Dell EMC AX4-5 Owner's Manual

Dell™ Failover Clusters With

Microsoft

Software Installation and

Troubleshooting Guide

Windows Server®2003

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Notes, Notices, and Cautions

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use

of your computer.

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of

data and tells you how to avoid the problem.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal

injury, or death.

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trademarks of Dell Inc.; Active Directory , Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server , and Windows NT are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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April 2008 Rev A00

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Virtual Servers and Resource Groups . . . . . . . . 7

Quorum Resource

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Cluster Solution

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Supported Cluster Configurations

Cluster Components and Requirements

Operating System

Cluster Nodes

Cluster Storage

Introduction

Clustering uses specific hardware and software to join multiple systems together to function as a single system and provide an automatic failover solution. If one of the clustered systems (also known as cluster nodes, or nodes) fails, resources running on the failed system are moved (or failed over) to one or more systems in the cluster by the Microsoft software. MSCS is the failover software component in specific versions of the Windows

When the failed system is repaired and brought back online, resources automatically transfer back (or fail back) to the repaired system or remain on the failover system, depending on how MSCS is configured. For more information, see "Configuring Active and Passive Cluster Nodes" on page 46.

operating system.

NOTE: Reference to Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 in this guide implies reference

to Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition, and Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition unless explicitly stated.

Virtual Servers and Resource Groups

In a cluster environment, users do not access a physical server; they access a virtual server, which is managed by MSCS. Each virtual server has its own IP address, name, and hard drive(s) in the shared storage system. MSCS manages the virtual server as a resource group, which contains the cluster resources. Ownership of virtual servers and resource groups is transparent to users. For more information on resource groups, see "Cluster Resources" on page 39.

When MSCS detects a failed application that cannot restart on the same server node or a failed server node, MSCS moves the failed resource group(s) to one or more server nodes and remaps the virtual server(s) to the new network connection(s). Users of an application in the virtual server experience only a momentary delay in accessing resources while MSCS re-establishes a network connection to the virtual server and restarts the application.

Cluster Service (MSCS)

Introduction 7

Quorum Resource

A single shared disk, which is designated as the quorum resource, maintains the configuration data (including all the changes that have been applied to a cluster database) necessary for recovery when a node fails.

The quorum resource can be any resource with the following attributes:

• Enables a single node to gain and defend its physical control of the quorum resource

• Provides physical storage that is accessible by any node in the cluster

• Uses the Microsoft Windows NT

See "Quorum Resource" on page 42 and the MSCS online documentation for more information located at the Microsoft Support website at support.microsoft.com.

NOTE: Dell™ Windows Server Failover clusters do not support the Majority Node

Set Quorum resource type.

file system (NTFS)

Cluster Solution

The Windows Server 2003 failover cluster implements up to eight cluster nodes, depending on the storage array in use and provides the following features:

• A shared storage bus featuring Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), or Internet Small Computer System Interface(iSCSI)technology

• High availability of resources to network clients

• Redundant paths to the shared storage

• Failure recovery for applications and services

• Flexible maintenance capabilities, allowing you to repair, maintain, or upgrade a node or storage system without taking the entire cluster offline

Supported Cluster Configurations

For the list of Dell-validated hardware, firmware, and software components for a Windows Server 2003 failover cluster environment, see Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

8 Introduction

Cluster Components and Requirements

Your cluster requires the following components:

• Operating System

• Cluster nodes(servers)

• Cluster Storage

Operating System

Table 1-1 provides an overview of the supported operating systems. See your operating system documentation for a complete list of features.

NOTE: Some of the core services are common to all the operating systems.

Table 1-1. Windows Operating System Features

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition/Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition

Supports up to eight nodes per cluster Supports up to eight nodes per cluster

Supports up to 64 GB of RAM per node Supports up to 1 TB RAM per node

Cluster configuration and management using Configure Your Server (CYS) and Manage Your Server (MYS) wizards

Metadirectory Services Metadirectory Services

NOTE: The amount of RAM supported per node also depends on your cluster platform.

NOTE: Running different operating systems in a cluster is supported only during a

rolling upgrade. You cannot upgrade to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition/Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition. Only a new installation is permitted for Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition/Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition.

