How to Add EMC Drives with Multiple Paths to a Windows NT 4.0 Server Cluster (296198)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
This article was previously published under Q296198
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

SUMMARY

This article describes the necessary steps to add additional drives to a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition server cluster when specifically using an EMC array with multiple paths and PowerPath software.

Additional steps are required if you are using PowerPath with multiple paths to the drives than are typically necessary.

MORE INFORMATION

  1. Verify that the primary node, Node A in this scenario and the node that the Cluster Service was first installed on, has control over all the resources.
  2. On Node B, the cluster node that joined the cluster:
    1. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.

      Note: When changing the startup mode on the following devices you will get a message "Changing the startup type for XXXXX device may leave the system in an unusable state. Do you want to make the change?" Click Yes to continue for all devices.
    2. Scroll down the list to Cluster Disk, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    3. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Module, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    4. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Driver, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    5. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    6. Click Cluster Server, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    7. Scroll down to EMC PowerPath Monitor Service, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    8. Shut down the computer, and then power off Node B.
    9. Disconnect all but one connection from Node B to the Symmetrix device.
  3. On Node A:
    1. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
    2. Scroll down the list to Cluster Disk, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    3. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Module, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    4. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Driver, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    5. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    6. Click Cluster Server, click Startup, change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    7. Scroll down to EMC PowerPath Monitor Service and change the settings to Manual, and then click OK.
    8. Shut down the computer and Power off Node A.
    9. Disconnect all but one connection from Node A to the Symmetrix device.
    10. Boot Node A and log on.
    11. Click OK to the PowerPath Administrator error "Could not connect to monitor service on servername", and then close the PowerPath Administrator if it opened.

      Note: These steps are necessary because the PowerPath Administrator is included in the startup process.
    12. Right-click the PowerPath icon, and then click Exit.
    13. Open Disk Administrator: Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Administrative Tools.
    14. Select the additional disk, which should show up as Free Space, and then click Create on the Partition menu. Confirm the creation of the partition by clicking Yes and determine the partition size.
    15. Click Commit Changes Now on the Partition menu and if necessary, change the drive letter on the Tools menu by clicking Assign Drive Letter.
    16. Click Format on the Tools menu and change the File System to NTFS in the Format window. Also, name your volume in the Volume Label box and then click Full Format in the Format Options section.

      Note: Make sure your label of this disk will help to identify it when seen on the other node.
    17. Click Start to begin formatting, and then click Close when you are finished.
    18. Close the Disk Administrator by clicking Exit on the Partition menu and save any configurations.
    19. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
    20. Scroll down the list to Cluster Disk, click Startup, change the settings to System, and then click OK.
    21. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    22. Click Cluster Server, click Startup, change the settings to Automatic, and then click OK.
    23. Shut down the computer and power off Node A.
  4. On Node B:
    1. Boot and log on to Node B.
    2. Click OK to the PowerPath Administrator error "Could not connect to monitor service on servername", and then close PowerPath Administrator if it is open.
    3. Right-click the PowerPath icon, and then click Exit.
    4. Open Disk Administrator: Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Administrative Tools.
    5. Select the added disk, go to the Tools menu and choose Assign Drive Letter and give it the same drive letter as that which was assigned on Node A. Even if the drive letter has been assigned and is correct, you must still assign the same drive letter. Close the Disk Administrator by clicking Exit on the Partition menu and save any configurations.
    6. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
    7. Scroll down the list to Cluster Disk, click Startup, change the settings to System, and then click OK.
    8. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    9. Click Cluster Server, click Startup, change the settings to Automatic, and then click OK.
    10. Shut down the computer and power off Node B.
  5. On Node A:
    1. Boot and log on to Node A (the cluster service should start).
    2. Click OK to the PowerPath Administrator error "Could not connect to monitor service on servername", and then close PowerPath Administrator if it is open.
    3. Right-click the PowerPath icon, and then click Exit.
    4. Open Cluster Administrator, and then add the new disk as a resource to an existing disk group; or, create a new disk group, and then add the disk.

      Note: Do not bring the resource online at this time.
    5. Reboot Node A.
    6. Log on to Node A (the cluster service should start).
    7. Click OK to the PowerPath Administrator error "Could not connect to monitor service on servername", and then close PowerPath Administrator if it is open.
    8. Right-click the PowerPath icon, and then click Exit.
    9. Open Cluster Administrator and bring the disk resource online.
  6. On Node B:
    1. Boot and log on to Node B (the server should join cluster).
    2. Click OK to the PowerPath Administrator error "Could not connect to monitor service on servername", and then close PowerPath Administrator if it is open.
    3. Right-click the PowerPath icon, and then click Exit.
    4. Make sure the Disk Resource can fail over to either node.
  7. On Node A:
    1. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
    2. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Module, click Startup, change the settings to Boot, and then click OK.
    3. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Driver, click Startup, change the settings to Boot, and then click OK.
    4. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    5. Scroll down to EMC PowerPath Monitor Service and change the settings to Automatic, and then click OK.
    6. Shut down the computer, and power off Node A.
  8. On Node B:
    1. In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
    2. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Module, click Startup, change the settings to Boot, and then click OK.
    3. Scroll down the list to EMC PowerPath Driver, click Startup, change the settings to Boot, and then click OK.
    4. In Control Panel, double-click Services.
    5. Scroll down to EMC PowerPath Monitor Service, change the settings to Automatic, and then click OK.
    6. Shut down the computer and power off Node B.
  9. On Node A:
    1. Reconnect all the connections from Node A to the Symmetrix device.
    2. Boot and log on to Node A (the cluster service should start).
    3. Verify that PowerPath is able to see two paths to each device and that the resources are online.
  10. On Node B:
    1. Reconnect all the connections from Node B to the Symmetrix device.
    2. Boot and log on to Node B (the server should join the cluster).
    3. Verify that PowerPath can see two paths to each device and that the resources are online.
    4. Make sure Disk Resource can fail over to either node.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

175278 How to Install Additional Drives on the Shared SCSI Bus

For additional help, refer to the following EMC Solution ID emc9294 on the EMC Web site:

http://www.emc.com

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/4/2006
Keywords:kbhowto kbnetwork KB296198
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