Windows 2000 Clustering Technologies

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Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Datacenter Server operating systems enable organizations to deploy business-critical e-commerce and line-of-business applications on industry-standard PC hardware. Clustering technologies are key tools in making this possible.

Clustering refers to linking individual servers physically and programmatically and coordinating communication between them so they can perform common tasks. Should any one server stop functioning, a process called failover automatically shifts its workload to another server to provide continuous service. In addition to failover, some forms of clustering also employ load balancing, which enables the computational workload to be distributed across a network of linked computers.

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Defining a Cluster in Windows 2000

A cluster is a group of independent computers that work together to run a common set of applications and provide the image of a single system to the client and application. The computers are physically connected by cables and programmatically connected by cluster software. These connections allow computers to use failover and load balancing, which is not possible with a stand-alone computer.

Windows 2000 clustering technology provides high availability, scalability, and manageability:

• High availability. The cluster is designed to avoid a single point of failure. Applications can be distributed over more than one computer, achieving a degree of parallelism and failure recovery, and providing more availability.
• Scalability. You can increase the cluster's computing power by adding more processors or computers.
• Manageability. The cluster appears as a single-system image to end users, applications, and the network, while providing a single point of control to administrators. This single point of control can be remote.

  

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Two Types of Clusters in Windows 2000

In the Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Datacenter Server operating systems, Microsoft introduces two clustering technologies that can be used independently or in combination, providing organizations with a complete set of clustered solutions that can be selected based on the requirements of a given application or service. Windows clustering technologies include:

• Cluster service. This service is intended primarily to provide failover support for applications such as databases, messaging systems, and file/print services. Cluster service supports 2-node failover clusters in Windows 2000 Advanced Server and 4-node clusters in Datacenter Server. Cluster service is ideal for ensuring the availability of critical line-of-business and other back-end systems, such as Microsoft Exchange Server or a Microsoft SQL Server^™ 7.0 database acting as a data store for an e-commerce Web site.
• Network Load Balancing (NLB). This service load balances incoming IP (Internet Protocol) traffic across clusters of up to 32 nodes. Network Load Balancing enhances both the availability and scalability of Internet server-based programs such as Web servers, streaming media servers, and Terminal Services. By acting as the load balancing infrastructure and providing control information to management applications built on top of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Network Load Balancing can seamlessly integrate into existing Web server farm infrastructures. Network Load Balancing will also serve as an ideal load balancing architecture for use with the Microsoft release of the upcoming Application Center in distributed Web farm environments.

 

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