System-Level Fault Tolerance (Clustering/Network Load Balancing) - Testing Clusters
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After all the desired cluster nodes are added and failover and failback are configured for each cluster group to complete cluster installation, it is time to test cluster functionality. For these tests to be complete, failover and, when applicable, failback of cluster groups need to be tested. They can be tested by manual failover and also by taking a cluster node off the network by unplugging network cards. However, the cluster is not tested by disconnecting shared storage device connections because this may cause possible corruption in the shared storage data.
Note - Clusdiag.msi, located in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit, can be used to diagnose and test the cluster. It can also aid in troubleshooting failures by providing administrators reports based on prior testing.
Figure 31.10 Setting failback for a cluster file group.
Testing Cluster Group Manual Failover
To test the cluster group failover manually, follow these steps:
Open Cluster Administrator, right-click the desired cluster group, and choose Take Offline.
Right-click the same cluster group and choose Move Group. If the cluster contains more than two nodes, choose the node to which you want to move the group.
Right-click the same cluster group and choose Bring Online.
The group now should start on the node you chose in step 2. Repeat steps 1–3 for each cluster group, moving back and forth between all available cluster nodes.
When testing is complete, move cluster groups to their desired cluster nodes and bring all groups online.
Initiating Failure of a Cluster Resource
To simulate a cluster resource failure, a cluster administrator can initiate a resource failure using the Cluster Administrator utility. This utility can be used to verify how a failing cluster resource will affect the cluster group.
To test the failure of a cluster resource, follow these steps:
Open Cluster Administrator.
Right-click the cluster resource you will manually fail and select Properties.
Select the Advanced tab and note how many failures this resource will tolerate before it finally fails completely or fails the entire cluster group.
Close the resource's property page.
Right-click the cluster resource you will manually fail and choose Initiate Failure.
Repeat the preceding steps as necessary to ensure proper operation during resource failure conditions.
When testing is complete, move cluster groups to their desired cluster nodes and bring all groups online.
Initiating Cluster Node Network Failure
To simulate and verify how cluster groups will fail over during a cluster node network or network card failure, perform the following steps:
Log on to the desired cluster node with Cluster Administrator or Local Administrator permissions.
Click Start, Control Panel.
Double-click the Network Connections applet.
Right-click each of the cluster node's private network and public network adapters and choose Disable.
On an available cluster node, log in using a Cluster Administrator account.
Click Start, Administrative Tools, Cluster Administrator.
If the Cluster Administrator does not connect to the cluster or connects to a different cluster, choose File, Open Connection.
From the Active drop-down box, choose Open Connection to Cluster. Then, in the Cluster or Server Name drop-down box, type . (period) and click OK to connect.
Verify that the network-disabled node appears as offline and that all cluster groups have failed over to other available cluster nodes.
When testing is complete, enable all disabled network cards on the network-disabled node.
Move cluster groups to their desired cluster nodes and bring all the groups online.
 This chapter is from Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, by Rand Morimoto, et al. (Sams Publishing, 2004, ISBN: 0672326671). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today.
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