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Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Implementation
Microsoft DNS Server Updated During Switchover/Failover
Microsoft DNS servers must be updatable to allow operation of the DNSUpdate.exe If using Microsoft
Windows 2008 R2, the security level must be configured to permit changes to Windows Server 2008 R2 DNS
servers.
Switchover/Failover Without Updating DNS Servers
If using Microsoft DNS servers in a Locked Down mode or non-Microsoft DNS servers, vCenter Server
Heartbeat will not attempt to update DNS and therefore, the Administrator must prepopulate the DNS server
with entries for the new management names and IP addresses that are to be used. Adjacent IP addresses
should be reserved and used for the Principal (Public) IP address and the Management IP addresses for the
Primary and Secondary Servers when installing vCenter Server Heartbeat on non-identical nodes on servers
running Windows 2008.
Primary Server
Three NICs (1 x Public and 2 x Channel) are recommended for redundancy in the event one channel fails. A
minimum of two NICs (one for the Channel, and one for the Public) are required in this configuration.
Split-brain Avoidance should be configured.
 Principal (Public) network connection configured with the following:
 Static IP address
 Correct network mask
 Correct Gateway address
 Correct preferred and secondary (if applicable) DNS server address
 NetBIOS enabled
 Channel Network connection(s) configured with the following:
 Static IP address in a different subnet than the Principal (Public) network with a different IP address
than the Secondary server channel NIC
 Correct network mask
 No Gateway IP address
 No DNS server address
 NetBIOS enabled (disabled during the installation process)
Secondary Server
Networking components on the Secondary server must be configured as follows:
 Same number of NICs as the Primary server
 Principal (Public) network connection configured with temporary network settings
 Channel network connection(s) configured with the following:
 Static IP address in a different subnet than the Principal (Public) network with a different IP address
than the Primary server channel NIC
 Correct network mask
 No Gateway IP address
 No DNS IP address
 NetBIOS enabled (setup will disable this during the installation process
 File and print sharing enabled