Hi all, Currently I have two server environment - Server A has both Central Administration and Web Front End and a SQL server. I am adding a new Server B to the farm and it will be another Web Front End server to make farm a 3-Server farm. Since both Server A and Server B are Web Front Ends, I would like to achieve functionality so if the Server A is down, Server B will serve as the Web Front End and the MOSS2007 site will still be up. Currently the intranet URL point configured in DNS is pointing to the Server A IP address. Please let me know steps necessary to achieve the such configuration. Thanks for you help!

Hi,firstly, you need to make load balance between two servers either windows load balance or using load balancer Device, then1- you will run configuration wizard to connect server B to your farm.2- start windows sharepoint services web application on serverB.3- add another record in DNS for new load balnce name point to load balance IP which will be used insead of serverA.4- change from central administration web application url to be load balance name you have created in last step in DNS.Best Regrads, Ahmed Madany

Yeah, this can be done using a Host header for the site and use it as the Loadbalancer URL in the webapplication.You will also be adding the same to Alternate access mappings. You will then configure NLB or Use Loadbalancer and configure the the new URL with the IP address of the NLB Cluster.Once you will add the second server and start Windows Sharepoint web application service, you will get the web app configured on the second WFE as well.Here is the Excellent step by step document with screenshots on how to configure it completely from DNS to NLB to Sharepoint.http://blogs.msdn.com/epblog/attachment/9727309.ashxThank You I LOVE MS..... Thanks and Regards, Kshitiz (Posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.)

Thanks for the quick replies. Can this be done without using the Windows NLB or hardware Loadbalancer? Thanks. AL

I'm a little confused -- if I read that 3 sentence correctly it sounds like the SQL server is on Server A. But later in the question it sounds like they are separate. I'm going to assume they are separate for now but if they aren't just let me know.You can definitely add another server to your farm, but to achieve the minimum for HA you are going to need at least 3 SharePoint servers. You'd need the following setup:2 WFEs (WFE and Query Roles)1 Index Server (Index role -- I normally make this a WFE but don't put it on the NLB)The issue here is that a farm can only have one server that has the index role and once it has completed crawling it propagates the index out to all the servers with the query role. With a 2 SP servers, one server would need to have the index role and the other would have to have the query role. This does not provide redundancy. In the configuration I suggested above, if the index server or one of the WFEs goes down searching can still happen because the WFEs would be able to search against their local copy of the index (if the index server goes down, your index would just be stale until it comes back up -- not really any way around this one).With just two SP servers if one of the servers goes down most likely search won't work. It is a little tough to explain in this format but the bottomline is 3 SP servers is the minimum for redundancy but that is just for the SP servers. Your db won't be redundant.If you did want to go with just the 2 SP servers, you'd need a NLB (whether hardware or software) -- point DNS at that, then you'd need to add a new WFE to the farm which would be done by installing the bits then when you run the configuration wizard you'd select to join an existing farm. Quick note though, when you do the install make sure to select an Advanced install and Choose "Complete" -- anything else will cause you limited flexibility.This all is a little tough to explain in this format, so please let me know if this makes sense. John SharePoint911: SharePoint Consulting Blog: http://www.rossonmoss.com Twitter: JohnRossJr MOSS Explained: An Information Workers Deep Dive into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

No NLB is required for sure.You can have DNS doing Round Robin, but thats of NO USE in the SHAREPOINT ENVIRONMENT.SO, Honestly, the Answer is NO.I LOVE MS..... Thanks and Regards, Kshitiz (Posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.)

Thanks for the explanation, John. Clarification first -- the SQL server IS separate server currently and you have correct assumption. Your point make sense but Question I still have is that I still need to provide redundancy between the two WFE. Unless I am missing something, how do I achieve redundancy without using the NLB(Hardware or Software). At the DNS level I need to assign the Intranet URL to one IP address. Thanks again

You can't really provide redundancy without the NLB. When you type in a URL such as http://portal that resolves against a specific IP address via DNS. You need to point the DNS at the NLB and have it route the requests accordingly in order to have redundancy.John SharePoint911: SharePoint Consulting Blog: http://www.rossonmoss.com Twitter: JohnRossJr MOSS Explained: An Information Workers Deep Dive into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007