NOTE: MSCS and Network Load Balancing (NLB) features cannot coexist on the

same node, but can be used together in a multi-tiered cluster. For more information, see the Dell High Availability Clusters website at www.dell.com/ha or the Microsoft website at www.microsoft.com.

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition/Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition

Cluster configuration and management using CYS and MYS wizards

Introduction 9

Cluster Nodes

Table 1-2 lists the hardware requirements for the cluster nodes.

Table 1-2. Cluster Node Requirements

Component Minimum Requirement

Cluster nodes Two to eight Dell PowerEdge™ systems running the

Windows Server 2003 operating system.

RAM At least 256 MB of RAM installed on each cluster node for

Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise Edition.

At least 512 MB of RAM installed on each cluster node for Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition, or Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise x64 Edition.

NICs At least two NICs: one NIC for the public network and

another NIC for the private network.

NOTE: It is recommended that the NICs on each public network

are identical, and that the NICs on each private network are identical.

Internal disk controller

HBA ports

One controller connected to at least two internal hard drives for each node. Use any supported RAID controller or disk controller.

Two hard drives are required for mirroring (RAID 1) and at least three are required for disk striping with parity (RAID 5).

NOTE: It is strongly recommended that you use hardware-based

RAID or software-based disk-fault tolerance for the internal drives.

• For clusters with Fibre Channel storage, two Fibre Channel HBAs per node, unless the server employs an integrated or supported dual-port Fibre Channel HBA.

• For clusters with SAS storage, one or two SAS 5/E HBAs per node.

NOTE: Where possible, place the HBAs on separate PCI buses

to improve availability and performance. For information about supported systems and HBAs, see Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

10 Introduction

Table 1-2. Cluster Node Requirements (continued)

Component Minimum Requirement

iSCSI Initiator and NICs for iSCSI Access

For clusters with iSCSI storage, install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator (including iSCSI port driver and Initiator Service) on each cluster node.

Two iSCSI NICs or Gigabit Ethernet NIC ports per node. NICs with a TCP/IP Off-load Engine (TOE) or iSCSI Off-load capability may also be used for iSCSI traffic.

NOTE: Where possible, place the NICs on separate PCI buses

Cluster Storage

You must attach all the nodes to a common shared system for your Dell failover cluster solutions with Windows Server 2003. The type of storage array and topology in which the array is deployed can influence the design of your cluster. For example, a direct-attached SAS storage array may offer support for two cluster nodes whereas a SAN-attached Fibre Channel or iSCSI array has the ability to support eight cluster nodes.

A shared storage array enables data for clustered applications and services to be stored in a common location that is accessible by each cluster node. Although only one node can access or control a given disk volume at a particular point in time, the shared storage array enables other nodes to gain control of these volumes in the event that a node failure occurs. This also helps facilitate the ability of other cluster resources, which may depend upon the disk volume to failover to the remaining nodes.

Additionally, it is recommended that you attach each node to the shared storage array using redundant paths. Providing multiple connections (or paths) between the node and the storage array reduces the number of single points of failure that could otherwise impact the availability of the clustered applications or services.

For details and recommendations related to deploying a Dell Windows Server failover cluster solution with a particular storage array, see "Cabling Your Cluster Hardware" section in the Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Introduction 11

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove and access

any of the components inside the system. See the safety information shipped with your system for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer, and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

Cluster Configuration Overview

NOTE: For more information on step 1, step 2 and step 9, see "Preparing Your

Systems for Clustering" section of the Dell Failover Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com. For more information on step 3 to step 7 and step 10 to step 13, see this chapter.

Ensure that your site can handle the cluster’s power requirements.

Contact your sales representative for information about your region's power requirements.

Install the servers, the shared storage array(s), and the interconnect switches (example: in an equipment rack), and ensure that all these components are powered on.

Deploy the operating system (including any relevant service pack and hotfixes), network adapter drivers, and storage adapter drivers (including MPIO drivers) on each of the servers that will become cluster nodes. Depending on the deployment method that is used, it may be necessary to provide a network connection to successfully complete this step.

