DHCP for Windows 2000

Building a Windows 2000 Cluster

For clarification purposes, I will go through the process of building a two-node cluster using Windows 2000 Advanced Server. This cluster will be used to create a DHCP service with failover capability. As you will see, there are many steps that need to be completed before the installation of the Cluster service software.

Assembling the Hardware

Before diving into the installation of the software, I need to first get the hardware together for the cluster. For this example, I used a configuration that is certified by Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Although I am utilizing HP equipment, many other manufacturers support the Cluster service as well, such as Compaq and Dell. Refer to the other manufacturers’ web sites for their supported Windows 2000 Cluster configurations.

Table 9.2 lists the equipment used to build the cluster.

Table 9-2. Cluster Hardware Equipment List

Hardware	Quantity	Description
Node	2	HP NetServer LC3
Shared storage device	1	HP Rack Storage 12
Disk drives	5	HP 18GB Ultra SCSI
RAID controllers	4	HP NetRAID 3si
Network interface cards	2	3COM 3c905B-TX
Network interface cards	2	HP D5013/B
Ethernet crossover cable	1	Cat 5 Crossover Cable

Before assembling the hardware pieces, double check the following items to verify there are no compatibility issues. These items can be checked by using the manufacturers’ and Microsoft’s web sites:

• BIOS versions (nodes and SCSI controllers)

• Firmware versions

• Drivers (network adapters ...