Release Notes for: o DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 Date: March, 1998 Product Versions * DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 (Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 or greater) NOTE: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 is required for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) file share failover. This document provides new and updated information for the DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT product: * Installation and upgrade notes * New features * Problems resolved since Version 1.1 Service Pack 1 * Problems and restrictions Please retain these instructions for future use. For general information on the DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT product, visit the web site http://www.windows.digital.com. =========================================================== Contents =========================================================== 1 Installation Notes 1.1 Upgrading to DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 1.1.1 Requirements 1.1.2 Upgrading Your Cluster Servers 1.1.2.1 Server Files Updated by Service Pack 2 1.2 Installing DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Remote Cluster Administrator 1.2.1 Requirements 1.2.2 Installing Remote Cluster Administrator Tool 1.2.2.1 Files downloaded during the Remote Clusters Administrator Installation 1.3 Cluster Names Must Be Unique 1.4 Uninstall May Leave Some Files Behind 1.5 Installing Product which Use Scripts 2 New Features 2.1 DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 release features 2.1.1 New features 2.1.1.1 Remote Cluster Administration 2.1.1.2 Updated IIS and Netscape Support 2.1.1.3 Uninstalling Client Software from Cluster Servers 2.1.1.4 Creation of a Group name with imbedded spaces is not allowed 2.1.1.5 Manage SQL Server Databases dialog improvements 2.1.1.6 Documentation 3 Problems Resolved Since Version 1.1 Service Pack 1 3.1 SQL Bug Fixes 4 Problems and Restrictions 4.1 IP Failover Objects 4.1.1 IP Failover Requires Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 with NetBT 4.1.2 Cannot change an IP Resource’s subnet mask field 4.2 Microsoft SQL Server 4.2.1 Cannot Enroll a database if Both Servers in the Cluster are Not Running 4.2.2 Enroll all SQL Databases in all Groups Before Any Failover 4.2.3 Moving SQL Server Objects Within a Failover Group 4.2.4 Deleting an SQL Server Database 4.2.5 Using the "FOR LOAD" Option When Creating or Altering an SQL Database 4.2.6 SQL Server Databases are Not Listed 4.2.7 If an SQL Server Halts During Database Recovery 4.2.8 Configuring MS SQL with DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT 4.2.9 Digital Clusters does not support MS SQL DB Replication 4.2.10 MS SQL Server login 4.2.11 When creating MS SQL stored procedures 4.2.12 Databases and SQL "Devices" on shared cluster disks must have names that are unique in the entire cluster 4.2.13 SQL Server SA password is changed after enrolling databases 4.2.14 MSSQL stored procedures; access denied bug 4.2.15 Wizards that install or alter tempdb to reside on shared storage 4.2.16 Shared drive letters should be unique within the cluster 4.3 Diskperf Driver Incompatible with Clusters Software 4.4 IDE Disks Are Not Supported 4.5 Assign Fixed Drive Letters 4.6 Logon Rights Occasionally Granted Improperly 4.7 Using Cluster Administrator 4.7.1 Cluster Administrator is slow when one of the cluster nodes is down. 4.7.2 Failover Object Names Restricted to 38 Characters 4.7.3 Display Unsynchronized with Cluster Failover Manager Database 4.7.4 With the "Manage SQL Server Databases" dialog open, selecting F1 or the Help button brings up the wrong help description 4.8 Defining Share Names 4.9 Lost Delayed Write Popup Boxes 4.10 Disk Administrator 4.10.1 Disk Administrator Shows Orphaned Disks 4.10.2 Changing Drive Partitioning During Cluster Operations 4.11 Potential Problem when Using Microsoft Word Version 6.0a 4.12 Installing Visual C++ 4.2 4.13 NET VIEW to Cluster NetBIOS Name Also Shows Unclustered Shares 4.14 System Hangs When Registry Size is Exceeded 4.15 Cluster Services Do Not Start When a "Program" directory Exists Under the Same Parent Directory as the "Program files" directory 4.16 Uninstalling and Re-installing DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 selects the NetBIOS name of one of the cluster's IP Failover Objects as the other servers name. 4.17 Lotus Domino sample failover script names have changed 4.18 Using Remote Cluster Administrator 4.18.1 Dual NIC machine may not connect via an IP resource's IP address 4.18.2 Cluster SCSI port validation not working in case of remote administration Copyright and Trademark Information =========================================================== 1 Installation Notes =========================================================== This section supplements the installation information in your Configuration and Installation Guide. DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 provides two versions of the cluster software: o Version 1.1, for Windows NT 4.0 o Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 (new) NOTE: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 is required for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) file share failover. 