Installing Message Queuing in a Server Cluster

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista

Installing Message Queuing in a server cluster will provide active/active queue failover in case of computer failure or malfunction. Message Queuing can only be installed in a server cluster on a Windows Server operating system that supports Server Clusters.

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 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 features on all nodes in a server cluster. For example, if you install a Message Queuing server with the Routing Service feature on one node, install Message Queuing servers with the Routing Service feature on the other nodes as well.

  • Use the High Availability Wizard to configure high availability for the Message Queuing service. The High Availability Wizard is started from Failover Cluster Management by right-clicking Services and Applications and selecting the option to Configure a Service or Application. When the High Availability Wizard is displayed, select Message Queuing from the list of available services and applications and click Next to continue with the configuration of the clustered Message Queuing Service. The High Availability Wizard will step through creating all of the components of a clustered Message Queuing service, including the IP Address, Network Name (Client Access Point), and Message Queuing Triggers service. The High Availability Wizard will also bring online the clustered Message Queuing service once configuration of the service is completed.

Note

Before creating a highly available Message Queuing service with the High Availability Wizard, ensure that a physical disk is available to store files that are created by the Message Queuing service during runtime operations. Creation of the clustered Message Queuing service will also require an IP address and network name.

Additional considerations

  • 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.

Additional References

  • For more information about configuring Message Queuing as a highly available cluster resource see Configure Message Queuing as a Highly Available Cluster Resource.

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