SQL Server Cluster Network Binding Order

When setting up a SQL Server cluster the Setup Support Rules report a Warning for the Network binding order. Specifically:

Rule Check Result
Rule "Network binding order" generated a warning.
The domain network is not the first bound network. This will cause domain operations to run slowly and can cause timeouts that result in failures. Use the Windows network advanced configuration to change the binding order.

However, the binding order is correct. MS KB article 955963 mentions this issue:
You receive a warning about the network binding order on the Setup Support Rules page when you install SQL Server 2008 in a failover cluster
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955963

In this particular instance I do have a disabled network adapter, an IBM USB Remote NDIS Network Device but no ghosted network adapter. I enabled the IBM adapter, but still got the same error message.

Details.txt showed the following:
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: Init rule target object: Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.NetworkBindingFacet
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: NetworkBindingFacet: Looking up network binding order.
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: NetworkBindingFacet: Network: 'Local Area Connection* 9' Device: '\Device\{BD878763-E1BB-45D6-BFBC-E23DF023E411}' Domain: '' Adapter Id: '{BD878763-E1BB-45D6-BFBC-E23DF023E411}'
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: NetworkBindingFacet: Network: 'Heartbeat' Device: '\Device\{CD08E636-4E30-4AFB-A3B7-513DE2F7EBC9}' Domain: '' Adapter Id: '{CD08E636-4E30-4AFB-A3B7-513DE2F7EBC9}'2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: NetworkBindingFacet: Network: 'Production' Device: '\Device\{2BA45633-51E0-4D89-83A1-74DF64B0E9C0}' Domain: 'notpublishingithere.local' Adapter Id: '{2BA45633-51E0-4D89-83A1-74DF64B0E9C0}'
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: NetworkBindingFacet: Network: '(IBM)' Device: '\Device\{4AED0A34-EF02-4AFD-B410-4381462C0C9B}' Domain: '' Adapter Id: '{4AED0A34-EF02-4AFD-B410-4381462C0C9B}'
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: IsDomainInCorrectBindOrder: The top network interface 'Local Area Connection* 9' is bound to domain '' and the current domain is 'notpublishingithere.LOCAL'.
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: Evaluating rule : IsDomainNetworkTopOfBindings
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: Rule running on machine: xxxWSVR004
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: Rule evaluation done : Warning
2011-10-11 18:14:43 Slp: Rule evaluation message: The domain network is not the first bound network. This will cause domain operations to run slowly and can cause timeouts that result in failures. Use the Windows network advanced configuration to change the binding order.

There are only three NICs in the cluster node (Production, Heartbeat and IBM) but details.txt is showing an extra one: "Local Area Connection* 9".

NICs were renamed on the nodes, so perhaps this is some sort of a hangover. I'll revisit it in the future when I have some more time to reproduce the problem in the lab.

B

SharePoint Discard Check Out Problem

Problem
When trying to discard a check out on SharePoint the following error is presented:
- Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Solution
Change the hostname in the browser from a DNS FQDN to a NetBIOS name e.g.:
- Change http://sharepoint.mydomain.local to http://sharepoint/

B

Ports for Joining a Windows 2008 R2 Domain

Here's a list of TCP ports required to facilitate a computer joining a Windows 2008 R2 domain:

88 - Kerberos

139 - NetBIOS

389 - LDAP

445 - SMB

49152 - 65535 RPC

The dynamic range is a bit on the large side. Refer to the following to narrow it:

How to configure RPC dynamic port allocation to work with firewalls

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154596

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832017

Ports discovered empirically. Your mileage may vary.

B

Windows SharePoint Service SQL Connection

I needed to connect SQL Server Management Studio Express to Windows SharePoint Services databases. Here's the server name:

\\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query

B

Exception of type vmomi.fault.nopermission was thrown

I was setting up a user with permission to migrate a VM in VirtualCenter. I created a custom role and thought I had all the permissions set correctly, but the user kept getting a 'vmomi.fault.nopermission' exception message at the screen to select the destination datastore. Solved it by creating a custom role with the following privileges:

Virtual Machine - Inventory - Move
Resource - Assign Virtual Machine To Resource Pool
Resource -Migrate
Resource - Relocate

Assigned that role to the necessary Group on the applicable clusters
Assigned the Read Only role to the same Group at the Datacente level

It might help someone else!
B

(Also posted here)

Azure in a box?

On reading some articles, you might have thought that Microsoft would never release Azure "in a box". However, Steve Ballmer seems to be coming around to the idea:

"...it will be many years before many government organizations will grow comfortable with the notion of their data or citizen data living outside of the jurisdiction ... [for example] this company is not likely to build part of our public cloud in Slovenian [sic] anytime soon. So, somebody should be able to implement a Windows Azure cloud in that country."
Source - Steve Ballmer: Cloud Computing

Worth watching.

The Big Switch...

(...the book on cloud computing- not the Bord Gáis campaign that runs in the cloud.)

I've finished reading The Big Switch. It's an interesting read. Carr doesn't get bogged down in the detail but rather provides the reader with a bird's eye view of the topic. This gives the book a pacy feel - so much so in fact that by the time you've finished the book, you might think the world has moved on and your competitors are already running their entire business in the cloud!

There's no doubt that cloud computing is having an impact and is here to stay, but there are a number of issues which are still being ironed out. Carr uses the ubiquitous analogy of electricity companies in his book. However, while you can plug an electric lamp into any socket in your home and buy your electricity from any one of a number of providers, you can't quite do the same with your IT application or infrastructure - yet.

Yes, there are barriers to be overcome e.g. data protection, technical limitations etc., but they will be overcome. (Microsoft are even alluding to Azure in a box to overcome some of the data protection issues.) Then you'll be able to move your infrastructure and/or application at the push of a button.

If you're not already thinking about cloud computing and what it means for your business - time to start.