NOTE: You can record the Cluster configuration and Zoning configuration

(if relevant) to the Cluster Data Form and Zoning Configuration Form, respectively to help in planning and deployment of your cluster. For more information, see "Cluster Data Form" and "Zoning Configuration Form" of

Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Establish the physical network topology and the TCP/IP settings for network adapters on each server node to provide access to the cluster public and private networks.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 13

for the

Configure each server node as a member server in the same Windows Active Directory Domain.

NOTE: It may also be possible to have cluster nodes serve as Domain

controllers. For more information, see “Selecting a Domain Model”.

Establish the physical storage topology and any required storage network settings to provide connectivity between the storage array and the servers that will be configured as cluster nodes. Configure the storage system(s) as described in your storage system documentation.

Use storage array management tools to create at least one logical unit number (LUN). The LUN is used as a cluster quorum disk for Windows Server 2003 Failover cluster and as a witness disk for Windows Server 2008 Failover cluster. Ensure that this LUN is presented to the servers that will be configured as cluster nodes.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that you configure the LUN on a single node,

for security reasons, as mentioned in step 8 when you are setting up the cluster. Later, you can configure the LUN as mentioned in step 9 so that other cluster nodes can access it.

Select one of the servers and form a new failover cluster by configuring the cluster name, cluster management IP, and quorum resource.

NOTE: For Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters, run the Cluster Validation

Wizard to ensure that your system is ready to form the cluster.

Join the remaining node(s) to the failover cluster.

Configure roles for cluster networks. Take any network interfaces that are used for iSCSI storage (or for other purposes outside of the cluster) out of the control of the cluster.

Test the failover capabilities of your new cluster.

NOTE: For Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters, the Cluster Validation

Wizard may also be used.

Configure highly-available applications and services on your failover cluster. Depending on your configuration, this may also require providing additional LUNs to the cluster or creating new cluster resource groups. Test the failover capabilities of the new resources.

Configure client systems to access the highly-available applications and services that are hosted on your failover cluster.

14 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Installation Overview

This section provides installation overview procedures for configuring a cluster running the Microsoft

NOTE: Storage management software may vary and use different terms than those

in this guide to refer to similar entities. For example, the terms "LUN" and "Virtual Disk" are often used interchangeably to designate an individual RAID volume that is provided to the cluster nodes by the storage array.

Ensure that the cluster meets the requirements as described in "Cluster

Windows Server® 2003 operating system.

Configuration Overview."

Select a domain model that is appropriate for the corporate network and operating system.

See "Selecting a Domain Model" on page 19.

Reserve static IP addresses for the cluster resources and components, including:

• Public network

• Private network

• Cluster virtual servers

Use these IP addresses when you install the Windows

operating system

and MSCS.

Configure the internal hard drives.

See "Configuring Internal Drives in the Cluster Nodes" on page 20.

Install and configure the Windows operating system.

The Windows operating system must be installed on all of the nodes. Each node must have a licensed copy of the Windows operating system, and a Certificate of Authenticity.

See "Installing and Configuring the Microsoft Windows Operating System" on page 20.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 15

Install or update the storage connection drivers.

For more information on connecting your cluster nodes to a shared storage array, see "Preparing Your Systems for Clustering" in

the Dell Failover

Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide that

corresponds to your storage array. For more information on the corresponding supported adapters and driver versions, see Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

Install and configure the storage management software.

See the documentation included with your storage system or available at the Dell Support website at

Configure the hard drives on the shared storage system(s).

See "Preparing Your Systems for Clustering" in the

Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

support.dell.com

Dell Failover Cluster

corresponding to your

storage array.

Configure the MSCS software.

See "Configuring Your Failover Cluster" on page 29.

Verify cluster functionality. Ensure that:

• The cluster components are communicating properly.

• MSCS is started.

See "Verifying Cluster Functionality" on page 33.

Verify cluster resource availability.

Use Cluster Administrator to check the running state of each resource group. See "Verifying Cluster Resource Availability."

The following subsections provide detailed information about some steps in the "Installation Overview" that is specific to the Windows Server 2003 operating system.

16 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Selecting a Domain Model

On a cluster running the Microsoft Windows operating system, all nodes must belong to a common domain or directory model. The following configurations are supported:

• All nodes are member servers in an Active Directory® domain.

• All nodes are domain controllers in an Active Directory domain.

• At least one node is a domain controller in an Active Directory and the remaining nodes are member servers.

