Windows Cluster
Introduction Copied
Failover clustering is a high-availability feature that ensures that critical applications and services are available when needed. Clustering uses multiple servers and redundant interconnections to form a single, highly available system that provides protection against downtime for important applications or services. In the event that a server fails or is intentionally stopped, the clustering services ensures that the processes and services being run switch or “failover” to another server in the cluster.
The Windows Cluster monitoring plugin uses the native API to obtain information on configured Windows failover clusters.
Environment Copied
This plugin supports Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 2012 Enterprise and Datacenter editions.
If you come across an error like “ERROR: Cannot connect to cluster ‘cluster1’: Error #127 - The specified procedure could not be found.” in your probe log, it may mean you are running on a non-supported platform.
Note
The Netprobe should be installed outside of the cluster. The Netprobe will connect to the cluster using the cluster alias. The cluster name resolves to a particular host that can be connected to. As long as there is one node online in the cluster, the cluster can be accessed by the Netprobe.
Views Copied
The Win-Cluster plugin has eight (8) views - five (5) Cluster Summary views and three (3) views for Cluster Information, Network Information and Node Information.
Cluster Information View Copied
This view shows all resources and a cluster grouped under their resource groups. All resource types are shown in this view.
Cluster Information Headline Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster name | Shows name of the cluster. |
| samplingStatus |
For each views, the status can be:
|
Cluster Information Table Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ResourceGroup/Resource | This column shows resource groups and an indented list of resources. The resources are shown as an indented list below the resource group it belongs to. |
| Status |
The possible statuses (and their return codes in parenthesis) are:
This field corresponds to the field state on the query, Select from MSCluster_Resource, and gets states and types (which returns a number) |
| Active Node | The name of the active node for the resource |
| Primary Node | The name of the primary node or preferred node for the resource |
| Secondary Node | The name of the secondary node for the resource |
| Tertiary Nodes | The name of the tertiary node(s) for the resource. There can be multiple tertiary nodes separated by comma (,). |
| ResourceType | The name of the type of resource. |
Cluster Summary View Copied
There are five (5) cluster summary views that group the cluster resources based on their types.
| Summary View | Description |
|---|---|
| Application | The summary view for resources with Generic Application type, other default resource types, and third-party application/service types |
| Generic Service | The summary view for resources with Generic Service type |
| IP Address | The summary view for resources with IP Address type |
| Network Name | The summary view for resources with Network Name type |
| Physical Disk | The summary view for resources with Physical Disk type |
Cluster Summary - Application view
Cluster Summary - Generic Service view
Cluster Summary - IP Address view
Cluster Summary - Network Name view
Cluster Summary - Physical Disk view
Cluster Summary Headline Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster name | Shows name of the cluster. |
| Resource Type |
There are four possible resource types:
Application view does not have the resource type headline since,it shows resources with Generic Application, other default resource types, and third-party applications/services types. |
| samplingStatus |
For each views, the status can be:
|
Cluster Summary Table Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Resource | The name of a service, application, IP address, disk or network name defined and managed by the cluster |
| Active Node | The name of the active node for the resource |
| Primary Node | The name of the primary node for the resource |
| Status |
The possible statuses (and their return codes in parenthesis) are:
This field corresponds to the field state on the query, Select from MSCluster_Resource, and gets states and types (which returns a number) |
| Resource Group | The name of the group of dependent resources grouped together |
| Resource Group Status |
The possible values for resource groups (and their return codes) are:
|
| Free Space (MB) | The free space available on the disk partition, in MB. This column is only available on the Cluster Summary - Disk View |
| Total Space (MB) | The total space available on the disk partition, in MB. This column is only available on the Cluster Summary - Disk View |
| Resource Type | The type of a resource. This column is only available on the Cluster Summary - Application View |
Network Information View Copied
This view shows the network interfaces of a cluster.
Network Information Headline Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster name | Shows name of the cluster. |
| samplingStatus |
For each views, the status can be:
|
Network Information Table Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Network/NetworkInterface | The name of the network to which the network interface is connected. Below this is an indented list of network interfaces |
| Status |
The possible statuses (and their return codes in parenthesis) are:
|
| Address | The name of the network address of the network/network interface |
| Node | The name of the node to which the network interface is part of |
| Network | The name of the network to which the network interface is connected |
Node Information View Copied
This view shows the resource groups running on nodes of a cluster.
Node Information Headline Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster name | Shows name of the cluster. |
| samplingStatus |
For each views, the status can be:
|
Node Information Table Legend
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Node/Resource | The name of a server in the failover cluster. Below this is an indented list of resources. |
| Resource Group | The name of the group where resources are associated |
| Status |
The possible statuses (and their return codes in parenthesis) are:
|
Menu Options Copied
There are four (4) commands in Win-Cluster plugin accessed by right-clicking the cells from the second column and beyond.
Bring Online and Take Offline Copied
These two commands allow to bring a resource online or to take it offline.
After selecting from ‘Bring Online’ or ‘Take Offline’, an authentication pop up menu will appear.
Username and password used in the monitored cluster should be entered.
After selecting OK button from the pop up, an output window will appear. This gives information if authentication details are not correct; and if it is correct, it gives information that a resource has been taken offline or has been brought online.
Pause and Resume Copied
These commands allow the user to pause or to resume a node.