1.1 Upgrading to DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 --------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: DIGITAL recomends that you remove the cluster client software when prompted during Service Pack 2 installation. You do not need the cluster client software installed on the servers if NetBIOS and TCP\IP are installed. DIGITAL recommends that you configure IP failover for new and existing cluster installations. If you have already followed this recommendation, you can disable the NT Client software on the Cluster Servers. The DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 installation gives you the opportunity to disable the client software. If you do not disable the client software during the installation, you can disable it later by performing the following procedure: 1) From the Start menu, select Settings 2) Select Control Panel from the Settings menu 3) Select Devices 4) Select Digital Clusters File System from the Device list and Click the Startup button 5) Under Startup Type, select the Disabled radio button and click the OK button 1.1.1 Requirements -------------------- Upgrading to Clusters Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 requires the following: o DIGITAL Clusters 1.1 Service Pack 2 CD-ROM or the self-extracting zip file "DC1_1SP2.EXE" NOTE: If DIGITAL Clusters 1.1 Service Pack 2 is obtained as a self-extracting zip file, the directory path names referred to in the follow sections begin at the directory in which you unzip the self-extracting zip file, DC1_1SP2.EXE. o Cluster servers running: - Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 NOTE: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 is required for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) file share failover. - DIGITAL Clusters 1.1 with or without Service Pack 1 1.1.2 Upgrading Your Cluster Servers -------------------------------------- NOTE: Clusters V1.1 Service Pack 2 is a rolling upgrade. A rolling upgrade allows cluster resources to remain available to users during this service pack upgrade. Upgrade one server at a time, using the procedure described below. For more detailed instructions, refer to the Service Pack 2 Addendum document. The Service Pack 2 Addendum document is located in the \Docs directory on the distribution CD-ROM or in the \Docs sub-directory of the directory in which the self-extracting zip file, DC1_1SP2.EXE, was unzipped. To perform a rolling upgrade, follow this procedure: 1. All users must be disconnected from database resources. 2. With both servers in the cluster running, manually failover all cluster resources to one of the servers. 3. On the other server, Exit the Cluster Administrator NOTE: If you try to install the Clusters Service Pack 2 while running the Cluster Administrator application, the upgrade will not complete. 4. Install Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 NOTE: To start the installation, go to the \Clu1-1nt.40\CluSP2 directory and run the Setup.exe program. 5. Reboot the server 6. Manually failover all cluster resources to the server that was just upgraded to Service Pack 2. 7. Exit the Cluster Administrator 8. Now install Service Pack 2 on the second server 9. Reboot the server 1.1.2.1 Server Files Updated by Service Pack 2 ---------------------------------------------- Service Pack 2 updates the following files on the cluster server: o In the user's target directory (typically C:\Program Files\Digital\Cluster): ReadMeSP.txt cuninst.exe ntcluster.exe ntcluster.hlp ntcluster.cnt sp_dec_find_cluster_dbs.sql sp_dec_find_cluster_fb_dbs.sql sp_dec_list_db_devs.sql sp_dec_list_db_fb_devs.sql sp_fallback_DEC_clean.sql sp_fallback_DEC_perm_svr_db.sql sp_fallback_DEC_enroll_svr.sql decclstr.sql cluclean.sql fmdisk.dll fmsql.dll fmIp.dll cfmd.dll fmstat.exe logwatch.exe * In the user's Windows NT System32 directory (typically C:\WINNT\System32): clumgmt.dll fmlib.dll MFC40u.dll (if newer) MSVCRT40.dll (if newer) MSVCRT.dll (if newer) MSVCIRT.dll (if newer) * In the user's Windows NT System32\Drivers directory (typically C:\WINNT\System32\Drivers): cluport.sys cludisk.sys aic78xx.sys NOTE: You must re-boot the servers after the installation completes successfully. The installation will prompt you to do so. 1.2 Installing DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Remote Cluster Administrator ----------------------------------------------------------- DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Remote Cluster Administrator can be installed and run on any Windows NT systems. This section provides notes on installing the Remote Cluster Administrator. NOTE: A cluster node running DIGITAL Clusters 1.1 Service Pack 2 has the built in ability to remotely administer other cluster nodes. Therefore, it is both unnecessary and undesirable to install the Remote Cluster Administrator software on a cluster node. NOTE: The Remote Cluster Administrator software will not install or run on a Windows 95 system. 1.2.1 Requirements ------------------- o Any version of Windows NT o The person performing the installation must be logged in as a user with administrative privileges on the machine. 1.2.2 Installing Remote Cluster Administrator Tool -------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Both DIGITAL Cluster Service Pack 2 and the Remote Cluster Administrator are installed from the same setup.exe. Use the procedure described in the Service Pack 2 Addendum document to Install the Remote Cluster Administrator tool. The Service Pack 2 Addendum document is located in the \Docs directory on the distribution CD-ROM or in the \Docs sub-directory of the directory in which the self-extracting zip file, DC1_1SP2.EXE, was unzipped. 