Cluster Help

StarWind 5.0 Preview - It is Official

I strongly recommend a visit to StarWind's website to read about the upcoming release of StarWind's iSCSI target software software. I usually explain what it is to people by calling it a software SAN for Windows servers.

Any Windows server can be made into a SAN by using StarWind's software. However, version 5.0 adds automated failover between servers to provide fault tolerance for the storage.

For more info, visit the StarWind site at http://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-v5-preview.

I am really excited about this upcoming release and what it means to high availability.

Want Replicated Storage Without Buying Multiple SANs?

If the answer is a loud and resounding , "YES!" then you are not alone.

I hear from reliable sources that the new StarWind Software release will have this capability in it and will enable WAN separated clustering of file services as well as other services.

How? I am glad you asked. From what I have seen, the software will perform the replication and control it and also provide a single user interface for iSCSI so that the cluster can point to a single iSCSI target source and if it fails, the replica will continue to run and allow access via the single name.

Yes, it is that simple, but I am sure the software is not that easy to develop.

Watch for the official news in the next couple of days.

Exchange Server 2007 CCR on Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster

PowerShell and Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters

One of the major changes moving forward into Windows Server 2008 R2 is that some of the tools are being deprecated (I love that word) in favor of PowerShell.

Some people just screamed, “Wooo hooo, fantastic!” while others screamed, “Great, now I have to learn another tool after investing all of those years in the tools of the past!”

I, personally, take the first view point in that this is great news. It now forces me to start using PowerShell more than just in Exchange Server 2007. PowerShell will be the main tool in the future, so it is important to learn it now.

So, this is the perfect time to start talking about the differences and how we will now use PowerShell in Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clustering. Let’s start from the beginning.

Get-WindowsFeature in PowerShell will provide a list of all features and a checkbox will show whether they are installed or not.

Add-WindowsFeature Failover-Clustering will add the failover clustering feature along with the Remote Server Administrative Tools (RSAT) for Failover Clustering Tools.

From here on, it is all down hill. We have the feature installed, and the PowerShell module is imported. Like all PowerShell commands, the list can be broken down into Add, Block, Clear, Get, Grant, Move, New, Remove, Resume, Set, Start, Stop, Suspend, Test, and Update verbs. If you want to see a setting, you will generally use a Get verb combined with the noun describing what you want to find. For example, the Get-Cluster cmdlet will provide information about the cluster such as the domain name, the name of the cluster, and the description of the cluster along with several other bits of information. The various cmdlets related to failover clustering can be found by using the Get-Command –module FailoverClusters cmdlet. The resulting cmdlets are broken out by verb below.

Add cmdlets include the following:

• Add-ClusterDisk
• Add-ClusterFileServerRole
• Add-ClusterGenericApplicationRole
• Add-ClusterGenericScriptRole
• Add-ClusterGenericServiceRole
• Add-ClusterGroup
• Add-ClusterNode
• Add-ClusterPrintServerRole
• Add-ClusterResource
• Add-ClusterResourceDependency
• Add-ClusterResourceType
• Add-ClusterServerRole
• Add-ClusterSharedVolume
• Add-ClusterVirtualMachineRole

There is only one block cmdlet for failover clustering, and it is used to block users from accessing the failover cluster.

• Block-ClusterAccess

There are two Clear cmdlets for failover clustering. Clear-ClusterDiskReservation is used to clear the persistent reservation on a disk. The Clear-ClusterNode is used to forcibly remove the failover cluster feature from a node.

• Clear-ClusterDiskReservation
• Clear-ClusterNode

The Get cmdlets are probably the most used. Get verbs allow for the easy retrieval of information about a failover cluster

• Get-Cluster
• Get-ClusterAccess
• Get-ClusterAvailableDisk
• Get-ClusterGroup
• Get-ClusterLog
• Get-ClusterNetwork
• Get-ClusterNetworkInterface
• Get-ClusterNode
• Get-ClusterOwnerNode
• Get-ClusterParameter
• Get-ClusterQuorum
• Get-ClusterResource
• Get-ClusterResourceDependency
• Get-ClusterResourceDependencyReport
• Get-ClusterResourceType
• Get-ClusterSharedVolume

The Grant verb is basically the reverse of the block verb. With the Grant-ClusterAccess cmdlet, you can provide full access to the failover cluster, and with the –readonly parameter, read only access can be provided.

• Grant-ClusterAccess

The Move verb can be used to move resources between failover cluster nodes.

• Move-ClusterGroup
• Move-ClusterResource
• Move-ClusterSharedVolume
• Move-ClusterVirtualMachineRole

The New-Cluster cmdlet does just what it says it does. It creates new failover clusters.

