Windows 2003 Server Cluster Configuration Checklist

This checklist will help you prepare for the installation process. Following the checklist is a detailed step-by-step guide.

Software Requirements

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition is installed on all computers in the cluster.

A name resolution method such as Domain Name System (DNS), DNS Dynamic Update Protocol, Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), HOSTS, and more.

An existing domain model.

All nodes must be members of the same domain.

A domain-level account that must be a member of the local administrators group on each node. A dedicated account is recommended.

Hardware Requirements

Cluster hardware must be available in the Cluster Services Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). To find the latest list of cluster service hardware compatibility, go to the Windows Hardware Compatibility List at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx and search for the cluster. The entire solution must be HCL certified, not just individual components.

Please note: If you are installing the cluster on a storage area network (SAN) and plan to have multiple devices and clusters share the SAN with the cluster, then the solution must also be subject to "group/multiple clusters" Device hardware compatibility list."

Two mass storage device controllers: Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) or Fibre Channel. A local system disk used to install an operating system (OS) on one of the domain controllers. A separate Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) storage controller for shared disks.

Each node in the cluster has two PCI network adapters.

Attach a shared storage device to the storage cable of all computers. See the manufacturer's documentation for configuration information for your storage device. See the appendix at the end of this article for specific configurations required to use SCSI or Fibre Channel.

For all nodes, all hardware should be the same, corresponding to the correct slot, device card, BIOS, firmware revision, and so on. This will make configuration easier and eliminate compatibility issues.

Network Requirements

A unique NetBIOS name.

All network interfaces on each node have a static IP address.

Please note: Server Cluster does not support the use of addresses assigned by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers.

Access to a domain controller. If the Cluster service cannot verify the user account used to start the service, it can cause the cluster to fail. It is recommended that you install a domain controller on the same local area network (LAN) as the cluster to ensure its availability.

Each node must have at least two network adapters: one for the client public network and one for the node-to-node private cluster network. HCL certification requires a dedicated network adapter.

All nodes must have two physically separate LANs or virtual LANs for public and private communications.

If you are using a fault-tolerant network card or a combination of network adapters, verify that you are using the latest firmware and drivers. Verify your cluster compatibility with your network adapter manufacturer.

Shared Disk Requirements:

An external disk storage unit that is approved by the HCL and connected to all computers. This storage unit will be used as a cluster shared disk. A type of hardware redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is recommended.

All shared disks, including the quorum disk, must be physically attached to a shared bus.

Please note: The above requirements do not apply to most node set (MNS) clusters, which are not covered in this guide.

The controller on which the shared disk resides must be different from the controller used on the system disk.

It is recommended to create multiple hardware-level logical drives in a RAID configuration instead of using a single logical disk and then split it into multiple operating system-level partitions. This is different from the configuration that is typically used by standalone servers. However, it allows you to have multiple disk resources in a cluster and perform "active/active" configuration and manual load balancing across nodes.

A minimum of 50 megabytes (MB) of dedicated disk used as a quorum device. For optimal NTFS file system performance, a minimum of 500 MB disk partition is recommended.

Confirm that the disks attached to the shared bus can be seen from all nodes. This can be checked at the primary adapter settings level. See the manufacturer's documentation for adapter-specific instructions.

The SCSI device must be assigned a unique SCSI identification number and properly terminated according to the manufacturer's instructions. See the appendix for information on installing and terminating SCSI devices.

All shared disks must be configured as basic disks.

The cluster shared disk itself does not support software fault tolerance.

On systems running 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, all shared disks must be configured as master boot record (MBR) disks.

All partitions on the cluster disk must be formatted as NTFS.

It is recommended that all disks be in a hardware fault tolerant RAID configuration.

It is recommended to use a minimum of two logical shared drives.