Setting Up Your Messenger System in a Cluster

You should have already reviewed Planning Your Messenger System in a Cluster and filled out the Messenger Clustering Worksheet and the "Novell Messenger System Worksheet" in the Messenger 1.0 Installation Guide. Follow the instructions for the installation location you have chosen:


Installing the Messenger Agents to Each Node in the Cluster

  1. Follow the steps provided in "Starting the Messenger Installation Program" and "Creating Your Messenger System" in "Installing a Novell Messenger System" in the Messenger 1.0 Installation Guide for each node in the cluster.

  2. After you have installed the software to each node in the cluster, if you selected Yes for Consolidate Startup Files? (under Messenger Clustering Worksheet item 3), copy the Messenger agent startup files to the planned location on the shared disk, then delete them from the c:\novell\nm\ma and c:\novell\nm\aa directories on each node to avoid future confusion.

  3. Make each node in the cluster active to make sure that the Messenger agents start successfully on each node.

  4. Continue setting up your Messenger system following the instructions in "What's Next" in "Installing a Novell Messenger System" in the Messenger 1.0 Installation Guide


Installing the Messenger Agents to a Shared Disk

Complete the following tasks to set up your Messenger system on a shared disk:


Setting Up the Messenger Resource Group

  1. Create the Messenger resource group and agent services resources (Messenger Clustering Worksheet item 4), as planned in Planning the Messenger Agents on Each Node in the Cluster.

  2. To ensure successful short name resolution, add entries for the Messenger network name to support your preferred methods of short name resolution, as described in Configuring Short Name Resolution.

  3. Continue with Running the Messenger Installation Program.


Running the Messenger Installation Program

  1. If necessary, map a drive to the shared disk for Messenger administration (Messenger Clustering worksheet item 6) where you will install the Messenger snap-ins to ConsoleOne.

  2. Map a drive to the shared disk of the Messenger resource group (Messenger Clustering Worksheet item 4) where you will install the Messenger agent software.

  3. Map a drive to c:\ on the first node in the cluster (Messenger Clustering Worksheet item 2) where you will set up the Messenger agents as a Windows services.

  4. Start the Messenger Installation program, following the steps provided in "Setting Up Your Novell Messenger System" in "Installing a Novell Messenger System" in the Messenger 1.0 Installation Guide.

  5. Install the Windows Messenger agents, keeping in mind the following cluster-specific details:

    • Use the Novell Messenger System Worksheet that you filled out during Planning the Messenger Agent Installation to fill in the fields during the Messenger installation process.
    • When you specify the Messenger installation directory, be sure to browse to the location through the drive mapped in Step 2 above.
    • When you specify the ConsoleOne directory, be sure to browse to the location through the drive mapped in Step 1 above.
    • On the Setup Complete page, do not select Launch Agents Now.

  6. Repeat Step 4 and Step 5, mapping a drive to each node in the cluster.

    Initially, you need to repeat the installation process for each node so that the Messenger agents are set up as Windows services on each node. For updates, you need to install only once to the shared disk.

  7. Continue with Testing the Clustered Messenger Agents.


Testing the Clustered Messenger Agents

After you have set up the Messenger agents on a shared disk in your Microsoft cluster, you can test them by manually bringing the Messenger resource group online and taking it offline again.

Continue setting up your Messenger system following the instructions in "What's Next" in "Installing a Novell Messenger System" in the Messenger 1.0 Installation Guide