Windows 2000 DNS and Windows Server 2003 DNS

DNS is the backbone of Active Directory and the primary name resolution mechanism of Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 domain controllers dynamically register information about themselves and about Active Directory in DNS. Other Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 domain controllers, servers, and workstations that are part of the domain query DNS to find Active Directory-related information. If DNS is not set up correctly, domain-wide issues can occur such as replication between domain controllers. You may also be unable to log on to the domain or to join the domain from a workstation or server.

Question: What are the common mistakes that are made when administrators set up DNS on network that contains a single Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller?

Answer: The most common mistakes are:

* The domain controller is not pointing to itself for DNS resolution on all network interfaces.
* The "." zone exists under forward lookup zones in DNS.
* Other computers on the local area network (LAN) do not point to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server for DNS.

Question: Why do I have to point my domain controller to itself for DNS?

Answer: The Netlogon service on the domain controller registers a number of records in DNS that enable other domain controllers and computers to find Active Directory-related information. If the domain controller is pointing to the Internet service provider's (ISP) DNS server, Netlogon does not register the correct records for Active Directory, and errors are generated in Event Viewer. In Windows Server 2003, the recommended DNS configuration is to configure the DNS client settings on all DNS servers to use themselves as their own primary DNS server, and to use a different domain controller in the same domain as their alternative DNS server, preferably another domain controller in the same site. This process also works around the DNS "Island" problem in Windows 2000. You must always configure the DNS client settings on each domain controller's network interface to use the alternative DNS server addresses in addition to the primary DNS server address.

For more information about the Windows 2000 DNS "Island" problem, see "Chapter 2 - Structural Planning for Branch Office Environments" in the "Planning" section of the Windows 2000 Server Active Directory Branch Office Planning Guide at the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/windows2000serv/technologies/activedirectory/deploy/adguide/adguideintro.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/windows2000serv/technologies/activedirectory/deploy/adguide/adguideintro.mspx)

Question: What does a domain controller register in DNS?

Answer: The Netlogon service registers all the SRV records for that domain controller. These records are displayed as the _msdcs, _sites, _tcp, and _udp folders in the forward lookup zone that matches your domain name. Other computers look for these records to find Active Directory-related information.

Question: Why can't I use WINS for name resolution like it is used in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0?

Answer: A Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller does not register Active Directory-related information with a WINS server; it only registers this information with a DNS server that supports dynamic updates such as a Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server. Other Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers do not query WINS to find Active Directory-related information.

Question: If I remove the ISP's DNS server settings from the domain controller, how does it resolve names such as Microsoft.com on the Internet?

Answer: As long as the "." zone does not exist under forward lookup zones in DNS, the DNS service uses the root hint servers. The root hint servers are well-known servers on the Internet that help all DNS servers resolve name queries.

Question: What is the "." zone in my forward lookup zone?

Answer: This setting designates the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server to be a root hint server and is usually deleted. If you do not delete this setting, you may not be able to perform external name resolution to the root hint servers on the Internet.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
229840 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/229840/ ) DNS server's root hints and forwarder pages are unavailable
Question: Do I need to configure forwarders in DNS?

Answer: No. By default, Windows 2000 DNS uses the root hint servers on the Internet; however, you can configure forwarders to send DNS queries directly to your ISP's DNS server or other DNS servers. Most of the time, when you configure forwarders, DNS performance and efficiency increases, but this configuration can also introduce a point of failure if the forwarding DNS server is experiencing problems. The root hint server can provide a level of redundancy in exchange for slightly increased DNS traffic on your Internet connection. Windows Server 2003 DNS will query root hints servers if it cannot query the forwarders.

Question: Should I point the other Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers on my LAN to my ISP's DNS servers?

Answer: No. If a Windows 2000-based or Windows Server 2003-based server or workstation does not find the domain controller in DNS, you may experience issues joining the domain or logging on to the domain. A Windows 2000-based or Windows Server 2003-based computer's preferred DNS setting should point to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller running DNS. If you are using DHCP, make sure that you view scope option #15 for the correct DNS server settings for your LAN.

Question: Do I need to point computers that are running Windows NT 4.0 or Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server?

Answer: Legacy operating systems continue to use NetBIOS for name resolution to find a domain controller; however it is recommended that you point all computers to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server for name resolution.

Question: What if my Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server is behind a proxy server or firewall?

Answer: If you are able to query the ISP's DNS servers from behind the proxy server or firewall, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 DNS server is able to query the root hint servers. UDP and TCP Port 53 should be open on the proxy server or firewall.

Question: What should I do if the domain controller points to itself for DNS, but the SRV records still do not appear in the zone?

Answer: Check for a disjointed namespace, and then run Netdiag.exe /fix. You must install Support Tools from the Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM to run Netdiag.exe.

For more information about how to check for a disjointed namespace, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
257623 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257623/ ) The DNS suffix of the computer name of a new domain controller may not match the name of the domain after you install upgrade a Windows NT 4.0 Primary domain controller to Windows 2000
Question: How do I set up DNS for a child domain?

Answer: To set up DNS for a child domain, create a delegation record on the parent DNS server for the child DNS server. Create a secondary zone on the child DNS server that transfers the parent zone from the parent DNS server.

Note Windows Server 2003 has additional types of zones, such as Stub Zones and forest-level integrated Active Directory zones, that may be a better fit for your environment.

Set the child domain controller to point to itself first. As soon as an additional domain controller is available, set the child domain controller to point to this domain controller in the child domain as its secondary.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255248 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255248/ ) How to create a child domain in Active Directory and delegate the DNS namespace to the child domain

"Windows cannot unload your registry class file" error message when you log off Terminal Services

When you log off Terminal Services, you may receive the following Event ID 1000 event message:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1000
Description:
Windows cannot unload your registry class file. If you have a roaming profile, your settings are not replicated. Contact your administrator.
Details:
------------------------------
Access is denied
This problem may occur after Microsoft Windows Installer installs a program on the computer.

This problem occurs because of a registry handle leak in Windows Installer. This problem was first exposed after the installation of the MS03-026 security update.

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)
Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.
Restart requirement
You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.
Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.
File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Problems occur when the Autoenrollment feature cannot reach an Active Directory domain controller

The following Event ID 15 error message entries are logged at 8-hour intervals in the application event log:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: AutoEnrollment
Event Category: None
Event ID: 15
Date: date
Time: time
User: N/A
Computer: computer name
Description: Automatic certificate enrollment for local system failed to contact the active directory (0x8007054b). The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted. Enrollment will not be performed.

