This is one of the articles that has taken more time than any of the articles that are posted. Proper care has been taken so that you will not come across any problems while setting up the cluster. Please do through step by step and get the required output.. For any questions on this, please feel free to mail to anyhelpinit@gmail.com
I am jumping across to setting up of cluster assuming that you are well versed with using Virtual Server 2005.
For clustering to work, we need to have 2 networks (one network is called public through which all external and internal communications take place. The other network is called private, which is used for internal communication).
Open Virtual Server Console from Start->Programs->Virtual Server->Virtual Server Administration Website. Now on the master page go to the Virtual Networks tab click on Create. Give Virtual Network Name as “Private”. Network Adapter on Physical Computer as “None (Guests Only)”. Type “Private Network for Clustering” in the Virtual Network notes and then click OK.
Creating the Public Virtual network : The Public network is a dedicated local area network and that it need to be configured to allow all cluster clients to access the system.
Open Virtual Server Console again go back to master page and select Virtual Networks tab click on Create. Give Virtual Network Name as “Public”. Network Adapter on Physical Computer as “Select the network that can access internet”. Type “Public Network for Clustering” in the Virtual Network notes and then click OK.
Creating a Shared Quorum Cluster Disk:
The quorum disk is used to store cluster configuration database checkpoints and log files that help manage the cluster and maintain consistency. Create a fixed size virtual hard disk of around 1 GB formatted as NTFS to be used as a quorum disk.
From the Virtual Server Administration Website Master Status Page, locate the Virtual Disks menu. Now point to Create, and then select Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk. Type in the location where the quorum hard disk is to be stored along with the name (Quorum.vhd). Select the disk capacity.(In our case we are using 1 GB for quorum disk).Once done click on Create.
Wait for couple of minutes while Quorum.vhd gets created. Once done lets go ahead with other tasks.
Creating and configuring all the required machines for setting up cluster. We require 3 machines (one as domain, one as node1 in cluster and the other as node2 in cluster). The Operating System on all the 3 machines is Windows Server 2003 with SP2. Only ask would be the domain should have Server OS and the Cluster Nodes could be XP as well.
Assuming that the .VHD files are already available (for Windows Server 2003) , we are configuring only the .VMC files and using the machines right away.
Making the domain machine ready:
1. Under the Virtual Machines menu, click Create.
2. Enter the name and path of the .vmc file.
3.Enter 512 MB for the memory.
4.Select Use an existing virtual hard disk and enter the .VHD file name along with the location.
5. Select bus as IDE.
6.Select Public as the virtual network adapter that will be used by the cluster client machines to communicate to the cluster.
7.Click Create.
Once complete have a look at the machine configuration. Similarly create .VMC files for both the Parent (which acts as Node1 of the cluster) and Secondary (which acts as Node 2 of the cluster).
Once configured… boot up all the 3 machines (the Domain, the Primary , the Secondary) to see if the machines are working fine or not.
You can take some rest now before we proceed…
Now lets configure the Domain on the Domain Machine.
In this example we are configuring a domain named TestDemo.com. For more information on setting up the domain please refer to the below link :
http://anyitproblem.blogspot.com/2008/07/installing-active-directory-on-windows.html
Now that the domain is setup, the next task is to connect the existing machines (Parent and Secondary) into the TestDemo.com domain.Please refer to the below link which highlights on how to connect a machine in WorkGroup into Domain :
http://anyitproblem.blogspot.com/2008/07/connecting-work-group-machines-into.html
Now that both the machines are connected to the domain, make sure the machines can ping each other (all the three machines should be able to ping each other from both IP Address and also using the hostname). In case if the machines are not able to talk to each other, there is a serious network which has to be attended immediately. Until unless this problem is solved please do not proceed. Lets take a small break here…
Now next task is to provide SCSI Adapters to both the nodes (parent and secondary machine).
