Upgrade from Windows NT on a cluster containing IIS

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

To upgrade from Windows NT on a cluster containing IIS

  1. Confirm that your hardware is designed for or is compatible with Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

  2. On each node, locate the folder that contains the clustering software. Confirm that the folder is called Cluster (capitalization is unimportant) and is located in the system root folder, which is the folder where the operating system is installed. For example, if the default was used when the cluster was installed, the folder path will be C:\Winnt\Cluster. If the folder is not called Cluster or is not located in the system root folder, you cannot upgrade the cluster to Windows Server 2003, but must perform a clean installation.

  3. As appropriate, notify users that you will be shutting down the applications they use on the cluster.

  4. Ensure that Service Pack 5 or later has been applied to all computers that will be upgraded from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

  5. Stop the applications that are made available through the cluster.

  6. Remove any resources that are not supported by Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, including NNTP Service Instance, SMTP Service Instance and Time Service resources.

  7. Set the Cluster service on all nodes to start manually.

  8. Shut down and turn off the node that does not contain the IIS resource, or bring it to a shut-down state appropriate to your method of termination.

    Caution

    • If you are using a shared storage device, when you upgrade and power on and start the operating system, it is of vital importance that only one node has access to the cluster disk. Otherwise the cluster disks can become corrupted. To prevent the corruption of the cluster disks, shut down all but one cluster node, or use other techniques (for example, LUN masking, selective presentation, or zoning) to protect the cluster disks, before creating the cluster. Once the Cluster service is running properly on one node, the other nodes can be installed and configured simultaneously.

  9. On the running node, note the dependencies of the IIS instance resource. Note resources that depend on the IIS resource and also note what resources IIS itself is dependent on.

  10. Take the group containing the IIS instance resource offline. For more information on how to do this see "Take a resource offline" in Related Topics.

  11. Remove any dependencies on the IIS instance resource.

  12. Delete the IIS instance resource and close Cluster Administrator if it is open. For more information "Delete a resource" in Related Topics.

  13. Delete the unsupported resource type: Open Command Prompt. Type the following command and press ENTER:

    Cluster restype "IIS Virtual Root" /delete /type

  14. Stop the Cluster service on the remaining node.

  15. Upgrade the operating system on the node that is running. For information about running Setup, see "Start Setup" in Related Topics.

    The cluster software will be upgraded automatically during the operating system upgrade. Note that you cannot make configuration changes such as configuring cluster disks as dynamic disks. For more information, see "Limitations of server clusters" in Related Topics. After you upgrade, close Manage Your Server if it is displayed.

  16. Start the Cluster service on the upgraded node.

  17. Reconfigure the Cluster service on the upgraded node to start automatically.

  18. Shut down and turn off the upgraded node, or bring it to a shut-down state appropriate to your method of termination.

  19. Turn on the other node in the cluster and upgrade the operating system on that node. After you upgrade, close Manage Your Server if it is displayed.

    Caution

    • If you are using a shared storage device, when you upgrade and power on and start the operating system, it is of vital importance that only one node has access to the cluster disk. Otherwise the cluster disks can become corrupted. To prevent the corruption of the cluster disks, shut down all but one cluster node, or use other techniques (for example, LUN masking, selective presentation, or zoning) to protect the cluster disks, before creating the cluster. Once the Cluster service is running properly on one node, the other nodes can be installed and configured simultaneously.

  20. After the second node is upgraded, start the Cluster service on the second upgraded node. The node automatically rejoins the existing cluster.

  21. Reconfigure the Cluster service on the second upgraded node to start automatically.

  22. Turn on the first node.

  23. On one of the upgraded nodes, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

  24. Check to see that the cluster disks are online in Cluster Administrator.

    Caution

    • Be sure that the cluster disks are online in Cluster Administrator before continuing to the next step. When the disks are online, it means that the Cluster service is working, which means that only one node can access the cluster storage at any given time. Otherwise the cluster storage could be corrupted.

  25. If you do not already have a Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) resource on the cluster that you are upgrading, create a DTC resource on this cluster.

  26. On the node that used to contain the IIS resource, create a Generic Script resource by following the procedure documented in "Checklist: Creating a clustered IIS Web or FTP service" in Related Topics.

    Notes

    • As part of this step, recreate the dependencies of the Generic Script resource identical to those of the now deleted IIS resource. Make everything that was dependent on the IIS resource dependent instead on the Generic Script resource. Also make the Generic Script resource dependent on everything that IIS was dependent on.

    • Only Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition nodes can be the owner of the Generic Script Resource created in this procedure because this resource type is not supported in Windows NT Server 4.0.

  27. Start the W3SVC service on all nodes and set the service to start automatically.

  28. Bring the group containing the new Generic Script resource online.

  29. Using IIS, start the Web site.

  30. If you want to add additional nodes to the cluster, add them after the first two nodes are upgraded.

Important

  • If your cluster uses SCSI, you can have two nodes in the cluster, but no more. If you want to have more than two nodes in the cluster, you must use Fibre Channel for the cluster storage. Also confirm that your entire cluster solution is compatible with products in the Windows Server 2003 family by clicking the appropriate link in Support resources. Your cluster solution must be in the Cluster category of compatible hardware.

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 cluster IIS on Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, you must have a DTC resource on that cluster as well.

  • This procedure only applies when you upgrade directly from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition. If you upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows 2000 and then to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, follow the steps described in the appropriate topics listed in Related Topics.

  • When upgrading from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, the Cluster service user account requires the additional user right "Act as part of the operating system". If possible, Setup will grant this user right automatically. If Setup cannot grant the user right, you will be prompted to make this change.

    For security reasons, you must grant this user right to the specific user account that is used by the Cluster service. You cannot correct this problem by granting the user right to a security group of which the user account is a member. Typically, you must grant this user right as a local user right; it cannot be a domain-level user right. However, if your node is a domain controller, you can use the domain level user right.

    For more information on setting user rights, refer to "To edit a security setting" in the Windows 2000 help documentation or on Windows NT Server 4.0, open User Manager for Domains, click the Help menu in User Manager and refer to "Managing the User Rights Policy."

  • Before you can begin an upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0 directly to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, you must apply Service Pack 5 or later.

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  • For more information regarding hardware compatibility, see the Windows Catalog at the Microsoft Web site.

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

Configure how a service is started Take a resource offline Specify which nodes can own a resource Stop the Cluster service Move a group to another node Move a resource to another group Bring a resource online Modify resource dependencies Delete a resource Checklist: Preparation for upgrading a cluster Checklist: Creating a clustered IIS Web or FTP service Upgrade from Windows 2000 on a cluster containing IIS using the provided script Upgrade from Windows 2000 on a cluster containing IIS without using the provided script Start Setup on an x86-based computer