Dell PowerVault MD3000 with Windows HA Clusters Quick Reference Guide

Dell™ Failover Clusters With

Microsoft

and Windows Server 2008 R2

Software Installation and

Troubleshooting Guide

Windows Server® 2008

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings

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

of your computer.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data

if instructions are not followed.

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

injury, or death.

___________________

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October 2009 Rev A01

Contents

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

Features of Failover Clusters Running Windows Server 2008

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Supported Cluster Configurations

. . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Cluster Components and Requirements

Operating System

System Requirements

Cluster Nodes

Cluster Storage

Introduction

Dell™ Failover Cluster is a group of systems working together to run a common set of applications that presents a single logical system to client applications. The systems (or nodes) in the cluster are physically connected by either local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) and are configured with the cluster software. If a system or the network connections in the cluster fail, the services on the active node failover to the passive node in the cluster.

NOTE: In this document, Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 refers to either

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. For the list of Dell-validated operating systems for a Failover Cluster, see the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

Failover Clusters configured with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating systems provide high availability and scalability for mission-critical applications such as databases, messaging systems, file and print services, and virtualized workloads. If a node in a cluster becomes unavailable (as a result of failure or having been taken down for maintenance), another node in the cluster provides the same service. Users accessing the service continue their work and are unaware of any service disruption.

Windows Server 2008 includes functionality to simplify the cluster creation and administration. You can create an entire cluster in one seamless step through a wizard interface.

Features of Failover Clusters Running Windows Server 2008

The Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 implements up to 16 nodes in a cluster, depending on the storage array used, 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

Introduction 7

• 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

The services and capabilities that are included with Failover Clusters running Windows Server 2008 are:

• The Failover Cluster Management Interface — The Failover Cluster Management Interface is a task-oriented tool. To access the management interfaces,

Start→

•The Server 2008 include the built-in cluster

Microsoft Management Console 3.0

Programs→

Validate a Configuration

Administrative Tools

Wizard — The cluster tools in Windows

and

cluadmin.msc

Validate a Configuration

, go to

wizard to help detect the issue of a cluster failing due to configuration complexity. The

Validate a Configuration

wizard runs a set of tests on the systems in a

cluster, and performs the following functions:

– Checks the software inventory

– Tests the network and attached storage

– Validates system configuration

• New method to create clusters — You can install the Failover Clustering feature through the the

Server Manager

uninstall clustering using Windows Server 2008, you must use the

Initial Configurations Task

interface in

Administrative Tools

Server Manager

interface. For systems running

Add Feature

(ICT) interface or with

. You can also

Wizard to install the

Failover Clustering feature.

• Migrating legacy clusters — You can migrate your cluster that is running the Windows Server 2003 operating system to the Windows Server 2008 operating system. To access the migration functionality in Windows Server 2008, see the

Migrate Services and Applications

wizard, a report containing

wizard. After you run the

information about the migration tasks is created.

NOTE: You cannot configure nodes running the Windows Server 2003

operating system and nodes running the Windows Server 2008 operating system in the same cluster. In addition, Failover Cluster nodes must be joined to an Microsoft Active Directory Windows NT 4.0-based domain.

8 Introduction

based domain and not a

• Improvements in Scoping and Managing Shares — The process of creating a highly-available share with Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 is very simple when you use the also use the

Browse

button to quickly and reliably identify the folder you

Add a Shared Folder

wizard. You can

want to use for the highly-available share.

• Better Storage and Backup Support — The architecture of Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 has undergone storage related changes to improve stability and scalability.

• Enhanced Maintenance Mode — Use the

Maintenance

mode to perform maintenance and administrative tasks; like Volume Snapshots, ChkDsk, and so on; on the cluster disk resources. The

Maintenance

mode turns off cluster health monitoring on the cluster disk for a period of time so that it does not fail while maintenance is in-progress on the cluster disk.

• Superior Scalability — The Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 x64 can support 16 nodes. The Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 can also supports disks which use GUID Partition Table (GPT) disk partitioning system. GPT disks allow for 128 primary partitions as opposed to

in Master Boot Record (MBR) disks. Also, the partition size for GPT

disks can be more than 2 TB (the limit for an MBR disk).

• Quorum Model — The Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering Quorum model is redesigned to eliminate the single point of failure which existed in previous versions. The four ways to establish a quorum are:

– No Majority - Disk Only (similar to Windows Server 2003 shared

disk quorum)

– Node Majority (similar to Windows Server 2003 Majority Node Set)

– Node and Disk Majority

– Node and File Share Majority

• Networking Capabilities — The Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008 employs a new networking model which includes improved support for:

– Geographically distributed clusters

– Ability to have cluster nodes on different subnets

– DHCP server to assign IP addresses to cluster interfaces

– Improved cluster heartbeat mechanism and support for IPv6

Introduction 9

Supported Cluster Configurations

For the list of Dell-validated hardware, firmware, and software components for a Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008, see the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

Cluster Components and Requirements

Your cluster requires the following components:

• Operating System

• Cluster nodes (servers)

• Cluster Storage

Operating System

Dell Failover Clusters supports Windows Server 2008 with x64 bit Enterprise Edition only. For a complete list of features, see the documentation for Windows Server 2008, x64 bit, Enterprise Edition.

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

a rolling upgrade. You cannot upgrade your Failover Cluster running a different operating system to Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition. Only a new cluster installation is permitted for Windows Server 2008, Enterprise x64 Edition.

System Requirements

The following sections list the requirements for cluster nodes and storage systems in a Failover Cluster running Windows Server 2008.