This problem may occur if the Autoenrollment feature cannot reach an Active Directory domain controller. In a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 domain, Active Directory is not available. Therefore, the Autoenrollment feature cannot work. In an Active Directory domain that has Microsoft Windows 2000 or later domain controllers, the problem may be caused by a DNS name resolution or by network connectivity issue.
For a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer or a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer that is joined to a Windows NT 4.0 domain, to turn off the Autoenrollment feature in the Local Group Policy, follow these steps on the local workstation:
1. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then press ENTER.
2. In the left pane, expand Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, expand Security Settings, and then expand Public Key Policies.
3. Double-click Autoenrollment Settings.
4. Click Do not enroll certificates automatically.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5, but in step 2, expand User Configuration, expand Windows Settings, expand Security Settings, and then expand Public Key Policies.
7. Close the Group Policy window.
For a computer that is a member of a Windows 2000 or later Active Directory domain, make sure that the domain member has network connectivity with at least one domain controller.

After you have determined that you have good Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity between the member and a domain controller, correct the DNS address in the IP properties of the workstation. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Start the Network Connections tool in Control Panel.
2. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
4. Type the correct DNS address in the Preferred DNS server box.
5. Click OK.

Probably a DNS misconfiguration. Is this server pointed to an internal DNS
server which supports your AD under TCP/IP properties?

7 Tuning Windows to Optimize Oracle Database

http://download.oracle.com/docs/html/B13831_01/tuning.htm#i1006396

Optimize the Windows Server 2003 page file for increased performance

Saving for more RAM? In the meantime, optimize your Windows Server 2003's performance by using page files--you'll free up more RAM without slowing down your server. Here's how to implement this stopgap measure while you wait to get more memory.

You've read the rule: "Add RAM to increase system performance." It's true--but often, it's not always desirable, necessary, or feasible to do so. By making a few adjustments to the way that Windows Server 2003 handles the page file, you can boost the overall performance of your server.

By default, Windows Server 2003 creates a page file on the system drive--usually C:. While this practice makes sense and provides you with the ability to create a dump file in the event of a system crash, disk performance can degrade if the page file is heavily used. That, combined with the need to go to disk all the time, can result in poor server performance.

You may also know that moving the page file off the system drive can increase performance. While this will achieve that goal, you'll also lose the ability to create a diagnostic dump file to help troubleshoot server problems.

Instead, for more efficient page file optimization that also provides a means to create a dump file, follow these tips:

1. Keep the default Windows settings for the page file on the system drive.
2. Create a second page file at least 1.5 times the size of system RAM on a less frequently used disk. Windows will automatically use the page file on the disk with the least amount of activity.

If your server is constantly paging and that paging is affecting system performance, it's time to add more RAM.

SQL Server Optimize

How can Event Manager help me optimize SQL Server performance?
Server schedule issues are one of the biggest "hidden" contributors to performance degradation and a lack of reliable notifications via the native tools only compounds the issue. Event Manager provides all of the tools a DBA needs to efficiently manage complex job schedules along with Windows Task Scheduler tasks, Reporting Services reports and DTS packages, in order to minimize schedule contention and other performance problems caused by "unoptimized" schedules... and to reliably alert the DBA when there are issues requiring attention. Event Manager is not intended to replace all general performance monitoring tools and most clients use Event Manager alongside those systems since they don't provide the visual scheduling, schedule performance monitoring, and notification features that we do. The productivity benefit is that the busy DBA can reduce the time spent on mundane daily tasks and concentrate on strategic management of their SQL Server environment.


How can scheduled events impact server or application performance?
Almost every event (SQL Agent job, DTS Package, Windows Task, etc.) incurs some level of overhead in the areas of CPU utilization, memory usage, disk I/O, network I/O, locking, blocking, connections, and many others. How much and what mix is of course dependent on what the events are doing. Problems often arise when events are scheduled to run at inopportune times, or when more than one event is inadvertently scheduled to run concurrently. Both of these scenarios can cause contention for server resources and cause degraded performance on the server.

What is a "schedule conflict"?
Event Manager considers a schedule conflict to be when more than one event is scheduled to run concurrently. This can also be referred to as a "runtime overlap" or "schedule collision" condition. Event Manager automatically highlights existing conflicts in orange on the calendar, and they can be easily resolved via drag-and-drop.

In addition to jobs, what other kind of events can Event Manager monitor?
Following is a list of event sources Event Manager currently monitors:

• SQL Server Agent Jobs
• SQL Server Maintenance Plans
• SQL Server Agent Alerts
• DTS Packages
• Reporting Services Reports
• SQL Server Agent Log
• Windows Tasks
• Legacy Maintenance Plans (SQL Server 2005 upgrades)
• Legacy DTS Packages (SQL Server 2005 upgrades)


How can Event Manager help prevent resource contention?
The tools a DBA has traditionally had at his or her disposal for SQL Server schedule management have made it very difficult or impossible to avoid scheduling issues that lead to resource contention, and ultimately application performance issues. Event Manager dramatically increases the ability for DBA's to:

• View the current state of schedule activity on any server
• Capture the full impact an event or combination of events are having on server and application performance
• Quickly assess contention levels across a "shared resource" such as file storage areas, tape libraries, etc.
• Easily make scheduling changes to minimize issues caused by resource contention.

How will Event Manager help my business save money?
Event Manager users measure real savings in several ways:

• DBA productivity is increased - via a much more efficient, user-friendly interface for dealing with schedule issues and information.
• Downtime is reduced - with more reliable and informative notifications, support personnel can respond more quickly and effectively to downtime situations.
• Database performance is increased - by ensuring schedules are leveled, contention issues are minimized, thus maximizing application performance and available hardware resources.

If I already have a SQL Server monitoring tool, do I need Event Manager?
There are many good tools available for monitoring general SQL Server health. Event Manager is not meant to replace all of those tools, although it can certainly replace some of them, and can coexist alongside others. Event Manager’s focus is on three primary areas:

• providing an intuitive visual interface for event scheduling and management
• performing detailed performance monitoring related specifically to jobs or tasks
• providing reliable, detailed notifications as well as a variety of other response conditions (Execute SQL, Execute Process, Kill Task, etc.) for various event types

Event Manager is the only tool of its kind, so if your needs are in one of the above 3 areas, Event Manager will add significant benefits to your operations over and above what you are currently receiving from other tools.

How is Event Manager licensed?
In terms of our licensing model, it is pretty simple. We require a license for every SQL Server instance and Windows Task Scheduler instance that you plan to manage with Event Manager. We do not charge per CPU as is a common practice, and we only require one license for an instance running across multiple cluster nodes. Event Manager adds value on a per instance basis, so we’ve designed our licensing model with this in mind.

