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How to Cluster Windows Server 2003

http://www.sql-server-performance.com/articles/clustering/main.aspx

Before you can install SQL Server 2005 clustering, you must first install Windows Server 2003 clustering services. Onc

is successfully installed and tested, then you can install SQL Server 2005 clustering. In this article, we take a step-by-s

approach to installing and configuring Windows 2003 clustering. In a later article, we will learn how to install SQL Ser

2005 clustering.

Before Installing Windows 2003 Clustering

Before you install Windows 2003 clustering, we need to perform a series of important preparation steps. This is especia

important if you didn't build the cluster nodes, as you want to ensure everything is working correctly before you begin

actual cluster installation. Once they are complete, then you can install Windows 2003 clustering. Here are the steps

must take:

Double check to ensure that all the nodes are working properly and are configured identically (hardware, softwa

drivers, etc.).

Check to see that each node can see the data and Quorum drives on the shared array or SAN. Remember, only

node can be on at a time until Windows 2003 clustering is installed.

Verify that none of the nodes has been configured as a Domain Controller.

Check to verify that all drives are NTFS and are not compressed.

Ensure that the public and private networks are properly installed and configured.

Ping each node in the public and private networks to ensure that you have good network connections. Also ping

Domain Controller and DNS server to verify that they are available.

Verify that you have disabled NetBIOS for all private network cards.

Verify that there are no network shares on any of the shared drives.

If you intend to use SQL Server encryption, install the server certificate with the fully qualified DNS name of

virtual server on all nodes in the cluster.

Check all of the error logs to ensure there are no nasty surprises. If there are, resolve them before proceeding w

the cluster installation.

Add the SQL Server and Clustering service accounts to the Local Administrators group of all the nodes in t

cluster.

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Check to verify that no antivirus software has been installed on the nodes. Antivirus software can reduce

availability of clusters and must not be installed on them. If you want to check for possible viruses on a cluster,

can always install the software on a non-node and then run scans on the cluster nodes remotely.

Check to verify that the Windows Cryptographic Service Provider is enabled on each of the nodes.

Check to verify that the Windows Task Scheduler service is running on each of the nodes.

If you intend to run SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, you must then install IIS 6.0 and ASP .NET 2.0 on ea

node of the cluster.

These are a lot of things you must check, but each of these is important. If skipped, any one of these steps could prev

your cluster from installing or working properly.

How to Install Windows Server 2003 Clustering

Now that all of your physical nodes and shared array or SAN is ready, you are now ready to install Windows 20

clustering. In this section, we take a look at the process, from beginning to end.

To begin, you must start the Microsoft Windows 2003 Clustering Wizard from one of the nodes. While it doesn't make a

difference to the software which physical node is used to begin the installation, I generally select one of the physical no

to be my primary (active) node, and start working there. This way, I won't potentially get confused when installing

software.

If you are using a SCSI shared array, and for many SAN shared arrays, you will want to make sure that the second phys

node of your cluster is turned off when you install cluster services on the first physical node. This is because Windows 2

doesn't know how to deal with a shared disk until cluster services is installed. Once you have installed cluster services

the first physical node, you can turn on the second physical node, boot it, and then proceed with installing cluster serv

on the second node.

Installing the First Cluster Node

To begin your installation of SQL Server 2003 Clustering, open Cluster Administrator. If this is the first cluster, then you

be presented with the following window.

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From the Action drop-down box, select Create New Cluster and click OK. This brings up the New Server Cluster Wizard,

show below.

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Click Next to begin the wizard.

The next steps seem easy because of the nature of the wizard, but if you choose the wrong options, they can ha

negative consequences down the line. Because of this, it is important that you carefully think through each of y

responses. Ideally, you will already have made these choices during your planning stage.

The first choice you must make is the domain the cluster will be in. If you have a single domain, this is an easy choice

you have more than one domain, select the domain that all of your cluster nodes reside in.

The second choice is the name you will assign the virtual cluster. This is the name of the virtual cluster, not the name

the virtual SQL Server. About the only time you will use this name is when you connect to the cluster with Clus

Administrator. SQL Server 2005 clients will not connect to the cluster using this virtual name.

Once you enter the information, click Next to proceed.

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Now, we have to tell the wizard the physical name of the node we want to install clustering on. Assuming that you

running the Cluster Wizard on the primary node of your cluster, then the computer name you see in the above screen

be the name of the physical node you are installing on. If you are installing from one node, but want to install clustering

a different node, you can, but it just gets confusing if you do. It is much easier to install on the same node.