1.2.2.1 Files downloaded during the Remote Clusters Administrator Installation ----------------------------------------------------------------- o In the user's target directory (typically C:\Program Files\Digital\Cluster): ReadMeSP.txt cuninst.exe ntcluster.exe ntcluster.hlp ntcluster.cnt fmstat.exe * In the user's Windows NT System32 directory (typically C:\WINNT\System32): clumgmt.dll MFC40u.dll (if newer) MSVCRT40.dll (if newer) MSVCRT.dll (if newer) MSVCIRT.dll (if newer) 1.3 Cluster Names Must Be Unique ----------------------------------------------- The names you assign to different clusters in the same LAN must be unique within the first eight characters. Otherwise, it is possible for one cluster to see resources owned by another. For example, the names CLUSTER1 and CLUSTER2 are valid; CLUSTER1A and CLUSTER1B are not. 1.4 Uninstall May Leave Some Files Behind ----------------------------------------- The uninstallation of Digital Clusters V1.1 Service Pack 2 may leave behind some files. For a listing of these files and their locations, see the DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Configuration and Installation Guide, Appendix A. NOTE: Some of these same files, with the .old extension, may also be left undeleted. 1.5 Installing Product which Use Scripts ---------------------------------------- When installing any product needing scripts you may wish to refer to the samples provided at: \Clu1-1nt.40\Samples ============== 2 New Features ============== 2.1 DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 release features -------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1.1 New features ------------------ 2.1.1.1 Remote Cluster Administration ------------------------------------- The DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT now provides the ability to remotely administer any cluster from any cluster node or, with the Remote Cluster Administrator only software installed, any Windows NT system. Support is provided in the Cluster Administrator for specifying a new connection with any cluster server assuming the following criteria are met: o You must be running Cluster Administrator with a user account that has administrative privileges on both nodes in the target cluster, as well as on the remote system running this program. o The remote machine and both nodes of the cluster you desire a connection to must have NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) operational between them. o DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT (DCNT) Version 1.1 Service Pack 2 must be installed on a cluster node to enable that node to perform remote administration of another cluster. o To administer a cluster on a different domain, the domain in which the remote system resides must trust the target cluster's domain. Any machine running DIGITAL Clusters 1.1 Service Pack 2 or the Remote Cluster Administrator only software can run multiple instances of Cluster Administrator and therefore administer more than one cluster at a time. For details on setting up and using this new feature, see the "DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Administrator's Guide Addendum". Remote Cluster Administrator, remote cluster management functions allows the user to manage any cluster from an NT workstation or server. 2.1.1.2 Updated IIS and Netscape Support ---------------------------------------- IIS 4.0 and Netscape SuiteSpot 3.0 support. 2.1.1.3 Uninstalling Client Software from Cluster Servers --------------------------------------------------------- Installation changes allowing the option of uninstalling the client software from the cluster servers. 2.1.1.4 Creation of a Group name with imbedded spaces is not allowed -------------------------------------------------------------------- Group names with imbedded spaces is not supported. The Cluster Administrator has been changed so that the user can no longer create a Group name with embedded spaces. 2.1.1.5 Manage SQL Server Databases dialog improvements ------------------------------------------------------- The following improvements have been made to the Manage SQL Server Databases dialog: o Multiple selection of databases is now allowed so that you can perform an operation on more than one database at a time. o The database status has been changed from "Yes" or "No" to "Enrolled", "Unenrolled" or "Deactivated". 2.1.1.6 Documentation --------------------- The DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 documentation has been updated by the addition of a Service Pack 2 Addendum. The Service Pack 2 release includes the following documentation: o Configuration and Installation Guide (hardcopy and .pdf) o Administrator's Guide (hardcopy and .pdf) o Administrator's Guide Addendum (hardcopy and .pdf) o Service Pack 2 Addendum (.pdf) You can view the online (.pdf) versions of these documents in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available from http://www.adobe.com. An index is provided for doing full-text searches in Acrobat Reader. If you want to copy the .pdf files from the CD-ROM, copy the full \DOCs folder and keep it together as a unit. NOTE: Contact-sensitive help in the Cluster Administrator is only available for menu items and commands. ===================================================== 3 Problems Resolved Since Version 1.1 Service Pack 1 ===================================================== This section describes cluster software problems resolved since the DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 1 release. 