Microsoft KB Archive/258750

= Recommended private &quot;Heartbeat&quot; configuration on a cluster server =

Article ID: 258750

Article Last Modified on 10/26/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition

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This article was previously published under Q258750





SUMMARY
Communication between Server Cluster nodes is critical for smooth cluster operations. Therefore, you must configure the networks that you use for cluster communication are configured optimally and follow all hardware compatibility list requirements. For networking configuration, two or more independent networks must connect the nodes of a cluster to avoid a single point of failure. The use of two local area networks (LANs) is typical. (Microsoft Product Support Services does not support the configuration of a cluster with nodes connected by only one network.)

At least two of the cluster networks must be configured to support heartbeat communication between the cluster nodes to avoid a single point of failure. To do so, configure the roles of these networks as either &quot;Internal Cluster Communications Only&quot; or &quot;All Communications&quot; for the Cluster service. Typically, one of these networks is a private interconnect dedicated to internal cluster communication.

Additionally, each cluster network must fail independently of all other cluster networks. This means that two cluster networks must not have a component in common that can cause both to fail simultaneously. For example, the use of a multiport network adapter to attach a node to two cluster networks would not satisfy this requirement in most cases because the ports are not independent.

To eliminate possible communication issues, remove all unnecessary network traffic from the network adapter that is set to Internal Cluster communications only (this adapter is also known as the heartbeat or private network adapter). Clustering communicates by using Remote Procedure Call (RPC) calls on IP sockets with User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets. The process described in this article:
 * Removes NetBIOS from the interconnect.
 * Sets the proper Cluster communication priority order.
 * Sets the proper adapter binding order.
 * Defines the proper network adapter speed and mode.
 * Configures TCP/IP correctly.
 * Disable the Media Sense feature (in Windows 2000 only).



Recommended configuration for the private adapter in Windows 2000 and Windows 2003
 Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network and Dial-up Connections. On the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings. In the Connections box, make sure that your bindings are in the following order, and then click OK:  External public network Internal private network (Heartbeat) [Remote Access Connections]</li></ul> </li> Right-click the network connection for your heartbeat adapter, and then click Properties.

Note You may want to rename this connection for simplicity (for example, rename it to &quot;Private&quot;).</li> Use one of the following procedures: <ul> If the server is using a quorum type other than Majority Node Set (MNS), click to select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click to clear all other options.</li> If the server is using a MNS quorum, click to select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and at least one other file-sharing network protocol, and then click to clear all other options.

Note If the server is using a MNS quorum, you must have at least one network that has file-sharing capabilities for the MNS quorum to function. We strongly recommend that you have multiple networks on the cluster that have file sharing enabled to avoid a single point of failure for the quorum resource.</li></ul> </li> If you have a network adapter that can transmit at multiple speeds, and the adapter can specify a speed and duplex mode, manually specify a speed and duplex mode.

With network adapters that can manually specify a speed and duplex mode, make sure that you hard set them to the same on all nodes and according to the manufacturers' specifications. For network adapters that do not support manual settings, follow the card manufacturer's specifications.

The information that is traveling across the heartbeat network is small, but latency is critical for communication. If you have the same the speed and duplex settings, this helps to make sure that you have reliable communication.

If you are not sure of the supported speed of your card and connecting devices, or your manufacturer's recommended settings, Microsoft recommends that you set all the devices on that path of 10 MB/Sec and Half Duplex. This configuration will provide sufficient bandwidth and reliable communication. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

174812 The effects of using Autodetect setting on cluster network interface card

Note: Microsoft does not recommend the use of any type of fault-tolerant adapter or &quot;Teaming&quot; for the heartbeat. If you require redundancy for your heartbeat connection, use multiple network adapters set to Internal Communication Only and define their network priority in the Cluster configuration. Issues seen with early multi-ported network adapters, verify that your firmware and driver are at the most current revision if you use this technology.

Contact your network adapter manufacturer for information about compatibility on a Server Cluster. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

254101 Network adapter teaming and server clustering

</li> Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.</li> On the General tab, verify that you have selected a static IP address that is not on the same subnet or network as another one of the public network adapters. An example of good IP addresses to use for the private adapters is 10.10.10.10 on node 1 and 10.10.10.11 on node 2 with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0. If your public network uses the 10.x.x.x network and 255.0.0.0 subnet mask please use an alternate private network IP and subnet. For more information about valid IP addressing for a private network, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

142863 Valid IP addressing for a private network

</li> Make sure that there is no value set in the Default Gateway box.</li> Verify that there are no values defined in the Use the following DNS server addresses box.

Note If the cluster nodes are also DNS servers, &quot;127.0.0.1&quot; is displayed in the Use the following DNS server addresses box (the box will not be blank); this is acceptable.</li> Click Advanced.</li> On the DNS tab, verify that there are no values defined. Make sure that the Register this connection's addresses in DNS and Use this connection's DNS suffix in DNS registration check boxes are cleared.</li> When you close the dialog box, you may receive the following prompt. If you receive this prompt, click Yes:

This connection has an empty primary WINS address. Do you want to continue?