Notice the Advanced button in the screen shot above. If you click on it, you will see the following.

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Advanced Configuration Options allow you to choose from between a Typical and an Advanced configuration. In almost

cases, the Typical configuration will work fine, and that is the option we use during this example. The Advan

configuration option is only needed for complex SAN configurations, and is beyond the scope of this article.

So click Cancel to return to the wizard, enter the correct physical node, if need be, and click Next.

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This next step is very important. What the Cluster Wizard does is to verify that everything is in place before it begins

actual installation of the cluster service on the node. As you can see above, the wizard goes through many steps, an

you did all of your preparation correctly, when the testing is done, you will see a green bar under Tasks completed, and y

will be ready to proceed. But if you have not done all the preliminary steps properly, you may see yellow or red icons n

to one or more of the many tested steps, and a green or red bar under Tasks completed.

Ideally, you will want to see results similar to the figure above, with a green bar and no yellow icons next to the test ste

In some cases, you may see yellow warning icons next to one or more of the test steps, but still see a green bar at t

bottom. While the green bar does indicate that you can proceed, it does not mean the cluster will be comple

successfully or will be configured like you want it to be completed. If you see any yellow warning icons, you can drill do

into them and see exactly what the warning is. Read each warning very carefully. If the warning is something unimport

to you, it can be ignored. But in most cases, the yellow warnings need to be addressed. This may mean you will have

abort the cluster service installation at this time to fix the problem. Then you can try to install it again.

If you get any red warning icons next to any of the test steps, then you will also get a red bar at the bottom, which me

that you have a major problem that needs to be corrected before you can proceed. Drill down to see the message and

accordingly. Most likely, you will have to abort the installation, fix the issue, and then try installation again.

Assuming that the installation is green and you are ready to proceed, click Next.

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The next step is to enter the IP address of our virtual cluster. This is the IP address for the cluster, not the virtual S

Server. The IP address must be on the same subnet as all of the nodes in the cluster. Click Next.

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Next you enter the name of the domain account you want to use as the cluster service account. You will also enter

account's password and the name of the domain where the account was created. This account should have already be

created in your domain and added to all of the cluster nodes in the Local Administrators Group. Click Next.

The next Cluster Wizard step is the Proposed Cluster Configuration. But before you click Next, be sure to click on

Quorum button and check which drive the Cluster Wizard has selected for the Quorum. In this case Drive Q has be

chosen, which is correct. Most of the time, the Cluster Wizard will select the correct drive for the Quorum, but not alwa

This is why it is important to check to see if the correct drive was chosen. Because I named my Quorum drive "Q," i

very easy for me to determine that the correct drive was chosen by the Cluster Administrator. That is why I ear

suggested that you name the Quorum drive "Q."

Assuming everything is OK, click OK to accept the Quorum drive, and then click Next. At this time, the Cluster Wizard w

reanalyze the cluster, again looking for any potential problems. If none is found, click Next, and then click Finish

complete the installation of SQL Server 2003 clustering on the first node.

Installing the Second Node of Your Cluster

Once you have installed the first node of your cluster, it is time to install the second node. Like the first node, the seco

node is installed from Cluster Administrator. Because the cluster already exists, we are just adding the second node to

currently existing cluster. You can install the second node from either the first node or the second node. Personally, I d

from the second node so that I don't get confused.

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To install the second node, turn it on (it should have been off while you installed the first node) and bring up Clus

Administrator. You will get the same window as you saw when you installed the first node. From here, select Add Nodes

Cluster. This brings up the Add Nodes Wizard, which is very similar to the previous New Server Cluster Wizard we just r

except it has fewer options.

As the wizard proceeds, you will enter the name of the physical node to add to the current cluster, after which a series

tests will be automatically run to verify that the node is ready to be clustered. As before, if you run into any problem

yellow or red warningsyou should correct them first before continuing. Once all problems have been corrected, you

then asked to enter the password for the cluster service account (to prove that you have permission to add a node to t

cluster) and the node is added to the cluster.

Verifying the Nodes With Cluster Administrator

Once you have successfully installed the two nodes of your cluster, it is a good idea to view the nodes from Clus

Administrator. When you bring up Cluster Administrator for the first time after creating a cluster, you may have to tell i

Open a Connection to Cluster, and type in the name of the virtual cluster you just created. Once you have done this,

next time you open Cluster Administrator it will automatically open this cluster for you by default.

