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RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:42:43 GMT

[quote][b]If you don't mind me saying it seems that you have very little experience with Windows server systems and networks in general. Research TCP/IP and IP addressing. Practice these concepts on your virtual machines until you are confident of proceeding further.[/quote]Thanks for your help so far. I referred to Networking concepts from this book"Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering" by Allan Hirt and found it be very useful. Also, referred to these videos which helped me to configure networking between the VMs.[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4PhcnV8gSs]Link1[/url][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X1wHX5Ra08&feature=relmfu]Link2[/url][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUUjAkjzV9U&feature=related]Link3[/url]Now, Going to Part 3 of series.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:42:21 GMT

[quote][b]mohammed moinudheen (10/11/2011)[/b][hr]Another doubt I have is. Do these IP addresses that needs to be configured on [b]ClusterDC, Node1 and Node2 [/b]needs to match to what was configured on Part 1 of series[/quote]You can use the ranges in the tutorial or assign your own, it's up to you. Just remember which VMNet adapter belongs to which networkFrom memory the tutorial usesVMNET1 publicVMNET2 privateVMNET3 iSCSIIf you don't mind me saying it seems that you have very little experience with Windows server systems and networks in general. Research TCP/IP and IP addressing. Practice these concepts on your virtual machines until you are confident of proceeding further.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:40:33 GMT

[quote][b]mohammed moinudheen (10/11/2011)[/b][hr]Sorry, I have one doubt, please don't get mad. It is regarding the below IP addresses you suggested.VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0Does this mean that we need to provide the same IP address to the following. To be more clear.For [b]ClusterDC[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0For [b]Node1[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0For [b]Node2[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0[/quote]each machine must have a unique IP address in each of the ranges. For instanceDC public = 172.168.10.2 Node1 public = 172.168.10.3Node1 iSCSI = 192.168.93.3Node1 private = 10.10.10.3Node2 public = 172.168.10.4Node2 iSCSI = 192.168.93.4Node2 private = 10.10.10.4Incidentally what IP address did you assign to the NAS VM, you'll to take this into account to. Remember IP addresses in the network have to be unique, just like computernames

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:34:36 GMT

Another doubt I have is. Do these IP addresses that needs to be configured on [b]ClusterDC, Node1 and Node2 [/b]needs to match to what was configured on Part 1 of series, i.e. the ones that were configured in 'Virtual Network Editor' of VMWare.Screenshot below.[img]http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/8270/82687907.jpg[/img]

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:02:41 GMT

[quote][b]Perry Whittle (10/9/2011)[/b][hr]For this section create 3 new Windows virtual machines.1 of them requires just 1 virtual NIC connected to the public network.The other 2 require 3 virtual NICs each. One connected to public, one connected to iSCSI and the other connected to heartbeat\private. You could use the followingVMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0So the domain controller will have 1 NIC connected to VMNet1Each cluster node will have one NIC connected to VMNet1, VMNet2 and VMNet3.Get all 3 machines installed and networked and post back for details of how to create the domain controller.[/quote]Sorry, I have one doubt, please don't get mad. It is regarding the below IP addresses you suggested.VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0Does this mean that we need to provide the same IP address to the following. To be more clear.For [b]ClusterDC[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0For [b]Node1[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0For [b]Node2[/b]VMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:25:30 GMT

[quote][b]mohammed moinudheen (10/11/2011)[/b][hr]But I have a question. Initially, as I couldn't see the adapters I had configured the Microsoft Loopback Adapter and assigned the static IP addresses. Please let me know how to proceed with this.[/quote]un assign the IP from the loopback adapter and then remove the adapter itself. The VMWare VMNET virtual switches take care of the network functionality

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 01:01:50 GMT

[quote][b]Perry Whittle (10/11/2011)[/b][hr]Try installing the VMWare tools in each of the windows virtual machines, this could be why you don't see the adapters.[/quote]Thank you Perry, that was a brilliant suggestion. Yes, I installed the VMWare tools on each of the VMs and now I can see the adapters. But I have a question. Initially, as I couldn't see the adapters I had configured the Microsoft Loopback Adapter and assigned the static IP addresses. Please let me know how to proceed with this.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:09:23 GMT

