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Draconis
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NLB on Windows 2003 R2 SP2 Enterprise 64-bit

Hi Guys,

I am trying to get two VMs on the same host to do NLB. Each one has 2 vNICs. I create the NLB cluster on the first node but for the life of me when I try to add the second host to the cluster, the Private nic that is supposed to be the NLB nic isnt listed but the public one is. This is my configuration.

Cluster Configuration:

Cluster Name: ews.contoso.local

Cluster IP Address: 192.168.0.56/24

Host Name: EX2K7-01.contoso.local

NIC Name: Private

IP Address: 192.168.0.57/24

Gateway: none

NIC Name: Public

IP Address: 192.168.0.58/24

Gateway: 192.168.0.1

Host Name: EX2K7-02.contoso.local

NIC Name: Private

IP Address: 192.168.0.59/24

Gateway: none

NIC Name: Public

IP Address: 192.168.0.60/24

Gateway: 192.168.0.1

I am trying to create a test environment for Exchange 2007 as described here (). At the moment, I am gonna rebuild my servers instead of using Deploy from Template in the VC and using NewSID. Any help is much appreciated. Hope this fixes it but just in case, any input is more than welcome. Thanks.

Just as an FYI...this is what I've done so far (). Thanks.

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Craig_Baltzer
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I've been successful building W2K3 NLB configs before from a template using a customization spec (i.e. sysprep) before. We have the various sysprep bits on our VC server, and have a customization spec defined for a W2K3 64 bit server. So my sequence was

  1. Deploy new VM from template, using customization spec for W2K3 64 bit

  2. Let VM boot and customization spec piece complete (i.e. let sysprep run)

  3. Power off VM, add 2nd NIC (our default template only has 1 NIC; do not attempt to add another NIC during the deploy step as there is a bug that prevents this from working as correctly)

  4. Power on VM, join to domain

  5. Repeat steps 1-4 for 2nd VM

  6. Install and configure NLB in multicast mode

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jrenton
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You need to ensure that the NLB cluster is in uni-cast mode. See this document as it gives you full details including v-switch configuration:

If your are using NLB for the CAS servers be aware that webmail will not work from remote subnets. This is due to there being no default gateway specified on the NLB interface and IP forwarding is disabled by default in Windows Server 2008. Running the following command on both CAS servers resolved the problem:

netsh interface ipv4 set int NLB forwarding=enabled

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jrenton
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In your case the command will be:

netsh interface ipv4 set int Private forwarding=enabled

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jrenton
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Sorry I was wrong in my first reply. You need to be in Multi-cast mode

Texiwill
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Hello,

Moved to Virtual Machine and Guest OS forum.


Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky

VMware Communities User Moderator

====

Author of the book 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers', Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.

Blue Gears and SearchVMware Pro Blogs: http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Blog_Roll

Top Virtualization Security Links: http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Top_Virtualization_Security_Links

--
Edward L. Haletky
vExpert XIV: 2009-2023,
VMTN Community Moderator
vSphere Upgrade Saga: https://www.astroarch.com/blogs
GitHub Repo: https://github.com/Texiwill
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Draconis
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Hi,

Thanks so much for the link. It was helpful. However, I resolved the issue by building the VMs manually and not use the Deploy from Template feature. My WNLB cluster is now configurable. I will have to test out the Unicast issues and make sure it works properly. Also, I will have to figure out what is breaking...Deploy from Template or NewSID. I'll have to test some more. Thanks again.

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Draconis
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I found the source of the issue. These are the test scenarios:

Test Lab Environment:

Virtual Center Version: 2.5.0 Build 64192
VMWare ESX Server Version: 3.5.0 Build 64607
vSwitch Notify Switches setting: No

Test 1:

  1. I created a new virtual machine with a Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition with SP2 operating system named CLx64-TEMPLATE (in both the VMWare inventory and the computer name).I attached only 1 vNIC.

  2. I installed the complete VMWare Tools.

  3. I applied all Windows updates from the Windows update site.

  4. I shutdown the server.

  5. I converted it to a template.

  6. I deployed 2 virtual machines from it. During the deployment, I added another vNIC to both VMs so that I can have a private and public vNIC for WNLB. The first server was called EX2K7-01. The second server was called EX2K7-02.

  7. I powered on the first server.

  8. I configured the TCP/IP settings.

  9. I used NewSID 4.0 to apply a new SID and rename the computer to EX2K7-01 at the same time. I allowed it to restart on its own through the NewSID option.