Does Event Manager support monitoring of clusters and how would I monitor the clusters?
Event Manager fully supports clusters and only needs to know the virtual name of the clustered SQL Server instance.

What kind of automation can I perform with Event Manager?
In addition to sending notifications for any condition, Event Manager can also take actions such as executing another job, executing a SQL statement, or executing a process on any server that Event Manager is watching.

Also, Event Manager provides advanced chaining functionality that allows you to create complex, multi-level chains of jobs and tasks across your servers, as well as queuing features to prevent multiple jobs from running concurrently.

Network Stored PST files ---- don't do it

The file server in question is used for user home folder storage and users are accessing Outlook Personal Storage (.pst) files stored on the server from their client. The issue will manifest as either a server hang, or PagedPool depletion (Event ID 2020). Oftentimes the issue will occur first thing in the morning - when users are logging on and launching Outlook. In especially severe cases, the issue occurs several times daily. Sometimes the server will hang for a few minutes and then continue operating for a few minutes - and then hang again. Rinse & repeat. The users are frustrated because of slow access to their data, the server administrators are frustrated because they are tasked with fixing the problem, and upper management is frustrated because everyone else is frustrated.

If you're in this situation - there's good news ... and very bad news. The good news is that this problem is very common and is a known issue. The very bad news (from the customer's standpoint) is that PST files on a LAN/WAN is an unsupported configuration. Some customers are very surprised to hear this but Network Stored PST files have been unsupported since the days of Exchange 4.0. Microsoft KB Article 297019 goes into some detail about the effects of Network PST files:

"A .pst file is a file-access-driven method of message storage. File-access-driven means that the computer uses special file access commands that the operating system provides to read and write data to the file.

This is not efficient on WAN or LAN links because WAN/LAN links use network-access-driven methods, commands the operating system provides to send data to or receive from another networked computer. If there is a remote .pst (over a network link), Microsoft Outlook tries to use the file commands to read from the file or write to the file, but the operating system then has to send those commands over the network because the file is not on the local computer. This creates a great deal of overhead and increases the time it takes to read and write to the file. Additionally, the use of a .pst file over a network connection may result in a corrupted .pst file if the connection degrades or fails."

Let's use an example to illustrate the problem and also follow the problem through to its end result.

Let's say that a user sends an e-mail message to 500 users within the company. All of these users have their e-mail delivered directly to their PST file which is stored on the File Server. Some of these 500 users may need to extend their PST files to receive it. To extend a PST, an extra allocation on disk has to be made via NTFS. This locks out the whole volume while free space is allocated and the Master File Table (MFT) is updated. While this is happening for each user, all I/O for the other 499 users is on hold.

Allocating free space can take an extended time, especially if the disk is fragmented. Now factor in multiple users extending their PST's in the same timeframe, and significant periods of MFT lockout might be observed, which in turn is seen as inability to access any other file on the volume, resulting in queueing in the server service work queues, and sometimes SRV 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 events being logged. This scenario might overload the disk(s).

Setting aside the example of one email being sent to a group of users, imagine if you had a couple of hundred users who each have two or three PST files. These users have been with the company for a while, and they rarely (if ever!) delete their email from their PST files. The files continue to grow in size - let's use an average of 1 GB as the size of the PST file. Now consider that when each user launches Outlook, they make a request for two (or three) files, each of them being about 1 GB in size. Then consider what happens when 200 users all launch Outlook around the same time when they get to work. 200 x 3 x 1 = 600 GB of data being requested at the same time. That's an awful lot of Disk & Network I/O to process simultaneously. This is a very common scenario - the file server "freezing" for a few minutes at a time while it tries to service these requests.

The queuing in the server service work queues is what causes this temporary hang. The server service uses work items to handle I/O requests that come in over the network - for example: a request to extend a PST file. These work items are queued in the server service work queues, and from there they are handled by the server service worker threads. The work items are allocated from a kernel resource called Non-Paged Pool (NPP).

The server service sends these I/O requests down to the disk subsystem. If, for reasons mentioned above, the disk subsystem does not respond in time, the incoming I/O requests are queued via work items in the server work queues. Since these work items are allocated from NPP, eventually this resource runs empty. Running out of NPP causes systems to hang eventually (logging an Event ID 2019 in the process).

Digging down into this from more of a troubleshooting perspective, we can usually see issues caused by the PST files manifested in Poolmon and Perfmon captures. For example, we may see the LSwn pool tag allocation climbing in a Poolmon trace. These allocations are made by SRV.SYS. The size of the allocation is configurable via the SizReqBuf registry value. One allocation is made for each work item used by the server service. When looking at this through Perfmon, you will notice a steady decrease in the "Available Work Items" counter. If Available Work Items reaches zero, then clients may experience difficulties accessing files (any files, not just the PST files!). You may also experience 2019 errors if the problem lies with LSwn allocations (Non-Paged Pool depletion)

Another tag that highlights the issues with the PST files is the MmSt tag. This tag represents Mm section object prototype PTEs - a memory management-related structure used for mapped files. Put a different way, this is the pool tag that is used to map the OS memory used to track shared files. MmSt issues often manifest as Paged Pool depletion (Event ID 2020).

Is there any server-side tweaking that can be done to mitigate some of these effects? Yes. Is there any guarantee that this will resolve the problem completely and indefinitely? No. As an environment continues to scale up, the problem will continue to manifest itself despite all the tweaking that we can do. At some point, the tweaking itself may contribute to the problem because we've reached a point where the server simply cannot handle the workload.

Device Manager does not display devices

Device Manager displays only non-Plug and Play devices, drivers, and printers when you click Show hidden devices on the View menu. Devices that you install that are not connected to the computer (such as a Universal Serial Bus [USB] device or "ghosted" devices) are not displayed in Device Manager, even when you click Show hidden devices.

To work around this behavior and display devices when you click Show hidden devices:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
2. At a command prompt, type the following command , and then press ENTER:
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
3. Type the following command a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
start devmgmt.msc
4. Troubleshoot the devices and drivers in Device Manager.

NOTE: Click Show hidden devices on the View menu in Device Managers before you can see devices that are not connected to the computer.
5. When you finish troubleshooting, close Device Manager.
6. Type exit at the command prompt.

Note that when you close the command prompt window, Window clears the devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 variable that you set in step 2 and prevents ghosted devices from being displayed when you click Show hidden devices.

If you are a developer or power user and you want to be able to view devices that are not connected to your computer, set this environment variable globally:

1. Right-click My Computer.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Click the Environment Variables tab.
5. Set the variables in the System Variables box.

