HOW TO: Perform Advanced Network Load Balancing Procedures in Windows 2000 (303765)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to perform advanced Network Load Balancing procedures. When you use Network Load Balancing, you can spread incoming requests across as many as 32 servers. When you do so, you can expand enterprise-wide services, such as Web servers, Terminal Services, and streaming media servers, to ensure that the services respond quickly, even under heavy loads.

Network Load Balancing automatically detects when a server fails and quickly reassigns client traffic among the remaining servers. This safeguard helps you provide uninterrupted, continuous service for your critical business programs.

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How to Perform Advanced Network Load Balancing Procedures

This section describes how to perform the following advanced Network Load Balancing procedures:

• Uninstall Network Load Balancing
• Adjust convergence parameters
• Protect switch ports from flooding

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How to Uninstall Network Load Balancing

1. Log on as an administrator on the local computer, and then double-click Network and Dial-up Connections in Control Panel.
2. Click the local area connection on which Network Load Balancing is installed, and then click Properties.
3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
4. Remove the cluster's primary Internet Protocol (IP) address.
   
   If the cluster's primary IP address is in the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box, click Advanced, and then remove the cluster's primary IP address and any other cluster IP addresses that you have entered.
5. Click OK three times to return to the Local Area Connection Status dialog box.
6. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
7. Click Network Load Balancing, and then click Uninstall.

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How to Adjust Convergence Parameters

After you complete the procedure that is described in this section, you can control both the message exchange period and the number of missed messages that are required to initiate convergence.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate and click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WLBS\Parameters

3. Edit either the AliveMsgPeriod value or the AliveMsgTolerance value as required.
4. Restart the computer.

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How to Protect Switch Ports from Flooding

1. Connect the cluster adapter for each host to a hub, and then uplink the hub to one switch port.
2. If multicast support has been enabled during Setup, open the Network Load Balancing properties, click the Cluster parameters tab, and then click to clear the Enabled check box in the Multicast support section.
3. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
4. Locate and click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WLBS\Parameters

5. Set the MaskSourceMAC registry value to 0.
   
   NOTE: The default value for this registry value is 1.
6. Restart the computer.

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