Try installing the VMWare tools in each of the windows virtual machines, this could be why you don't see the adapters.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:35:05 GMT

[quote]not sure what you mean by this.When you login to the windows operating system and open Network and Sharing Centre then Change Adapter Settings, you should see the network adapters. [/quote]Please see the screenshots below, I could see no network adapters even though I configured it on ClusterDC VM machine. Due to this I configured the Microsoft Loopback Adapter.[img]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4784/noadapters.jpg[/img]Please see the network connection on CLusterDC[img]http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8122/networkconnections.jpg[/img]Also, please refer screenshot from VMware.[img]http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/1975/vmware.jpg[/img][quote]Do you know how to set an IP address within Windows?[/quote]As I couldn't find any adapters, after browsing on the net, I found that you could use Microsoft Loopback Adapter. So I configured the Loopback adapter and then set the static IP address there.I followed these steps,Start->Control Panel-> Network and Sharing Center->Manage Network Connections->Go to Adapter->Right click and go to properties->Click on Internet Protocol Version 4-> Properties-> Then enter the IP addressI guess this is the process right?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:45:17 GMT

[quote][b]mohammed moinudheen (10/10/2011)[/b][hr]Due to some reason, I was not able to view any network in ClusterDC,Node1 or Node2 VMs. [/quote]not sure what you mean by this.When you login to the windows operating system and open Network and Sharing Centre then Change Adapter Settings, you should see the network adapters. You need to set a static IP address on each adapter relevant to the network it is connected to (public, private or iscsi).Do you know how to set an IP address within Windows?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:23:51 GMT

[quote][b]mohammed moinudheen (10/9/2011)[/b][hr] "Install the windows operating systems on each VM and create a domain controller with a test domain on ClusterDC. Configure Public networking between the 3 VM's and join the 2 nodes to the domain. Configure the iSCSI network between the VM's and the NAS VM. Configure the heartbeat network between the cluster node VMs. Ensure you set the network adapter bindings on the 2 cluster nodes. The Public NIC should have priority followed by the Heartbeat and then the iSCSI NIC."[/quote]Now, I am done with these steps. "Install the windows operating systems on each VM and create a domain controller with a test domain on ClusterDC". Due to some reason, I was not able to view any network in ClusterDC,Node1 or Node2 VMs. So, I used the Microsoft Loopback Adapter for configuring the IP for virtual machines.Below are the details of IP address.ClusterDC: IP is 192.168.101.1Node1 IP is 10.10.10.8Node2 IP is 10.10.10.9Please share your inputs for the below items, I could go step by step."Configure Public networking between the 3 VM's and join the 2 nodes to the domain".How do we do it? Any links would be useful.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:19:43 GMT

All you did in part 1 is setup the subnets. Within each machines OS you have to assign an IP in the relevant range. If you need to you could get your windows admin to help you at this stage if you're not sure of IP address settings

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 11:59:23 GMT

Thanks for quick response. The 3 new Windows Virtual machines have been configured. Please see screenshots belows.For ClusterDC, here the n/w adapter is VMnet1 [img]http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/6948/clusterdc.jpg[/img]For Node1, screenshot below[img]http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/39/node1.jpg[/img]For Node2, screenshot below[img]http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6590/node2.jpg[/img]Here, the IP addresses used for VMnet1, VMnet2 and VMnet3 are the same as the ones mentioned in part 1 of series.For VMnet1 : IP address is 172.168.10.0For VMnet2 : IP address is 10.10.10.0 For VMnet3 : IP address is 192.168.93.0However, on trying to create the domain controller after typing "dcpromo" on ClusterDC, I am getting below error message.[img]http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1921/domaincontroller.jpg[/img]I had already assigned IP addresses during part 1 of article, not sure how to proceed.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:09:57 GMT