Configuring the Nodes as Domain Controllers

If a node is configured as a domain controller, client system access to its cluster resources can continue even if the node cannot contact other domain controllers. However, domain controller functions can cause additional overhead, such as log on, authentication, and replication traffic.

If a node is not configured as a domain controller and the node cannot contact a domain controller, the node cannot authenticate client system requests.

Configuring Internal Drives in the Cluster Nodes

If your system uses a hardware-based RAID solution and you have added new internal hard drives to your system, or you are setting up the RAID configuration for the first time, you must configure the RAID array using the RAID controller’s BIOS configuration utility before installing the operating system.

For the best balance of fault tolerance and performance, use RAID 1. See the RAID controller documentation for more information on RAID configurations.

NOTE: If you are not using a hardware-based RAID solution, use the Microsoft

Windows Disk Management tool to provide software-based redundancy.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 17

Installing and Configuring the Microsoft Windows Operating System

NOTE: Windows standby mode and hibernation mode are not supported in cluster

configurations. Do not enable either mode.

Ensure that the cluster configuration meets the requirements listed in "Cluster Configuration Overview."

Cable the hardware.

NOTE: Do not connect the nodes to the shared storage systems yet.

For more information on cabling your cluster hardware and the storage array that you are using, see "Cabling Your Cluster Hardware" in

Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Install and configure the Windows Server 2003 operating system with the latest service pack on each node.

For more information about the latest supported service pack, see

Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices

Availability Clustering website at

Ensure that the latest supported version of network adapter drivers is installed on each cluster node.

Configure the public and private network adapter interconnects in each node, and place the interconnects on separate IP subnetworks using static IP addresses. See "Configuring Windows Networking" on page 22.

For information on required drivers, see

Support Matrices

www.dell.com/ha

located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website

www.dell.com/ha

located on the Dell High

Dell Cluster Configuration

the

Shut down both nodes and connect each node to the shared storage.

For more information on cabling your cluster hardware and the storage array that you are using, see "Cabling Your Cluster Hardware"

Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

If required, configure the storage software.

18 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

in the

Reboot node 1.

From node 1, write the disk signature and then partition, format, and assign drive letters and volume labels to the hard drives in the storage system using the Windows Disk Management application.

For more information, see "

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering" in the

Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

On node 1, verify disk access and functionality on all shared disks.

Shut down node 1.

Verify disk access by performing the following steps on the other node:

Turn on the node.

Modify the drive letters to match the drive letters on node 1.

This procedure allows the Windows operating system to mount the volumes.

Close and reopen Disk Management.

Verify that Windows can see the file systems and the volume labels.

Turn on node 1.

Install and configure the Cluster Service.

See "Configuring Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS) With Windows Server 2003" on page 29.

Install and set up the application programs (optional).

Enter the cluster configuration information on the provided as an Appendix in the

and Troubleshooting Guide

Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation

for your corresponding storage array (optional).

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 19

Cluster Data Form

Configuring Windows Networking

You must configure the public and private networks in each node before you install MSCS. The following subsections introduce you to some procedures necessary for the networking prerequisites.

Assigning Static IP Addresses to Cluster Resources and Components

A static IP address is an Internet address that a network administrator assigns exclusively to a system or a resource. The address assignment remains in effect until it is changed by the network administrator.

The IP address assignments for the cluster’s public LAN segments depend on the environment’s configuration. Configurations running the Windows operating system require static IP addresses assigned to hardware and software applications in the cluster, as listed in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1. Applications and Hardware Requiring IP Address Assignments

Application/Hardware Description

Cluster IP address The cluster IP address is used for cluster management

and must correspond to the cluster name. Because each server has at least two network adapters, the minimum number of static IP addresses required for a cluster configuration is two (one for public network and one for the public network). Additional static IP addresses are required when MSCS is configured with application programs that require IP addresses, such as file sharing.

Cluster-aware applications running on the cluster

These applications include Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Internet Information Server (IIS). For example, Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition requires at least one static IP address for the virtual server (Microsoft SQL Server does not use the cluster's IP address). Also, each IIS Virtual Root or IIS Server instance configured for failover needs a unique static IP address.

