Windows Cluster Technologies: Remote Setup, Unattended Installations and Image-based Installations of Network Load Balancing
Applies To: Windows Server 2003 with SP1
Published: June 1, 2002
In This White Paper
Unattended Installation of NLB Clusters
Image-based Installations of NLB Clusters
Generating and Distributing a Virtual Hard Disk
Overview
You can install Network Load Balancing (NLB) clusters remotely in the following ways:
Using WMI to install and configure NLB cluster
Unattended installation of NLB clusters during the operating system install
Image-based installation of NLB clusters during the operating system install
Unattended installation of the operating system and the cluster service
To perform a clean install or to upgrade the operating system, you can either perform a hands-on installation (you must manually provide all of the answers required for setup), which this document will not address, or an unattended installation using a so-called answer file. Server clusters can be installed after the operating system installation is complete, by specifying certain switches in the answer file. Unattended installation of the operating system and server clusters is discussed in detail in the Unattended installation of NLB Clusters section of this document.
Image-based installation of the operating system and the cluster service
Another way to perform a clean install of the operating system is to use image-based installations, also known as disk cloning or simply cloning. Cloning is the fastest method of deploying Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Server. Image-based installations are useful if you are deploying computers that have similar hardware and you want to perform quick installations with no or minimal manual interaction. You cannot use image-based installation to upgrade an operating system. Image-based installation is discussed in more detail in the Image-based installations of NLB Clusters section of this document.