Cluster Service with IIS: How and why

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

ANALYSIS
The standard advice on offering high availability with IIS is to use network load balancing (NLB) rather than the Cluster Service. You can't use both of these clustering techniques on the same servers. NLB works at the network level by distributing client requests to a number of clustered servers (up to 32 in a single cluster). Should a single server fail, this will be detected by the other servers, and new connections will be automatically distributed among the remaining servers. NLB is a good option for many Web servers running IIS, and because more than two servers can be used with Windows 2000 Advanced Server, it provides for true scaling. However, there may be occasions when you want to use Cluster Service with IIS instead, such as when you want fault tolerance between only two servers and are already using Cluster Service for other resources. It's also important to remember that NLB works only at the network level, so if, for example, the IIS service stopped or crashed but the server itself remained up, NLB would still direct users to the failed service because it would be unable to verify resources at the application level. Issues with the Cluster Service and IIS
When using the Cluster Service with IIS, you must take the following issues into consideration:
  • Using the IIS Server Instance resource, you can cluster the WWW service or FTP service, but you must be running the WWW service even if you want to cluster only FTP. SMTP and NNTP have their own cluster resources (SMTP Server Instance and NNTP Server Instance).
  • Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions are not supported on clustered Web sites.
  • Failed ASP or FTP sessions will not successfully fail over to the other server. The client will have to restart these on the second server. So it's worth remembering that in most cases, a failover will require the user to reestablish the connection.
  • If your Web site uses the MS DTC (for transaction processing), you must run Comclust.exe on each server to install the MS DTC resource, and you should configure this to depend on the IP address that will be used for your IIS virtual server.
  • You should make sure that IIS is not configured for the default of All Unassigned IP Addresses but for specific addresses. Your clustered IIS site should be configured to use the virtual server address you will assign with the Cluster Service.
  • If using anonymous authentication with IIS, you should change the anonymous user account from a local account to a domain account, which will be accessible to both servers (for the same reason that NTFS permissions with File Share resources should not use local accounts).
  • If you want to use host headers with a clustered Web site, you must set the ServerAutoStart property for that site. For more information, see "Contents of Internet Information Server 5.0 Release Notes" [Q250979] and search for ServerAutoStart.
  • The IIS resource has only one dependency: the IP Address. However, if your clients will be accessing the site by name, it would be a good idea to add the Name Resource and configure it to have a dependency on the IP Address.
  • You can use the IISSync utility to synchronise IIS configuration between the two servers. See "Using IISSYNC to Synchronise Clustered Web Sites on Windows 2000" [Q249603] for instructions. Or simply manually set up the two servers with the same configuration.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Thomas Gellhaus

I also installed the KDE version; I also will probably try out razorqt since I really haven't had a chance to before. I'm looking forward to the...

2 hours ago by Thomas Gellhaus via Facebook on Mageia 2 Released
francisabigail

Acquiring when reinvention/cannibalization is too challenging for a large organization can be an excellent strategy- still, so many mergers stumble...

4 hours ago by francisabigail on Ariba buy parks SAP on Oracle's cloud turf
apexwm

All of the feedback regarding using a touch monitor for a desktop PC is right on. Several months ago, we installed a "demo" multitouch all-in-one...

10 hours ago by apexwm on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
191706

anyone wanting to triple boot *their* own Mac

11 hours ago by 191706 on xTreme Triple Booting: Linux, Mac & Windows
SoapyTablet

Cont.. Biggest Bugbear: Win7's stop-animate-go approach to work, you develop a staggered (not in the above alchohol sense of the word) approach to...

11 hours ago by SoapyTablet on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
SoapyTablet

Ah the joys of Windows 8 Consumer Preview... If Windows 7 was 'Vista with Lipstick', whats Windows 8? Vista with Lipstick, the morning after?...

11 hours ago by SoapyTablet on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
daveveej

Though the metro look is quite cool on the windows mobile platform I think that think that microsoft ARE MESSING THINGS UP because what has they...

12 hours ago by daveveej on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
Custonian

I agree, we have a few touch screen monitors in work but as Windows7 and the applications we use are not touch screen friendly (the size of the...

12 hours ago by Custonian on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
archerthom

I find it amusing that Microsoft added the mouse, which was deemed awkward, but people were forced to use it so it stuck, and now they're saying,...

14 hours ago by archerthom on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
BrownieBoy

Agree with other comments. Nobody's going to start reaching out to start tapping their desktop monitors with their fingers. Their arms would tire...

23 hours ago by BrownieBoy on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
Random_Error

The only way a touch monitor would be any good is if it were horizontal on the desk, with a virtual keyboard so you could do away with that as well...

1 day ago by Random_Error on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
JBDragon

This is just dumb! Forget that I think Windows 8 will bomb, but really, people are going to go out and buy touch Monitors now??? Just pretend...

1 day ago by JBDragon on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
Jake Rayson

@Andy Bolstridge > Unfortunately, we need the majority to work 9-5 And therein lies the lie. I work very hard indeed for my idleness, early starts...

1 day ago by Jake Rayson on The Idle Self-employed
Burn-IT

What happens when one hosting platform "acquires data" from another? If I forced the first one to remove it, who is responsible for chasing the...

2 days ago by Burn-IT on Google picks holes in EU's 'right to be forgotten'
JohnTalich

iSpring Pro is a nice tool, that allows PowerPoint to SCORM conversion. They also have free tool, that also generates SCORM compliant courses.

2 days ago by JohnTalich on How To Convert PowerPoint To SCORM Compliant Course
aaron.sloman

I think the answer to the question requires a deeper analysis of where the income can come from who else is now competing for it, who else will be...

2 days ago by aaron.sloman on The three big questions about Facebook's IPO
Brent Pieczynski

Your correctness about Government websites not being compliant with their own websites is correct. Most criticism of other people takes so many...

2 days ago by Brent Pieczynski on Privacy watchdog to chase big companies over cookie law
Kelvyn Taylor

802.11ac does promise some tricks to improve range & reliability, but not sure how these will work in practice until I get real products to play...

2 days ago by Kelvyn Taylor via Facebook on Next-generation 802.11ac routers
mrudang009

My wife and I love our new Kindle Fire. It's lightweight, easy to use and has a great interface. The first thing I recommend anyone with a new...

2 days ago by mrudang009 on Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers
mrudang009

It basically unlocks all the Android marketplace apps and unlocks the device. I am one very happy Kindle owner!

2 days ago by mrudang009 on Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers