I have already downloaded Windows 8 Beta and I’m going to have a look at installation process in this blog post. if you haven’t yet downloaded Windows 8 beta, you can download from TechNet Evaluation Center by accessing following link

Download windows 8 Beta –> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh670538

After downloading required media files, let’s get started with the installation. When you boot from Windows 8 Beta media you will first see new Windows 8 Boot logo

After it loads up you will see Windows Server 8 Beta Setup

You can select Language / Time format and the keyboard method and proceed with the installation

Next installation prompt, we can select available editions. At the moment, there’s only Datacenter Edition available in the beta which provide you with two options to select either GUI version of the Operating System or Core version. I have selected GUI version of the Operating System. we will look at later how we can switch back and forth from GUI to Core using Windows 8.

Next prompt we have Licensing terms which needs to be accepted to proceed further

There are two types of installation options available which is Upgrade and Custom Installation. since I don’t have any operating system installed, I will select Custom Installation method

Next we need to select a partition for installation. once we are done selecting a partition then the setup process will begin installation

Once installation completes, we need to set administrator credentials before logging-in to the system.

Once we have set Administrator credentials, we can now log-in to the system

we can now see our very first preview on Windows Server 8 Beta Desktop Experience

When you login using Administrator account, it will automatically run Server Manager which allows you to configure your server.

We will evaluate and look at more features on Windows Server 8 Beta on future posts

After configuring two nodes with IIS, let’s go ahead and install Windows Network Load Balancing feature using the Server Manager.

Using Server manager, we can add new features by right clicking on the features section and selecting “Add features”. After selecting add features options it will initiate “Add Features Wizard” which will allow us to select “Network Load Balancing” features to be installed in our system. We need to install Network Load Balancing feature on both nodes.

After we click next, we will get a confirmation page to install Network Load Balancing Feature

Now that we have installed Network Load Balancing Feature, a summary page is given.

We have now completed, installation procedure, which will allow us to start Network Load Balancing Manager from administrative tools

You should receive a similar interface which enables you to create Network Load Balancing Clusters using Network Load Balancing Manager

Next, let’s go ahead and create a new Network Load Balancing Cluster

We need to connect to our First Node and select an interface. Since I’m having only one interface, I will proceed to the next step

Next we need to provide Host parameters. ip address of my selected network adapter will be automatically added in to this section.

Next we need to set a Cluster IP(Virtual IP) for clients to connect to our Load Balancing Cluster. by pressing Add button we can add an IP Address

We need to specify Cluster IP in the below mentioned window

After we add a new IP, it will be visible in “Cluster IP Addresses” Section and we can proceed to the next step

Next we need to specify Cluster Parameters. In the Cluster operation mode I will be selecting Multicast operation mode as I have only one adapter. For more information relating to Cluster operations Mode please visit Technet article (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc782694(WS.10).aspx). I will also explain in a different blog post more on Unicast and Multicast Client IP request distribution methods.

Next we can configure port rules. By default from 0 to 65535 ports will be opened. We will keep this as it is and continue

Now that we have completed creating a Network Load Balancing Cluster, we can review configuration from Network load balancing manager.

As we have already configured the first NODE, let’s go ahead and add the second node to this cluster

Similar to our configuration with the first node, we need to run through the wizard and add the second node to our cluster.

We will also leave out port rules console as it is and proceed

After we finish adding the second node, we can refresh and see whether both nodes are working without any issues. It’s possible for us to see that the status of both nodes are now set to converged state.

We can now connect to the cluster IP or name and access IIS web page utilizing load balancing capabilities between both nodes.

If I disable a network adapter or shutdown a node, it’s reflected in the NLB Manager and shows that the node is “unreachable”

I hope you find this post on configuring a TWO node IIS Network Load Balancing Cluster useful.

Using Failover Cluster Management Console, we can create a new cluster as you can see below

After, selecting Create Cluster option, Create Cluster Wizard will appear, which will guide you through the process of creating a new cluster.

Next, we need to add servers which we are planning to include in this cluster.

I will search from my active directory and add two nodes which I have already validated as my cluster nodes.

Next, we need to specify an IP Address and also a name for Cluster Administration

After providing necessary information, next we have a summary/confirmation page

After selecting next, wizard will start creating a cluster based on information which we provided

As the final step, we can see a summary page which contains information relating the cluster which we created. We can also select “View Report” which will give us a more detailed overview of all the configuration which was created by the Create Cluster Wizard

Next let’s see how we can verify successful creation of the cluster. we can visit Failover Cluster Management Console to verify whether we can access Cluster1 which we just created. After accessing Cluster1, you can see that there’s a summary page which provides us with an overview of cluster configuration.