First lets configure parent machine( I mean Node1):
For this, from the Virtual Server Administration website Master Status Page, locate the Virtual Machines menu panel.
Under the Virtual Machines menu panel, click Configure.
Select Node1.
Click SCSI Controllers.
Click the Add Controller button to add a controller for the Quorum disk.
Enable Share SCSI bus for clustering.
Set the SCSI ID = 7.
Click Apply.
Go to the machine configuration (Node1 Configuration), Check out the properties and it looks as below :
On the same page, click on Network Adapter properties. Here, click on “Add Network Adapter” button and select '”Private”. Now select ""Dynamic" radio button and click on OK.
The properties is displayed as below :
Similarly, now go to Secondary Machine( Node 2) and select Machine Configuration page.From there go to SCSI Adapters Properties and select "Share SCSI Bus for clustering"and SCSI Adapter as 6. Click on OK.
The properties looks as below :
Similarly now add the "Private" network for the secondary machine as well. (The same as we did for the first machine).
This is how it should look now:
Now boot up Machine 1 (In our case its Parent). Once booted up, log into the machine with domain credentials. (TestDemo\administrator with password) . Now go to Network Connections on the desktop and right click "Properties". You will see 2 networks showing up. One network connection is having no problem where as the other network connection shows a small warning sign.
1.Right-click the Local Area Connection 2 icon.
2.Click Rename. Type Private in the textbox and then press Enter.
3.Right-click the Local Area Connection icon.
4.Click Rename. Type Public in the textbox, and then press Enter.
5.Right-click the network connection for your Private adapter, and then click Properties.
6.On the General tab, make sure that only the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) check box is selected. Click to clear the check boxes for all other clients, services, and protocols.
7.Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
8.Assign the following parameters to TCP/IP:
IP Address: 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
9.Verify that there are no values defined in the Default Gateway box or under Use the Following DNS server addresses.
10.Click the Advanced button.
11.On the DNS tab, verify that no values are defined. Make sure that the Register this connection's addresses in DNS and Use this connection's DNS suffix in DNS registration check boxes are cleared.
12.On the WINS tab, verify that there are no values defined. Click Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
13.Now return to the Master Status Page by clicking on the Master Status Page link under the Navigation menu panel.
14.On the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings.
15.In the Connections box, make sure that your bindings are in the following order, and then click OK.
Public – Local Area Connection
Private – Local Area Connections 2
Remote Access Connections
Now boot up Machine 2 (In our case its Secondary). Once booted up, log into the machine with domain credentials. (TestDemo\administrator with password) . Now go to Network Connections on the desktop and right click "Properties". You will see 2 networks showing up. One network connection is having no problem where as the other network connection shows a small warning sign.
1.Right-click the Local Area Connection 2 icon.
2.Click Rename. Type Private in the textbox and then press Enter.
3.Right-click the Local Area Connection icon.
4.Click Rename. Type Public in the textbox, and then press Enter.
5.Right-click the network connection for your Private adapter, and then click Properties.
6.On the General tab, make sure that only the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) check box is selected. Click to clear the check boxes for all other clients, services, and protocols.
7.Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
8.Assign the following parameters to TCP/IP:
IP Address: 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
9.Verify that there are no values defined in the Default Gateway box or under Use the Following DNS server addresses.
10.Click the Advanced button.
11.On the DNS tab, verify that no values are defined. Make sure that the Register this connection's addresses in DNS and Use this connection's DNS suffix in DNS registration check boxes are cleared.
12.On the WINS tab, verify that there are no values defined. Click Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
13.Now return to the Master Status Page by clicking on the Master Status Page link under the Navigation menu panel.
14.On the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings.
15.In the Connections box, make sure that your bindings are in the following order, and then click OK.
Public – Local Area Connection
Private – Local Area Connections 2
Remote Access Connections
NOTE : Now that we have configured all the three machines, its time for verifying connectivity and Name Resolution. To verify that the private and public networks are communicating properly, ping all IP addresses from each node. You should be able to ping all IP addresses, locally and on the remote nodes.