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION OF NAGIOS

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION OF NAGIOS
---------------------------------------------


1)tar xfvz nagios-1.0b5.tar.gz

2)cd nagios-1.0b5

3)mkdir /usr/local/nagios

4)chown nagios.nagios /usr/local/nagios

5)grep "^User" etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

6)/usr/sbin/groupadd nagcmd

7)/usr/sbin/usermod -G nagcmd apache
/usr/sbin/usermod -G nagcmd nagios

8)./configure --prefix=/usr/local/nagios
--with-cgiurl=/nagios/cgi-bin --with-htmurl=/nagios/ --with-nagios-user=nagios
--with-nagios-grp=nagios

9)make all

10)make install

11)make install-init (It creates the daemon script in rc.d)

12)make install-config (Creates the etc directory)

INSTALLATION OF PLUGGINS
-------------------------

1)tar xfvz nagios-pluggins-1.0b5.tar.gz

2)cd nagios-pluggins-1.0b5.tar.gz

3)./configure
--prefix=/usr/local/nagios --with-nagios-user=nagios --with-nagios-group=nagios

4)make all

5)make install

6)cd /usr/local/nagios/libexec/

There will be some files in this directory.

7)./check_ssh -h (To check ssh pluggin)

8)cd /usr/local/nagios/etc (All sample files are there remove the sample extension.)Make the necessary changes in the configuration files.

9)Now create the following cfg files

hosts.cfg
----------


# Host Definition

define host{
# Name of host template to use
use generic-host

host_name test-server1
alias subho
address 172.16.0.210
check_command check-host-alive
max_check_attempts 10
contact_groups nagios
notification_interval 120
notification_period 24x7
notification_options d,u,r
}

define host{
# Name of host template to use
use generic-host

host_name localhost.localdomain
alias sss
address 172.16.0.211
check_command check-host-alive
max_check_attempts 10
contact_groups nagios
notification_interval 120
notification_period 24x7
notification_options d,u,r



hostgroups.cfg(This file should not have the contact_groups directive)
----------------

define hostgroup{
hostgroup_name flcd-servers
alias The Free Linux CD Project Servers
members test-server1

contacts.cfg
---------------

define contact{
contact_name nagios
alias Oktay Altunergil
service_notification_period 24x7
host_notification_period 24x7
service_notification_options w,u,c,r
host_notification_options d,u,r
service_notification_commands notify-by-email
host_notification_commands host-notify-by-email
email oktay@localhost.localdomain


contactgroups.cfg
---------------------

define contactgroup{
contactgroup_name nagios
alias FreeLinuxCD.org Admins
members nagios

services.cfg
-------------------

# Service definition
define service{
# Name of service template to use
use generic-service

host_name test-server1
service_description HTTP
is_volatile 0
check_period 24x7
max_check_attempts 3
normal_check_interval 5
retry_check_interval 1
contact_groups nagios
notification_interval 120
notification_period 24x7
notification_options w,u,c,r
check_command check_http
}


# Service definition
define service{
# Name of service template to use
use generic-service

host_name test-server1
service_description PING
is_volatile 0
check_period 24x7
max_check_attempts 3
normal_check_interval 5
retry_check_interval 1
contact_groups nagios
notification_interval 120
notification_period 24x7
notification_options c,r
check_command check_ping!100.0,20%!500.0,60%



Added only two service for monitoring we can add many more.


10)../bin/nagios -v nagios.cfg (For checking the configuration)

11)Running Nagios Manually as a Daemon
/usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -d
Note that you must specify the path/filename of the main configuration file (i.e.
/usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg) on the command line.

12)/etc/rc.d/init.d/nagios restart

13)chkconfig nagios on


To start the web interface
-------------------------------
1)Add the following lines in httpd.conf file

ScriptAlias /nagios/cgi-bin "/usr/local/nagios/sbin/"

Options ExecCGI
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
AuthName "Nagios Access"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users
Require valid-user


Alias /nagios "/usr/local/nagios/share/"

Options None
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
AuthName "Nagios Access"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users
Require valid-user



2)Issue the following commands

htpasswd -c /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users nagiosadmin

To add more than one user

htpasswd /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users


3)# service httpd restart

4)check from the browser

http://172.16.0.211/nagios/index.html

For the REMOTE HOSTS (tO BE INSTALLED ON THE REMOTE HOSTS)
-----------------------------------------------------------

1)Download the NRPE tar ball and unpack it

#tar xzf nrpe-2.8.tar.gz

#cd nrpe-2.8

2)Compile the NRPE addon.

#./configure
# make all

3)Install the NRPE plugin (for testing), daemon, and sample daemon config file.

#make install-plugin
#make install-daemon
#make install-daemon-config

4)Install the NRPE daemon as a service under xinetd.

#make install-xinetd

5)Edit the /etc/xinetd.d/nrpe file and add the IP address of the monitoring server to the only_from directive.

only_from = 127.0.0.1

6)Add the following entry for the NRPE daemon to the /etc/services file.

nrpe 5666/tcp # NRPE

7)Restart the xinetd service.

#service xinetd restart

8)Test the NRPE daemon locally

#netstat -at | grep nrpe

The output out this command should show something like this:

tcp 0 0 *:nrpe *:* LISTEN

9)/usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H localhost

You should get a string back that tells you what version of NRPE is installed, like this:

NRPE v2.8


NRPE PLUGGIN IN THE NAGIOS SERVER
--------------------------------------

1)Extract the NRPE source code tarball.

# tar xzf nrpe-2.8.tar.gz
# cd nrpe-2.8

2)Compile the NRPE addon.

#./configure
# make all

3)Install the NRPE plugin.

# make install-plugin

4) Test communication with the NRPE daemon


Make sure the check_nrpe plugin can talk to the NRPE daemon on the remote host.