After opening up Cluster Administrator, what you see will be very similar to the figure below.

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Notice that two resource groups have been created for you: Cluster Group and Group 0. The Cluster Group includes th

cluster resources: the Cluster IP Address, the Cluster Name, and the Quorum drive. These were all automatically crea

for you by the Cluster Wizard. We will talk more about Group 0 a little later.

When you look next to each cluster resource, the State for each resource should be Online. If not, then your cluster m

have a problem that needs to be fixed. As a quick troubleshooting technique, if any of the resources are not Online, rig

click on the resource and choose Bring Online. In some cases, this will bring the resource online and you will

experience any more problems. But if this does not work, then you need to begin troubleshooting your cluster.

Also, next to each resource is listed the Owner of the resource. All the resources in a resource group will always have

same owner. Essentially, the owner is the physical node where the cluster resources are currently running. In the exam

above, the physical node they are running on is SQL2005A, which is the first node in my two-node cluster. If a failo

occurs, then all of the resources in the resource group will change to the other node in your cluster.

How to Configure Windows Server 2003 for Clustering

Before you install SQL Server clustering, there is one small step you need to perform, and that is to prepare a resou

group for the SQL Server resources that will be created when SQL Server is installed.

Most likely, when you created the cluster, as above, you will see a resource group named Group 0. This resource group w

created when the cluster was created, and it most likely includes the shared resource for your SQL Server databases

use. See below.

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In my example, Disk F, the shared array for SQL Server, is in Group 0. If you like, you can leave the resource group w

this name, but it is not very informative. I suggest that you rename Group 0 to SQL Server Group. You can do this

right-clicking on Group 0 and selecting Rename.

In some cases, the Cluster Wizard may put the SQL Server shared disk array in the Cluster Group resource group and

create a Group 0. If this is the case, then you will need to create a new resource group and then move the SQL Ser

shared disk array from the Cluster Group to the newly created SQL Server resource group.

Here's how you create a new resource group using Cluster Administrator:

Start Cluster Administrator.

From the File menu, select New, then select Group. This starts the New Group Wizard.

For the Name of the group, enter "SQL Server Group." Optionally, you can also enter a description of this gro

Click Next.

Now, you must select which nodes of your cluster will be running SQL Server. This of course will be all of y

nodes. The nodes are listed on the left side of the wizard. CTRL-click each of the nodes on the left and then sel

Add. This will move the selected nodes from the left side of the wizard to the right side. Click Finish.

The new SQL Server Group resource group has now been created.

Now that the group has been created, it must be brought online. Here's how.

From Cluster Administrator, right-click on the SQL Server resource group (it will have a red dot next to it) a

select Bring Online.

The red dot next to the resource group name goes away, and the SQL Server Group resource group is now on

and ready for use.

Now, your next step is to move any disk resources from the Cluster Group (except the Quorum drive) to the SQL Ser

Group. This is a simple matter of dragging and dropping the disk resources from the Cluster Group to the SQL Ser

Group. Once you have done this, you are ready for the next step.

Test, Test, and Test Again

Once you have installed Windows 2003 clustering on your nodes, you need to thoroughly test the installation bef

beginning the SQL Server 2005 cluster install. If you don't, and problems arise later with Windows 2003 clustering, y

may have to remove SQL Server 2005 clustering to fix it, so you might as well identify any potential problems and reso

them now.

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Below are a series of tests you can perform to verify that your Windows 2003 cluster is working properly. After you perfo

each test, verify if you get the expected results (a successful failover). Also be sure to check the Windows event log f

for any possible problems. If you find a problem during one test, resolve it before proceeding to the next test. Once y

have performed all of these tests successfully, then you are ready to continue with the cluster installation.

Preparing for the Tests

Before you begin testing, identify a workstation that has Cluster Administrator on it, and use this copy of Clu

Administrator for interacting with your cluster during testing. You will get a better test using a remote copy of Clus

Administrator than trying to use a copy running on one of the cluster nodes.

Move Groups Between Nodes

The easiest test to perform is to use Cluster Administrator to manually move the Cluster Group and SQL Server resou

groups from the active node to a passive node, and then back again. To do this, right-click on the Cluster Group and th

select Move Group.

