Dell PowerVault 775N (Rackmount NAS Appliance) - Manual (Page 25)

The following sections provide detailed information for each step in the " Installation Overview " that is specific to your Windows operating
system.
Selecting a Domain Model
On a cluster running the Windows operating system, the cluster nodes must belong to a common domain or directory model. The following
membership configurations are supported:
All cluster nodes are member servers in a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory domain.
All cluster nodes are member servers in a Windows Server 2000 Active Directory domain.
One cluster node is a domain controller in an Active Directory, the remaining cluster nodes are member servers, and there are no other
client members.
Configuring the Cluster Nodes as Domain Controllers
If a cluster node is not configured as a domain controller and the node cannot contact a domain controller, the cluster node will not be able to
authenticate client requests.
If a cluster node is configured as a domain controller, client access to its cluster resources can continue if the cluster node cannot contact
other domain controller(s). However, domain controller functions can cause additional overhead, such as log on, authentication, and
replication traffic on the cluster nodes.
Configuring Windows Networking
You must configure the public and private networks in each node before you install the Cluster Service. The following sections introduce you to
some principles and procedures necessary to the networking prerequisites.
Assigning Static IP Addresses to Your Cluster Resources and Components
A static IP address is an Internet address that a network administrator assigns exclusively to a system or a resource. The address assignment
remains in effect until it is changed by the network administrator.
The IP address assignments for the public LAN segments will depend on the configuration of your environment. If the IP assignments are set
up correctly, all of the NIC resources will respond to ping commands and appear online before and after you install MSCS. If the IP
assignments are not set up correctly, the cluster nodes may not be able to communicate with the domain. See "Troubleshooting" for more
information.
NAS cluster configurations running the Windows operating system require static IP addresses assigned to hardware and software applications
in your cluster, as listed in Table 2-1 .
Table 2-1. Applications and Hardware Requiring IP Address Assignments
Application/Hardware Description
Cluster IP address The cluster IP address is used for cluster management and must correspond to the cluster name. Because each
server has at least two NICs, the minimum number of static IP addresses required for a two-node cluster
configuration is five (one for each NIC and one for the cluster). Additional static IP addresses are required when
MSCS is configured with application programs that require IP addresses, such as file sharing.
Cluster node NICs The NICs are used to connect to the public and private networks.
For cluster operation, two NICs are required: one NIC for the public network (LAN/WAN) and another NIC for the
private network (sharing heartbeat information between the cluster nodes).
See " Cabling Your Cluster Hardware " for more information about cluster interconnect options.
NOTE: To ensure cluster operations during a DHCP server failure, Dell recommends using static IP addresses for
your cluster.