Managing NLB Clusters

An NLB cluster can be managed using the Network Load Balancing Manager from a local cluster node or from a remote machine with the Remote Administration tools installed. Network Load Balancing can also be managed using the command-line tool NLB.exe and by using some of the new PowerShell commands included with Windows Server 2008 R2. Using the NLB Manager, a node can be added, removed, or suspended from cluster operation to perform maintenance, including hardware or software updates. Because data is not replicated between cluster nodes, any data that is required by all nodes in the cluster either needs to be replicated to each node or the application needs to be configured to access data on a system that is not in the NLB cluster.

Backing Up and Restoring NLB Nodes

The procedure for backing up and restoring NLB nodes is no different than for standalone servers. A full system backup using Windows Server Backup or the organization’s Windows Server 2008 R2 approved backup software should be created before and after any major server or NLB cluster configuration changes are implemented. An NLB configuration can be restored when the System State of a particular node is restored. If a full node recovery is necessary, the System State and local disks should be restored using a full system restore.