Once the group has been successfully moved from the active node to a passive node, then use the same procedure ab

to move the group back to the original node. The moves should be fairly quick and uneventful. Use Cluster Administrato

watch the failover and failback, and check the Event Logs for possible problems. After moving the groups, all of

resources in each group should be in the online state. If not, you have a problem that needs to be identified and correct

Manually Initiate a Failover in Cluster Administrator

This test is also performed from Cluster Administrator. Select any of the resources found in the Cluster Group resou

group (not the cluster group itself), right-click on it, and select Initiate Failure. Because the cluster service always tries

recover up to three times from a failure, if it can, you will have to select this option four times before a test failove

initiated. Watch the failover from Cluster Administrator. After the failover, then failback using the same procedure

described above, again watching the activity from Cluster Administrator. Check the Event Logs for possible problems. A

this test, all of the resources in each group should be in the online state. If not, you have a problem that needs to

identified and corrected.

Manually Failover Nodes by Turning Them Off

This time, we will only use Cluster Administrator to watch the failover activity, not to initiate it. First, turn off the act

node by turning it off hard. Once this happens, watch the failover in Cluster Administrator. Once the failover occurs, t

the former active node on and wait until it fully boots. Then turn off the now current active node by turning it off hard. A

again, watch the failover in Cluster Administrator. After the failover occurs, bring the off node back on. Check the Ev

Logs for possible problems. After this test, all of the resources in each group should be in the online state. If not, you h

a problem that needs to be identified and corrected.

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Manually Failover Nodes by Breaking the Public Network Connections

In this test, we will see what happens if network connectivity fails. First, both nodes being tested should be on. Seco

unplug the public network connection from the active node. This will cause a failover to a passive node, which you c

watch in Cluster Administrator. Third, plug the public network connection back into the server. Fourth, unplug the pu

network connection from the now active node. This will cause a failover to the current passive node, which you can wa

in Cluster Administrator. Once the testing is complete, plug the network connection back into the server. Check the Ev

Logs for possible problems. After this test, all of the resources in each group should be in the online state. If not, you h

a problem that needs to be identified and corrected.

Manually Failover Nodes by Breaking the Shared Array Connection

This test is always exciting as it is the test that is most apt to identify potential problems. First, from the active nod

remove the shared array connection. This will cause a failover that you can watch in Cluster Administrator. Now reconn

the broken connection. Second, from the now active node, remove the shared array connection. Watch the failove

Cluster Administrator. When done, reconnect the broken connection. Check the Event Logs for possible problems. After

test, all of the resources in each group should be in the online state. If not, you have a problem that needs to be identif

and corrected.

As I mentioned before, if any particular test produces unexpected problems, such as failover not working or errors

found in the Event Logs, identify and resolve them now before proceeding with the next test. Once you have resolved a

problems, be sure to repeat the test that originally indicated the problem in order to verify that it has been fixed.

Now that you have completed the Windows 2003 cluster installation and have tested it, you are ready to install a

configure the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator.

Configuring the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator

While not required, it is recommended that you install the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) on e

of the cluster nodes before installing SQL Server 2005 clustering. This is because SQL Server 2005 requires this service

order to perform some functions, including running distributed queries, two-phase commit transactions, and some aspe

of replication. MS DTC must be installed after installing Windows 2003 clustering, but before installing SQL Server 20

clustering.

Installing MS DTC Using Cluster Administrator

While MS DTC can be set up for clustering from the command line, it is much easier to use Cluster Administrator,

described below. This is because this procedure automatically configures MS DTC on all of the cluster nodes at the sa

time. Take your time to ensure that you do it right the first time.

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Start Cluster Administrator.

Right-click on the Cluster Group resource group, select New, then Resource. This starts the new Resource Wizar

In the first screen of the Resource Wizard, enter the name of the resource you are creating, which would

"MSDTC Resource." If you like, you can also enter an optional description of this resource. Under Resource Ty

select Distributed Transaction Coordinator. Under Group, Cluster Group should already be displayed. Click Next.

In the Possible Owners dialog box, you will see that all of the nodes of the cluster are listed under Possible Owne

This is correct and should not be changed. Click Next.

In the Dependencies dialog box, press and hold the CTRL key on the Quorum disk resource and the Cluster Na

then click Add. Then click finish.

At this time, the MSDTC Resource is created.

Now that the resource has been created, it must be brought online. Here's how.

From Cluster Administrator, right-click on the MSDTC Resource (it will have a red dot next to it) and select Br

Online.

The red dot next to the resource name goes away, and the MSDTC Resource is now online and ready for use. If the n

resource won't come online, delete it and try again.

Ready to Install SQL Server 2005

Finally, you are ready to install SQL Server 2005 clustering. This topic will be covered in my next article.