To verify name resolution, ping each node from a client using the node’s machine name instead of its IP address. It should only return the IP address for the public network. You may also want to try a PING –a command to do a reverse lookup on the IP Addresses. Any problem here should be resolved immediately before proceeding.
Now we need to create a cluster account, which will be used by the cluster service.
The Cluster service requires a domain user who is a member of the Local Administrators group on each node under which the Cluster service can run. Because setup requires a user name and password, this user account must be created before configuring the Cluster service. This user account should be dedicated only to running the Cluster service and should not belong to an individual.
Note: The cluster service account does not need to be a member of the Domain Administrators group.The cluster service account requires the following permissions to function properly on all nodes in the cluster. The Cluster Configuration Wizard grants the following permissions automatically:
• Act as part of the operating system
• Adjust memory quotas for a process
• Back up files and directories
• Increase scheduling priority
• Log on as a service
• Restore files and directories
For this to setup, go to Domain Machine. Go to Administrative Tools-> Active Directory Users and Computers. Go to Users node, rightclick and select User.
Give the First Name and Last Name to the user. Here the user that I have created is named "Cluster"
Click next to set the password settings to User Cannot Change Password and Password Never Expires. Once given, go to properties and add him to the group that you want to.
Once done, click on OK.
Now we need to add the Quorum Disk to the machines (Parent and Secondary)
Warning: To avoid corrupting the cluster disks, make sure that Windows Server 2003 and the Cluster service are installed, configured, and running on at least one node before you start an operating system on another node. It is critical to never have more then one node on until the Cluster service is configured.
To proceed, turn off all virtual cluster nodes, but leave Domain machine turned on and running.
Configuring Quorum Disk on Parent Node.In order to attach and configure the shared quorum disk to the cluster nodes, you must ensure that the other node is turned off. Follow the steps below for Parent Node.
Important: Perform this procedure with Secondary Node turned off.
1.From the Virtual Server Administration website Master Status Page, locate the Virtual Machines menu panel.
2.Click Configure and select Parent.
3.Select Hard Disks.
4.Click the Add Disk button.
5.Set attachment to SCSI ID 0.
6.Type in the location of Quorum VHD file that we created.
7.Click Apply.
Now that we have added the Quorum Disk, we need to configure it now. Once completed, log into Parent machine.Ensure Secondary Node is turned off.
Log in as administrator@testdemo.com with password.
1.Right-click My Computer, click Manage, and then expand Storage.
2.Double-click Disk Management.
If you connect a new disk, then it automatically starts the Write Signature and Upgrade Disk Wizard. If this happens, do the following steps:
3.Click Next to proceed to the next screen.
4.Click Next to select Disk 1 in initialize.
5.Click Next. Do not check the Disk 1 option; doing so will convert the disk to an unsupported dynamic disk.
6.Click Finish.
7.Right-click unallocated disk space for the quorum drive.
8.Click New Partition.
9.The New Partition Wizard will begin. Click Next.
10.Select the Primary Partition partition type. Click Next.
11.The default is set to maximum size for the partition size. Click Next.
12.Use the drop-down box to change the drive letter to Q. Click Next.
13.Format the partition using NTFS. In the Volume Label box, type Quorum Disk as the name for the disk.Click Finish
Now you can see that Q Drive is created.
Open Q: Drive from MyComputer and create a text file just to verify if the created drive, is working fine or not.
This takes us to a logical point where we have Parent Node configured. Once done.. Shut down Parent Node.
Now its the turn of Secondary to be configured.We need to attach and configure the shared quorum disk to the cluster nodes. Ensure Parent Node is shut down before turning on Secondary Node.
Under Virtual Machines menu panel, click Configure and select Node2.
Select Hard Disks.Click the Add Disk button. Set attachment to SCSI ID 0. Type in the Quorum Disk VHD location and click on Apply.
