Connect to a cluster with Cluster Administrator

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

To connect to a cluster with Cluster Administrator

  1. Open Cluster Administrator.

  2. If you are already connected to an existing cluster, on the File menu, click Open Connection.

    If you are not connected to a cluster, the Open Connection to Cluster dialog box will appear.

  3. In Action, select Open connection to cluster. Then in Cluster or server name, type the network name or IP address of an existing cluster, or select a name from the drop-down list box, or click Browse to search for an available cluster.

Caution

  • If you use Cluster Administrator or cluster.exe to manage a server cluster, the locale settings for the user account must match the system default locale on the computer used to manage the cluster. For more information on changing the system default locale, see "To change number, currency, time, and date settings" in Related Topics.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

  • To open Cluster Administrator, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Cluster Administrator.

  • When you start Cluster Administrator, connections left open when you closed the previous session are restored. If no connections were left open, Cluster Administrator prompts you to type a cluster name, a node, or an IP address before it displays any information. If you do not want to open old connections, you can start Cluster Administrator from the command line with the cluadmin /noreconnect command. For more information on administering a cluster from the command line, see "Managing a server cluster from the command line" in Related Topics.

  • You can simultaneously connect to multiple clusters, but be aware that multiple connections can affect the performance of Cluster Administrator.

    To prevent this problem, you can start a new instance of Cluster Administrator for each cluster you want to administer.

  • Use the network name or IP address of either the cluster or one of its nodes to open a connection to a cluster. If Cluster Administrator cannot find the cluster by its name, type the name of an active node in the cluster. You can also connect to the cluster by opening Cluster Administrator on a cluster node and entering a PERIOD (.) in Cluster or server name.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Managing a Server Cluster from the Command Line