Lesson 6: Creating the First SQL Server Failover Cluster Node Virtual Machine

The quorum drive is a logical drive designated on the shared disk array for Cluster service. This continuously updated drive contains information about the state of the server cluster. The information can be accessed by all the nodes of a server cluster. If the quorum drive becomes corrupted or damaged, the server cluster installation also becomes corrupted or damaged. In the real world implementation, people use shared disk arrays with certain redundancy built in. In this tutorial, you create a fixed size virtual hard disk as the quorum.

1. Open the Virtual Server Administration Website by browsing to http://<virtual server host name or IP address>:<virtual server port>/VirtualServer/VSWebApp.exe. The default port for Windows Server 2003 Virtual Server is 1024, and the default port for Windows XP Virtual Server is 80.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Disks, point to Create and then click Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk.

3. Enter the following values, and then click Create.

   Property	Value
   Location	None
   Virtual hard disk file name	D:\BTSAdminTutorial\Quorum.vhd
   Size	500
   Units	MB

SQL Server failover cluster needs to have a common disk for database files on a redundant disk array. This fixed-size virtual hard disk is used for that purpose. You will not need this disk until you install SQL Server in Lesson 8: Creating the SQL Server Failover Cluster.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Disks, point to Create and then click Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk.

3. Enter the following values, and then click Create. The process can take a while to finish.

   Property	Value
   Location	None
   Virtual hard disk file name	D:\BTSAdminTutorial\SQLSharedDisk.vhd
   Size	4
   Units	GB

In Lesson 3: Creating a Base Virtual Machine, you created ContosoSQL1a.vmc and ContosoSQL1a.vhd based on ContosoBase virtual machine files. In this step, you register the ContosoSQL1a virtual machine to the virtual server.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, click Add.

3. Under Add Virtual Machine, in the Fully qualified path to file box, type D:\BTSAdminTutorial\ContosoSQL1a.vmc, and then click Add.

The ContosoSQL1a.vmc is a copy of the ContosoBase.vmc. You must update the fully qualified path to the ContosoSQL1a.vhd file. It used to point to D:\BTSAdminTutorial\ContosoBase.vhd.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure, and then click ContosoSQL1a.

3. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Configuration, click Hard disks.

4. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Virtual Hard Disk Properties, in the Fully qualified path to file box, enter D:\BTSAdminTutorial\ContosoSQL1a.vhd, and then click OK.

Each node in a Server cluster requires an additional private network adapter. The private network adapter is used for the heartbeat communication. A heartbeat is much like a ping which can be used to test if the other server cluster node is still available. If the heartbeat fails, the failover process occurs.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure, and then click ContosoSQL1a.

3. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Configuration, click Network Adapters.

4. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Network Adapter Properties, click Add Network Adapter. It should appear as Virtual network adapter 2.

5. Under Virtual network adapter 2, in the Connected to list, click Internal Network, and then click OK.

ContosoSQL1a has two additional disks, one is the quorum, and the other is the shared disk for the SQL Server failover cluster. For performance considerations, each of the disks is on its dedicated virtual SCSI adapter.

Caution
Make sure to click Share SCSI bus for clustering and set the SCSI adapter ID to 7.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure, and then click ContosoSQL1a.

3. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Configuration, click SCSI adapters.

4. Under "ContosoSQL1a" SCSI Adapter Properties, click Add SCSI Adapter to add the second SCSI adapter. It should appear as Virtual SCSI adapter 2.

5. Under Virtual SCSI adapter 2, select Share SCSI bus for clustering, set SCSI adapter ID to 7.

6. Click Add SCSI Adapter to add the third SCSI adapter. It should appear as Virtual SCSI adapter 3.

7. Under Virtual SCSI adapter 3, select Share SCSI bus for clustering, set SCSI adapter ID to 7.

8. Click OK to save the changes.

Now you can add the disks:

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure, and then click ContosoSQL1a.

3. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Configuration, click Hard disks.

4. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Virtual Hard Disk Properties, click Add disk, and then enter the following values:

   Property	Value
   Attachment	SCSI 1 ID 0
   Known virtual hard disks	None
   Fully qualified path to file	D:\BTSAdminTutorial\Quorum.vhd

5. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Virtual Hard Disk Properties, click Add disk, and then enter the following values:

   Property	Value
   Attachment	SCSI 2 ID 0
   Known virtual hard disks	None
   Fully qualified path to file	D:\BTSAdminTutorial\SQLSharedDisk.vhd

6. Under "ContosoSQL1a" Virtual Hard Disk Properties, click OK.

After you have configured ContosoSQL1a.vmc, the configuration should look like this:

You have finished ContosoSQL1a.vmc. It is now the time to start the virtual machine.

1. Open the Virtual Serve Administration Website.

2. In the navigation pane, under Navigation, click Master Status.

3. Under <host operating system host name> Status, point to ContosoSQL1a, and then click Turn On.

4. Under <host operating system host name> Status, point to ContosoSQL1a, and then click Remote Control.

5. Log on to the ContosoSQL1a virtual machine as the local administrator. The password you created is pass@word1.

Each server cluster node requires at least two network adapters with two or more independent networks, to avoid a single point of failure. One adapter connects to a public network (the Contoso.com in this tutorial), and the other adapter connects to a private network consisting of server cluster nodes only. Servers with multiple network adapters are referred to as “multi-homed”.

The private network adapter is used for node-to-node communication, server cluster status information, and server cluster management. Each node’s public network adapter connects the server cluster to the public network where clients reside and should be configured as a backup route for internal server cluster communication. To do so, configure the roles of these networks as either Internal Cluster Communications Only or All Communications for the Cluster service.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a as the local administrator.

2. Click Start, point to Control Panel, right-click Network Connections, and then select Open.

3. Right-click Local Area Connection, and click Rename.

4. Type Contoso Network, and then press ENTER.

5. Right-click Local Area Connection 2, and click Rename.

6. Type Private Network, and then press ENTER.

7. Right-click Contoso Network, and then select Properties.

8. Under Contoso Network Properties, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and click Properties.

9. Under Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties, select Use the following IP Address, enter the following values, and then click OK to save the changes.

   Name	Value
   IP address	192.168.0.101
   Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
   Default gateway	192.168.0.1
   Preferred DNS server	192.168.0.2
   Alternate DNS server	(leave it empty)

10. Under Contoso Network Properties, click OK.

11. Right-click Private Network, and then select Properties.

12. Under Private Network Properties, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and click Properties.

13. Under Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties, select Use the following IP Address, enter the following values, and then click OK to save the changes.

    Name	Value
    IP address	10.10.10.2
    Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
    Default gateway	(leave it empty)
    Preferred DNS server	(leave it empty)
    Alternate DNS server	(leave it empty)

14. Under Private Network Properties, click OK.

The ContosoSQL1a virtual machine is a copy of the ContosoBase virtual machine. You must change the host name.

Warning
You can’t change host name and join a domain at the same time. After you change the host name, you must reboot the virtual machine before you can join it to a domain.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a virtual machine as the local administrator.

2. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click System.

3. From System Properties, click Computer Name, and then click Change.

4. From Computer Name Changes, enter the following values, and then click OK.

   Name	Value
   Computer name	ContosoSQL1a
   Domain	Contoso.com

5. At the prompt, in the User name box, enter Contoso\BTInstaller; in the Password box, enter pass@word1; and then click OK.

6. Click OK to close the prompt.

7. Click OK to acknowledge the reboot requirement.

8. From System Properties, click OK.

9. Click Yes to restart the computer.

All nodes in the server cluster must be members of the same domain and they must be able to access a domain controller and a DNS server.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a. Use the ContosoSQL1a\administrator account.

2. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click System.

3. Click the Computer Name tab.

4. Click Change.

5. Click Domain, and enter Contoso, and then click OK.

6. At the prompt, in the User name box, enter Contoso\BTInstaller; in the Password box, enter pass@word1; and then click OK.

7. Click OK to close the prompt.

8. Click OK to acknowledge the reboot requirement.

9. From System Properties, click OK.

10. Click Yes to restart the computer.

In Lesson 5: Creating the Domain Controller Virtual Machine, you created a domain user account called Contoso\BTInstaller. This account needs the local administrator rights to install and configure Cluster services on ContosoSQL1a.

