Building High Availability Windows Server 2003 Solutions

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments.

About the Authors.

Preface.

I. HIGH-PERFORMANCE WINDOWS COMPUTING.

1. The World of High-Performance, High vailability Windows Computing.

    Introduction.

    Service Level.

    Availability.

    High Availability, Downtime, and Failure.

      Scale-Out Availability and Windows Server 2003.

      Clustering.

      Scale-Up Availability.

      Scale-Out or Scale-Up?

      Share Everything Versus Share Nothing.

    High-Performance Computing.

      The Need for High-Performance Computing.

      High-Performance Computing for Everyone.

      Supercomputers in Every Closet.

      Processing and Memory.

      High-Performance Components.

      Microsoft and the Cornell Theory Center.

    Time-Out.

2. Choosing High-Performance Hardware.

    Introduction.

    Standards, Vendors, and Common Sense.

      Vendors.

      Common Sense.

    Choosing the CPU.

    Memory.

      DRAM.

      DRAM with EDO.

      Synchronous DRAM.

      Direct Rambus DRAM (RDRAM).

     Time-Out.

3. Storage for Highly Available Systems.

    Introduction.

    Redundancy and Availability of Storage.

    RAID Refresher.

      RAID 1.

      RAID 5.

      RAID 10.

      RAID Controllers.

    Server Attached Storage Solutions.

    Network Attached Storage Solutions (NAS).

    Storage Area Networks (SAN).

    IP-Based Storage Solutions.

    Time-Out.

4. Highly Available Networks.

    Introduction.

    Backbone Design for High Availability.

    Bandwidth Field Notes.

      Ethernet

      What to Look for in Network Interface Cards.

      Hubs, Switches, and Routers.

      Layer 2 Switches.

      Layer 3, Layer 4, and Beyond.

      Routers and Routing in High Availability Architecture.

      Using Hubs for Failover Interconnects.

    SAN Topology Primer.

      Fibre Channel.

      SAN Topology.

      Ports.

      Point-to-Point Topology.

      FC-AL.

      Fabric.

      Zoning.

    Architecting SAN Topology for High Availability.

    Time-Out.

5. Preparing the Platform for a High-Performance Network.

    Introduction.

    Architecting Primer.

      Create a Design Plan.

      Design Goals.

      Design Components.

      Design Decisions.

      Design Implications.

    Active Directory Services, Logical Architecture.

    Forest Plan for Highly Available Systems.

      Single Global Catalog.

    Domain Namespace.

      External DNS Domain Name.

      Domain Controllers (DCs).

      Multi-Master Operations (Global Catalogs).

      Single Master Operations (FSMO Roles).

      Schema Master.

      Domain Naming Master.

      RID (Relative Identifier Master).

      Primary Domain Controller Emulator.

      Infrastructure Master.

      Miscellaneous Roles for Domain Controllers.

      Preferred Group Policy Administrator Domain Controller.

      Time Service.

      Organizational Units.

      Group Policy Backgrounder.

      Password Policy.

      Event Log.

      Group Policy Objects for Cluster Servers.

    Active Directory Physical Architecture.

      Subnets.

      Site Links.

      Cost.

      Replication Schedule and Notification.

      Transports.

      Connection Objects.

      Site Link Bridge.

      Site Layout and Topology.

    AD Integrated DDNS (Dynamic DNS).

      DNS Architecture.

      Hub Sites.

      Administration of DNS Servers.

      DDNS Configuration.

    WINS.

      Hub Sites.

      Administration of WINS Servers.

    DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

      DHCP Architecture.

      DHCP Parameters.

      Scope Details.

    Naming Conventions.

    Time-Out.

6. Building the Foundations for a Highly Available Architecture.

    Introduction.

    Windows Clustering 101.

      The Cluster Model.

      The Quorum Resource.

      Deployment Scenarios.

    Forest Creation Process.

      Installation of Support Server.

    Installation.

    Installation of Root Domain.

      Process.

    Quality Assurance.

    Forest Preparation, DNS, and Exchange.

    Installation of Bridgehead Servers and the Child Domain.

    Installing DHCP and WINS Services.

    Patching and Updating Domain Controllers.

     Exchange Domain Preparation.

    Creation of Initial Service and Administration Resources.

    Clustering.

      Create Shared Disk Resources.

      Prepare the Cluster Network.

      Start Server Cluster Wizard.

      Troubleshooting.

    Time-Out.

II.BUILDING HIGH AVAILABILITY WINDOWS SERVER 2003 SOLUTIONS.

7. High-Performance Print-Server Solutions.

    Introduction.

    Design Specifications.

    Installation.

      Install Spooler Resources.

    Time-Out.

8. High-Performance File-Server Solution.

    Introduction.

    Scale-Out Versus Scale-Up with File Servers.

    Design.

      Develop Lab Systems.

