IT Professionals

Monitoring Cluster Node Communication (Part I)

Posted by on Apr 17, 2006 | No Comments

It is important to monitor the communication between cluster nodes to ensure RPC connectivity and that regular heartbeat messages are being sent between them. Network Monitor is a graphical toll that can be used to monitor network traffic coming to and from a computer. It allows you to monitor the traffic being sent between the cluster nodes.

The version of Network Monitor that comes with Windows Server 2003 allows you to capture traffic to and from the computer on which the tool is installed. In terms of cluster communication, Network Monitor can be installed on each of the nodes to monitor the node-to-node communication. Traffic to and from each node can be captured and analyzed to ensure regular heartbeat messages are being sent between nodes.

Network Monitor consists of two components: Network Monitor Driver and Network Monitor Tools. Install Network Monitor Driver on the system for which you want to capture data. Installing the driver only allows data to be captured. To view the captured data, Network Monitor Tools must be installed.

To capture traffic on each node and view the captured data with a graphical utility, you can install Network Monitor Tools on each of the nodes. Alternatively, you can install the Network Monitor Driver on each node and install the Network Monitor Tools on another system and view the captured data from across the network.

To install the Network Monitor Driver:

  1. Click Start and click Control Panel.

  2. Double click the Network Connections applet.
  3. Right click the local area connection and choose Properties.
  4. Click Install.
  5. Select Protocol and click Add.
  6. Select Network Monitor Driver and click OK.

To install the Network Monitor Tools:

  1. Click Start and click Control Panel.

  2. Double click the Add or Remove Programs applet.
  3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Select Management and Monitoring Tools.
  6. Select the box beside Network Monitoring Tools and click OK.

[tags]rpc,windows server 2003,monitoring cluster node communication,heartbeat message,traffic monitor[/tags]