The ACEXT.EXE Command-Line Tool

With all of the commands, which parameters are necessary and the exact format of the parameters depends on the device being communicated with. The Alteon WebSystems 180E, for example, refers to servers by number (from 1 through 255) and server groups in the same way. For F5 Networks BIG-IP, names are not used for servers and only IP addresses are used. On the Cisco Systems LocalDirector, computer names can be bound to IP addresses (thus, using computer names depends on these being set up on the device). The differences are illustrated in Table 13.8.

Table 13.8 Device Differences for the ACEXT Parameter

DeviceClusterNameServiceServerNameServerPort
Alteon WebSystems 180ENumberNot usedNumberNot used
F5 Networks BIG-IPPool nameNot usedIP addressNot used
Intel NetStructure 7175 and 7185 Policy group name Service nameComputer nameServer port
Cisco Systems LocalDirectorVirtual server group Not usedComputer name (if configured on device)Not used

Table 13.9 provides all of the ACEXT.EXE parameter information, including valid values and descriptions.

Table 13.9 ACEXT .EXE Command-Line Parameter Information

SwitchValid valuesDescription
/COMMANDGetStatusReturns the status of a particular member in a service within a cluster. Possible return values are ENABLED, DISABLED, and UNKNOWN.
 SetOfflineSets the member to the Offline state so that no load is directed to it.
 SetOnlineSets the member to the Online state so that it can start receiving load.
/DEVICEBIGIPF5 Networks BIG-IP: the supported operating system is version 3.3.
 ALTEON180E 
 LOCALDIRECTOR 
 INTEL 
/USERValid user name for the device 
/PASSWORDValid password for the device 
/DEVICENAMEHost name or IP address for the device 
/DEVICEPORTTelnet port number; defaults to 23 
/SAVEDevice, Cluster, Service, and Server details Used in combination with other parameters to save a member s entire configuration to the registry.
/CLUSTERNAMECluster name 
/CLUSTERIPCluster/virtual IP address 
/CLUSTERPORTCluster port number 
/SERVICENAMEService name (Pool, Real Server Group, Service, and so on) 
/SERVERNAMEServer name (computer name, real server name) 
/SERVERIPServer IP address 
/SERVERPORTPort number that is load balanced 

Using ACEXT.EXE

The following sections describe how you can use ACEXT.EXE to save device configuration details, obtain server status information from a load-balancing device, and set a member online or offline via a device.

Saving Server Configuration Information

You can store all of the server configuration information in the registry by using ACEXT.EXE. Every configuration parameter can be saved by using ACEXT.EXE /SAVE. This removes sensitive information from easily accessible MOF files, and, in the case of DevicePassword, provides greater security because the password is encrypted. (However, remember that Telnet communication is all in plain text.)

From the Windows 2000 command prompt, type

 ACEXT /DEVICE ALTEON180E /DEVICENAME MYDEVICE /USER CLUSTERADMIN /PASSWORD ADMINPASSWORD /DEVICEPORT 23 /CLUSTERNAME MYCLUSTER /CLUSTERIP 207.46.130.14 /CLUSTERPORT 80 /SERVERNAME 192.168.100.100 /SERVERIP 192.168.100.100 /SERVERPORT 80 /SERVICENAME 80 /SAVE 

NOTE


The preceding example specifies the Alteon WebSystems 180E device, but you can substitute this value with any valid device name, as specified in Table 13.9.

After this command is executed, this information doesn't have to be specified again. You can verify that this information is safely stored in the registry by using ACEXT.EXE to obtain server status information. Execute the following command to obtain configuration status information:

 ACEXT.EXE /COMMAND GETSTATUS 

The GETSTATUS parameter can also be used with other parameters to obtain server status information for all the cluster members.

Obtain Server Status

You can obtain the current status of any server in the cluster by running ACEXT.EXE with the following parameters and values:

 ACEXT.EXE /COMMAND GETSTATUS /CLUSTERNAME MYPOOL /CLUSTERIP 207.46.130.14 / SERVERNAME 192.168.100.100 /SERVERIP 192.168.100.100 

This command generates the following output for the specified server:

 Microsoft Application Center Load Balancing Device Command Line Utility Microsoft (c) 2000 Results of command: GetStatus Status of server: COMPUTER10AS Status: DISABLED 

Set a Member Online/Offline

You can set a member online or offline by using ACEXT.EXE with the following parameters and values:

 ACEXT.EXE /SETONLINE /CLUSTERNAME MYPOOL /CLUSTERIP 207.46.130.14 / SERVERNAME 192.168.100.100 /SERVERIP 192.168.100.100 

To set the member offline, use the preceding command syntax and replace /SETONLINE with /SETOFFLINE.

Load-Balancing Devices and Draining

Application Center has the concept of draining a member of active connections when it sets the member offline. For a specified period—the drain time—existing connections are maintained, but the member that is going offline does not accept any new connections.

After the specified drain time has finished, the member is taken completely offline for load balancing and any remaining connections are dropped.

Most external load-balancing devices do not have this concept of a drain time; they simply persist the existing connections on a server and redirect new connections to other servers. This is something that you should be aware of when using ACEXT.EXE in combination with AC.EXE to write scripts that shut down services such as Internet Information Services 5.0 (IIS). In these cases, you can simulate a drain time by putting a timed sleep interval in the script. You can insert this sleep interval between commands that disable the member on the device and commands that act on the member in the cluster context.



Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit 2001
Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit 2001
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 183

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