3.1 SQL Bug Fixes ----------------- FMSQL.DLL bug fixes including: o Vstart uniqueness o Lstart duplicate o inconsistent fallback tables o binary sort order o fallback table integrity. ============================================================== 4 Problems and Restrictions ============================================================== This section describes known problems and restrictions in DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 Service Pack 2. 4.1 IP Failover Objects ----------------------- 4.1.1 IP Failover Requires Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 with NetBT ------------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Clusters V1.1 SP1 or newer and Windows NT 4.0 SP3 are required on both cluster servers in order to associate a NetBIOS name with an IP failover object. 4.1.1 Cannot change an IP Resource’s subnet mask field ------------------------------------------------------------------- Due to unresolved problems, the GUI will not allow the modification of an IP resource’s subnet mask field. The subnet mask and IP address are both grayed out, leaving the user the ability to modify only the NetBIOS name and the network adapters. The workaround for changing an IP resource’s IP address or subnet mask is to delete the existing IP resource and create a new one with the proper information. 4.2 Microsoft SQL Server ------------------------ 4.2.1 Cannot Enroll a database if Both Servers in the Cluster are Not Running --------------------------------------------------------------------- You cannot enroll a database unless both cluster nodes are running. 4.2.2 Enroll all SQL Databases in all Groups Before Any Failover -------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure that all SQL databases on the group's disks are enrolled for failover support. SQL Server setup for Digital Clusters is not complete until all of the databases are enrolled. If some databases are enrolled and others are not, then any failover will result in the SQL Server eventually hanging and unenrolled databases being marked suspect. NOTE: Cluster Administrator will not allow manual failover to continue and displays a warning message if there are any unenrolled databases in the group. 4.2.3 Moving SQL Server Objects Within a Failover Group ------------------------------------------------------- In this release, DIGITAL Clusters software automatically adds or removes SQL Server failover objects from the appropriate failover groups when you perform SQL management functions, such as enrolling SQL databases on a shared disk for failover. Generally, you do not need to add or remove SQL Server failover objects from a group. The one exception is when you want to change the order of objects in a group. For example, you may want to move a script failover object after a SQL Server failover object to ensure the script runs correctly. In this case, you can use the Modify Failover Group dialog box to move the SQL Server failover object by removing it from the group, then reinserting the object in the desired sequence. Make sure to place the object back in the group, or the SQL databases will not be available after the next failover. 4.2.4 Deleting an SQL Server Database ------------------------------------- CAUTION: Before deleting an SQL Server database, first use Cluster Administrator to unenroll it. If you delete an SQL database without first unenrolling the database, no further SQL databases can be enrolled. When you attempt to enroll a new SQL database, the following error is displayed: "Error from CLIFMSQLENROLLDATABASE Incorrect Function" Analysis: Deleting a database, without first unenrolling the database from the cluster, leaves the database information in the fallback tables with no reference to the related database information in the system tables. If you have deleted an SQL Server database, without first unenrolling it, the workaround is to: 1. On the SQL server where the database was deleted, create a database with the exact same name as the one you deleted. 2. Use Cluster Administrator to unenroll this database. 3. Now, delete the database from SQL server. 4. Delete the devices if necessary. 4.2.5 Using the "FOR LOAD" Option When Creating or Altering an SQL Database ------------------------------------------------------------------ Using the "FOR LOAD" option prevents anyone from using the database from the time that the CREATE (ALTER) DATABASE statement is issued until the LOAD statement is issued. This is a feature of the SQL Server. The proper procedure is to load the database immediately following database creation before it is enrolled. 4.2.6 SQL Server Databases are Not Listed ----------------------------------------- After installing the cluster software, rebuilding the SQL Server master database, applying an SQL Server Service Pack and then creating a new SQL Server databases, you must either:" 1) Stop and start the Cluster Failover Manager Service 2) Or reboot If you don't do one of the above, when you choose SQL Server Databases from the Cluster Administrator's Manage menu, you will not see any SQL Server Databases listed. Also, you will see errors in the fm trace log about: "Stored procedure 'sp_DEC_find_cluster_dbs' not found." 