Setting network properties

After setting up your cluster, you might need to change the configuration of the networks that support client-to-cluster communication and node-to-node communication. For detailed procedures on setting network properties, see Manage networks.

Using the network Properties dialog box, you can:

• View or change the network name.
• View or change the network description.
• Enable or disable the network for cluster use. If you enable the network for cluster use, you can specify whether to use the network for only client-to-cluster communication, only node-to-node communication, or both.
• View the network's state.
• View the network ID.
• View the subnet mask.

Do not update the properties of a cluster object on multiple nodes simultaneously. For more information on multiple and simultaneous property updates, see the Microsoft Platform Software Development Kit (SDK).

Setting network priorities

Cluster nodes can communicate over multiple networks. You can change the network's priority to specify the order in which the nodes will attempt to communicate over the networks. For detailed instructions on changing the network priority, see To change network priority for communication between nodes.

For server clusters with three or more nodes running XOX or XOX, the semantics behind heartbeat multicasting determine the priority of the networks used for intracluster multicast communication. For example, if an internal-use network with the highest priority has heartbeat multicasting disabled, then intracluster multicast traffic may be transmitted over a lower priority network even though the highest priority network is fully operational.

For more information on heartbeats, see Network communication between nodes.