Important
After you make Contoso\BTInstaller as a local administrator, you must log off the current session, and log on as Contoso\BTInstaller before you proceed to the next step. Otherwise, you will experience permission issues.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a using the ContosoSQL1a\administrator account.

2. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

3. From Computer Management, expand System Tools, expand Local Users and Groups, and then click Groups.

4. From the Groups list, right-click Administrators, and click Add to Group.

5. From Administrators Properties, click Add.

6. From Select Users, Computers, or Groups, enter the following values:

   Property	Value
   Select this object type	Users or Groups
   From this location	Contoso.com
   Enter the object name to select	BTInstaller

7. From Select Users, Computers, or Groups, click OK.

8. From Enter Network Password, enter the following values, and then click OK.

   Property	Value
   User name	Contoso\BTInstaller
   Password	pass@word1

9. From Administrator Properties, click OK.

10. Log off ContosoSQL1a\administrator from ContosoSQL1a.

11. Log on ContosoSQL1a as Contoso\BTInstaller to continue the configurations.

Earlier in this lesson, you created a fixed-size quorum disk. Now you need to configure it so it can be used as a Quorum drive.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a using the Contoso\BTInstaller account.

2. Click Start, right-click My Computer, click Manage.

3. From Computer Management, expand Storage, and then click Disk Management. The Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard screen appears.

4. On the Welcome to the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard page, click Next.

5. On the Select Disks to Initialize page, select Disk 1 and Disk 2, and then click Next.

6. On the Select Disks to Convert page, clear Disk 1 and Disk 2, and then click Next.

7. On the Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard page, click Finish.

8. Right-click the Unallocated disk space for the quorum drive (It should be Disk 1 with the disk size approximate 494 MB), and then click New Partition. The New Partition Wizard screen appears. If New Partition is not in the pop-up menu, right-click Disk 1 (on the left of the area with diagonal strips), and then click Convert to Basic Disk before creating a new partition.

9. On the Welcome to the New Partition Wizard page, click Next.

10. On the Select Partition Type page, click Primary partition, and then click Next.

11. On the Specify Partition Size page, the default is set to maximum size for the partition size, click Next.

12. On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, use the drop-down box to change the drive letter to Q, and then click Next.

    Note
    It is a common practice to use Q drive for the quorum. For additional information about server cluster drive letter assignments, see "Best Practices for Drive-Letter Assignments on a Server Cluster" at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/318534.

13. On the Format Volume page, enter the following values, and then click Next.

    Property	Value
    File system	NTFS
    Allocation unit size	Default
    Volume	Quorum Disk

14. Click Finish. Depending on the size of the drive, the formatting process can take a while to finish.

Earlier in this lesson, you have created a fixed-size SQL Server shared disk. Now you need to create a partition. The SQL Server failover cluster shared disk is not used by the Server cluster but by the SQL Server failover cluster. We put this step in this lesson to make the tutorial easier to follow.

1. If you haven't logged on, log on to ContosoSQL1a using the Contoso\BTInstaller account.

2. Click Start, right-click My Computer, click Manage.

3. From Computer Management, expand Storage, and then click Disk Management.

4. Right-click the Unallocated disk space for the shared disk (It should be Disk 2 with the disk size approximate 4.0 GB), and then click New Partition. The New Partition Wizard screen appears. If New Partition is not in the pop-up menu, right-click Disk 2 (on the left of the area with diagonal strips), and then click Convert to Basic Disk before creating a new partition.

5. On the Welcome to the New Partition Wizard page, click Next.

6. On the Select Partition Type page, click Primary partition, and then click Next.

7. On the Specify Partition Size page, the default is set to maximum size for the partition size, click Next.

8. On the Assign Drive Letter or Path page, use the drop-down box to change the drive letter to S, and then click Next.

   Note
   We use S drive for the shared disk because it is for the SQL Server. You can choose a different letter if you like. For additional information about server cluster drive letter assignments, see "Best Practices for Drive-Letter Assignments on a Server Cluster" at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/318534.

