Prepare Windows before installing Windows Cluster service

After you install the integrated server, you need to prepare the server to install the Windows Cluster service.

To prepare Windows before you install the Windows Cluster service, perform the following tasks:

1. Format the quorum resource
2. Configure the private network adapter

When you complete these steps, Windows is ready for you to install the Windows Cluster service. For more information, see Install Windows Cluster service on Windows.

Format the quorum resource:

The first step to prepare Windows for a Windows Cluster installation is to format the quorum resource as NTFS. Formatting the quorum resource is not only required to install the Windows Cluster service, it is also the first step when installing the first node of a cluster. For more information, see Format integrated server disk drives.

For IXS or IXA attached servers, the quorum resource appears as an unformatted disk drive that typically has a logical device driver letter of E. The location of the quorum resource is bus number 1, target identifier 0 and Logical Unit Number (LUN) 0.

You should format the volume and label it using the same name as the cluster, which is also the name of the quorum resource network server storage space name. Also format any other shared storage spaces at this time. It is also recommended that you assign a fixed drive letter to the quorum resource drive and any other shared storage drives.

Note:

The drive letter assigned to all storage spaces on the shared storage bus must be the same on all nodes of the cluster.

Configure the private network adapter:

Next, configure the private network adapter for use by the Windows Cluster service by completing the following steps on the first node in your cluster:

1. On the integrated Windows server console, right-click My Network Places and select Properties.
2. Right-click the Local Area Connection 2 icon.

   Note:

   Which network adapter is private and which is public depends on how you configured the server. This information assumes the following:

   • The first network adapter (Local Area Connection) is connected to the public network by using a physical LAN adapter under the Integrated Windows server
   • The second network adapter (Local Area Connection 2) is the virtual Ethernet adapter configured as the cluster configuration connection port that you want to use as the private cluster network
   • The third network adapter (Local Area Connection 3) is the virtual Ethernet point to point connection to i5/OS™ and should not be enabled for any clustering use

   The number and order of network adapters may not be the same, depending on the physical and virtual configuration of the server and the network.

3. Click Status to display the Local Area Connection 2 Status window, which shows the connection status, as well as the speed of connection.
4. In the Local Area Connection 2 Status window, click Properties.
5. In the Properties dialog box, make sure that the contents of the Connect using field contains IBM® iSeries™ Virtual Ethernet x, where x matches the *VRTETHx that you specified for the cluster configuration connection port.
6. Click Close, then click Close again.

For clarity, you should rename your Local Area Network Icons. For example, you might want to change the name of Local Area Connection 2 to something like Private Cluster Connection.