I agree HLBs are better. Obviously they need to be setup correctly too, they can have their own set of problems. KEMP are cheap and good and no-one pays me to say that.
But for NLB - The static ARP entry is always something I check to see if it's needed. These VMware KBs may be of use: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1006558 http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1006525 Additionally, I'd wonder if moving the CAS nodes between hosts (via VMotion, whatever you prefer) has any effect on connect times/ping, and/or if CAS03 once removed from the NLB array still experiences the issue you're seeing. Steve From: Jonathan [mailto:ncm...@gmail.com] Sent: 08 August 2012 23:48 To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Re: Issue with Microsoft NLB for my CAS array If you want to use virtual appliances, go with Citrix NetScaler VPX. We have 4 of them setup on active/passive running on vSphere 5....one pair in front of each set of CAS arrays (we have two Exchange environments in two separate data centers). Jonathan, A+, MCSA, MCSE On Aug 8, 2012 6:44 PM, "Jonathan" <ncm...@gmail.com<mailto:ncm...@gmail.com>> wrote: +1 You need to move away from NLB for front ending your CAS arrays.... http://www.stevieg.org/2010/11/exchange-team-no-longer-recommend-windows-nlb-for-client-access-server-load-balancing/ Jonathan, A+, MCSA, MCSE On Aug 8, 2012 4:40 PM, "Charles Whitby" <charles.whi...@gmail.com<mailto:charles.whi...@gmail.com>> wrote: We had a similar setup; we gave up on MS NLB and went to hardware load balancers. Sent from the wild On Aug 8, 2012, at 3:16 PM, "Maglinger, Paul" <pmaglin...@scvl.com<mailto:pmaglin...@scvl.com>> wrote: Rebuild your tcp/ip stack? From: Heaton, Joseph@DFG [mailto:jhea...@dfg.ca.gov<mailto:jhea...@dfg.ca.gov>] Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 11:45 AM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: Issue with Microsoft NLB for my CAS array Yes, I can ping CAS3. I have only 1 NIC on these boxes, and can get to them through ping and rdp. Joe Heaton ITB - Enterprise Server Support From: Paul Maglinger [mailto:pmaglin...@scvl.com]<mailto:[mailto:pmaglin...@scvl.com]> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 8:32 AM To: Heaton, Joseph@DFG; MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: Issue with Microsoft NLB for my CAS array Can you ping CAS3? Have you checked your network settings to see that everything is showing connected? From: Heaton, Joseph@DFG [mailto:jhea...@dfg.ca.gov]<mailto:[mailto:jhea...@dfg.ca.gov]> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 10:03 AM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: Issue with Microsoft NLB for my CAS array Exchange 2010 SP2 RU3 I have 3 CAS servers in a Microsoft NLB cluster. I have a few users that have been complaining of either slow connection when opening Outlook in the morning, or no connection whatsoever. I did some digging around and ended up doing some testing as follows: Created entries in my HOSTS file, to point the cluster FQDN to each node individually, one at a time. I get the following results: 1) CAS1 - immediate, fast connection 2) CAS2 - has about a 20 second delay before connecting 3) CAS3 - never connects, ends up in a disconnected state. Closing and re-opening Outlook has no effect on which behavior a client gets. Once they get into the CAS3 issue, they stay there, and the only thing that helps is creating an entry in their HOSTS file to point them to one of the other nodes. Not a real answer, though. I do have Single Affinity setup on all the port rules, which does explain this behavior. The CAS servers are VMs, on ESX5 hosts. The cluster is in multicast mode, and we've done the documented configuration on the virtual switches to accommodate this. I've verified that each host is setup the same way within NLB, so I have no idea why they are giving such different connection experiences. Any ideas? Thanks, Joe --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com<mailto:listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com> with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe exchangelist