4.2.7 If an SQL Server Halts During Database Recovery ----------------------------------------------------- If an SQL Server halts during a database recovery, the next time the related failover group is on-line on that server the database could be marked "suspect". Solution: 1. If the server in question is the primary server for that failover group, re-boot the server. 2. If the server in question is the secondary server for that group, using the ISQL query tool, execute the sp_fallback_DEC_clean procedure. Then you must activate the database. One way to activate the database is to manually failover the group to the other server and then fail it back again to the secondary server. Another way is to execute the sp_fallback_activate_svr_db stored procedure. 4.2.8 Configuring MS SQL with DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT ------------------------------------------------------------- MS SQL Server must be configured properly before Digital Clusters can be installed. MSSQL Server will not function properly in a clustered environment using the default configurations if there are large databases and/or a large number of databases. Symptoms include but are not limited to inability to enroll, unenroll and failover groups containing databases, SQL Server exception access violation and SQL Server hanging. Both SQL servers need to be configured to support the user connections and database load with the consideration that all databases will be managed from one cluster node in the event of a failover. Recommendations: Settings need to be adjusted to more appropriate values based on recommendations from the Microsoft SQL Server Resource Guide and related documentation. The following values are of particular importance: 1. locks: 32 bytes of memory per lock. Configure this option taking into account that all databases in the cluster will have to be managed from one node during a failover. 2. memory: (In 2K pages) The more memory that can be allocated for SQL Server, the better it will run. The default memory allocation for SQL is not adequate for DCNT, any memory not required by other applications on the node and the Operating System, should be allocated to SQL Server. 3. open databases: Maximum number of databases that can be opened on SQL Server at any one time, per user. Account for all databases in the cluster for each node. 4. open objects: Requires 70 bytes per object. For each failover group containing a database, there will be one user connection which will utilize some of the available open objects allocated in the SQL configuration. The default configuration is inadequate to support databases in a clustered environment. Account for all databases in the cluster for each node. 5. user connections: Number of simultaneous user connections. Each failover group that contains a database will require a connection to SQL Server as well as one connection for each Cluster Administrator session that may be open on any node at a given time. This is in addition to the number of user connections configured for client, application and user access. Each user connection requires 37K of memory. Account for all databases in the cluster for each node. 6. Tempdb: The default size of MSSQL Tempdb is 2 MB. This is inadequate for a production server in a clustered environment. Please consult your MSSQL Server DBA Administrator's Guide for information on how to increase the size of your Tempdb to host all of the databases in the cluster in the event of failover. 4.2.9 Digital Clusters does not support MS SQL DB Replication ------------------------------------------------------------- Due to a bug in the MS stored procedure (sp_serveroption) a clustered database cannot be published or subscribed. In addition, DIGITAL Clusters does not support DB replication because MS SQL Server system databases cannot be failed over (specifically master, msdb and tempdb) thus the scheduled tasks won't be synchronized between two cluster nodes. 4.2.10 MS SQL Server login ------------------------- MS SQL Server logins must be set up identically on both cluster nodes. MS SQL database administrators should check the master DB syslogins table. DB users will have permission problems when connecting to a DB after a failover if the login setup between two MS SQL Servers does not match. 4.2.11 When creating MS SQL stored procedures --------------------------------------------- When a user creates a stored procedure, they must use the with-recompile option. If DBO creates a stored procedure, with-recompile is not needed. 4.2.12 Databases and SQL "Devices" on shared cluster disks must have names that are unique in the entire cluster --------------------------------------------------------------- Databases and SQL "Devices" on shared cluster disks must have names that are unique in the entire cluster. As long as the database names are unique, it doesn't matter if they have duplicate dbids on different nodes. Every time a database fails over, the cluster softare automatically assigns a new dbid. 4.2.13 SQL Server SA password is changed after enrolling databases ------------------------------------------------------------------ When the SA password is changed on both nodes after one or more databases are enrolled into the Digital NT Cluster, you must also change the password for all the SQL objects on the cluster. 