Clustering MSDTC - revised

MSDTC installation procedures:

1) For Windows Server 2003 follow http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817064 on each machine BEFORE you install the cluster service. This is important, if you go out of order you may corrupt your the Cluster Registry (see Note below for a fix). For Windows 2000, proceed to step 2.

2) To increase the size of the MSDTC log. On each node:

  1. Open component services
  2. Computers
  3. My Computer
  4. Properties
  5. MSDTC tab
  6. Capacity = 12 or 16 or anything larger then 4 MB
  7. Close it out

Configure both machines with the same size MSDTC log.

3) Install Microsoft clustering.

4) Follow http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;301600

5) Install SQL/Exchange into the cluster.

SQL Note: SQL MSDTC could be used daily, it depends on how the SQL applications are written. If MSDTC is used with SQL, you should ensure it is in it's own group, on it's own disk resource. Lastly, Microsoft recommends to run the MSDTC & SQL group on the same node, and that the MSDTC is brought online first when the groups are moved.

Exchange Note: Exchange Server 2003 only uses MSDTC for the install of Exchange or a service pack. Normal Exchange operations, do not use MSDTC. It is ok to place MSDTC in the Cluster Group for an Excahnge installation.

Note: If you skipped step 1, or did the steps out of order you may have to install Availability of Windows Server 2003 Post-Service Pack 1 COM+ Hotfix Rollup Package 5 http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=896729

revised 12-12-2004 - Modified for current recommendations.

revised 6-27-2006 - Add Com+ support and minor wording changes

Published Mon, Oct 25 2004 22:01 by clustering
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Comments

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

great advice, thanks..

Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:40 PM by clustering

# Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 cluster nodes as domain controllers..but with SQL 2000 Clustered too?!?

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 12:08 PM by TrackBack

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

MSDTC resource fails in cluster group after SP1 is applied to node and the group is failed over the the patched node. Unable to start the DTC resource on the patched server and must uninstall the service pack to get it to come on line. Any ideas?

Wednesday, June 08, 2005 7:49 PM by clustering

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

"If MSDTC is used with SQL, you should ensure it is in it's own group, on it's own disk resource."
In our environment, we use MSDTC with SQL, thus MSDTC resource must depends on SQL Network-Name (whinin SQL Server Group in Cluster Administration concole), or the distributed transations will not launch to work. Is it conflict with the recommendation quoted above?

Thursday, August 03, 2006 9:15 PM by Zeron Wong

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

MSDTC with a SQL Cluster:

You can only have one instance of MSDTC for a cluster. SQL will use it no matter what group it is in. What we do at work is to ensure MSDTC group comes up before the SQL Group and then SQL uses it. No issues.

If you have to put it into the SQL Group, you are problaby using some of the same resourse, disk maybe? Never a good idea.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006 12:14 AM by clustering

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

I am (re) building a failover SQL cluster, this DB is a database publisher of about 200G. What size shall i put the MSDTC to?? any suggestions

Saturday, August 19, 2006 4:08 PM by J.Kool

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

Use the settings above, they will work nicely.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 6:54 AM by clustering

# re: Clustering MSDTC - revised

Hi, Can you give any reason (except MS article) why MSDTC cannot go into the cluster group (with Quorum) as this is our standard at Unilever!

Pete

Thursday, December 06, 2007 4:05 AM by Pete Johnson

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