Edit a Network Load Balancing Port Rule
Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2
Use the following procedure to edit an existing Network Load Balancing (NLB) port rule.
When you are using Network Load Balancing (NLB) Manager, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the host that you are configuring, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If you are configuring a cluster or host by running NLB Manager from a computer that is not part of the cluster, you do not have to be a member of the Administrators group on that computer.
To ensure that Network Load Balancing Manager is displaying the most recent host information, right-click the cluster and click Refresh. This step is necessary because the host properties that Network Load Balancing Manager displays are a copy of the host properties that were configured the last time Network Load Balancing Manager connected to that host. When you click Refresh, Network Load Balancing Manager reconnects to the cluster and displays updated information.
To edit a Network Load Balancing port rule
To open NLB Manager, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Network Load Balancing Manager. You can also open NLB Manager by typing Nlbmgr at a command prompt.
Right-click the cluster, and then click Cluster Properties.
Click the Port Rules tab.
In the Defined port rules list, click a rule, and then click Edit.
Modify the cluster IP address that you want this rule to apply to, the port range, protocols and filtering mode parameters as required, and then click OK.
In the Properties dialog box, click OK. This applies changes to the NLB parameters, stops NLB (if it is running), reloads the parameters, and then restarts cluster operations.
Additional considerations
The number and type of rules must be exactly the same for each host in the cluster. This is best achieved by using NLB Manager to configure port rules. When you add additional hosts by using NLB Manager, they automatically inherit the cluster port rules from the initial host.
If a host attempts to join the cluster with a different number of rules or with different rules from the other hosts, it is not accepted as part of the cluster. The rest of the cluster continues to handle the traffic. At the same time, a message is entered into the Windows event log. Consult the event log to determine which host is in conflict with the other cluster hosts, resolve the conflict, and then restart NLB on that host.
The list of all currently installed port rules is sorted by port range.
The parameters set in the Properties dialog box are recorded in the registry on each host.
Additional references
Setting Network Load Balancing Parameters
Create a new Network Load Balancing Port Rule
Remove a Network Load Balancing Port Rule