- For individual users
- Instant access to solutions
- Ask your tech questions
- Start your 30-day Free Trial
Main Topics
Browse All TopicsWe now have one SBS server and one Terminal Server 2003 (standard edition 2003) to host all of our applications for about 15 users. Users are connecting to the Terminal Server from LAN & WAN side. Due to performance and scalability we want to move in another Terminal Server 2003 and create a Terminal Server Cluster with NLB.
According to Microsoft you need 3 things:
-> Network load blancing
-> Two or more Terminal Server
--> A session directory server
What has to be done to make this work?
Do we need to reïnstall the Terminal Servers to create the cluster? Do the Terminal Servers need to be upgraded (or reinstalled) with the Enterprise Edition 2003? What about the applications on the first server, do they need to be installed on the second server as well? Is it really necessary to have a session directory server?
Thanks & good luck!
Waldo
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: ChryyysPosted on 2005-06-17 at 06:19:57ID: 14240463
No, you do not need to reinstall the Terminal Server to create the cluster. With Windows 2003 you do not need the Enterprise Edition. With Windows 2000 you needed to use the Advanced Server Edition but NLB comes with 2003 Standard. The cluster would work more seemlessly if you setup the second terminal server to be identical to the first. Then using roaming terminal server profiles all the shortcuts would work and users wouldn't be able to tell that they are logging into multiple machines. And no, you don't need a sessiona directory server. I have 3 terminal server clusters running at the moment and I've never needed a session directory server.
This works best if your terminal server has 2 NICs, one is dedicated to normal traffic, the second is to be configured for NLB. If you take a look at the TCP/IP properties of the NIC that you'll be using for NLB you'll see an unchecked entry for NLB. You'll need to check the box and then enter your settings for NLB, such as the host name, IP, port rules, etc. On the second server you'll enter the same information on the NIC that will be used for NLB. If everything is working you'll see entries in the event logs telling you that the cluster is up and running and what nodes are available.