1. Double click SQL object to get "Modify SQL Server Failover Object" 2. Change the password for SA. 4.2.14 MSSQL stored procedures; access denied bug ------------------------------------------------- There is a known bug in SQL 6.5 (through SP4) which produces an SQL 916 error when users with limited permissions attempt to access database objects after a failover has occurred. Microsoft is aware of the problem and is currently working on a fix. 4.2.15 Wizards that install or alter tempdb to reside on shared storage --------------------------------------------------------------- Wizards that install or alter the tempdb to reside on the shared storage should not be used with DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT. 4.2.16 Shared drive letters should be unique within the cluster --------------------------------------------------------------- Assigning a unique drive letter within a cluster for each shared drive is a requirement for setting up dual SQL feature. Please refer to Chapter 3 of Configuration and Installation Guide for details regarding assigning fixed drive letters. 4.3 Diskperf Driver Incompatible with Clusters Software ------------------------------------------------------- The diskperf driver is used to collect performance data. The driver gets installed into the SCSI driver chain. However, the disk counters are suppressed when DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT software is installed. 4.4 IDE Disks Are Not Supported -------------------------------- DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT environments do not support systems that include IDE disks. The ATDISK.SYS driver used for IDE disks is incompatible with the cluster drivers. Using ATDISK.SYS in a cluster causes the system to fail when booted. 4.5 Assign Fixed Drive Letters ------------------------------- After the Windows NT operating system is installed, it is imperative that the drive letter assigned to the system partition (typically C: or D:) remain constant, because hardcoded references to this drive letter are recorded in the Windows NT Registry. For information on assigning fixed drive letters, see the Configuration and Installation Guide. 4.6 Logon Rights Occasionally Granted Improperly ------------------------------------------------ On occasion the Windows NT software improperly grants the "logon as a service" right to a user account, even when the account was created correctly. If this happens, the cluster services will not start. The workaround for this problem is as follows: 1. Open the Services applet in Control Panel. 2. Select the CFMD server. 3. Click on Startup... then click on OK. The software displays the following message: The user is granted log in as a service. At this point, you can start the cluster services. 4.7 Using Cluster Administrator ------------------------------- 4.7.1 Cluster Administrator is slow when one of the cluster nodes is down. -------------------------------------------------------------------- If one of the cluster nodes in a cluster is turned off, hung, or otherwise incapacitated, the Cluster Administrator takes much longer to complete many of its tasks. Please allow for about 3 minutes of non-response before assuming the software is hung. 4.7.2 Failover Object Names Restricted to 38 Characters -------------------------------------------------------- Failover object names can have a maximum of 38 characters. If you try to add an object with a longer name to a failover group, Cluster Administrator will fail. 4.7.3 Display Unsynchronized with Cluster Failover Manager Database ---------------------------------------------------------- It is possible for the Cluster Administrator display to become unsynchronized with the cluster configuration database in the registry. This can happen if you have two Cluster Administrator sessions open on the same cluster and are making changes from both Cluster Administrator sessions. One session of the Cluster Administrator may be unaware of changes propagated to the registry from the other Cluster Administrator session. Two workarounds exist for this problem: * If you suspect that the Cluster Administrator is out of synch, choose Refresh from the View menu. * Run the Cluster Administrator on only one server at a time. With the ability to remotely administer a cluster, the probability of Cluster Failover Manager Database unsynchronization is increased. Refreshing a previously opened Cluster Administrator session prior to making changes to the cluster is recommended. 4.7.4 With the "Manage SQL Server Databases" dialog open, selecting F1 or the Help button brings up the wrong help description ------------------------------------------------------------------- To view the correct help description: 1. Close the "Manage SQL Database" dialog. 2. Select the contact-sensitive help toolbar button (the one with the question mark). 3. Select the "Manage \ SQL Server Databases" menu item. 4.8 Defining Share Names --------------------------- The DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT software does not prevent the creation of two file shares with the same name if the shares are on different disks and the disks are on line to different cluster servers. DIGITAL recommends that you do not create two shares with the same name on two servers in the same cluster. 