Once done, turn on Secondary with domain credentials and go to
My Computer, right click Manage, and then expand Storage.
Double-click Disk Management.
The Quorum drive is listed, but it has not been assigned a drive letter. Right-click the drive and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.Click Add. Use the drop-down box to change the drive letter to Q, and press OK. Close Computer Management.
Now test the Secondary Node, by going to MyComputer->Q Drive -> You should see the text file that we created. You can add a new file there or modify the existing one.Once done shut down Secondary.
Now lets go with Cluster Creation.
Note: During Cluster service configuration on Parent Node, you must turn off all other nodes.
1.Start Parent Node and log into the machine.
2.Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.
3.When prompted by the Open Connection to Cluster Wizard, click Create new cluster in the Action drop-down list. Click on Next Button.
Click on Next and specify a Cluster Name.I have given the cluster name as "NewCluster". If you are logged on locally with an account that is not a Domain User with Local Administrator privileges, the wizard will prompt you to specify an account. This is not the account the Cluster service will use when starting.
Now give the machine name on which the cluster has to be configured. In this case, type Parent. Click the Advanced button to set the analyze mode and Select Advanced (minimum) Configuration option, then press OK. Click Next.
Setup process will now analyze the node for possible hardware or software problems that may cause problems with the installation. Review any warnings or error messages. You can also click the Details button to get detailed information about each message.
Click Next. Now type in a unique cluster IP address 10.50.129.54, and click Next.The New Server Cluster Wizard automatically associates the cluster IP address with one of the public networks by using the subnet mask to select the correct network. The cluster IP address should be used for administrative purposes only, not for client connections.
When prompted for username and password, give the username "Cluster" along with password.
Review the Summary page.
Click the Quorum button and select Disk Q: as the quorum disk, Press OK
Press Next to start the Cluster creation process
Review any warnings or errors encountered during cluster creation.
Click Finish to complete the installation. Log file will be stored at %SystemRoot%\System32\LogFiles\Cluster\ClCfgSrv.Log
Use the Cluster Administrator (CluAdmin.exe) to validate the cluster service installation on Parent Node.If the Cluster Administrator is not already running, click Start, point to All Programs, then point to Administrative Tools, and then select Cluster Administrator.
Verify that the State of all resources is successfully Online.
Now that Parent node is fine, we need to configure the cluster on Secondary Node
Make sure that Parent node is still turned ON. Now turn on Secondary Node and let it boot completely.Open Cluster Administrator on Parent Node.Click File, click New, and then click Node.The Add Cluster Computers Wizard will start. Click Next.If you are not logged on with appropriate credentials, you will be asked to specify a domain account that has administrative rights over all nodes in the cluster.
Enter the Secondary Node for computer name for the node you want to add to the cluster. Click the Add button. Click the Advanced button to set the analyze mode and Select Advanced (minimum) Configuration option, then press OK. Click Next.
Review the summary information that is displayed for accuracy. The summary information will be used to configure the other nodes when they join the cluster.Review any warnings or errors encountered during cluster creation, then press Next. Click Finish to complete the installation.
You now have an operating two-node cluster. :-) You are able to see both then nodes up and running.
Now that the networks have been configured correctly on each node and the Cluster service has been configured, you need to configure the network roles to define their functionality within the cluster. Here is a list of the network configuration options available in Cluster. Go to the Network Node and you can see both Public and Private network listed there.
In the left pane, click Cluster Configuration, click Networks, right-click Private, and then click Properties.
Click Internal cluster communications only (private network)
Click OK.
Right-click Public, and then click Properties
Click to select the Enable this network for cluster use check box.
Click the All communications (mixed network) option, and then click OK.
Thanks for going through the long post. Hope you have enjoyed it and have a great day.
Please post your comments on the article and for any queries/suggestions please write to anyhelpinit@gmail.com
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