System-Level Fault Tolerance (Clustering/Network Load Balancing) - Creating Additional Cluster Groups and Resources
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The Cluster server supports multiple cluster groups that can be used to support several purposes. For instance, a cluster group can be created to consolidate a standalone file server to a virtual server running on the cluster or to run as a separate cluster application group. Also, some applications like Microsoft SQL Server 2000 may require separate cluster groups to operate efficiently. When additional cluster groups are necessary, they can be easily created using the Cluster Administrator program.
Creating Groups
To create new cluster groups, perform the following steps:
Click Start, Administrative Tools, Cluster Administrator.
When Cluster Administrator opens, choose Open Connection to Cluster and type the name of the cluster in the Cluster Name text box. Click OK to continue.
Right-click the cluster and select New and then Group, as shown in Figure 31.11.
Enter the appropriate information to complete the group addition.
Click Next and then Finish after all groups have been created.
Select File, Close to exit Cluster Administrator.
Creating New Resources
To create new resources, follow these steps:
Click Start, Administrative Tools, Cluster Administrator.
When Cluster Administrator opens, choose Open Connection to Cluster and type the name of the cluster in the Cluster Name text box. Click OK to continue.
Right-click the cluster and select New Resource.
Type in the appropriate name and description for the resource.
Choose the correct resource type and which cluster group it will reside in.
Figure 31.11 Adding a new group for cluster configuration.
Choose which servers can run the resource and click Next to continue.
Choose which existing resources the new resource will depend on and click Next to continue.
Enter any remaining resource parameters to complete the resource creation because certain resources have resource requirements. For instance, a network name resource depends on an IP address resource, so an IP resource must first be configured in a cluster group before a network name resource will be allowed.
In Cluster Administrator, right-click the new resource and bring online.
Select File, Close to exit Cluster Administrator.
Changing the Cluster Service Account Password
In previous versions of Cluster Service, changing the Cluster Service account password required bringing the Cluster Service down on each node and manually changing the cluster password using the Change Password applet. Then the Cluster Service logon credentials had to be changed in the Services applet in the Control Panel.
Starting with Windows Server 2003, the Cluster Service account password can be changed with the cluster online. Do not, however, change the password using the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in or the Windows security box if logged in with that account. Instead, run the Cluster.exe command-line utility from a server on the network. At a command prompt, enter the following command to complete the password-changing operation:
Cluster.exe /cluster:clustername /changepass:currentpassword, newpassword
Then press Enter to continue.
Note - All nodes in the cluster must be running on the Windows Server 2003 operating system for this password-changing command to work.
Moving Cluster Groups
Moving a cluster group from one node to another makes the resources unavailable during the time necessary to take the group offline and bring it online on the next node.
If the administrator moves a group for the purposes of performing maintenance on a node, she must be sure to pause the node after all cluster groups are moved off. This ensures that no cluster groups will move to this node until the administrator resumes node operation after maintenance is performed.
If you want to move a group, right-click the cluster group and select Move Group. If more than two nodes are possible owners of this cluster group, choose the appropriate node to move this group to.
 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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