How to Configure Virtual Server 2005 in Order to Setup a Test SQL Server Cluster

How to Create a Virtual Public Network

Creating the Public virtual network, the one used to allow clients to connect to the virtual cluster, is very similar to creating the Private network. The only major difference is that we need to allow this virtual network to talk to the real world. Here's how we set it up.

1. As before, from the Master Status screen (the default screen displayed when the Virtual Server Administration Website is started), Under "Virtual Networks", select "Create." This displays the "New Virtual Network" Network Properties Screen, as shown below. Your screen may look slightly different than this one.
    

2. In this screen, you need to replace "New Virtual Network", next to "Virtual network name" with an appropriate name, as shown below. In our case, we will call it "Public." Up to this point, we have followed all the same steps we did when we created the Private virtual network. Now we will do something different. Next to "Network adapter on physical computer" we need to select a real network adapter that is installed on our host computer. This physical network adapter will be our window to the world, allowing clients to talk to our cluster. In my case, the real network adapter on the host computer is a Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller. Your network adapter will most likely be different. Select the adapter (if you have more than one) that is most appropriate. And if you like, you can enter a description of this virtual network for the "Virtual network notes." When your are done with this screen, as shown below, click on OK to create this virtual network.
   
   
    

How to Create a Virtual Shared Disk

Clusters require that a shared disk be available to store the data accessed via a cluster. In the real work, this is normally a Fiber or SCSI fault-tolerant RAID array. In our virtual world, this is just a file stored on the host computer. We must create the file and configure it appropriately. To create the virtual shared disk, follow these steps.

1. From the Master Status screen (the default screen displayed when the Virtual Server Administration Website is started), Under "Virtual Disks", select "Create." This will produce a pop-up menu, from which you need to select "Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk." We must choose this option because shared disks must be Basic disks, not Dynamic disks. This screen appears.
   
   
    

2. Here, you must specify three different things. First, you must specify the "Location" or the path where the file is to reside. When you click on the down-arrow button next to "Location", you will see one or more options. These are the available paths where you can store your file. If you don't like any of the available options, you can go to the "Search Paths" page of the Virtual Server Administration Webpage and change or add to the available paths. Second, you must specify the name of the file next to "Virtual hard disk file name." And last, you must specify the size of the disk. Select a size that will somewhat exceed the total amount of space you will need to store all of the SQL Server databases you expect to reside on this array. You will not be able to change this later, so you may want to overestimate rather than underestimate the amount. When you are done, your screen should look similar to the following one.
   
   
    

3. Once you have entered all the data, select "Create" to create the file. If you specified a large file, then it may take a few minutes to be created.