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

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

40 minutes ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

3 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

3 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

4 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

5 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

6 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

6 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

6 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

7 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

7 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

8 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

8 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

8 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

11 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

12 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

12 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

14 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

15 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

16 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility