Webserver replication software

[ryrae]

I have 2 webservers (both Windows Server 2003 Ent. x32 R2 SP2) and want to make sure the content is exactly the same on each one. What I'd like to do is have a 'master' webserver and have all it's content replicated to the 'slave' webserver. I have been looking at Robocopy, but does the native cluster and NLB features with server 2003 do what I am looking for? Thanks

What's the best way to do this??

 

[Zelandakh]

Used a shared storage and then IIS to that shared storage. You CAN even host the data on one IIS and have another connect to that but you need to look at disk performance.

 

[victorv]

hi ryae,

before of all, you have to understand what you need:
when you have done it,
the solutions will converge to just 1.

To help you in this, I try to explain the nlb,mscs,Zelandakh_solution .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NLB or other equivalent SW or Appliances (HW),
born to replicate important and overloaded sites,
all web servers have same IP address and work all together:
how many web server and physical servers can answer when
you type

http://www.google.com

?

foryou:
a) NLB gives this trick with ip addresses, but is at your own load to maintain the site replicated.
b) both server can work simultaneously.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MSCS born to do availability to a service, usually it
is used in active/passive mode for a single service, and
is not indicated for web, in the sense, that if you have nothing, it is not the solution, but if you already have 1 MSCS, you may do it (I have done).

foryou:
a) MSCS has not the problem of replication, becouse the site
(X:\inetpub\

http://wwwroot\yoursite\..)

is the same, in a shared directory (no lan, but scsi disk in the cluster).

b) the servers have the same address, but they work 1 at once.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Zelandakh_solution

Both server can have the same

http://wwwroot,

in a shared
directory on a 3rd server, (you have to make attention to
the permissions on this dir, probably you have to change
them from sume local user (IUS_W...) with a domain one
that you create ad hoc)

But they cannot answer at the same address and if you want
this, you have to manually "clusterize them": when node1 is UP, node2 has to sleep.
Furthermore, you have not redoundancy on the shared dir:
if the shared server (3rd) is down, your sweb service is unavailable, except if the share is on a MSCS: in this case
build the web srver on MSCS.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Instead give you answers, I propose questions:

1st question:
==============
the 2 web server have to present to the web (or intranet)
with the same address ? :

eg:
intranet1.yoursite.net
intranet2.yoursite.net
OR
intranet.yoursite.net


2nd question:
==============
why have/want you 2 web server:
2.1) for performance and/or availability ?
2.2) the web server are in different subnet eg in 2
physical different location ?

3rd question:
==============
Applicative problem:
What do you need to replicate: just the source of she site
(the IIS dirs and what you install in application directoy
before 1st user makes a choice) or there is also something that regargs user data ?

In the porfessional sites this 2nd part is not in the web server but stays in a 3rd server, probably in a DB, probably under MSCS or LinuxCluster or using DB replication method.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I hope my post give you almost questions to make you
in the ability to answered by yourself

ciao
vittorio

 

[Zelandakh]

You don't need MSCS, you can NLB them and my answer still stands.

 

[ryrae]

Thank you both for your suggestions. Have either of you used robocopy in the past? We do not want to setup the servers as a cluster or load balancing configuration. At this time we are going to use one server as the main webserver, the programmers will update code, etc. and we would like the code and/or data changes to be replicated to the secondary webserver. The secondary webserver will be connected the network at all times, but will only be utilized if the primary is down. We might have to make some changes to the server name or DNS changes to point/redirect the users to the secondary server, but at this time that is what management wants. Let me know if there is any replication software that will look at changes from one server and push them to a secondary server...real time would be ideal, but is not mandatory. Thanks again for your help.