Chapter 31. System-Level Fault Tolerance (ClusteringNetwork Load Balancing) | Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed (R2 Edition)

Chapter 31. System-Level Fault Tolerance (Clustering/Network Load Balancing)

In This Chapter

Building Fault-Tolerant Systems

Examining Windows Server 2003 Clustering Technologies

Choosing the Right Clustering Technology

Implementing Cluster Service

Installing Cluster Service

Managing Clusters

Backing Up and Restoring Clusters

Upgrading Cluster Nodes

Installing Network Load Balancing Clusters

Managing NLB Clusters

In many of today's business environments, using computer applications and networking services has become critical in conducting day-to-day business functions efficiently. The word downtime has become taboo in situations in which an unstable application or a failed server can greatly impact employee productivity or cost organizations money. Deploying fault-tolerant servers to provide reliable access to critical applications, user data, and networking services is required when unexpected downtime is unacceptable.

Windows Server 2003 provides several methods of improving system- or server-level fault tolerance by using a few of the services included in the Enterprise and Datacenter platforms. Chapter 30, "File System Fault Tolerance," discussed file-level fault tolerance, including the Distributed File System (DFS) and volume shadow copies. This chapter covers system-level fault tolerance using Windows Server 2003 network load balancing (NLB) and the Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS). These built-in clustering technologies provide load-balancing and failover capabilities that can be used to increase fault tolerance for many different types of applications and network services. Each of these clustering technologies is different in many ways. Choosing the correct type of clustering depends on the applications and services that will be hosted on the cluster.

Windows Server 2003 technologies such as NLB and MSCS improve fault tolerance for applications and network services, but before these technologies can be leveraged effectively, basic server stability best practices must be put in place.

This chapter focuses on the policies and procedures needed to create an environment that supports a fault-tolerant network. Additionally, this chapter contains the step-by-step procedures needed to make server hardware more reliable through the successful implementation of NLB and MSCS.