• New-Cluster

The Remove verb is used to delete resources or to completely destroy the cluster by using the Remove-Cluster cmdlet.

• Remove-Cluster
• Remove-ClusterAccess
• Remove-ClusterGroup
• Remove-ClusterNode
• Remove-ClusterResource
• Remove-ClusterResourceDependency
• Remove-ClusterResourceType
• Remove-ClusterSharedVolume

The Resume verb is used to resume either the activity on a node after it has been suspended or to take a cluster disk or cluster shared volume out of maintenance mode.

• Resume-ClusterNode
• Resume-ClusterResource

The Set cmdlets are extremely powerful in that they can be used to make changes to the cluster resources and the cluster itself.

• Set-ClusterLog
• Set-ClusterOwnerNode
• Set-ClusterParameter
• Set-ClusterQuorum
• Set-ClusterResourceDependency

The Start verb is used to start the cluster service, for example with the Start-Cluster cmdlet, or to start groups or resources.

• Start-Cluster
• Start-ClusterGroup
• Start-ClusterNode
• Start-ClusterResource

If there is a Start verb, then it makes sense that there is a Stop verb that does the exact opposite. For example, you can shut down the cluster by using the Stop-Cluster cmdlet or you can stop entire groups or individual resources by using the Stop cmdlets below.

• Stop-Cluster
• Stop-ClusterGroup
• Stop-ClusterNode
• Stop-ClusterResource

The Suspend verb does the opposite of the Resume verb. The Suspend verb is used to pause a node by using the Suspend-ClusterNode cmdlet, and the Suspend-ClusterResource cmdlet will turn on maintenance mode for a disk resource or a cluster shared volume.

• Suspend-ClusterNode
• Suspend-ClusterResource

The Test-Cluster cmdlet is used to run the Validate tool. At first glace, you would think it would have been named something like Validate-Cluster, but to make the cmdlet consistent with other features and applications, the Test verb is used.

• Test-Cluster

Update-ClusterIPResource is used to release the DHCP lease for IP Address resources and Update-ClusterVirtualMachineConfiguration is used to refresh the configuration settings when adding a new network adapter or to refresh other settings such as the virtual memory configuration for VMs running in the failover cluster.

• Update-ClusterIPResource
• Update-ClusterVirtualMachineConfiguration

To learn more about each command, use the help that is built into PowerShell. You will find that a simple command like, Get-Help CmdletName will retrieve some basic information, but if you extend it with the –full parameter or the –example parameter, and you can get an easy grasp of what you can do with the Cmdlet.

Antivirus for Windows Home Server

I was using the freebie that came with my WHS, which is provided by McAfee. So, me being a lazy person, I figured I would just purchase the product since the free trial ran out. Once on the console, it looked easy. I clicked the link to buy the product.

Well, that is where it because a major pain. While McAfee was more than willing to take my money, they don't seem very willing to tell you how to install it. No problem, I will suck it up and call the tech support team. Well, the tech support team that handles home users does not support WHS. The Enterprise team supports WHS. Oh yeah, that makes sense. After about an hour on hold, I got to talk to a tech who did not seem to understand that WHS is a product and it is not just a server at my home. After going back and forth on hold and finally getting a tech that seemed to know what to do, I was cut off.

What to do, what to do... Being a bit of a hot head, I called McAfee and got my money back.

The solution? Avast has a WHS version, and it works like an add-on for WHS. It was fast, it was easy, and I am glad that I found Avast.

StarWind Software - Cluster Presentations

StarWind Software has been a wonderful partner to work with over the last few years. I first started working with the product when it was part of Rocket Division, but it was split off and became its own company several months ago.

I recently did a web cast for StarWind Software, and it was a fun project. They also have had several others do web casts on cluster topics. I highly recommend that everyone visit their site to learn more about clustering and to see how their product works with clustering. I think you will be happy to see it.

http://www.starwindsoftware.com/experts

Free Office Communications Server 2007 Architectural Poster - Get Yours!

I love free stuff.

https://www.mindsharp.com/Default.aspx?page=Login&destPage=UCPosterRequest

You can also get free SharePoint posters, whitepapers, and more.

Exchange 2007 CCR on Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster - Steps and Videos

I wrote up some information on deploying CCR on Windows Server 2008 after doing a full day workshop. After trying to explain how to perform some of the steps, I found it was easier to demo some of the steps, so I used Camtasia to capture them and save them as .avi files.