#/usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H

You should get a string back that tells you what version of NRPE is installed on the remote host, like this:

NRPE v2.8

How to MS Cluster ?

reate a Windows Server 2003 Two-Node Cluster
Page 1
Introduction
This step-by-step guide provides instructions for installing Cluster Service on servers running the Windows 2003 Enterprise Servers operating system. The guide describes the process of installing Cluster Service on cluster nodes. It is not intended to explain how to install cluster applications. Rather, it guides you through the process of installing a typical, two-node cluster itself.
A server cluster is a group of independent servers running Cluster service and working collectively as a single system. Server clusters provide high-availability, scalability, and manageability for resources and applications by grouping multiple servers running Windows 2003 Enterprise Server.
The purpose of server clusters is to preserve client access to applications and resources during failure and planned outages. If one of the servers in the cluster is unavailable due to failure or maintenance, resource and applications move to another available cluster node
For cluster systems, the term high availability is used rather that fault-tolerant, as fault tolerant technology offers a higher level of resilience and recovery. Fault-tolerant servers typically use a high degree of hardware redundancy plus specialized software to provide near-instantaneous recovery from any single hardware or software fault. These solutions cost significantly more than clustering solutions because organizations must pay for redundant hardware that waits idly for a fault. Fault-tolerant servers are used for applications that support high-value, high-rate transactions such as check clearinghouses, Automated Teller Machines (ATMS), or stock exchanges.
While Cluster service does not guarantee non-stop operation, it provides availability sufficient for most mission-critical applications. Cluster service can monitor applications and resources, automatically recognizing and recovering from many failure conditions. This provides greater flexibility in managing the workload within cluster, and improves overall availability of the system.
Cluster service benefits include:
High Availability – With Cluster service, ownership of resources such as disk drives and IP address is automatically transferred from failed server to surviving server. When a system or application in the cluster fails, the cluster software restarts the failed application on a surviving server, or disperses the work from the failed node to the remaining nodes. As a result, users experience only a momentary pause in service.
Failback – Cluster service automatically re-balances the workload in a cluster when a failed server comes back online.
Manageability – You can use the Cluster Administrator to manage a cluster as a single system and to manage applications as if they were running on a single server. You can move applications to different servers within a cluster by dragging and dropping cluster objects. You can move data to a different server in the same way. This can be used to manually balance server workloads and to unload servers for planned maintenance. You can also monitor the status of the cluster, all nodes and resources from anywhere on the network.
Scalability – Cluster services can grow to meet rising demands. When the overall load for a cluster-aware application exceeds the capabilities of the cluster, additional nodes can be added.
This document provides instructions for installing Cluster service on servers running Windows 2003 Enterprise Server. It describes the process of installing the Cluster service on cluster nodes. It is not intended to explain how to install cluster applications, but rather to guide you through the process of installing a typical,

Checklists for Cluster Server Installation
This checklist assists you in preparing for installation. Step-by-step instructions begin after the checklist.
Software Requirements
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise installed on all computers in the cluster.
A name resolution method such as Domain Name System (DNS), DNS dynamic update protocol, Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), HOSTS, and so on.
An existing domain model.
All nodes must be members of the same domain.
A domain-level account that is a member of the local administrators group on each node. A dedicated account is recommended.
Hardware requirements
The hardware for a Cluster service node must meet the hardware requirements for Windows 2003 Enterprise Server. These requirements can be found at the Product Compatibility Search page.
Cluster hardware must be on Cluster Service Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). The latest version of the Cluster Service HCL can be found by going to the Windows Hardware Compatibility List and then searching on Cluster.
Two HCL-approved computers, each with the following:
A boot disk with Windows 2003 Enterprise Server installed. The boot disk cannot be on a shared storage bus described below.
Boot disks and shared disks must be on separate SCSI channels (SCSI PathID); separate adapters (SCSI PortNumber) are not required. Thus, you can use a single multi-channel SCSI or Fibre Channel adapter for both boot and shared disks.
Two PCI network adapters on each machine in the cluster.
And HCL-approved external disk storage unit that connects to all computers. This will be used as the clustered disk. A redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is recommended.
Storage cables to attach the shared storage device to all computers. Refer to the manufacturers’ instructions for configuring storage devices.
All hardware should be identical, slot for slot, card for card, for all nodes. This will make configuration easier and eliminate potential compatibility problems.
Network Requirements
A unique NetBIOS name.
Static IP addresses for all network interfaces on each node.
Note: Server Clustering does not support the use of IP addresses assigned from Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers.
Access to a domain controller. If the cluster service is unable to authenticate the user account used to start the service, it could cause the cluster to fail. It is recommended that you have a domain controller on the same local area network (LAN) as the cluster is on to ensure availability.
Each node must have at least two network adapters—one for connection to the client public network and the other for the node-to-node private cluster network. A dedicated private network adapter is required for HCL certification.
All nodes must have two physically independent LANs or virtual LANs for public and private communication.
If you are using fault-tolerant network cards or network adapter teaming, verify that you are using the most recent firmware and drivers. Check with your network adapter manufacturer for cluster compatibility.
Shared Disk Requirements
An HCL-approved external disk storage unit connected to all computers. This will be used as the clustered shared disk. Some type of a hardware redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is recommended.
All shared disks, including the quorum disk, must be physically attached to a shared bus.
Note: The requirement above does not hold true for Majority Node Set (MNS) clusters, which are not covered in this guide.
Shared disks must be on a different controller then the one used by the system drive.
Creating multiple logical drives at the hardware level in the RAID configuration is recommended rather than using a single logical disk that is then divided into multiple partitions at the operating system level. This is different from the configuration commonly used for stand-alone servers. However, it enables you to have multiple disk resources and to do Active/Active configurations and manual load balancing across the nodes in the cluster.
A dedicated disk with a minimum size of 50 megabytes (MB) to use as the quorum device. A partition of at least 500 MB is recommended for optimal NTFS file system performance.
Verify that disks attached to the shared bus can be seen from all nodes. This can be checked at the host adapter setup level. Refer to the manufacturer’s documentation for adapter-specific instructions.
SCSI devices must be assigned unique SCSI identification numbers and properly terminated according to the manufacturer’s instructions. See the appendix with this article for information on installing and terminating SCSI devices.
All shared disks must be configured as basic disks. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
237853 Dynamic Disk Configuration Unavailable for Server Cluster Disk Resources
Software fault tolerance is not natively supported on cluster shared disks.
All partitions on the clustered disks must be formatted as NTFS.
Hardware fault-tolerant RAID configurations are recommended for all disks.
A minimum of two logical shared drives is recommended.

Cluster Installation
Installation Overview
During the installation process, some nodes will be shut down while others are being installed. This step helps guarantee that data on disks attached to the shared bus is not lost or corrupted. This can happen when multiple nodes simultaneously try to write to a disk that is not protected by the cluster software. The default behavior of how new disks are mounted has been changed in Windows 2003 Server from the behavior in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 operating system. In Windows 2003, logical disks that are not on the same bus as the boot partition will not be automatically mounted and assigned a drive letter. This helps ensure that the server will not mount drives that could possibly belong to another server in a complex SAN environment.
Although the drives will not be mounted, it is still recommended that you follow the procedures below to be certain the shared disks will not become corrupted.
Use the table below to determine which nodes and storage devices should be turned on during each step.
The steps in this guide are for a two-node cluster. However, if you are installing a cluster with more than two nodes, the Node 2 column lists the required state of all other nodes.