20 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Table 2-1. Applications and Hardware Requiring IP Address Assignments (continued)

Application/Hardware Description

Cluster node network adapters

For cluster operation, two network adapters are required: one for the public network (LAN/WAN) and another for the private network (sharing heartbeat information between the nodes).

For more information on cabling your cluster hardware and the storage array that you are using, see "

Cluster Hardware" in the Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific

storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Cabling Your

NOTE: To ensure operation during a DHCP server failure,

use static IP addresses.

Configuring IP Addresses for the Private Network

Use the static IP address assignments for the network adapters used for the private network (cluster interconnect).

NOTE: The IP addresses in Table 2-2 are used as examples only.

Table 2-2. Examples of IP Address Assignments

Usage Cluster Node 1 Cluster Node 2

Public network static IP address (for client and domain controller communications)

Public network subnet mask 255.255.255.0 255.255.255.0

Default gateway

WINS servers

DNS servers

192.168.1.101 192.168.1.102

192.168.1.1 192.168.1.1

Primary

192.168.1.11

Secondary

192.168.1.12

Primary

192.168.1.21

Secondary

192.168.1.22

Primary

192.168.1.11

Secondary

192.168.1.12

Primary

192.168.1.21

Secondary

192.168.1.22

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 21

Table 2-2. Examples of IP Address Assignments (continued)

Usage Cluster Node 1 Cluster Node 2

Private network static IP address cluster interconnect (for node-to-node communications)

Private network subnet mask 255.255.255.0 255.255.255.0

NOTE: Do not configure Default Gateway, NetBIOS, WINS, and DNS on the private

network. If you are running Windows Server 2003, disable NetBIOS on the private network.

10.0.0.1 10.0.0.2

If multiple cluster interconnect network adapters are connected to a network switch, ensure that all of the private network’s network adapters have a unique address. You can continue the IP address scheme in Table 2-2 with

10.0.0.3, 10.0.0.4, and so on for the private network’s network adapters or network adapter teams of the other clusters connected to the same switch.

You can improve fault tolerance by using network adapters that support adapter teaming or by having multiple LAN segments. To avoid communication problems, do not use dual-port network adapters for the cluster interconnect.

NOTE: NIC teaming is supported only on a public network, not on a private network.

Creating Separate Subnets for the Public and Private Networks

The public and private network’s network adapters installed in the same cluster node must reside on separate IP subnetworks. Therefore, the private network used to exchange heartbeat information between the nodes must have a separate IP subnet or a different network ID than the public network, which is used for client connections.

22 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Setting the Network Interface Binding Order for Clusters Running Windows Server 2003

Click the

Network Connections

Click the

The

In the the top of the list and followed by the

Start

button, select

Advanced

Advanced Settings

menu, and then click

window appears.

Adapters and Bindings

Control Panel

, and double-click

Advanced Settings

tab, ensure that the

Private

connection.

Public

connection is at

To change the connection order:

Click

Public

Private

Click the up-arrow or down-arrow to move the connection to the top or bottom of the

Click OK.

Close the

Dual-Port Network Adapters and Adapter Teams in the Private Network

Connections

box.

Network Connections

window.

Dual-port network adapters and network adapter teams are not supported in the private network. They are supported only in the public network.

Verifying Communications Between Nodes

Open a command prompt on each cluster node.

At the prompt, type:

ipconfig /all

Press <Enter>.

All known IP addresses for each local server appear on the screen.

Issue the

ping

command from each remote system.

Ensure that each local server responds to the ping command. If the IP assignments are not set up correctly, the nodes may not be able to communicate with the domain. For more information, see "Troubleshooting" on page 63.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 23

+ 53 hidden pages

Dell EMC AX4-5 Owner's Manual

Introduction

Virtual Servers and Resource Groups

Quorum Resource

Cluster Solution

Supported Cluster Configurations

Cluster Components and Requirements

Operating System

Cluster Nodes

Cluster Storage

Other Documents You May Need

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Cluster Configuration Overview

Installation Overview

Selecting a Domain Model

Configuring the Nodes as Domain Controllers

Configuring Internal Drives in the Cluster Nodes

Installing and Configuring the Microsoft Windows Operating System

Configuring Windows Networking

Assigning Static IP Addresses to Cluster Resources and Components

Configuring IP Addresses for the Private Network

Verifying Communications Between Nodes