For this section create 3 new Windows virtual machines.1 of them requires just 1 virtual NIC connected to the public network.The other 2 require 3 virtual NICs each. One connected to public, one connected to iSCSI and the other connected to heartbeat\private. You could use the followingVMNet1 Public 172.168.10.0 255.255.255.0VMNet2 ISCSI 192.168.93.0. 255.255.255.0VMNet3 Private 10.10.10.0. 255.255.255.0So the domain controller will have 1 NIC connected to VMNet1Each cluster node will have one NIC connected to VMNet1, VMNet2 and VMNet3.Get all 3 machines installed and networked and post back for details of how to create the domain controller.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:46:44 GMT

Any help on this section of article would be great as I am currently stuck at this point. Trying to find some information. "Install the windows operating systems on each VM and create a domain controller with a test domain on ClusterDC. Configure Public networking between the 3 VM's and join the 2 nodes to the domain. Configure the iSCSI network between the VM's and the NAS VM. Configure the heartbeat network between the cluster node VMs. Ensure you set the network adapter bindings on the 2 cluster nodes. The Public NIC should have priority followed by the Heartbeat and then the iSCSI NIC."

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 10:18:51 GMT

[quote][b]Perry Whittle (10/8/2011)[/b][hr]you could use the Windows 2008 eval or sign up for a Technet subscription ;-)[/quote]Thank you, will do it now.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 09:32:23 GMT

you could use the Windows 2008 eval or sign up for a Technet subscription ;-)

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

mohammed moinudheen — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:22:38 GMT

How do I get the Windows Server Enterprise 2003 ISO. I am stuck at this point in the “create virtual machine” window. Please suggest any way to get this ISO file?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:27:55 GMT

Allplease find part 3 [url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Clustering/73994/][u]here[/u][/url]

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

abhijeet.send2me — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:31:23 GMT

Hi,Its a great step by step tutorial.I have setup as instructed (well almost) but when I go to SQLNode2-> iSCSI Initiator -> Target Tab, it shows all the targets but keeps showing the status "Reconnecting...". Do you know what am I doing wrong here :-(Thanks again for this great tutorial.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Thomas-105733 — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:21:15 GMT

When will be part 3 released?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

nalinabey — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:53:00 GMT

Hi Perry,Domain name : nalin.abey.netOS of all nodes: Windows Server 2008Thanks..

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:38:32 GMT

what was the domain name you used when creating the domain on the DC VM?what operating system have you used for the Clusterdc and the cluster nodes?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

nalinabey — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:12:11 GMT

Hi Perry,I did that but still no luck.Could you explain how to do network binding? Sorry I am new to this area.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

nalinabey — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:51:41 GMT

Thank you very much for your reply...I'll try with this..:)

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:25:19 GMT

[quote][b]nalinabey (7/19/2011)[/b][hr]Hi Perry,I was trying to set up domain controller and two VM's for this.I have a problem with assiging IP's for these three servers in order to create a cluster.I have just assigned Ip's as follows.[/quote]OK, for each VM clear the default gateway setting (blank) and move the IP address 10.10.10.1 to the DNS settings instead.Remember to set your network bindings on the cluster nodes too once you have the extra virtual NICs installed to the VMs.

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

nalinabey — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:57:53 GMT

Hi Perry,I was trying to set up domain controller and two VM's for this.I have a problem with assiging IP's for these three servers in order to create a cluster.I have just assigned Ip's as follows.ClusterDCIP Address : 10.10.10.1subnet mask : 255.255.255.0default gateway: 10.10.10.1Node01IP Address : 10.10.10.8subnet mask : 255.255.255.0default gateway: 10.10.10.1Node02IP Address : 10.10.10.9subnet mask : 255.255.255.0default gateway: 10.10.10.1but when I tried to add Node01 to the domain it gives me a message saying cannot contatct the specified domain...I was tring to ping the ClusterDC from Node01 but it's not receiveing any packets from clusterdc.Could you advice me on this? What am I doing wrong here.I am not a network expert though.I have followed VMWare network adapter settings as you mentioned in the part1 exactlyThank you..