We can also validate cluster creation process by looking at the report which is located at the system drive\Windows\Cluster\Reports

You will find CreateCluster.mht which contains information relating Cluster Creation process

now that we have successfully completed creating a cluster, let’s look at quorum configuration in my next blog posts. if you want to have a look at PART 01 and PART 02 please feel free to visit below mentioned links

http://cluster101.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-a-two-node-failover-cluster-part-01/

http://cluster101.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-a-two-node-failover-cluster-part-02/

Cluster Validation tool is a wizard found on Failover Cluster Management Console. Following tests are carried out when you perform cluster Validation Tool

· Inventory Validation

· Network Validation

· Storage Validation

· System Configuration

We will look at what are exact components or sub-tests that takes place during validation testing in another post.

First we need to go to administrative tools and then open Failover Cluster Management Console

After selecting Failover Cluster Management option, it will open Failover Cluster Management Console

We can right click on Failover Cluster Management and then select “Validate a configuration” option to initiate Cluster validation wizard

As you can see below, first screen provides us with a description relating to Cluster validation wizard.

Next we need to add what are the NODEs which we need to validate.

I will add my Cluster NODE01 and Cluster NODE02

After I select both NODEs, it gets added to my Cluster validation wizard

Next, we need to decide, whether are running all tests, or whether we are going to run a selective test. For this demonstration, I will be running all tests to validate NODE01 and NODE02

Next we have a confirmation summary screen. We can review what are the tests which will be performed against NODE01 and NODE02

After I select next, validation wizard will start validation my cluster configuration

once this is completed, it’s possible for us to view a report

We can open this report as a web page and we can see results.

In my next post, we will create a cluster and let’s see how we can configure it

First we need to look at basic requirements which need to prepare a Failover Cluster.

• Make storage available to all nodes
• Configure Network adapters on all nodes
• Cluster components to be “Certified for Windows Server 2008”

I have configured two networks for Public network and also Private Network.

Let’s look at Public and Private network configuration

Public Adapter -> we configure with IP Address, Subnet Mask ,Default Gateway and DNS

Public Adapter -> I will only provide IP Address and Subnet Mask

Next let’s proceed and configure Storage Connectivity. I will be connecting to my storage using the build-in iSCSI initiator

After selecting iSCSI Initiator, first it will prompt you to start iSCSI service, which is set to start manually by default on Windows Server 2008 / Windows Server 2008 R2.

After that we need to allow iSCSI to communicate through Windows Firewall. This will be automatically configured for you when you select Yes

After this step, you will find iSCSI initiator properties.

Navigate to discovery tab and select “Add Portal” option for us to connect with our shared storage

We need to provide with an IP Address or DNS name for iSCSI target

Once we enter required information, we can proceed

Next we need to navigate to Targets TAB which will allow us to connect with the storage. Select Log on option

We need to allow following options when connecting with the storage

- Automatically restore this connection the computer starts

After completing this step, we have now successfully configured our storage connectivity.

Let’s go ahead and prepare disks using DISK Management utility

After accessing DISK management console, we can notice that there’s a new DISK added .

We need to right click on the DISK and bring it ONLINE

After we bring this DISK online, we can then go ahead and initialize this disk

We need to select which disk, we need to initialize so that it can be access by Logical Disk Manager. We will configure this disk as a MBR style partition disk

Now that we can access this disk, we will go ahead and create a volume

In this window, we will be specifying the size of the disk

Next we need to select a drive letter

Next, we need to change the volume label, and also select “Perform a quick format” option

Now that we have already configured, it’s possible for us to view this disk from Disk Management console

Now let’s move to NODE 02, on NODE 02 we need to bring DISK 1 online, which we have already configured on NODE 01

After refreshing disk management console, we can see that it’s no more in unallocated state, so we only need to bring it online now

Since we have completed configuring both disks, Next we will proceed and run validation using Failover Cluster Management console. Before proceeding, we need to go to Server Manager on both servers and install Failover Clustering which is located under features section.

In my next blog post I will publish how we can run Failover Cluster Validation Tool and validate configuration.

Failover Clustering is available as a feature on Windows Server 2008 and also  on Windows Server 2008 R2. this was previously called as Server Cluster with Windows Server 2003. Failover Clustering feature is only available on Enterprise/Datacenter and Itanium Editions and it’s not included in the Standard or the Web editions.

Other feature which I will be talking about is around Windows Network Load Balancing. this is a technology which we use to balance server workload cross multiple servers providing availability and scalability. Network Load balancing is available on Windows Server Web/Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter/Itanium and Foundation Editions.

In my future posts, I will focus on each technology and share knowledge on how Cluster technology could be used in our day to day life.