      Configure Hardware.

      Configure 2-Node Cluster Services.

      Deploy Standard File System Configuration.

      Define and Implement Backup/Restore Procedures.

      Create a File Server Security Plan.

      Configure Root of a Domain DFS.

      Set Up File Server Administration Tools.

      Define and Implement File Server Antivirus Strategy.

      General Configuration.

      Configuration for File Server Clusters.

    Installation.

      Standard File Share.

      Share or Hide Subdirectories.

      Installing the File Share Resource.

    High Availability Using Replication and Domain DFS.

    Time-Out.

9. High Availability, High-Performance SQL Server Solutions.

    Introduction.

    Scale-Out Versus Scale-Up with Microsoft SQL Server.

    Design.

    Failover for SQL Server.

    SQL Server Cluster Design Specs.

      Documenting the Dependencies.

      Understanding SQL Server Active/Passive Configurations.

      Active/Active Configurations and Multiple Instances.

      N+1 Configurations.

      Physical Disks.

      Memory.

      Local Disks.

      Standby Services–Advantages and Disadvantages.

    Clustering SQL Server.

    High Availability, High-Performance Notes.

      Storage Notes.

      Failover Resources.

      Enterprise Manager.

      Transactions and Logs.

    Configuration and Planning.

    The Role of Replication.

    Disaster Recovery.

    HA for Analysis Services (OLAP).

      Clustering Analysis Services.

      Create Domain OLAP Administrators Group.

      Clustering SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services Troubleshooting and Best Practices.

    Troubleshooting, Maintenance, and Best Practices.

      Fragmentation.

      Operating System Level-Backup Utilities.

      Anti-Virus Software.

      Windows Updates.

      MBSA.

    Time-Out.

10. High Availability, High-Performance Exchange.

    Introduction.

    Scale-Out Versus Scale-Up with Microsoft Exchange.

    Design.

      Storage Group Architecture.

      Transaction Log Files.

      SMTP Queue Directory.

    Exchange Permissions in the Clustering Architecture.

    Getting Started with Exchange 2003 Clustering.

      Installing Exchange on the Cluster Nodes.

      The Exchange Virtual Server.

      Cluster Groups.

      Cluster Configurations.

      IP Addresses and Network Names.

      Creating the MSDTC Group.

      Creating the EVS.

      Creating an Exchange 2003 System Attendant Resource.

      Configuring a Clustered Back-End Server.

    Time-Out.

11. Load Balancing.

    Introduction.

    Scale-Out Revisited.

    Fault Tolerance and High Availability of NLB.

    Load Balancing for High Performance.

      Sharing Server Load.

      Virtual Servers.

      What Cannot Be Scaled.

      Selecting NLB Clustering Candidates.

    Network Load Balancing Architecture.

    Designing the NLB Cluster.

      Design Specifications.

      Port Rules.

      Setup and Configuration of the NLB Cluster.

      Example NLB Cluster: IIS.

      Example NLB Cluster: Terminal Services.

      Load Balancing and COM Application Servers.

      Multi-Tiered Server Farms.

    NLB Cluster Management.

      Administering the NLB Cluster.

      Troubleshooting.

      Disaster Recovery.

    Time-Out.

12. Internet Information Server.

    Introduction.

    IIS 6.0 and the Dedicated Web Server.

    Scale-Out Versus Scale-Up IIS.

      Round Robin DNS.

      Load Balancing.

    NLB for IIS.

    Planning and Configuration.

      IIS Storage.

      FTP Service.

    Troubleshooting.

    Maintaining the IIS Server Cluster.

    Disaster Recovery.

    Best Practices.

    Time-Out.

13. Looking for Trouble: Setting Up Performance Monitoring and Alerts.

    Introduction.

    Understanding the Windows Server 2003 Monitoring Systems.

      Event Viewer.

      Exploring System and Performance Monitoring Objects.

      Rate and Throughput.

      Understanding the Work Queue.

      Response Time.

      How Performance Objects Work.

      System Monitoring Tools.

      Working with the Performance Console and the System Monitor.

      How to Use System Monitor.

      Performance Logs and Alerts.

      Using Logs and Alerts.

      Monitoring the Servers.

      Monitoring for Bottlenecks.

      Understanding Your Server’s Workload.

      Performance Monitoring Tips.

    Microsoft Operations Manager.

    MOM Rapid Fire Deployment.

      Verifying Software and Hardware Requirements.

      MOM Service Accounts.

      MOM Database Sizing.

      Design.

      SQL Server Notes.

      Installing MOM Databases.

      Installing the First Management Server.

      Installing the MOM Administrator and MOM Operator Consoles.

      Discovering Computers and Deploying Agents.

      Agent Failover.

      Installing System Center 2005 Reporting.

      Importing MOM 2005 Management Packs.

      Management Pack Management.

    Time-Out.

Index.