Nicwix999
asked on
Wanted: Advice on server configuration for Active Directory with hot failover & DR capability
My company needs an appropriate physical server configuration for Active Directory authentication that provides hot failover and DR capability. We have approximately 3000 users across 12 sites, plus printers, etc and several hundred application servers.
Current design is for a centralised four clustered server solution (ie 2 x root, 2 x child) which does load sharing and provides failover. In the event of failure of any one server, the redundancy will eliminate any user impact.
However we also require rapid recovery (or preferrably no user impact) in the event that the data centre is lost.
One solution is to split the cluster across two physical locations (which are connected by wideband ethernet), but I am told this is not advisable due to reliability concerns and the additional network traffic would be high.
Proposed solution is to provide two additional servers at the second location (ie 6 servers in total) - but this seems an overkill. Also have separate DNS and DHCP servers which will also require backup devices for disaster recovery.
Any comments, proposed solutions, considerations, etc much appreciated !!!
Current design is for a centralised four clustered server solution (ie 2 x root, 2 x child) which does load sharing and provides failover. In the event of failure of any one server, the redundancy will eliminate any user impact.
However we also require rapid recovery (or preferrably no user impact) in the event that the data centre is lost.
One solution is to split the cluster across two physical locations (which are connected by wideband ethernet), but I am told this is not advisable due to reliability concerns and the additional network traffic would be high.
Proposed solution is to provide two additional servers at the second location (ie 6 servers in total) - but this seems an overkill. Also have separate DNS and DHCP servers which will also require backup devices for disaster recovery.
Any comments, proposed solutions, considerations, etc much appreciated !!!
ASKER
Thanks Netman66, those links are helpful.
The geographically dispersed custer looks complex - what are alternative disaster recovery solutions? Presumably if some user impact is acceptable, that opens up some other options?
Also, what about DNS & DHCP? And what else needs to be considered?
The geographically dispersed custer looks complex - what are alternative disaster recovery solutions? Presumably if some user impact is acceptable, that opens up some other options?
Also, what about DNS & DHCP? And what else needs to be considered?
You should think about using Powerquest V2i for easy and fast Recovery. I got it running on 10 servers and its reliable and easy to use.
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nice hint, netman666, that solution seems more suitable for the large scenario nicwix999 described. maybe a bit pricey, but if it really does what it states it should be well spend.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;280743&Product=winsvr2003
See the link at the bottom of the article for further details.
Actually, MS supports this design. When I sat in on a Cluster seminar at our MVP Summit it was interesting to hear how this works. As long as majority quorom survives the cluster will work.
Have a read.