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

MasterShion — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:53:28 GMT

Thanks for your fast reply, I'll be testing your tutorial in a VM :-)

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:40:29 GMT

[quote][b]Thomas-105733 (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]Perry, how did you change/modify the names of the of the Networkadapter in Virtual Network Editor?OK its clear. Its an after screenshot. You did it in the network connection from windows ..[/quote]Yes, rename the virtual adapters in windows network connections, then in VMWare server console click refresh networks list[quote][b]MasterShion (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]Hi, the tutorial is interesting, I have a question, must I repeat the step "Attach the iSCSI" in the second node?thanks[/quote]That is exactly what you must do for each cluster node that will participate in the failover of those resources

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

MasterShion — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:17:10 GMT

Hi, the tutorial is interesting, I have a question, must I repeat the step "Attach the iSCSI" in the second node?thanks

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Thomas-105733 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:58:45 GMT

Perry, how did you change/modify the names of the of the Networkadapter in Virtual Network Editor?OK its clear. Its an after screenshot. You did it in the network connection from windows ..

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:39:46 GMT

[quote][b]ffoerster (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]- the screenshots could be bigger, at the current size they are a bit difficult to decipher[/quote]thank you for that feedback[quote][b]ffoerster (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]- are you saying that you add the iSCSI targets (quorum, sqldata, logs and back) to both installed server clusters? [/quote]The targets need to be added to all nodes that will use them. In this case the 2 node cluster will support failover for a SQL Server instance, so both nodes need to have the LUNs unmasked[quote][b]ffoerster (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]- would you need to enable iSCSI MCS (multiple connections to same target/lun?) [/quote] MPIO may be a better option, i didnt go into this fully as this tutuorial is designed to ease the reader in to clustering gradually[quote][b]ffoerster (7/12/2011)[/b][hr]with VMWare I recently made an interesting observation. If you do not presize your virtual disk and attempt to create a 10GB LDF (MS SQL Log File) on such a virtual hard disk performance will be very high and on the host system the VMDK will not really consume the 10GB. When using a preallocated VMDK disk performance will be considerably slow/normal. Best, Frank[/quote]For the NAS data drives i use pre allocated virtual disks. LUNs are then created on the pre allocated drives.Glad you enjoyed the article

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

ffoerster — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:20:26 GMT

Hi, very nice article. I am currently - enough spare time permitted - experimenting on a similar setup, just using Hyper-V and a Synology NAS System (DS1511).Just a few comments/questions:- the screenshots could be bigger, at the current size they are a bit difficult to decipher- are you saying that you add the iSCSI targets (quorum, sqldata, logs and back) to both installed server clusters? - would you need to enable iSCSI MCS (multiple connections to same target/lun?) With VMWare I recently made an interesting observation. If you do not presize your virtual disk and attempt to create a 10GB LDF (MS SQL Log File) on such a virtual hard disk performance will be very high and on the host system the VMDK will not really consume the 10GB. When using a preallocated VMDK disk performance will be considerably slow/normal. Best, Frank

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Thomas-105733 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:15:59 GMT

Hi Perryyour article is very profound and I love step by step tutorials with screenshots. I am using a similar configuration (StarWind free Target and VMWare Server) W2k8/W2k8R2 and MSSQL2k8/MSSQL2k8R2.I have forgotten where to add the vmswitch in vmware an found your tutorial to solve the problem :-).We are waiting for the next parts ..

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:51:41 GMT

Thomasit's not a given or set in stone or a recommendation, it's just an example i used for the diskpart tutorial. Windows 2008 applies a one size fits all and this is itself configurable through the Windows registry. Of course all this depends an other factors such a stripe size and NTFS cluster size. Did you like the article?

RE: Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Thomas-105733 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:14:42 GMT

Hi Perry,can you explain the calculation for:CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY ALIGN = 256 IMHO W2k8 chose the right alignment self?Thanks

Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2

Perry Whittle — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:04:37 GMT

Comments posted to this topic are about the item [B]Creating a 2 Node SQL Server 2008 Virtual Cluster Part 2[/B]