How to Configure Virtual Server 2005 in Order to Setup a Test SQL Server Cluster Part-2

After part-1

Once you have entered all the data, select "Create" to create the file.

How to Create the Virtual "C" Drives for the Two Nodes of the Cluster

We still have two more virtual disk to create before we are done. In this case, we need to create the "C" drives for our two virtual nodes. Once these are created, we can then install our two guest OSs that will become our virtual nodes of our cluster. Creating these two virtual disks are very similar to what we have done already. The only difference is that we can chose a "Dynamically Expanding Virtual Hard Disk" instead of a "Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk" if we want. The choice is yours. In my case, I am going to choose the "Dynamically Expanding Virtual Hard Disk" because it better allows me to minimize the amount of hard disk space on the host system that is devoted for our drive "Cs." For example, since the disk can expand if necessary, I can create them at a minimum size to conserve space, and if I guess wrong, the disk files can expanded as necessary. To create the two virtual "C" disks, follow these steps.

1. From the Master Status screen (the default screen displayed when the Virtual Server Administration Website is started), Under "Virtual Disks", select "Create." This will produce a pop-up menu, from which you can select "Dynamically Expanding Virtual Hard Disk." First, specify the "Location" or the path where the file is to reside. When you click on the down-arrow button next to "Location", you will see one or more options. Second, you must specify the name of the file next to "Virtual hard disk file name." And last, you must specify the size of the disk, which should be 2 GB or larger. When you are done, your screen should look similar to the following one.

Once you have entered all the data, select "Create" to create the file. This creates the "C" drive for node1. Now, repeat the above steps, except this time, assign a name of node2. Once both virtual drives have been created, you are ready to create the virtual machines, which will be used for the virtual cluster nodes.

Create Virtual Node1

At this point, Virtual Server 2005 has been configured, and is now ready for us to install the two nodes of our cluster. Essentially, you will be installing two instances of Windows 2003 Server, pretty much the same as you would install them on individual physical servers, with just a few differences. It is assumed here that you already know how to install Windows 2003 Server, so the focus of this section will be on the aspects of this installation that are unique to installing guest OSs in Virtual Server 2005. In this section, we will focus on Node1, and then we will do Node2 separately. We are doing these as separate steps because the configuration of each node is slightly different. To create a virtual server (also called a virtual machine) called node1, follow these steps.From the Master Status screen (the default screen displayed when the Virtual Server Administration Website is started), Under "Virtual Machines", select "Create." The following screen appears.

 Let's take a look at this screen, one section at a time. First, you must specify a name for the virtual machine you are now creating. In our case, let's name it node1. If you don't enter a path, the virtual machine configuration file (which is what we are actually creating in this step) will be saved in the default path. If you want the virtual machine configuration file stored in another patch, you can manually specify the path.Second, you must specify the amount of physical memory to allocate to this node. On my host computer, which only as 1 GB of RAM, I have specified 384 MB as the size for node1. Any amount smaller than this will cause the node to run very slowly. The more RAM you can allocate, the better. If you make a mistake here, this will not cause any problems, as you can change the amount of RAM allocated at any time after the virtual machine is created.Third, you specify the drive "C" for node1, which you created earlier. You do this by selecting "Use an existing virtual hard disk" and pointing to the filename and path of the virtual hard disk.

Fourth, you must specify the "Public" virtual network adapter that you created earlier. Your completed screen should look similar to the one below.

 Once you are done, click on "Create" to create the virtual machine configuration file. Once the virtual machine configuration file has been created, you will then see the virtual machine name you just created in the "Master Status" screen of the Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Website.Next, we must configure the virtual SCSI controller, the shared disk, and the private network to be used by this virtual machine. Once we do that, we can then actually begin the installation of Windows 2003 Server as a virtual machine.

 To configure the current virtual machine, go to the "Master Status" page and move the cursor over the name of the virtual server. When you do this, a sub-menu appears. Select "Edit Configuration" from the sub-menu. A screen, similar to the one below appears. Note that your screen will probably look somewhat different, as my system most likely is configured differently than yours.

 The "Status" part of the screen appears first, and is not of much interest to us now. Our focus is on the "Configuration" part of the screen. It is here where we will create the virtual SCSI adapter, assign the shared disk to the adapter, and also add the private network to this virtual server.