Clustering (note this is Microsoft clustering)

MSCS Clustering

MSCS is the Microsoft clustering-solution software used with Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition. MSCS version 1.0 supports clusters of two, specially linked servers running Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition. The primary function of MSCS occurs when one server in a cluster fails or is taken offline. With MSCS, the other server in the cluster takes over the failed server's operations. Clients using server resources experience little or no interruption of their work as the resource functions move from one server to the other.

There are two main components of MSCS: clustering software and Cluster Administrator.

The clustering software enables the two servers of a cluster to exchange specific types of messages that trigger the transfer of resource operations at the appropriate times. The clustering software has two chief features: the Cluster Service and the Resource Monitor. The Cluster Service runs on every cluster server and controls cluster activity, communication between cluster servers, and failure operations. The Resource Monitor facilitates communication between the Cluster Service and the application resources.

The Cluster Administrator is a graphical application that you use to manage a cluster. You can install and run Cluster Administrator on any computer running Service Pack 3 with version 4.0 of either Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server. You can administer any MSCS cluster from a cluster server, a non-clustered Windows NT Server, or from a computer running Windows NT Workstation.

You can also administer clusters using Cluster.exe, a command line tool, or custom administration tools developed using the MSCS automation interfaces. For more information on Cluster.exe, see "Administering Clusters from the Command Line" in Chapter 4, "Managing MSCS." For more information on the MSCS automation interfaces, see the Microsoft Platform Software Development Kit (SDK).


Advantages of Clustering

Network clients connect to cluster resources the same way they connect to any network server, so using clusters requires no additional training for end users. Clustering also enables static load balancing: the distribution of processes across servers.

MSCS clustering provides three main benefits for networks and network administrators: high availability of resources, scalability, and centralized administration, which are discussed in the following sections.