Windows 2012 Clustering : Network Load Balancing (NLB) ,How To , Step by Step

Now that Windows 2012 is here and you want to test if the OS is as good as you want and see if the application is still running on windows 2012.

In this case We build a NLB website easy with just the basic steps any one can do this.

First we add the roles and features to the servers that we are going to use for the NLB.

Select the Features “ Network Load Balancing ” only this you need for NLB

 

 

After this I look at my NIC’s most important that you use two nic’s in a VM this is easy in a physical box now days there are at least 2 nic’s in the server. use them.

I gave the Nic’s an IP that is not in the same subnet as the production lan, and also you can use a different VLAN for the NLB traphic but if you want to use it on your lan than you need routing !

NLB node 01

  For Quick see what my nic is doing I give them names

 

Now that I added the features I can open the MMC and right click to create a new cluster

now that we create a new cluster We type in the IP adress of the first NLB node name

There are two IP addresses , one public IP and One NLB IP

Remember this is not the Cluster NLB IP but the node IP , Select the IP and choose Next

 

 

Now we can create the cluster IP choose ADD and fill in the IP address that will be used for the CLUSTER NLB

 

You can use multiple IP’s the work in the NLB , that way you can run multi sites on one NLB management but all on different IP’s / FQDN names / DNS. and on different ports. or settings

Now I choose a FQDN for the NLB cluster name

  

I don’t want to balance all the ports , just the ports that I need in this case port 80.

  Now that the cluster is ready  ( one node ) we can do the properties of the cluster

 

I add a second IP to the cluster

 

 

as you can see I use a different port for this IP

 

Now that I have two IP’s and on different ports I’m ready to go.

Now a second nlb node

 

Now that the clusternode is joined you can see here the cluster nlb IP’s

 

 

Both nodes are now joined to the nlb cluster and we can build a nlb website

 

 

as you can see the site runs only on port 80.

 

Now your NLB cluster is ready for productions