Several steps must be taken before configuring the Cluster service software. These steps are:
Installing Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition operating system on each node.
Setting up networks.
Setting up disks.
Perform these steps on each cluster node before proceeding with the installation of cluster service on the first node.
To configure the cluster service, you must be logged on with an account that has administrative permissions to all nodes. Each node must be a member of the same domain. If you choose to make one of the nodes a domain controller, have another domain controller available on the same subnet to eliminate a single point of failure and enable maintenance on that node.
Installing the Windows 2003 Operating System
Refer to the documentation you received with the Windows Server 2003 operating system package to install the system on each node in the cluster.
Before configuring the cluster service, you must be logged on locally with a domain account that is a member of the local administrators group.
Note: The installation will fail if you attempt to join a node to a cluster that has a blank password for the local administrator account. For security reasons, Windows Server 2003 prohibits blank administrator passwords.
Setting Up Networks
Note: For this section, power down all shared storage devices and then power up all nodes. Do not let both nodes access the shared storage device at the same time until cluster services is installed on at least one node and that node is online.
Each cluster node requires at least two adapters – one to connect to a public network and one to connect to a private network consisting of cluster nodes only.
The private network adapter establishes node-to-node communications, cluster status signals and cluster management. Each node’s public network adapter connects the cluster to the public network where clients reside.
Note: To eliminate possible communication issues refer to Knowledge Base (KB) article Q258750 – Recommended Private “HeartBeat” Configuration on a Cluster Server.
Verify that all network connections are correct, with private network adapters connected to other private network adapters only, and public network adapters connected to the public network. The connections are illustrated in Figure 7 below. Run these steps on each cluster node before proceeding with shared disk setup.

Teaming Network Adapters
Perform these steps on the first node in the cluster. Please note that the following screens assume an HP interface. If you are setting up a Dell, please refer to appendix H. To provide for network redundancy, HP provides a utility to group network adapters in teams, which can provide for fault tolerance and/or load balancing.
1.To open the HP Network Configuration Utility, click on the Icon located in the system tray, as shown in the figure below.

2.The HP Network Configuration Utility property window will open and show the installed network adapters

3.Select the appropriate adapters for the Private Network Team by clicking on the adapter names.
4.On the Teaming Setup selection box, select Team. The utility will perform the necessary configuration and change the properties of the team as shown below.
5.Repeat the process for the Public Network Team as in steps 3-4.

6.Highlight the network Team and then click on the Properties button. The following screen is displayed.

7.Ensure that the Team Type Selection is set to Network Fault Tolerance Only (NFT), then click OK
8.Repeat steps 5-8 for the Public Network Team
Configuring the Private Network Adapter
1.Right-click My Network Places and then click Properties.
2.Right-click the Private Network Team icon
3.Click Status. The Private Network Team Status window shows the connection status, as well as the speed of connection. If the window shows that the network is disconnected, examine cables and connections to resolve the problem before proceeding. Click Close.
4.Right-click Private Network Team again, click Properties, and click Configure.
5.Click Advanced. The window shown in the figure below should appear

6.Network adapter on the private network should be set to the actual speed of the network, rather then default automated speed selection. Select your network speed from the drop-down list. Do not use and Auto-select setting for speed. Some adapters may drop packets while determining the speed. To set the network adapter speed, click on appropriate option such as Media Type or Speed.
All network adapters in the cluster that are attached to the same network must be identically configured to use the same Duplex Mode, Flow Control, Media Type, and so on. These settings should remain the same even if the hardware is different.
7.Right click My Network Places
8.Right Click the Private Network Team and select Properties

9.Click Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
10.Click Properties

11.Click the radio-button for Use the following IP address and type in the address that has been assigned by the system administrator.
12.Type in a subnet mask, which has been assigned by the system administrator
13.Click the Advanced radio-button and select the WINS tab. Select Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.

14.Click OK to return to the previous menu.

Configuring the Public Network Adapter
Perform these steps on the first node in the cluster.
Right-click My Network Places and then click Properties.
Right-click the Local Area Connection 1 icon
Click Status. The Local Area Connection 1 Status window shows the connection status, as well as the speed of connection. If the window shows that the network is disconnected, examine cables and connections to resolve the problem before proceeding. Click Close.
Right-click Local Area Connection 1 again, click Properties, and click Configure.
Click Advanced. The window shown in the figure below should appear

Network adapter on the private network should be set to the actual speed of the network, rather then default automated speed selection. Select your network speed from the drop-down list. Do not use an Auto-select setting for speed. Some adapters may drop packets while determining the speed. To set the network adapter speed, click on the appropriate option such as Media Type or Speed.
All network adapters in the cluster that are attached to the same network must be identically configured to use the same Duplex Mode, Flow Control, Media Type, and so on. These settings should remain the same even if the hardware is different.
Click Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Click Properties
Click the radio-button for Use the following IP address and type in the address that has been assigned by the system administrator.
Type in a subnet mask, which has been assigned by the system administrator
The window should now look like the figure below:

Rename the Local Rear Network Icons
It is recommended to change the names of the network connections for clarity.
1.Right-click the Private Network Team icon
2.Click Rename
3.Type Private Cluster Connection into the textbox and press Enter.
4.Repeat steps 1-3 and rename the public network adapter as Public Cluster Connection.

5.The renamed icons should look like those in the figure above. Close the Networking and Dial-up Connections window. The new connection names automatically replicate to the other cluster servers as they are brought online.
Verifying Connectivity and Name Resolution
To verify that the private and public networks are communicating properly, perform the following steps for each network adapter in each node. You need to know the IP address for each network adapter in the cluster. If you do not already have this information, you can retrieve it using the ipconfig command on each node.
1.Click Start, click Run and type cmd in the text box. Click OK
2.Type ipconfig /all and press Enter. IP information should display for all network adapters in the machine.
3.Type ping ipaddress where ipaddress is the IP address for the corresponding network adapter in the other node.
To verify name resolution, ping each node from a client using the node’s machine name instead of its IP number. (Requires workstation setup to be completed)
Verifying Domain Membership
All nodes in a cluster must be members of the same domain and able to access the domain controller and DNS server. They can be configured as member servers or domain controllers.
1.Right-click My Computer, and click Properties.
2.Click Computer Name tab. The System Properties dialog box displays the full computer name and domain.
3.If you are using member servers and need to join a domain, you can do so at this time. Click Change and follow the on screen instructions for joining a domain.
4.Otherwise click the OK button.
Setting Up a Cluster User Account
The Cluster service requires a domain user account under which the Cluster Service can run. This user account must be created on the primary domain controller before installing Cluster Services, because setup requires a user name and password. This user account should not belong to a user on the domain.
1.Click Start, point to Control Panel, point to Administrative Tools, and click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2.Click the + to expand the domain (If not already expanded)
3.Click Users
4.Right-click Users, point to New, and Click User
5.Type in the cluster name as shown in the figure below and click Next.