Make a trip to my Mindsharp blog for more info:

http://unifiedcommunications.mindsharpblogs.com/RussK/archive/2009/04/03/Exchange-Server-2007-CCR-on-Windows-Server-2008-Failover-Cluster.aspx

Exchange Server 2007 Disaster Planning

During my one day pre-conference session at Exchange Connections, I heard a desire for something that doesn't exist today. Later in the week, I sat in the back during a Harold Wong session, and the same topic/request/demand/whatever came up.

The basic is this:

• Customer sets up CCR in site1.
• Customer sets up CCR in site1 as an SCR source to a member server in site2.
• Customer wants to activate SCR destination because of a problem with bandwidth from site1 to site2 and from site1 to the Internet. (expected outage of less than 4 hours)
• Customer activates SCR target. Customer does not want to take down CCR in site1 as employees in site1 still need to access email server.
• Bandwidth issue is fixed.

Customer wants sync between SCR target (which is now active) with the CCR cluster in site1.

So, to summarize, customer wants something like Active Directory's multi-master multi-write database copies with back fill capabilties, but for Exchange mailboxes.

hmmmm.... :)

New Office Communications Server (OCS) Blog

I started a new blog on the MindsharpBlogs.com site. So far, I am just having a little fun, but I will be adding lots of new content there in the next few weeks. Make sure to add it to your feed list.

My plan is to discuss Unified Communications in general, OCS 2007 and OCS 2007 R2, and hardware such as headsets and phone devices. I have a few headsets that I need to review, so I will post those reviews there, too.

For those that hate links, here is the URL: http://unifiedcommunications.mindsharpblogs.com/RussK/default.aspx

StarWind Software

Many of us in the clustering community use StarWind for our iSCSI targets so that we can create clusters easily for testing and production.

Rocket Division decided to break StarWind into its own company. Right now, they are in the process of making the changes internally, but I decided to spring the leak and let everyone know right now. <G>

You can reach them at www.starwindsoftware.com for now. What you will find is a very basic web page, but they will have it all ready to go soon. Along with the new company, they will also be launching the next version of their iSCSI target. Keep an eye out here for the announcement of when the new version is out.

BTW, if  you haven't used their iSCSI target software, you should download an evaluation version and check it out. I absolutely love it.

What is an MCT?

There has been a great discussion string lately on the private MCT newsgroups where we have been talking about what an MCT really is and how the MCT certification is perceived by those that hold the certification and by the general IT public.

It made me go back and think a bit about the last 12 years of my life.

In 1996, I was working at Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) and we had the contract to support Windows NT Workstation 3.51 for Microsoft. So when people called the 800 support number that was in the manual, they got us. I think the group had about 10-12 of us in it. It was really fun for me, and I had a great time helping people get NT Workstation 3.51 installed and configured. Then the contract ran out...

It was at this time that I had to make some decisions about where I was going in this industry. This was one of the many decisions that I made in my career that I am really 100% glad that I made. At the time, the MCT program was growing and Microsoft Learning was writing some great courses. I was going down the Novell CNE track at the time, and I changed gears and made the decision that I would get my MCSE and see if it were possible for me to become a trainer in a training center. I must have called about 12 different Authorized Technical Education Centers (ATEC was the program at the time) in the area asking about the program and trying to get somebody to sponsor me. At the time, to become an MCT, you had to prove your ability to teach (there were a few ways to do that), you had to be sponsored by an ATEC, you had to sit the course that you wanted to teach, and you had to pass the exams that related to the course. I found a center, and started going down the road towards both certications. In September of 1996, I got my MCSE and my MCT. At first, I was only authorized to teach the SQL 6.0 Administrator course, but soon became certified to teach NT 3.5, NT 4.0, and Windows 95. I ladded TCP/IP real shortly afterwards, and kept on going.

As an MCT, I got to know many of my competitors and found that not only did we share a love for the technology, but most of us really had similar personalities and interests in helping others. My competitors became my best friends. My best friends helped me open doors that I did not even know existed at the time.

Since then, I have worked as a consultant with some pretty big enterprises, and I have worked as a trainer as well. I have learned a great deal about Microsoft products, the needs of the IT community, and I have learned a great deal about my peers as well as my students.

What I have learned is simple: What you do to help others always comes back to you in a multiplicative manner. Yes, I believe in IT Karma. The more you help others, the more it pays off for you. I have always been very giving of my knowledge, or at least I like to think that I have been giving. In many cases, it has paid off with return favors, and in many cases it has directly translated to more work in the industry. I could relate this to my religious beliefs, but I will leave that for another time.