4.9 Lost Delayed Write Popup Boxes ----------------------------------- A failover group can transition from on line to off line while the system is still running. This can occur from a voluntary failover or involuntary failover. During a voluntary failover, a system puts a group off line in a controlled manner in response to a user request. An example of this is a group with failback enabled that is on line on the failover server when the primary server comes back up. The failover server does a voluntary failover to the primary server. During a voluntary failover the following happens: * The shares, if any, are made unavailable. * The file system caches are flushed to disk. * The file system is dismounted if possible. * The disk itself is put off line. Every opportunity is taken in this case to assure that cached file system data is returned to disk prior to the failover. During an involuntary failover, a disk goes off line immediately without a chance for any flushes to occur. This may happen in a network partition (communication lost between the two cluster members) where the offline member resumes ownership of a disk because it thought the other was down. This can occur although efforts are made to prevent it. When ownership of a disk is taken from the on line member, the disk becomes inaccessible immediately without the normal graceful offline behavior. As a result of an involuntary failover, the operating system receives errors when it attempts to write the data in the file system cache to the disk as part of normal background processing. The errors appear as popup boxes, indicating that a "delayed write" was unable to be written. The administrator can click OK to close these boxes. These warnings indicate that the disk failed over prematurely and that the administrator's file system I/Os were not written to the disk if they were issued just before, during, and after the disk went off line. Administrators should verify the state of their files and reissue the client operation when the group finishes failing over to the other server. Although the client file operation must be reissued, file system integrity is maintained. 4.10 Disk Administrator ----------------------- 4.10.1 Disk Administrator Shows Orphaned Disks ---------------------------------------------- The cluster software uses the following methods to dismount files systems for failovers: For voluntary failovers: Conventional or Disconnected For involuntary failovers: Disconnected A conventional dismount is tried first. A conventional dismount will fail if another program (such as File Manager) has locked the volume, or if files remain open on the volume. During a disconnected dismount, the disk data structure is disconnected from the underlying I/O system, but left physically present in the system. When the disk fails back to the system, it is reinstantiated. This guarantees that an old file system state associated with the old disk instance does not interfere with the new file system state on the new disk instance. However, as a side effect, the old disk instance remains visible in Disk Administrator, appearing as a gray box for the remainder of the system up time. This is normal behavior for the mechanism and is harmless. The gray box disappears when the system is rebooted. 4.10.2 Changing Drive Partitioning During Cluster Operations ------------------------------------------------------------ When drive partitioning is changed during cluster operations the related disk group may not fail over. The workaround is to reboot the system on which the partition changes were done. For example: Failover group XYZ containing Disk 1, resides on Host A. The administrator on Host A starts Disk Administrator, partitions Disk 1, assigns drive letters to the partitions, and then fails the group to Host B. Host A must now be rebooted before group XYZ will fail back to it 4.11 Potential Problem when Using Microsoft Word Version 6.0a ------------------------------------------------------------ If a document in a cluster share is being edited with Microsoft Word and the contents of the document are saved while the share is being failed over from one server to the other, Word can hang or crash. Once the failed server is rebooted, Word puts up one or more message boxes indicating an unrecoverable or serious disk failure. Clicking OK on these boxes eventually results in a protection failure in the Word application itself. If the application hangs, it can be terminated and the system will return to normal. This problem is not caused by DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT and has been reproduced using Microsoft Word Version 6.0a on systems without DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT installed. 4.12 Installing Visual C++ 4.2 ------------------------------ If you plan to install Visual C++ 4.2, first copy MFC40.DLL, MFC40U.DLL and MSVCRT40.DLL from the Windows NT system32 directory (typically C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32) into the Clusters installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Digital\Cluster). Otherwise, the Cluster Administrator will crash on startup. 