6.Set the password settings to User Cannot Change Password and Password Never Expires. Click Next and then click Finish to create this user.
7.Right-click Cluster in the left pane of the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. Select Properties from the context menu.
8.Click the Member of tab
9.Click Add
10.Type Administrator
11.Click OK
12.Click Administrators and click OK. This gives the new user account administrative privileges on this computer.
13.Close the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
Setting Up Shared Disks
Warning: Make sure the Windows 2003 Enterprise Server and the Cluster service are installed and running on one node before starting an operating system on another node. If the operating system is started on other nodes before the Cluster service is installed, configured and running on at least one node, the cluster disks will probably be corrupted
To proceed, power off all nodes. Power up the shared storage device are then power up node one.
About the Quorum Disk
The quorum disk is used to store cluster configuration database checkpoints and log files that help manage the cluster.
Create a small partition [A minimum of 50 MB to be used as quorum disk. Generally it’s recommended a quorum disk to be 500 MB.
Dedicate a separate disk for a quorum resource. As failure of the quorum disk would cause the entire cluster to fail
Configuring Shared Disk
1.Make sure that only one node is turned on.
2.Right click My Computer, click Manage, and then expand Storage.
3.Double-click Disk Management.
4.If you connect a new drive, then it automatically starts the Write Signature and Upgrade Disk Wizard. If this happens, click Next to step through the wizard.
Note: The wizard automatically sets the disk to dynamic. To reset the disk to basic, right-click Disk n (where n specifies the disk that you are working with), and then click Revert to Basic Disk.
5.Right-click unallocated disk space.
6.Click New Partition.
7.The New Partition Wizard begins. Click Next.
8.Select the Primary Partition type. Click Next.
9.The default is set to maximum size for the partition size, change to 500MB. Click Next. (Multiple logical disks are recommended over multiple partitions on one disk.)
10.Use the drop-down box to change the drive letter. Use a drive letter that is farther down the alphabet than the default enumerated letters. Commonly, the drive letter Q is used for the quorum disk, then R, S, and so on for the data disks. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
318534 Best Practices for Drive-Letter Assignments on a Server Cluster
Note: If you are planning on using volume mount points, do not assign a drive letter to the disk. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
280297 How to Configure Volume Mount Points on a Clustered Server
11.Format the partition using NTFS. In the Volume Label box, type a name for the disk. For example, Drive Q, as shown in Figure 15 below. It is critical to assign drive labels for shared disks, because this can dramatically reduce troubleshooting time in the event of a disk recovery situation.

If you are installing a 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, verify that all disks are formatted as MBR. Global Partition Table (GPT) disks are not supported as clustered disks. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
284134 Server Clusters Do Not Support GPT Shared Disks
Verify that all shared disks are formatted as NTFS and designated as MBR Basic.
Verify Disk Access and Functionality
1.Start Windows Explorer.
2.Right-click one of the shared disks (such as Drive D:\), click New, and then click Text Document.
3.Verify that you can successfully write to the disk and that the file was created.
4.Select the file, and then press the Del key to delete it from the clustered disk.
5.Repeat steps 1 through 4 for all clustered disks to verify they can be correctly accessed from the first node.
6.Turn off the first node, turn on the second node, and repeat steps 1 through 4 to verify disk access and functionality. Assign drive letters to match the corresponding drive labels. Repeat again for any additional nodes. Verify that all nodes can read and write from the disks, turn off all nodes except the first one, and then continue with this white paper.
Configure the First Node
Note: During installation of Cluster service on the first node, all other nodes must either be turned off, or stopped prior to Windows 2003 booting. All shared storage devices should be powered up.
1.Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.
2.When prompted by the Open Connection to Cluster Wizard, click Create new cluster in the Action drop-down list, as shown in the figure below and click OK.

3.Verify that you have the necessary prerequisites to configure the cluster, as shown in the figure below. Click Next.

4.Type a unique NetBIOS name for the cluster (up to 15 characters), and then click Next. In the example shown in Figure 18 below, the cluster is named MyCluster.) Adherence to DNS naming rules is recommended. For additional information, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
163409 NetBIOS Suffixes (16th Character of the NetBIOS Name)
254680 DNS Namespace Planning

5.If you are logged on locally with an account that is not a Domain Account with Local Administrative privileges, the wizard will prompt you to specify an account. This is not the account the Cluster service will use to start.
Note: If you have appropriate credentials, the prompt mentioned in step 5 and shown in the figure below may not appear.

6.Because it is possible to configure clusters remotely, you must verify or type the name of the server that is going to be used as the first node to create the cluster, as shown in the figure below. Click Next.

Note: The Install wizard verifies that all nodes can see the shared disks the same. In a complex storage area network the target identifiers (TIDs) for the disks may sometimes be different, and the Setup program may incorrectly detect that the disk configuration is not valid for Setup. To work around this issue you can click the Advanced button, and then click Advanced (minimum) configuration. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 331801 Cluster Setup May Not Work When You Add Nodes

7.The figure below illustrates that the Setup process will now analyze the node for possible hardware or software problems that may cause problems with the installation. Review any warnings or error messages. You can also click the Details button to get detailed information about each one.

8.Type the unique cluster IP address (in this example 172.26.204.10), and then click Next.
9.As shown in the figure below, the New Server Cluster Wizard automatically associates the cluster IP address with one of the public networks by using the subnet mask to select the correct network. The cluster IP address should be used for administrative purposes only, and not for client connections.

10.Type the user name and password of the cluster service account that was created during pre-installation. (In the example in the figure below, the user name is “Cluster”). Select the domain name in the Domain drop-down list, and then click Next.

11.Review the Summary page, shown in the figure below, to verify that all the information that is about to be used to create the cluster is correct. If desired, you can use the quorum button to change the quorum disk designation from the default auto-selected disk.
The summary information displayed on this screen can be used to reconfigure the cluster in the event of a disaster recovery situation. It is recommended that you save and print a hard copy to keep with the change management log at the server.
Note: The Quorum button can also be used to specify a Majority Node Set (MNS) quorum model. This is one of the major configuration differences when you create an MNS cluster

12.Review any warnings or errors encountered during cluster creation. To do this, click the plus signs to see more, and then click Next. Warnings and errors appear in the Creating the Cluster page as shown in the figure below.