So, what is an MCT? Officially, an MCT is a Microsoft Certified Trainer. An MCT is authorized to teach Microsoft Official Courseware at certified training centers around the world based upon the compentencies of the individual trainer. Unofficially, an MCT is way more than that. As a member of the MCT community, I have access to the minds of many other MCTs, but most importantly, it is a certification that is recognized throughout Microsoft. The MCT really seems to represent a certain skill set that includes the ability to present complex material to students in such a way that they are able to understand it and absorb it. This skill of knowledge transfer is extremely valuable in the industry and it has led to many great jobs for me over the years. After all, what company doesn't want somebody that understands the technology and can explain it to other technical and non-technical people.

The huge benefit to me of being an MCT is being part of a very close knit group of people with great knowledge and great desire to help others.

After thinking about this recently, I have to say that of all the certifications that I hold, the one that I value most is the MCT. Without it, I would never have met so many great people that helped me in my career. Without the MCT, I would not be in the position that I am in today, and would never had the chance to impact so many others in my career.

New OCS 2007 Course

CoMo Error - You must update your version of Communicator Mobile

So, long story, short version: I was trying to hook up Communicator Mobile 2007 on my HTC S710 running WM 6.1. I downloaded the latest version from the Microsoft download site and installed it. So far so good.

I then entered all of the important information in the client, you know, like the address info and my log on info. I clicked on sign in and after a couple of minutes, I got this ugly error message that said:

"You must update your version of Communicator Mobile before you can sign in..." Well, I just downloaded the latest and greatest. How could I have too old of a version?

A little research gave me the following steps to fix it.

1. Check the Client Version Filter defined in your OCS environment
 - Expand Standard/Enterprise Edition Servers node
 - Right Click on the pool or server name. Choose Application Properties > Client
 - Select the Application Properties and then Client Version Filter
 - Click on the line for CPE
2. Update the version number to block a lower number than the current version

Repeat the process on the Access Edge. You may need to restart the RTCSRV service, but I didn't seem to need to take that step.

Upcoming Mindsharp Summits and Unified Communications

We have been working really hard these last few weeks completing our courseware for Unified Communciations. OK, it is really just the first round.

Our first course will focus on Core Technologies in Office Communications Server 2007. In this course, we will talk about how OCS fits into Unified Communications, the different server roles, and how to implement basic instant messaging as well as conferencing and voice.

The second course will be focused on using OCS 2007 and Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging to provide Enterprise Voice. I am really excited about the voice side of it all as we will get to play with media packs and set up routing rules. I can't wait!

I love this technology stuff!

New MVP Award

I received the formal announcement this morning that I am awarded the MVP again for my work in Windows High Availability (Server Clustering). No, that is not the title, but that is the way that I try to treat the subject.

As an contributor to the different communities around the world, I try to provide some objective information to questions and issues. One of the hardest things for me to respond to are those that want to implement Failover Clustering (that is the term in Windows Server 2008), but they don't want to invest in good hardware, or enough hardware, to do it well. However, my real pet peeve is that too many people think that High Availability is just putting together a cluster and then magic happens.

OK, it is true. Magic does happen. Failover clustering is so much easier today that it has ever been, and it is also much less expensive than ever before in the past. However, we have to remember to stick to the basics. Don't forget change control. Don't forget your backout plans. Don't forget your DR plans. Most importantly, don't forget to test everything.

Anyways, I spent my last plane flight working on several blog ideas. I hope to refine them and get back to giving you more and more information about some of the topics that came to mind Monday morning while I was flying to the office.

Best Practices SharePoint Conference

Virtualization and Exchange Server 2007 Support

Buy.com and Extremely Poor Customer Service

Certifications - They Really Are Not as Scary as Thought

Harold Wong recently posted about his recent certification experiences. It is an excellent example of what I have been saying for years: Certification is not all that and a bag of chips.

Microsoft certification is focused on proving minimal skills required to perform a job/task. Minimal skills are possessed by most of the administrators in the world that have been working with the product for a significant amount of time. If you know your stuff, passing an exam should be easy.

So, what does certification prove? Again, see above, nothing but minimal skills.

What does a High School diploma prove? Minimal skills.

What does a College Degree prove? Minimal skills.

None of them prove that you are an expert in anything. They just prove that you have worked hard and have a certain minimal skill set. They each show that you know how to learn new things, that you know how to gather information, that you know how to read and write and apply your knowledge to certain situations. Each of them are great ways for a human resources representative to help identify candidates. Just as a degree or a diploma are not tickets to a job, neither is certification. A good employer will always interview the candidate to get direct proof of skills.

Think about it. If you were a HR representative and you had a stack of applications, and some of them were certified and some were not, which ones would you interview first?

So, why go through the certifcation process? See the above. It is the same reason that people graduate High School and College.