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Network Load Balancing Manager

  • Article

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

Network Load Balancing Manager

Network Load Balancing (NLB) Manager allows you to create and manage Network Load Balancing clusters from a single computer. By centralizing Network Load Balancing administration tasks, Network Load Balancing Manager helps eliminate many common configuration errors.

Using Network Load Balancing Manager, you can configure and manage your clusters and all cluster hosts from a single computer, and you can also replicate the cluster configuration to other hosts.

You can perform the following procedures with Network Load Balancing Manager:

  • Create new clusters

  • Add hosts to an existing cluster and, by doing so, automatically enable Network Load Balancing on that host and and automatically configure cluster parameters on that host

  • Remove hosts from a cluster and, by doing so, automatically disable Network Load Balancing on that host

  • Configure all host and cluster properties

  • Replicate the cluster configuration to other hosts

  • Diagnose problems with existing Network Load Balancing clusters.

As part of the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack, Network Load Balancing Manager can also be installed and used on Windows XP Professional. You can use Network Load Balancing Manager on Windows XP Professional only to manage Network Load Balancing clusters on remote computers running the Windows Server 2003 family of products. You can not install the Network Load Balancing service itself on Windows XP Professional.

Network Load Balancing Manager uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) which in turn has a dependency on remote procedure call (RPC) and Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). To understand how to enable DCOM across a firewall, refer to Using Distributed COM with Firewalls .

When using Network Load Balancing Manager, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the host that you are configuring. However, you do not have to me a member of the Administrators group on the computer from which you are running Network Load Balancing Manager.

For more information on Network Load Balancing, see Network Load Balancing Clusters, and Network Load Balancing Overview.

Important

  • To start Network Load Balancing Manager, open a Command prompt. From the command window, type NLBMgr, and then press ENTER.

Network Load Balancing Manager compared to other deployment and management tools

Network Load Balancing Manager is similar to other application management tools, such as Microsoft Application Center 2000, but Network Load Balancing Manager does not completely replace these other tools. Although you can use either Network Load Balancing Manager or a similar tool to manage Network Load Balancing clusters, you can not use Network Load Balancing Manager to perform additional tasks that are often available through these other tools.

Network Load Balancing Manager is used to centrally create and manage the configuration of Network Load Balancing clusters only. It is not used to administer and deploy applications. In contrast, other management tools are designed to create, deploy, and manage large scale Web applications. These tools typically include advanced monitoring, logging, and scripting capabilities which are not included with Network Load Balancing Manager.

For example:

  • Network Load Balancing Manager provides limited monitoring of the status of the Network Load Balancing hosts, but does not provide any alerts or notifications. Other management tools often provide real-time monitoring, notification and alert capabilities allowing you to view the health, performance and availability of clusters and other applications.

  • Scripting is not supported in Network Load Balancing Manager but is often used by other management tools for monitoring and automating various administrative tasks.

  • Network Load Balancing Manager can log general Network Load Balancing cluster information to a text-based log file, while other tools often can provide detailed logging on a variety of applications.

Network Load Balancing Manager is a tool targeted at very specific tasks related to Network Load Balancing clusters and you should not attempt to use Network Load Balancing Manager for other administrative purposes.