Cluster Setup

DubDani

Hi Guys,

I have to setup a cluster at work, as the person who would normally do it is sick. Unfortunately I have never done it before. Is there anything special to consider?

- I have two identical Windows 2003 Boxes
- I decided on the naming convention
- I have the IP adresses/Hostnames
- I created a cluster account with all the necessary rights
- Data will be stored on an external disk

As I don't wanna screw it up straight away any input is welcome.

Cheers,
DubDani

quaidox

make sure you have two network adapters in each box, one for the cluster heartbeat connection, the other for the external ip address of the server.
to set up the cluster run the cluster setup wizard on one box and name your cluster. once it is set up on one side do the same on the other box, but instead of creating a new cluster, you join the cluster you created on the first box.

irishpartyboy

Well OP, without knowing your skill set, if you've not got the experience to setup a cluster, I'd consider contracting someone in and/or wait for your colleague to return to work..

In most environments, Clusters are critical components of your infrastructure so setting them up correctly is paramount.

That said, if above isn't an option, there's plenty of resources out there to help you along.

http://whitepapers.techrepublic.com.com/whitepaper.aspx?docid=83808

In a true high availability setup, you should have at least two public teamed nics connected to your LAN - your LAN consisting on at least 2 switches i.e. public LAN nic into each switch.

NB - your teaming configuration is critical. You'll need to choose the best option, according to your switching environment. Cisco is of course best.

Also for your cluster private hearbeat, considering how you are physically connecting each node i.e. via a switch (using separate vlan) for your hearbeat, or a separate switch. There's a few options.

These tips are more networking related but critical to your configuration. Also you need Windows 2003 Advanced Server for Clustering.

Good luck.

DubDani

Thanks for your responses so far.

I am working in IT, just have little experience with clusters. Thank god this has not to be a high Availability Cluster. It's currently a Lab Environment. Waiting for the return of my colle. is unfortunately not an option, as it has to be done by Monday. We have to test and reproduce something cluster related before the end of the week.

It is supposed to be a simple 2 node cluster (virtual Nodes), and I want to keep it as simple as possible. :-)

quaidox

well if it's only a lab environment then go for it! no damage done if it doesn't work correctly is there?
and remember you defo need server 2003 advanced and not standard for clustering.

DubDani

Yes, I already have the two nodes setup with Windows 2003 Advanced. I just wanted to make sure that it works the first time round, as I have no time to screw it up and redo it.

How long will it usually take to get up and running in your experience?

quaidox

once you have your network adapters configured, it should only take about 15-30 mins on each node to go through the setup wizard.

irishpartyboy

DubDani wrote: »

Thank god this has not to be a high Availability Cluster.

Probably the main reason WHY people implement a cluster, is to provide High Availability?? :rolleyes:


Well if it's a lab environment, you can play away without worrying too much, you can restart anytime you like.