How to setup a cluster in windows 2003

What do you think of Windows Clustering? Are you currently using it in your shop? Please share your experiences. Why clustering? There are three key advantages to clustering:. Configure the Cluster Service for manual startup if needed on the node. Repair and reboot the node, reconfigure the service for automatic startup, then right-click the node in the Cluster Administrator and choose Start Cluster Service.

Verify failover requirements and, if needed, move groups and resources to other nodes. Right-click the node and choose Evict Node. Right-click the node and choose either Pause Node or Resume Node. Add and prepare format, etc. Right-click the cluster in the Cluster Administrator and choose Properties. Click the Quorum tab, then choose the quorum resource and set its properties as needed. Right-click the group and choose Properties. Click the Failover tab. Click the Failback tab.

If necessary, take the group offline. Right-click the group and choose Move Group. The group moves based on the order of preferred owners. Right-click the group and choose Rename.

All nodes of the cluster use a Shared Disk — an external disk or disk subsystem which is accessible for all nodes through SCSI 2 Nodes or Fibre Channel more than 2 nodes. All data will be stored on the shared disk or an external disk subsystem for example Exchange databases. Every node has a local Exchange installation with a unique configuration for every cluster node. An EVS is the logical node that will be used for all cluster operations.

The number of cluster nodes supported by Windows Enterprise and Datacenter is 8 nodes. This is called Failover. If the failed node is back online, a Failback can be manually initiated or automatically configured in the Cluster Group properties. Every cluster node must have two network interfaces. One network interface for the cluster communication called the private LAN and one network interface called the public LAN.

You can link a cluster with two nodes with a simple cross link cable. A Heartbeat is much like a ping which can be used to test if the other cluster node is still available. If the heartbeat fails, the Failover process occurs. In versions before Exchange SP1, regardless of the number of cluster nodes you could only have one instance of a Public Folder store that is associated with the MAPI folder tree.

This support was added because the Exchange team saw that Outlook cached mode puts a greater load on Public Folders like the Outlook Address Book the OAB will be loaded offline at the client. With the help of multiple Public Folder stores the load can be spread across these folders. This allows a better client performance. Windows clusters now support Volume Mount points to overcome the limits of traditional drive letter assignments.

This new feature is very useful for four and eight node Exchange clusters because the traditional drive letter assignment in Exchange was very limited in cluster environments when multiple storage groups and stores where used.

In a later article, we will learn how to install SQL Server clustering. Before you install Windows clustering, we need to perform a series of important preparation steps. Once they are complete, then you can install Windows clustering.

Here are the steps you must take:. These are a lot of things you must check, but each of these is important. If skipped, any one of these steps could prevent your cluster from installing or working properly. Now that all of your physical nodes and shared array or SAN is ready, you are now ready to install Windows clustering. In this section, we take a look at the process, from beginning to end.

To begin, you must start the Microsoft Windows Clustering Wizard from one of the nodes. If you are using a SCSI shared array, and for many SAN shared arrays, you will want to make sure that the second physical node of your cluster is turned off when you install cluster services on the first physical node.