Single computer=cluster?

[Mike Percival]

The saga continues!

Having played with the Proliant 1600, got it working with Windows98 and XP, sorted out all the hardware, bolted on all the extra goodies and set up the arrays, I decided it was time to turn the 1600 into a 'proper' server. I duly purchased and installed Windows Server2003 (Standard) and apart from the Integrated Netelligent Controller not working, all appeared fine. I downloaded the Netelligent driver for Win2K which states that it works with Server 2K3. Sure enough it does!

So I now have a fully functional Proliant with 2K3 and all the goodies. I then click 'Manage Server', thinking that this might be the obvious step...and get a message saying my server is NOT a server, but rather a node of a clustered array. It then gives me a link to find out more information on server clustering.

Well, I understand the basic idea of clustering and nodes...but how the hell do I tell the OS that this is a 'stand alone' server and not a cluster node. I don't WANT to cluster this computer...I just want it to serve up files to three clients. MS give references to a program called CluAdmin.exe, but I cannot find this program. Also, why did the installation of 2k3 Server mistakenly identify the server as one node in a cluster? I didn't even have any network cables plugged in when I set up the OS, so it's not as if it was connected to or even communicating with anything!!!

[Max_61]

Seeing that it is a fresh install, you might want to try to reinstall Windows 2003. Windows 2003 Standard does not support clustering! so this is a new one on me ;)

[Mike Percival]

Well, I've now tried 3 times and everytime I do the installation, it tells me that the server is part of a cluster!! I've even formatted the disks and tried a virgin install and the same thing happens every time! I can't find any information in Windows about where it thinks the other nodes are, and nothing that tells me which cluster the Proliant ia 'allegedly' part of! I finally managed to find CLUADMIN.exe by expanding it from the i386 folder but I can't do anything with it as it asks me for a cluster name or computer name. I don't know and can't find the cluster name, and if I try to use the computername it throws an error.

For some odd reason too, the computer by default is set to be part of a workgroup called WORKGROUP. The current computers are on a peer2peer network with a workgroup called HOME, but I haven't even hooked them up to this beast yet.

[Max_61]

Witch version of SmartStart are you using to configure your server? I believe 5.50 and newer has some sort of cluster configuration in it, that might be what is fitsing up Windows, this is a new one to me. Personally I would boot to the SmartStart CD, run the system erase utility and setup the server via the wizard. But before you do that, lets get a few other suggestions, I am not 100% sure whatâ s the cause of the problem :\

Oh, btw WORKGROUP is assigned by default on a windows 2003 insta

[Mike Percival]

Well....firstly I acquired this Proliant second hand. I don't have any Smartstart CD. I did download one from the HP website so I might burn that to CD and try it.

Secondly, 2k3 was an upgrade from XP Professional which I already had running on the system, having upgraded from a working copy of Windows 98. As Windows Server only seems to take about 25 minutes to install, I have nothing to lose by completely erasing the system and starting over with SmartStart, so I shall follow your advice and give it a try...heck, what are lunch-hours for, right?!!

I shall report back in due course!

Thanks for the advice Max.

[Mike Percival]

Right....I Erased the system, started again and downloaded all the SoftPaqs from scratch. I recreated the system partition and installed the necessary (I hope) utilities, but when I try to run the Array Configuration Utility, either from floppy or from the system partition, it throws me out and says there is an internal error. I have version 1.20B of the ACU utility, but I see Product Change Notifications on the HP site about V2.40A. Do I need 2.40A and if so where can I find it?

[Mike Percival]

Error 1052 is the error I get every time I try to configure the array using the Array Configuration Utility...in case that helps! I tried SP6262 and SP6263, and booting from the floppies or running the utility from the system partition gives me the same errors every time, regardless of which version I use.

[Mike Percival]

Just to clarify...as it stands right now, I have no OS on the system. Before I tried to set up 2k3, I had 5 drives (all 9.1Gb) on the system. Two drives (SCSI 0 and 1) have two logical drives (C: and E: under XP) configured as RAID 0+1, and the other 3 (SCSI 2, 3 and 4) have a single logical drive of about 17Gb (D:)configured as RAID 5.

The reason the first 2 drives have 2 partitions is that the drives in these slots were originally 4.3Gb units. By replacing them one at a time with 9.1's and allowing the array to rebuild itself each time (under XP using the W2K Array Utility). The free space was then turned into another logical drive. I now want to wipe the system and have just the two logical drives...9Gb and 17Gb.

Just out of interest, which SmartStart version originally came with this system, and what are the actual SoftPaqs I need to rebuild this server as it would have been using the SmartStart?