To successfully install Cluster Service, you should have a thorough understanding of certain elements. This includes: hardware, security rights, software, configuration, automated deployment, installation verification, and points of failure.

Hardware
When considering hardware requirements, there are two considerations. First, because Cluster Service runs on Windows 2000 Advanced Server, the hardware requirements for the operating system must be met. Second, the Cluster Service has specific hardware requirements that must be met as well. These requirements include:

• Each computer in the cluster requires a minimum of two disk controllers, one of which must be SCSI or Fiber Channel.

• Each computer in the cluster requires at least one private disk for the installation of the operating system.
• There must be at least one external disk (shared disk) that the computers in the cluster connect to.
• A SCSI or Fiber Channel bus is needed to access the shared disk.
• Each computer in the cluster requires at least one network adapter, but two or more is recommended.

Disk Controllers
Each computer in the cluster requires at least two disk controllers. One of the controllers will be connected to the internal private disk and the other will be connected to the external shared disk. Cluster Service can not use the storage device and controller that services the Windows 2000 Advanced Server installation. Therefore, multiple controllers are required.

Private and Shared Disks
Each node in the cluster requires a private disk for the installation of Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Between the cluster nodes, there must also be at least one shared disk. If this disk is not present, the installation of Cluster Service will fail. The shared disk will host shared applications and shared data, thereby increasing their availability. If one node fails, the other node can take control of the shared disk and continue to service client requests.

It is recommended that the shared disk have at least two partitions. One smaller partition should be dedicated to the Quorum resource. If possible, though, the Quorum resource should be placed on a separate shared disk.

Before proceeding with the installation of Cluster Service, you will need to verify that the shared disk(s) are assigned the same drive letter on each cluster node. Any shared disks must also be formatted with NTFS.

In the next installment of this article, we’ll look at the remaining requirements that must be met.

Tags: diana huggins, cluster service, windows 2000 advanced server, scsi, fiber channel