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Clustering or enabling HA with a Windows SBS 2003 Server

Hi all,

I have a customer that is requesting to get a second server installation to perform some form of clustering or HA either on the machine as a whole or for individual services. The machine is currently running MS Windows 2003 SBS Server. At the moment I'm trying to get a firm grip of real possibilities there are on the market and am not limiting myself to purely MS solutions: for example, I have already considered a Linux-based disc mirror + HA failover with some form of virtual machine running the SBS off the disc mirror. So I am looking for firm solutions and not ideas on what is possible.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Brian Pierce

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SOLUTION

Lee W, MVP

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Barthax

ASKER

I realise I was a little vague on what the customer uses - but then the stipulation is clustering or HA of an SBS server. KCTS has already covered that clustering of an SBS is not an option so, concentrating on HA: what solutions are available for creating a HA failover with full disc mirroring between two boxes (assume they are identical in hardware). I don't know of any windows solutions to do this but have set up similar scenarios on Linux (hence I don't need the ideas on what is theoretically possible - I understand limitations on heartbeats, failover take up and various other aspects). So what I am looking for are existing solutions on running under MS Windows (preferably) that can work with SBS: and I realise the SBS is a major stumbling block but is a requirement - the customer isn't going to fork out for more than one more box & certainly isn't going to replace that OS on the existing (my hands are tied). :(

Brian Pierce

Bacically - None. You can use a software or hardware RAID and that is about it. SBS is not designed for this sort of environment. If your customer isn't prepared to pay for an HA system the he will have to go without.

klong3225

Barthax,

Have you considered VMware? You could create a 2 server VMcluster and run the SBS as a VM.

This would give you hardware redundance as the VM could be moved accross the 2 host.

NOTE: VMWare will automaticly restart a fail server VM on the same machine or anther machine but this is not the same as MSC, Microsoft Cluster Service. The main issue is that MCS will fail and move a service, such as you Exchange information store servcie were VMware will only do the complete server VM.

That is a very high level example but should get you going in the correct direction.

Kelo

Barthax

ASKER

Kelo: does the VMcluster support atom writes to the disc?

SOLUTION

klong3225

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Barthax

ASKER

Hi Kelo,

You've answered my question indirectly. By "atom writes" I mean, any issue of a write command to the disc: any irreducible write gets written to the cluster. The answer is a simple "no", from what I read: you are using a SAN & the disc images are not mirrored between the machines. In your set up (if I read correctly) the fail-over VM just picks up the same physical disc image from the SAN & continues where the other VM left off, is that correct?

Yes, you are correct in that a SAN-based set up is too expensive for this customer.

Thanks all - I believe you have explained the reason I can't find this solution: it doesn't exist. :D

So, I return to my original vision: a pair of linux boxes with an shared NDB disc mirror... then run VMWare on top. Rudimentary but feasible.