Re: NLB Heartbeat/private network

I'll post my little step-by-step "cheat ***" here again for your
benefit...

Maybe the issue is that you don't work for the University of Notre Dame? :)
(just kidding!)

Hope this helps, Amy...
--Ryan


How-To: Configure Network Load Balancing (NLB) with Two Network Adapters

1. Assign appropriate IP addresses to each NIC, placing them in separate
subnets.

* Node1 -

o "Public" NIC
* IP address: 10.10.2.17
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Gateway: 10.10.2.1
* DNS: as appropriate

o "NLB" NIC
* IP address: 192.168.1.1
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Gateway: N/A
* DNS: N/A


* Node2 -

o "Public" NIC
* IP address: 10.10.2.18
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Gateway: 10.10.2.1
* DNS: as appropriate

o "NLB" NIC
* IP address: 192.168.1.2
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Gateway: N/A
* DNS: N/A

2. On the "Public" NICs, click "Advanced" and add an additional IP address
as the Virtual IP Address which clients will connect to from the Public
network (i.e. - 10.10.2.177)

3. Install "Network Load Balancing" as an additional service from the
"Public" adapter properties.
* Click "Install.." and then select "Service" in the upper-window and click
"Add."
* Select "Network Load Balancing" in the upper-window and click "OK"
* Answer any prompts and provide the correct path to installation media.

4. Once NLB is installed, return to the Properties page for the "Public" NIC
and select the check-box next to "Network Load Balancing." This enables the
service globally.

5. Next, select the item "Network Load Balancing" and click "Properties"

6. Configure the NLB Cluster properties according to your parameters, using
the following example steps as a guide.

* Node1 -

o "Public" NLB Cluster Parameters tab
* Primary IP address: 10.10.2.177
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Full Internet Name mail.domain.com

o "Public" NLB Host Parameters tab
* Priority: 1
* Dedicated IP address: 10.10.2.17
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0


* Node2 -

o "Public" NLB Cluster Parameters tab
* Primary IP address: 10.10.2.177
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0
* Full Internet Name mail.domain.com

o "Public" NLB Host Parameters tab
* Priority: 2
* Dedicated IP address: 10.10.2.18
* Subnet: 255.255.255.0

7. MultiCast support can be optional in this configuration.

8. You can also now take time to create a static Host record (A record) in
your scenario's DNS infrastructure to provide appropriate name resolution to
the NLB cluster name (i.e. - mail.domain.com or just mail).

9. Your NLB cluster should be up and running.

10. An external client should now be able to ping the IP address of the NLB
cluster (i.e. - 10.10.2.177) as well as each of the individual node
addresses (i.e. - 10.10.2.17 & -.18).

11. Many good diagnostic commands can be found by typing "wlbs /?" in a
command window. For example, "wlbs query" shows the status and convergence
state of the cluster.

12. IMPORTANT NOTE: In this configuration, each individual node is NOT able
to ping the other node's Public physical IP address (i.e - 10.10.2.17 cannot
ping 10.10.2.18 and vice-versa). I believe this is expected behavior, as
the NLB cluster is now responding to requests on the Virtual Cluster address
(i.e. - 10.10.2.177).


--
Ryan Sokolowski
MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, BCFP

"A troubleshooter's best tool is the Event Viewer and understanding the
events and messages contained therein."

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"Amy Lewis" <AmyLewis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:F72DFDF7-68B9-46BD-85E6-9C633B5D63C5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>I have recently set up a 2 Node NLB Cluster. Both machines have 2 NICs.
> Each machine has 1 NIC connected to the switch/external network (called
> Public) and each machine has 1 NIC configured as a Private network and
> connected via a crossover cable to the other machine.
>
> I can ping the private network address from each machine to the other
> machine. My cluster seems to be working - although it doesn't seem that
> the
> heartbeat is functioning correctly.
>
> I followed the instructions using the NLB Manager. Basically here is my
> info
>
> Cluster IP 141.211.134.231
> Cluster Name uuis.umich.edu
>
> 1st Node (UUISWEB)
> Dedicated Cluster address (Public) is 141.211.134.234
>
> 2nd Node (UUISWEB2)
> Dedicated Cluster address (Public) is 141.211.134.235
>
> My 2 private addresses are 192.168.1.1 (UUISWEB) and 192.168.1.2
> (UUISWEB2).
>
> My questions are:
>
> The NIC that has the private address doesn't seem to be getting any packet
> traffic (i.e. shouldn't the heartbeat activity show some packets
> sent/received)?
>
> How often does that heartbeat go? Every second?
>
> Did I set it up wrong - should the dedicated IP be the Private address?
> So
> when I add a host to the cluster - and it presents me with the list of
> NICs
> to choose from as the dedicated IP - should that be the private (non
> routable) one???


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