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Installing Message Queuing in a server cluster

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Installing Message Queuing in a server cluster

This section applies only to users running Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition in a server cluster configuration. Installing Message Queuing in a server cluster will provide active/active queue failover in case of computer failure or malfunction.

Installing the required instances of the Message Queuing service on each node of a server cluster before creating and configuring a Message Queuing resource is similar to installing Message Queuing on any other server. However, there are several additional requirements and considerations to keep in mind when installing Message Queuing in a server cluster, including the following:

  • Install Message Queuing with the same set of subcomponents on all nodes in a server cluster. For example, if you install a Message Queuing server with Routing Support on one node, install Message Queuing servers with Routing Support on the other nodes as well.

  • Create one Message Queuing resource for each cluster group, using Cluster Administrator. To open Cluster Administrator, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

  • If you intend to use triggers, HTTP/HTTPS messaging, or external transactions on your cluster, before creating a Message Queuing resource in any cluster group hosted on a computer in a server cluster, do the following:

    • Cluster Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC). This must be done using Cluster Administrator, and not by running comclust.exe. DTC is installed by default on Windows Server 2003 family operating systems.

    • Configure the DTC, create a DTC resource, and bring it online. Note that only one DTC resource is created for an entire server cluster. For more information on creating a DTC resource, see Checklist: Installing a Distributed Transaction Coordinator resource, in the Server Clusters Help file. For instructions on bringing a DTC resource online, see Bring a resource online, in the Server Clusters Help file.

    • After the DTC resource is online, install Message Queuing on each cluster node.

  • After the preceding tasks are completed, you can create Message Queuing resources on any virtual server in the cluster. When you create a Message Queuing resource in a cluster group, configure it with a Network Name resource and a Disk resource using Cluster Administrator. For instructions on configuring Message Queuing and Message Queuing Triggers resources for server clusters, see Configure Message Queuing resources for server clusters, and Configure trigger resources for server clusters.

Notes

  • It is recommended that Message Queuing be installed on the physical computer before creating a Message Queuing resource.

  • You must not create more than one Message Queuing resource in a single cluster group, because the behavior of such multiple resources is undefined.

  • To uninstall Message Queuing on a computer that is part of a server cluster, the Message Queuing virtual server must be deleted from the node before uninstalling Message Queuing on the physical node computer.

  • On a cluster, the Message Queuing service start configuration is set to manual. Thus, after restarting a node computer, the Message Queuing service running on the node does not restart automatically. However, Message Queuing resources that were online do come back online automatically.

  • For more information on configuring resources using Cluster Administrator, see Server Cluster Resources, in the Server Clusters Help file.

  • For information on upgrading Message Queuing in a server cluster, see Upgrading Message Queuing in a server cluster.

  • For instructions on how to start the Message Queuing service, see Start or stop services for Message Queuing.