resource ID or by a pattern, which can match more than one resource. You can specify a node by a node name or by a rule.

You can configure the following items for a resource location constraint:

By default no resource location constraints are defined.

The structure of a resource location constraint specifying a resource ID and node name is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_location:
  - resource:
      id: resource-id
    node: node-name
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

The items that you configure for a resource location constraint that specifies a resource pattern are the same items that you configure for a resource location constraint that specifies a resource ID, with the exception of the resource specification itself. The item that you specify for the resource specification is as follows:

The structure of a resource location constraint specifying a resource pattern and node name is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_location:
  - resource:
      pattern: resource-pattern
    node: node-name
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: resource-discovery
        value: resource-discovery-value

You can configure the following items for a resource location constraint that specifies a resource ID and a rule:

The structure of a resource location constraint that specifies a resource ID and a rule is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_location:
  - resource:
      id: resource-id
      role: resource-role
    rule: rule-string
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: resource-discovery
        value: resource-discovery-value

The items that you configure for a resource location constraint that specifies a resource pattern and a rule are the same items that you configure for a resource location constraint that specifies a resource ID and a rule, with the exception of the resource specification itself. The item that you specify for the resource specification is as follows:

The structure of a resource location constraint that specifies a resource pattern and a rule is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_location:
  - resource:
      pattern: resource-pattern
      role: resource-role
    rule: rule-string
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: resource-discovery
        value: resource-discovery-value

For an example ha_cluster system role playbook that creates a cluster with resource constraints, see Configuring a high availability cluster with resource constraints.

This variable defines resource colocation constraints. Resource colocation constraints indicate that the location of one resource depends on the location of another one. There are two types of colocation constraints: a simple colocation constraint for two resources, and a set colocation constraint for multiple resources.

You can configure the following items for a simple resource colocation constraint:

By default no resource colocation constraints are defined.

The structure of a simple resource colocation constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_colocation:
  - resource_follower:
      id: resource-id1
      role: resource-role1
    resource_leader:
      id: resource-id2
      role: resource-role2
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

You can configure the following items for a resource set colocation constraint:

The structure of a resource set colocation constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_colocation:
  - resource_sets:
      - resource_ids:
          - resource-id1
          - resource-id2
        options:
          - name: option-name
            value: option-value
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

For an example ha_cluster system role playbook that creates a cluster with resource constraints, see Configuring a high availability cluster with resource constraints.

This variable defines resource order constraints. Resource order constraints indicate the order in which certain resource actions should occur. There are two types of resource order constraints: a simple order constraint for two resources, and a set order constraint for multiple resources.

You can configure the following items for a simple resource order constraint:

By default no resource order constraints are defined.

The structure of a simple resource order constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_order:
  - resource_first:
      id: resource-id1
      action: resource-action1
    resource_then:
      id: resource-id2
      action: resource-action2
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

You can configure the following items for a resource set order constraint:

The structure of a resource set order constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_order:
  - resource_sets:
      - resource_ids:
          - resource-id1
          - resource-id2
        options:
          - name: option-name
            value: option-value
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: score
        value: score-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

For an example ha_cluster system role playbook that creates a cluster with resource constraints, see Configuring a high availability cluster with resource constraints.

This variable defines resource ticket constraints. Resource ticket constraints indicate the resources that depend on a certain ticket. There are two types of resource ticket constraints: a simple ticket constraint for one resource, and a ticket order constraint for multiple resources.

You can configure the following items for a simple resource ticket constraint:

By default no resource ticket constraints are defined.

The structure of a simple resource ticket constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_ticket:
  - resource:
      id: resource-id
      role: resource-role
    ticket: ticket-name
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: loss-policy
        value: loss-policy-value
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

You can configure the following items for a resource set ticket constraint:

The structure of a resource set ticket constraint is as follows:

ha_cluster_constraints_ticket:
  - resource_sets:
      - resource_ids:
          - resource-id1
          - resource-id2
        options:
          - name: option-name
            value: option-value
    ticket: ticket-name
    id: constraint-id
    options:
      - name: option-name
        value: option-value

For an example ha_cluster system role playbook that creates a cluster with resource constraints, see Configuring a high availability cluster with resource constraints.

(RHEL 8.8 and later) This variable configures a qnetd host which can then serve as an external quorum device for clusters.

You can configure the following items for a qnetd host:

You cannot run qnetd on a cluster node because fencing would disrupt qnetd operation.

For an example ha_cluster System Role playbook that configures a cluster using a quorum device, see Configuring a cluster using a quorum device.