To create a MS Cluster I followed this cookbook 1. Download Vmware Workstation 7 (current version on vmware.

com) make sure it includes the Vmware tools otherwise you will have to manually download it from here 2. You need Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition (to create the cluster). 3. Install VMWare Workstation, configure a VM with these attributes : Hardware RAM: 320Mb HDD0: SCSI, 4 GB CDROM Ethernet 1: Bridged Ethernet 2: Host-only Options Advanced: Enable Template mode 4. Install Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition on it (if you are not planning to install too many things on the C: drive 7GB should be ok). 5. Post OS Installation updates: VMWare Tools, Service Pack. Link to Win2k3 SP2 6. Post OS Installation Steps -Rename the Host-only adapter: Heartbeat Connection -Unbind Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks from this adapter -Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP and LMHOSTS lookup on this adapter -Rename the Bridged connection: Public Network Connection 7. Rename this server name as DC (Domain Controller which you will need for the cluster service account). Restart. 8. Confirm everything is in place, we will use this server as Templace. 9. Shutdown server 10. Take a snapshot of the server while being off. And Clone it twice. (make sure you select the full clone option - I had to take the snapshot prior to the clone, if not I wasn't able to clone it). 11. Let's say we have Cluster Node A and Cluster Node B. Also we have DC. 12. Don't turn on anything yet and do this : Edit the settings of Cluster Node A and create two new SCSI hard disks into a new folder. Do not use an existing folder in which one of the VMs resides. Disk 1: This will be the quorum disk. Make this 0.5 GB and allocate all disk space now. Disk 2: This will be the shared data disk. Make this at least 2.0 GB and allocate all disk space now. When adding the disks make sure to manually add the file extension .vmdk If you don't see the extension delete and re-create adding the extension. 8. Close VMware Workstation and edit the VMware Configuration File (.VMX) file for this machine and make the following changes: Add the following lines to create a second SCSI channel: scsi1.present = "TRUE" scsi1.virtualDev = "lsilogic" Modify the additional hard drives to be attached to the new SCSI channel. Example: scsi1:5.present = "TRUE" scsi1:5.fileName = "I:\Cluster Shared\Quorum.vmdk" scsi1:6.present = "TRUE" scsi1:6.fileName = "I:\Cluster Shared\Data.vmdk"

Add the following lines to disable disk locking and caching: disk.locking = "false" diskLib.dataCacheMaxSize = "0" Make sure the inverted comma is copied/pasted correctly " and not I created the Clones on separate disks to help the I/O of the physical disk (I hope it helped something at least). 9. Add the same lines to the VMware Configuration of Cluster Node B. 10. Turn on the DC Server we used as a template (we can disable the option Advanced: Enable Template mode if you want). Change the Servername, the public NIC IP Address (static and use the same IP address for the DNS), disable the HeartBeat NIC. Add the Active Directory role, make sure to select the option to install DNS, this will also integrate DNS to AD. This is the first DC in the network so we don't have many worries. Done we have all on going. In my case I chose name : Control / public static ip 192.168.1.1 / DNS 192.168.1.1 11. Start VMware Workstation and start Cluster Node A. Configure the new disks as Basic disks, format them with NTFS and assign drive letters (Suggestion use the Q: drive letter for the Quorum disk, 500MB). Change the Servername, the public NIC IP Address (static and use the DC IP address for the DNS), Change the HeartBeat IP Address. In my case I chose name : Node1 / public static ip 192.168.1.10 / HeartBeat 10.0.0.1 12. Start Cluster Node B. Assign the same drive letters to the same disks. Change the Servername, the public NIC IP Address (static and use the DC IP address for the DNS), Change the HeartBeat IP Address. In my case I chose name : Node2 / public static ip 192.168.1.11 / HeartBeat 10.0.0.2 13. Now we have to change the SID of the 2 clones, if not we won't be able to join Node A & B to the domain. Well to be specific, you will be able to join these servers to the domain, but when you want to login using a Domain Account you will get an error about the Domain not being SID Consistent : Link So avoid the troubleshooting, download NewSid to change the SID of the cloned Servers. NewSid was a tool developed by sysinternals but after MS bought them, they had to shutdown NewSid. You can still find it on the web, try this place I downloaded it from there. If it's not working let me know. You can of course use any software that let you change your Computer SID, but most of the (at the moment at least) are paid. NewSID was a great freeware tool. Ok, if you have NewSID just generate a random SID and let the tool apply the change to your system (both Node A & B). 14. Join Node A and Node B to the domain. Reboot. Make sure you are able to join the domain. If you are wondering about the new added disks that are shared by both servers: When I tried to create a folder I could, but the change was not reflrected on the other node. So just leave it empty, don't create anything on them, if you did, just delete what you have done. 15. Now we are ready for the Party, Installing and configuring MSCS Windows 2003 : I just followed this very nice guide from Microsoft 16 In case you don't want to download the file let me do a summary,

Crete a Domain Account to be used as the service account for the cluster service. Add it to the local Administrator group on both Nodes. On Node A - Start - Run - Cluadmin - Select create New Cluster It will begin with a few checkings, when it ask you about how to configure it, select custom (just to make sure we select the Q: drive as the Quorum disk). When it's time select the Q: drive for the Quorum Next - Next - type the account name/password for the cluster service. Type the cluster name, IP Address. We are done, you have your cluster running. Now Add the other Node by : right click on the cluster, New - Node - type the serve name of Node B. Next to any Window, when it comes type the password for the service account of the cluster service. Configure the Cluster properties for the HeartBeat/Only Private communication (top priority)Public/Mixed Communication. We're done. Test the cluster by moving the Cluster Group between each node.

I installed all on my computer which only has 1GB RAM Memory so if you are short of Memory, decrease the memory size of the DC to 256MB, reboot your computer, stop any service you don't need at that very moment, close any application you don't need, kill processes, probably it will run a little slow like me but it will work.