13.Click Finish to complete the installation. The figure below illustrates the final step.

Note: To view a detailed summary, click the View Log button or view the text file stored in the following location:
%SystemRoot%\System32\LogFiles\Cluster\ClCfgSrv.Log
6.2 Validate Cluster Installation
Use the Cluster Administrator (CluAdmin.exe) to validate the cluster service installation on Node 1.
To validate the cluster installation
1.Click Start, click Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.
2.Verify that all resources came online successfully, as shown in the figure below.

Note As general rules, do not put anything in the cluster group, do not take anything out of the cluster group, and do not use anything in the cluster group for anything other than cluster administration.
Configuring Second Node
Installing the cluster service on the other nodes requires less time than on the first node. Setup configures the cluster service network settings on the second node based on the configuration of the first node. You can also add multiple nodes to the cluster at the same time, and remotely.
Note: For this section, leave node 1 and all shared disks turned on. Then turn on all other nodes. The cluster service will control access to the shared disks at this point to eliminate any chance of corrupting the volume.
1.Open Cluster Administrator on Node 1.
2.Click File, click New, and then click Node.
3.The Add Cluster Computers Wizard will start. Click Next.
4.If you are not logged on with appropriate credentials, you will be asked to specify a domain account that has administrative rights over all nodes in the cluster.
5.Enter the machine name for the node you want to add to the cluster. Click Add. Repeat this step, shown in the figure below, to add all other nodes that you want. When you have added all nodes, click Next.

6.The Setup wizard will perform an analysis of all the nodes to verify that they are configured properly.
7.Type the password for the account used to start the cluster service.
8.Review the summary information that is displayed for accuracy. The summary information will be used to configure the other nodes when they join the cluster.
9.Review any warnings or errors encountered during cluster creation, and then click Next.
10.Click Finish to complete the installation.
Post Installation Configuration
Heartbeat Configuration
Now that the networks have been configured correctly on each node and the Cluster service has been configured, you need to configure the network roles to define their functionality within the cluster. Here is a list of the network configuration options in Cluster Administrator:
Enable for cluster use: If this check box is selected, the cluster service uses this network. This check box is selected by default for all networks.
Client access only (public network): Select this option if you want the cluster service to use this network adapter only for external communication with other clients. No node-to-node communication will take place on this network adapter.
Internal cluster communications only (private network): Select this option if you want the cluster service to use this network only for node-to-node communication.
All communications (mixed network): Select this option if you want the cluster service to use the network adapter for node-to-node communication and for communication with external clients. This option is selected by default for all networks.
This white paper assumes that only two networks are in use. It explains how to configure these networks as one mixed network and one private network. This is the most common configuration. If you have available resources, two dedicated redundant networks for internal-only cluster communication are recommended.
To configure the heartbeat
1.Start Cluster Administrator.
2.In the left pane, click Cluster Configuration, click Networks, right-click Private, and then click Properties.
3.Click Internal cluster communications only (private network), as shown in the figure below

4.Click OK.
5.Right-click Public, and then click Properties
6.Click to select the Enable this network for cluster use check box.
7.Click the All communications (mixed network) option, and then click OK.

Heartbeat Adapter Prioritization
After configuring the role of how the cluster service will use the network adapters, the next step is to prioritize the order in which they will be used for intra-cluster communication. This is applicable only if two or more networks were configured for node-to-node communication. Priority arrows on the right side of the screen specify the order in which the cluster service will use the network adapters for communication between nodes. The cluster service always attempts to use the first network adapter listed for remote procedure call (RPC) communication between the nodes. Cluster service uses the next network adapter in the list only if it cannot communicate by using the first network adapter.
1.Start Cluster Administrator.
2.In the left pane, right-click the cluster name (in the upper left corner), and then click Properties.
3.Click the Network Priority tab, as shown in Figure 31 below.

4.Verify that the Private network is listed at the top. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to change the priority order.
5.Click OK
6.5 Configuring Cluster Disks
Start Cluster Administrator, right-click any disks that you want to remove from the cluster, and then click Delete.
Note: By default, all disks not residing on the same bus as the system disk will have Physical Disk Resources created for them, and will be clustered. Therefore, if the node has multiple buses, some disks may be listed that will not be used as shared storage, for example, an internal SCSI drive. Such disks should be removed from the cluster configuration. If you plan to implement Volume Mount points for some disks, you may want to delete the current disk resources for those disks, delete the drive letters, and then create a new disk resource without a drive letter assignment.
Quorum Disk Configuration
The Cluster Configuration Wizard automatically selects the drive that is to be used as the quorum device. It will use the smallest partition that is larger then 50 MB. You may want to change the automatically selected disk to a dedicated disk that you have designated for use as the quorum.
Configure the Quorum Disk
1.Start Cluster Administrator (CluAdmin.exe).
2.Right-click the cluster name in the upper-left corner, and then click Properties.
3.Click the Quorum tab.
4.In the Quorum resource list box, select a different disk resource. In the figure below, Disk Q is selected in the Quorum resource list box.

5.If the disk has more than one partition, click the partition where you want the cluster-specific data to be kept, and then click OK.
For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q280353 How to Change Quorum Disk Designation
Creating a Boot Delay
In a situation where all the cluster nodes boot up and attempt to attach to the quorum resource at the same time, the Cluster service may fail to start. For example, this may occur when power is restored to all nodes at the exact same time after a power failure. To avoid such a situation, increase or decrease the Time to Display list of operating systems setting. To find this setting, click Start, point to My Computer, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup And Recovery. Set the first node to 15 seconds and the second node to 30 seconds

Test Installation
There are several methods for verifying a cluster service installation after the Setup process is complete. These include:
Cluster Administrator: If installation was completed only on node 1, start Cluster Administrator, and then attempt to connect to the cluster. If a second node was installed, start Cluster Administrator on either node, connect to the cluster, and then verify that the second node is listed.
Services Applet: Use the services snap-in to verify that the cluster service is listed and started.
Event Log: Use the Event Viewer to check for ClusSvc entries in the system log. You should see entries confirming that the cluster service successfully formed or joined a cluster.
Cluster service registry entries: Verify that the cluster service installation process wrote the correct entries to the registry. You can find many of the registry settings under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Cluster
Click Start, click Run, and then type the Virtual Server name. Verify that you can connect and see resources.
Test Failover
Verify Resources will Failover
1.Click Start, click Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator, as shown in the figure below.

2.Right-click the Disk Group 1 group, and then click Move Group. The group and all its resources will be moved to another node. After a short period of time, the Disk F: G: will be brought online on the second node. Watch the window to see this shift. Quit Cluster Administrator.