  10. I powered on the second server.

  11. I configured the TCP/IP settings.

  12. I used NewSID 4.0 to apply a new SID and rename the computer to EX2K7-02 at the same time. I allowed it to restart on its own through the NewSID option.

  13. I logged into EX2K7-01 and configured the NLB cluster manually.

  14. After the WNLB cluster was created. I started my NLB Manager through Administrative Tools.

  15. I tried to add the host EX2K7-02 to the cluster but could not find the Private vNIC.

Result of Test 1: Unable to locate one of the vNICs for WNLB Clustering -- unknown if deploying from template or NewSID is the source of the issue.

Test 2:

  1. Deleted both EX2K7-01 and EX2K7-02 virtual machines.

  2. Created new virtual machines called EX2K7-01 and EX2K7-02.

  3. No templates. Straight build.

Result of Test 2: Successful deployment of WNLB. Since NewSID wasnt used and Deploy From Template feature wasnt used, it is still not known which one is breaking things.

Test 3 (totally a brand new template -- built from the ground up):

  1. Deleted template CLx64-TEMPLATE.

  2. I created a new virtual machine with a Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition with SP2 operating system named CLx64-TEMPLATE (in both the VMWare inventory and the computer name). I attached 2 vNICs.

  3. I installed the complete VMWare Tools.

  4. I applied all Windows updates from the Windows update site.

  5. I shutdown the server.

  6. I converted it to a template.

  7. I deployed 2 virtual machines from it. The first server was called EX2K7-03. The second server was called EX2K7-04.

  8. I powered on the first server.

  9. I configured the TCP/IP settings.

  10. I DID NOT USE NewSID 4.0 to apply a new SID.

  11. I renamed the computer to EX2K7-03 manually.

  12. I powered on the second server.

  13. I configured the TCP/IP settings.

  14. I DID NOT USE NewSID 4.0 to apply a new SID.

  15. I renamed the computer to EX2K7-04 manually.

  16. I logged into EX2K7-03 and configured the NLB cluster manually.

  17. After the WNLB cluster was created. I started my NLB Manager through Administrative Tools.

  18. I tried to add the host EX2K7-04 to the cluster but could not find any vNICs.

Result of Test 3: Unable to locate any of the vNICs for WNLB Clustering -- it appears that deploying from template breaks any already attached vNICs from participating in a WNLB cluster.

Can anyone help? Is this a known issue? Should I be using the Deploy From Template in conjunction with a Sysprep Customization file? If you think it's still not the Deploy From Template feature, please let me know other scenarios I should be testing to prove it. Thanks much.

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Craig_Baltzer
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Beware of using NewSID on 64-bit Windows as it breaks VSS. has some info on this. You'll end up with servers that you can't back up using VSS backup solutions...

Craig_Baltzer
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I've been successful building W2K3 NLB configs before from a template using a customization spec (i.e. sysprep) before. We have the various sysprep bits on our VC server, and have a customization spec defined for a W2K3 64 bit server. So my sequence was

  1. Deploy new VM from template, using customization spec for W2K3 64 bit

  2. Let VM boot and customization spec piece complete (i.e. let sysprep run)

  3. Power off VM, add 2nd NIC (our default template only has 1 NIC; do not attempt to add another NIC during the deploy step as there is a bug that prevents this from working as correctly)

  4. Power on VM, join to domain

  5. Repeat steps 1-4 for 2nd VM

  6. Install and configure NLB in multicast mode

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Draconis
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Very nice. Thank you very much for the link. That might explain why our Exchange 2007 SP1 backup went downhill. We have a hosting provider provide our OS and they might have cut some corners to provide us with our image. My Symantec Backup Exec was backing up our Exchange 2007 SP1 Information Store (200GB). I would receive unreliable backups. One day it would work and then another day my Full Backup would fail. My Incrementals would last for close to 6 hours to backup 3GB. After disabling GRT, my backups would work perfectly and my incrementals would last 10-15 minutes. I will have to test that as well. Sysprep all around from now on. I have to play around with the Sysprep in an ESX 3.5 environment to see if that is the resolution for my test environment. Much much appreciated. I'll update once I have my answers. Smiley Wink

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Draconis
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I apologize for the delay. Thank you very much for the assist. That did the trick. Sysprep all the way now. You were totally right about that deployment from a template that had more than 1 vnic. Gave a nasty little vnic error after the sysprep finished.

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