9. On the Format Volume page, enter the following values, and then click Next.

   Property	Value
   File system	NTFS
   Allocation unit size	Default
   Volume	SQL Cluster Shared Disk

10. Click Finish. Depending on the size of the drive, the formatting process can take a while to finish.

The Cluster service requires a domain user who is a member of the Local Administrators group on each node under which the Cluster service can run. Because setup requires a user name and password, this user account must be created before configuring the Cluster service. This user account should be dedicated only to running the Cluster service and should not belong to an individual.

Note
The Cluster service account does not need to be a member of the Domain Administrators group. For security reasons, granting domain administrator rights to the Cluster service account is not recommended.

The Cluster service account requires the following permissions to function properly on all nodes in the server cluster. The Cluster Configuration Wizard grants the following permissions automatically:

• Act as part of the operating system
  
  
• Adjust memory quotas for a process
  
  
• Back up files and directories
  
  
• Increase scheduling priority
  
  
• Log on as a service
  
  
• Restore files and directories
  
  

For additional information, see "How to Manually Re-Create the Cluster Service Account" at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=269229.

1. If you haven't logged on or if you are logged on with a different credential, logon to ContosoSQL1a or ContosoDC using the Contoso\Administrator account.

2. Click Start, and then click Run.

3. In the Run dialog box, enter dsa.msc, and then click OK. Active Directory Users and Computers opens.

4. If Contoso.com is not already expanded, click the plus sign (+) to expand the Contoso.com domain.

5. Right-click Users, point to New, and then click User.

6. From New Object - User, enter the following values, and then click Next.

   Property	Value
   First name	Cluster
   Last name	Service
   User logon name	ClusterService

7. From New Object - User, enter the following values, and then click Next.

   Property	Value
   Password	pass@word1
   Confirm password	pass@word1
   User must change password at next logon	(clear)
   User cannot change password	(selected)
   Password never expires	(selected)
   Account is disabled	(clear)

8. Click Finish.

You must supply all initial server cluster configuration information in the first installation phase. This is accomplished using the Cluster Configuration Wizard.

Note
During Cluster service configuration on Node 1, you must turn off all other nodes. All shared storage devices should be turned on.

Important
Ping 192.168.0.2 to verify that you can see ContosoDC.

1. If you haven't logged on or have logged on with a different account, log on to ContosoSQL1a using the Contoso\BTInstaller account.

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

3. From Open Connection to Cluster, in the Action box, select Create new cluster, and then click OK.

4. On the Welcome to the New Server Cluster Wizard page, click Next.

5. On the Cluster Name and Domain page, select or enter the following values, and then click Next.

   Property	Value
   Domain	Contoso.com
   Cluster name	ContosoCluster1

6. On the Select Computer page, verify that the Computer name is CONTOSOSQL1A, and then click Next.

7. On the Analyzing Configuration page, make sure all the operations completed successfully, and then click Next.

8. On the IP Address page, in IP Address box, enter 192.168.0.100, and then click Next.

9. On the Cluster Service Account page, select or enter the following values, and then click Next.

   Property	Value
   User name	ClusterService
   Password	pass@word1
   Domain	Contoso.com

10. On the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, click Quorum

11. From Cluster Configuration Quorum, select Disk Q, and then click OK.

12. On the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, click Next.

13. On the Creating the Cluster page, make sure all the operations completed successfully, and then click Next.

14. On the Completing the New Server Cluster Wizard page, click Finish.

15. From Cluster Administrator, expand CONTOSOCLUSTER1, expand Groups, and then expand Cluster Group. Notice there are three server cluster resources in the group, and the owner of the cluster resources is CONTOSOSQL1A as indicated in the Owner column. That means ContosoSQL1a is the active node.

16. From Cluster Administrator, expand CONTOSOCLUSTER1, expand Groups, and then expand Group 0. At the beginning of this lesson, you created two shared disks. The quorum is used by server cluster. The Cluster Administrator application creates another group with the default name Group 0, and put the additional shared disk as a physical disk cluster resource into the group. This group will be used for the SQL Server failover cluster in Lesson 8: Creating the SQL Server Failover Cluster.