</li> If you are using a crossover cable for your private heartbeat interconnect, disable the TCP/IP stack destruction feature of Media Sense.

Note Do not perform this step on a Windows Server 2003 Cluster.

Add the following registry value to each node:

Value Name: DisableDHCPMediaSense

Data Type: REG_DWORD

Data: 1

For more information about this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

254651 Cluster network role changes automatically

</li> Complete the previous steps on all other nodes in the cluster.</li> Start Cluster Administrator.</li> Click the cluster name at the root of Administrator. On the File menu, click Properties.</li> <li>On the Network Priority tab, verify that the private network is listed at the top. If it is not, use the Move Up button to increase its priority.</li> <li>Click the private network, and then click Properties.</li> <li>Click to select the Enable this network for cluster use check box.</li> <li>Click Internal cluster communications only (private Network).</li></ol>

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281662 Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 cluster nodes as domain controllers

Recommended configuration for the private adapter in Windows NT 4.0
<ol> <li>Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network.</li> <li>On the Protocols tab, click TCP/IP Protocol, and then click Properties.</li> <li>In the Adapter box, click the private network adapter.</li> <li>On the IP Address tab, verify that you have selected a static IP address that is not on the same subnet or network as another one of the public network adapters. An example of good IP addresses to use for the private adapters is 10.10.10.10 on node 1 and 10.10.10.11 on node 2 with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0.</li> <li>Make sure that there is no value set in the Default Gateway box.</li> <li>On the WINS Address tab, click the heartbeat adapter in the Adapter box.</li> <li>Verify that there are no values defined for the WINS server entries.</li> <li>When you close the dialog box, you may receive the following prompt. If you receive this prompt, click Yes:

At least one of the adapter cards has an empty primary WINS address. Do you want to continue?

</li> <li>On the Routing tab, verify that the Enable IP Forwarding check box is cleared.</li> <li>Click OK.</li> <li>If you have a network adapter that can transmit at multiple speeds and can specify a speed and duplex mode, manually specify a speed and duplex mode.

With network adapters that can manually specify a speed and duplex mode, make sure that you hard set them to the same on all nodes and according to the manufacturer's specifications. For network adapters that do not support manual settings, follow the card manufacturer's specifications.

The information that is traveling across the heartbeat network is small, but latency is critical for communication. If you have the same speed and duplex settings, you can help make sure that you have reliable communication.

If you do not know the supported speed of your card and connecting devices, Microsoft recommends you set all devices on that path to 10 MB/Sec and Half Duplex. This configuration provides sufficient bandwidth and reliable communication. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

174812 The effects of using Autodetect setting on cluster network interface card

Note Microsoft does not recommend that you use any type of fault-tolerant adapter or &quot;Teaming&quot; for the heartbeat. If you require redundancy for your heartbeat connection, use multiple network adapters set to Internal Communication Only and define their network priority in the Cluster configuration. Issues seen with early multi-ported network adapters, verify that your firmware and driver are at the most current revision if you use this technology.

Contact your network adapter manufacturer for information about compatibility on a Server Cluster. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

254101 Network adapter teaming and server clustering

</li> <li>On the Bindings tab, click All Adapters in the Show Bindings For box.</li> <li>Click the plus sign (+) next to the adapter used for the private interconnect.</li> <li>Click WINS Client (TCP/IP), and then click Disable.Note No protocols other than TCP/IP should be enabled on the heartbeat adapter. Verify that all others are disabled (including such items as Network Monitor).</li> <li>In the Show Bindings For box, click All Protocols.</li> <li>Click the plus sign (+) next to TCP/IP Protocol.</li> <li>Make sure that the public network adapter is the first binding (at the top of the binding list). To do this, click the private network adapter and use the Move Down button. If you have multiple public network adapters, make sure the heartbeat adapter is listed last. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

193890 Recommend WINS configuration for Microsoft cluster server

</li> <li>Click OK to finish modifying the network properties and accept the changes.</li> <li>Reboot the node for the changes to take effect.</li> <li>Complete the previous steps on all other nodes in the cluster.</li> <li>Start Cluster Administrator.</li> <li>Click the cluster name at the root of Administrator. On the File menu, click Properties.</li> <li>On the Network Priority tab, verify that the private network is listed at the top. If it is not, use the Move Up button to increase its priority.</li> <li>Click the private network, and then click Properties.</li> <li>Click to select the Enable this network for cluster use check box.</li> <li>Click Internal cluster communications only (private Network).</li></ol>

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281662 Windows 2000 cluster nodes as domain controllers

Additional query words: MSCS W2000MSCS

Keywords: kbproductlink kbclustering kbenv kbinfo KB258750

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