4.13 NET VIEW to Cluster NetBIOS Name Also Shows Unclustered Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------- When the "net view" command is used with a cluster NetBIOS name to view network resources, for example: "net view \\netbiosname" both clustered and unclustered shares for the server that currently has the related failover group are displayed. All shares on that server are accessible via \\netbiosname\share, even the hidden ones. This is the expected behavior. 4.14 System Hangs When Registry Size is Exceeded ------------------------------------------------ If the registry size is exceeded Cns.exe and CFMD could go into an infinite loop causing the system to hang. Solution: Increase the registry size and re-boot the system. Use this procedure to increase the registry size: o From the Start menu, select Settings. o Select Control Panel from the Settings menu. o Select "System" o Select the "Performance" tab. o Click the Change button in the Virtual Memory box. o The Current Registry Size is shown at the bottom of the Virtual Memory window. o Specify a greater Maximum Registry Size and click the OK button. o Click OK to close the System Properties window. 4.15 Cluster Services Do Not Start When a "Program" directory Exists Under the Same Parent Directory as the "Program files" directory ------------------------------------------------------------ If you have a "Program" directory under the same parent directory as the "Program files" directory, some cluster services may not start. Also, the Event Log displays an "access denied" error message. Double quotes added to certain cluster registry keys during the installation of DCNT 1.1 Service Pack 1 was supposed to solve this problem, but it created more problems than it fixed. The installation of Service Pack 2 makes sure the double quotes are removed from those registry keys. Workaround: When installing a fresh installation of DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1, choose a target directory other than c:\Program Files\... if you have a c:\Program directory. 4.16 Uninstalling and Re-installing DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 selects the NetBIOS name of one of the cluster's IP Failover Objects as the other servers name. ------------------------------------------------------------------- During the "Join, Search Cluster" operation in the DIGITAL Clusters for Windows NT Version 1.1 installation, the NetBIOS name of an IP Failover Object is shown as the default for the other server node. If you click Next without fixing this discrepency the new cluster node will be wrongly configured. Workaround: Verify that the other node's name is correctly identified prior to continuing with the installation. 4.17 Lotus Domino sample failover script names have changed ----------------------------------------------------------- The Lotus Domino Sample failover scripts described in Chapter 4 of the Administrator's Guide have had their names shortened. "Stop_Domino_Mfg.cmd" is now "StopDmfg.cmd" "Start_Domino_Mfg.cmd" is now "StrtDmfg.cmd" The contents of these scripts have not changed. 4.18 Using the Remote Cluster Administrator ------------------------------------------- 4.18.1 Dual NIC machine may not connect via an IP resource's IP address --------------------------------------------------------------- When running on a remote machine that has more than one NIC card enabled, the Remote Cluster Administrator may not allow a connection to a cluster node by using the IP address of an IP resource on that node. When this situation occurs, the IP resource's NetBIOS name, the IP address of the node, and the name of the node (the preferred method) can still be used to make a connection. 4.18.2 Cluster SCSI port validation not working in case of remote administration --------------------------------------------------------------- When running Cluster Administrator remotely, the validation of the cluster SCSI port is not working. This validation is done during initialization. If you’re running Cluster Administrator remotely and the Reconfigure Adapter dialog window is displayed during initialization, hit "Cancel" and ignore the dialog. If you make a change to the SCSI hardware on a cluster node, you should run Cluster Administrator from that node to verify a proper configuration. ------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright and Trademark Information Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013. Copyright Digital Equipment Corporation 1998 All rights reserved. The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation. Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. The software described in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. No responsibility is assumed for the use or reliability of software on equipment that is not supplied by DIGITAL or its affiliated companies. The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation: AlphaServer, AlphaStation, DIGITAL, Prioris, ServerWORKS, StorageWorks, and the DIGITAL logo. The following are third-party trademarks: Adaptec is a trademark of Adaptec Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows 95 are registered trademarks and Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. NetBIOS is a trademark of Micro Computer Systems, Inc. Oracle and SQL*Net are registered trademarks and Oracle7 is a trademark of Oracle Corporation. OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 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