Heartbeat is a program that runs specialized scripts automatically whenever a system is
initialized or rebooted. Originally designed for two-node Linux-based clusters, Heartbeat is
extensible to larger configurations.
In a system running Heartbeat, nodes communicate by exchanging packets called "heartbeats" at
the rate of approximately 2 Hz (twice per second). The
name of the program comes from the regularity of the packet exchanges.
When Heartbeat is used in a multi-node system, one machine is designated as the primary node and
the other as the secondary node. If the primary node fails or requires downtime, the
secondary node can take over the primary role. A script called "shoot the
other node in the head (STONITH)" shuts down the primary node before the secondary node comes
online. STONITH prevents "split-brain" operation, with the consequent risk of file corruption, that
could occur if both nodes attempt to play the primary role at the same time.
Heartbeat is commonly bundled with a software component called Distributed Replicated Block
Device (DRBD),
which facilitates the replacement of shared storage systems by networked mirroring.
This was last updated in July 2008
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