Cluster Nodes

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

Table 1-1. Cluster Node Requirements

Component Minimum Requirement

Cluster nodes At least two and up to 16 PowerEdge systems running the

Windows Server 2008 operating system.

RAM At least 512 MB of RAM installed on each cluster node.

10 Introduction

Table 1-1. Cluster Node Requirements (continued)

Component Minimum Requirement

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

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.

HBA ports

• 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 the Dell Cluster Configuration Support Matrices located on the Dell High Availability Clustering website at www.dell.com/ha.

iSCSI Initiator and NICs for iSCSI Access

For clusters with iSCSI storage, the iSCSI Software Initiator (including iSCSI port driver and Initiator Service) is installed with the operating system.

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 to

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

Introduction 11

Cluster Storage

While configuring your Dell Failover Cluster with Windows Server 2008, attach all cluster nodes to a common shared storage. 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 sixteen 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 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 Failover Cluster solution with a storage array, see the "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/manuals.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

WARNING: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove and

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

Cluster Configuration Overview

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

Systems for Clustering" section of the Dell Failover Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support site at support.dell.com/manuals. For more information on step 3 to step 7 and step 10 to step 14, see this chapter.

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

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

Install the systems, 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 systems that you want to configure as 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: To help planning and deployment of your cluster, record the relevant

cluster configuration information in the "Cluster Data Form" and "Zoning Configuration Form" of Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for the specific storage array on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 15

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

Configure each cluster node as a member in the same Microsoft® Active Directory

Establish the physical storage topology and any required storage network

Domain.

settings to provide connectivity between the storage array and the systems that are configured as cluster nodes. For more information on configuring the storage system(s), see your storage system documentation.

Use storage array management tools to create at least one logical unit number (LUN). The LUN is used as a witness disk for Microsoft Windows

Server

2008 Failover Cluster. Ensure that this LUN is presented to the

systems that are configured as cluster nodes.

NOTE: For security reasons, it is recommended that you configure the LUN on

a single node, 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 systems and form a new Failover Cluster by configuring the cluster name, cluster management IP, and quorum resource.

NOTE: For Failover Clusters configured with Windows Server 2008 operating

system, 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 Failover Clusters configured with the Windows Server 2008

operating system, you can also use the Cluster Validation Wizard.

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.

16 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

Installation Overview

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

NOTE: The Storage management software may 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

2008 operating system.

Configuration Overview" on page 15.

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 Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering (WSFC).

NOTE: WSFC supports configuring cluster IP address resources to obtain IP

address from a DHCP server in addition to through static entries. It is recommended that you use static IP addresses.

Configure the internal hard drives.

See "Configuring Internal Drives in the Cluster Nodes" on page 19.

Install and configure the Windows operating system.

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

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

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 17

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 on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals.

For more information on the corresponding supported adapters and driver versions, see the 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).

support.dell.com/manuals

See "Configuring and Managing LUNs" in the Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide storage array

Install and configure Failover Clustering feature.

on the Dell Support website at support.dell.com/manuals

corresponding to your

See "Configuring Your Failover Cluster" on page 29.

Verify cluster functionality. Ensure that:

• The cluster components are communicating properly.

• Cluster Service is started.

Verify cluster resource availability.

Use the Failover Cluster MMC to check the running state of each resource group.

The following subsections provide detailed information for the steps in the "Installation Overview" on page 17 that is specific to the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

18 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:

• It is recommended that all nodes of High Availability applications are member systems in an Microsoft Active Directory

• 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 systems.

NOTE: 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.

domain.

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: It is strongly recommended that you use hardware based RAID solution.

Alternately you can use the Microsoft Windows Disk Management tool to provide software-based redundancy.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 19

Installing and Configuring the Windows Operating System

CAUTION: 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" on page 15.

Cable the hardware.

NOTE: Do not connect the nodes to the shared storage systems at this time.

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

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

Install and configure the Windows Server 2008 operating system on each node.

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 21.

For information on required drivers, see

Support Matrices

www.dell.com/ha

located on the Dell High Availability website at

Dell Cluster Configuration

the Dell

Turn off all the cluster nodes and connect each cluster 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"

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

If required, configure the storage software.

Reboot node 1.

20 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

in the Dell

From node 1, go to the disk signature, partition the disk, format the disk, and assign drive letters and volume labels to the hard drives in the storage system.

For more information, see "

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

On node 1, verify disk accessibility and functionality on all shared disks. Verify disk access by performing the following steps on the second 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

Verify that the Windows operating system can access the file systems and the volume labels.

Install and configure the Failover Clustering feature from the

Manager

If required, install and setup the application programs.

Enter the cluster configuration information on the the Dell Failover Cluster Hardware Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for your corresponding storage array

support.dell.com/manuals

Windows Disk Management

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering" in the

Disk Management

(optional).

on the Dell Support website at

application, write the

Server

Cluster Data Form

Configuring Windows Networking

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

Windows Server 2008 also introduces IPv6 support for clustering. You can have both node-to-node (private) as well as node-to-client (public) communication over IPv6. For more details on using IPv6, see "Configuring IPv6 addresses for Cluster Nodes" on page 24.

Preparing Your Systems for Clustering 21

Assigning Static IP Addresses to Cluster Resources and Components

NOTE: WSFC supports configuring cluster IP address resources to obtain

IP address from a DHCP server in addition to through static entries. It is recommended that you use static IP addresses.

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 five (one for each network adapter and one for the cluster). Additional IP addresses are required when WSFC 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, SQL Server Enterprise Edition requires at least one static IP address for the virtual server as 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.

22 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering

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