After selecting either ‘Pause’ or ‘Resume’ an authentication pop up menu will appear. Username and password used in the monitored cluster should be entered.
After selecting OK button from the pop up, an output window will appear. This gives information if authentication details are incorrect; and if it is correct, it will give information that a node has been taken paused or resumed.
Plug-in Configuration Copied
Configuration for the Win-Cluster plugin requires specifying a Cluster domain and the type of authentication to use when accessing it. Details of each part of the configuration are discussed below.
Located on the Basic or Advanced tab of the Win-cluster plug-in configuration in the Gateway Setup Editor, the following parameters can be configured as such:
clusterAlias Copied
This is the name/alias or the IP Address of the cluster to connect to.
Mandatory: Yes
resourceTypeFilters Copied
There is a checkbox for each resource type to determine whether or not to show the Cluster Summary per resource type view.
Mandatory: No
resourceTypeFilters > showGenericApplications Copied
This enables the Cluster Summary - Application view for the cluster.
Mandatory: No
Default: true (checked)
resourceTypeFilters > showGenericServices Copied
This enables the Cluster Summary - Service view for the cluster.
Mandatory: No
Default: true (checked)
resourceTypeFilters > showIpAddresses Copied
This enables the Cluster Summary - IP Address view for the cluster.
Mandatory: No
Default: true (checked)
resourceTypeFilters > showNetworkNames Copied
This enables the Cluster Summary - Network view for the cluster.
Mandatory: No
Default: true (checked)
resourceTypeFilters > showPhysicalDisks Copied
This enables the Cluster Summary - Disk view for the cluster.
Mandatory: No
Default: true (checked)
resourceDisplay Copied
Resource Display consists of a dropdown menu, which will either filter out or filter in a resource, and fields for regex and resource type, which is used to show or hide a resource from the view.
Mandatory: No
resourceDisplay > defaultMode Copied
This is a drop-down menu, which if used together with filters, will either filter out or filter in a resource.
The choices are:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| displayAllResources | Shows all resources |
| doNotDisplayAllResources | Hides all resources |
Mandatory: No
Default: displayAllResources
resourceDisplay > filters Copied
Either inclusion or exclusion filters with a regex can be used to specify what resources to show in the views.
Mandatory: No
resourceDisplay > filters > name Copied
This contains regex and flags.
Mandatory: Yes
Default: none
resourceDisplay > filters > name > data > regex Copied
This contains regular expression to match the resource name.
Mandatory: Yes
Default: none
resourceDisplay > filters > name > data > flags Copied
This contains “i” flag option. This modifier is to make the regular expression matches case insensitive.
Mandatory: No
Default: none
resourceDisplay > filters > type Copied
This drop-down menu determines from which resource type the regular expression is filtered. The choices are
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| All types | All resources regardless of type |
| Generic Application | Resources with Generic Application type |
| Generic Service | Resources with Generic Service type |
| IP Address | Resources with IP Address type |
| Network Name | Resources with Network Name type |
| Physical Disk | Resources with Physical disk type |
| Other | User specified resource types |
Mandatory: No
Default: All types
resourceDisplay > filters > type > other > type Copied
This free text field allows users to specify a resource type that is not included in the Type dropdown menu.
Mandatory: No
Sample Configuration Copied
Default Mode is Display All Resources Copied
If filter is used with displayAllResources as the default mode, resource(s) that matches the regex and type will be filtered out.
The configuration below filters out any resource from Generic Application type that starts with “s” and ends with “l” regardless of case.
Configuration:
Default Mode: displayAllResources
Regex: s.\*l
Flags: i
Type: Generic Application
This is the ‘Cluster Summary - Application’ view before the filter has been applied.
After the filter has been applied, “Sql Application” is removed from ‘Cluster Summary - Application’ view. However, ‘SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER2K8)’ matches the regex but since it is a ‘SQL Server’ type not a ‘Generic Application’, it is not filtered out from the view.
In addition, ‘Sql Application’ is filtered out from ‘Cluster Information’ and ‘Node Information’ views as well. Filters apply to all views where a match is found.
Default Mode is Do Not Display All Resources Copied
If filter is used with doNotDisplayAllResources as the default mode, resource(s) that match the regex and type will be shown in the view.
The configuration below filters “in” any resource from Generic Application type that starts with “s” and ends with “l” regardless of case.
Configuration:
Default Mode: doNotDisplayAllResources
Regex: s.\*l
Flags: i
Type: Generic Application
This is ‘Cluster Summary - Application’ vie before the filter has been applied.
After the filter has been applied, “Sql Application” is shown in ‘Cluster Summary - Application’ view. However, ‘SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER2K8)’ matches the regex but since it is a ‘SQL Server’ type not a ‘Generic Application’ it is not shown in the view.
In addition, ‘Sql Application’ is shown in ‘Cluster Information’ and ‘Node Information’ views.
Filtering Other Resource Types Copied
In order to filter resources with types that are not included among the defaults, use the ‘Other’ option in the Type dropdown menu.
The ‘Other’ button appears on the right of ‘Type’ field once the ‘Other’ option is selected from the dropdown list. On the resulting dialog box, a free text field allows users to specify any resource type to filter out or filter in.
Resources that match the regex and types should either be shown or hidden (depends on the default mode selected) in the ‘Cluster Summary - Application’, ‘Cluster Information’ and ‘Node Information’ views.