Lab 6.1: Designing Application Center Clusters

After completing this lab, you’ll be able to

• Design a General/Web cluster
• Design a COM+ routing cluster
• Design a COM+ application cluster

About This Lab

In this lab you’ll design three clusters that will support NLB and CLB. The designs will focus on the network topology to support these three clusters. The clusters will be implemented in a multitiered environment that takes full advantage of Application Center’s load-balancing capabilities.

Before You Begin

Before you begin this lab, you must be able to

• Administer Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Application Center 2000
• Implement and administer NLB in Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Application Center 2000
• Implement and administer CLB in Application Center 2000

Scenario: Clusters for Trey Research

The Trey Research company provides research and information services for customers around the world. The company plans to implement online services for their customers and wants those services to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The portion of the network that will support their Web site must incorporate redundant services, components, and network paths in order to eliminate any single points of failure. Initially, the company will maintain only one Web site instead of multiple sites in different geographical locations. Data will be stored in a back-end cluster that uses the Cluster service in Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Additional clusters will be supported through the use of Windows 2000 Advanced Server Application Center. Because the Web site is a low throughput environment (a lot of static Web pages), response time for non-COM+ component work is more important than component throughput. In addition, Win32 clients must be able to access the COM+ applications. As the administrator of this network, you decide to implement a multitiered environment that supports a Web cluster, a COM+ routing cluster, and a COM+ application cluster.

Exercise 1: Designing a General/Web Cluster

In this exercise, you must design the General/Web cluster that supports the Web services. Your design should include the basic network infrastructure that supports the company’s Web site. The topology should include redundant Internet Service Provider (ISP) connections, switches, and network paths. In addition, you should define the perimeter network and the route to the corporate (secure) network. At this point, your network design should also include the General/Web cluster and the data cluster.

1. How should you draw your network design?
2. How would client requests be distributed to the hosts in General/Web cluster once those requests have passed through the firewall?
3. Based on the current network configuration, where would COM+ applications reside?

Exercise 2: Designing a COM+ Routing Cluster

In this exercise, you’ll modify the network topology that you designed in Exercise 1. Your network design should now incorporate the COM+ routing cluster. Although you wouldn’t normally add a routing cluster to a network without also adding a COM+ application cluster, for the purposes of this exercise add only the routing cluster to indicate where it would be placed in relation to the other network components. Also be certain to add the necessary components to avoid any single points of failure in your network design.

1. How should you draw the network design?
2. On which cluster or clusters would you now run NLB?
3. What’s the primary role of the COM+ routing cluster?

Exercise 3: Designing a COM+ Application Cluster

In this exercise you’ll add the COM+ application cluster to your network topology. Be sure to add the necessary switches and paths to prevent any single points of failure. At this point in the design process you should also add a Win32 client and indicate where it connects to the network.

1. How should you draw the network design?
2. On which tiers should you run CLB and NLB?
3. How is network performance affected by running COM+ applications on a cluster separate from the General/Web cluster?