Balance the Network Load
If your applications must support several hundred users, you need to distribute your MTS components to multiple servers across your network to achieve a balanced load. For example, if components A, B, and C work together as one MTS application, you might install component A on Server 1, component B on Server 2, and component C on Server 3. If all three servers run MTS, the three components can work together as one application. Your system works more efficiently if multiple servers divide the workload, because this load balancing prevents an application from overburdening one server.
Another benefit of installing components on multiple servers is increased reliability of the MTS application across the network. You can install all three components on Server 1 and Server 2, and then run components A and B on Server 1 and component C on Server 2. Such an installation spreads the network load between the two machines. In addition, the duplicate installation provides redundancy that makes your application more reliable. If either server goes down, you can use the MTS Explorer to quickly reconfigure the application to use all three components on the functioning server until the disabled server is back online. Microsoft has announced that it will include dynamic load balancing in future versions of MTS, which means MTS will automatically run each component on the server that is least busy.
To enable multiple MTS components running on multiple servers to work together as one MTS application, you must associate all the components with the MTS server that the application will run on. The MTS Explorer on that server must list each component under an icon representing its server: Components on the local server appear in the Installed Components folder, and components on other servers appear in the Remote Components folder. You associate all your components with the server that the application will run on by distributing information about each component and its supporting files to that server.
You can distribute component information to servers across your network using two methods: First, the source server (the server that the component will run on) can push the information to the destination server (the server that doesn't have the component). Second, the destination server can pull the information from the source server. Both methods let client software anywhere on the network use the distributed components as if they were executing on the destination server, although the components run only on the source server. Components always run on the computer on which you added them to a package. Component pushing and pulling copies information and supporting files that destination servers need to access the component on the source server.
Figure 1 shows three MTS servers and a network client. Component A runs on Server 1. Server 1 pushes component A information to Server 3. Component B runs on Server 2. Server 3 pulls component B information from Server 2. Component C runs on Server 3. All three components work together as an application that the client accesses from Server 3 via the distributed component object model (DCOM).
To prepare your system to push and pull component information, you must perform a preliminary setup. You must place each component you want to push or pull in a shared folder on its source server. The share will store and deliver DLLs and type library files. The share must grant Read rights to the account that you will use to log on to the machines to perform the push or pull. MTS will automatically locate the share.
In addition, you must make sure that each source and destination server is running MTS and has icons representing the other servers in its MTS Explorer Computers folder. For example, Server 1 in Figure 1 must list My Computer, Server 2, and Server 3 in its Computers folder. Likewise, Server 2 must list My Computer, Server 1, and Server 3 in its Computers folder. To add icons representing the other computers, select the Computers folder in the MTS Explorer. Select New, Computer from the Action menu, and enter the computer's name (without the Uniform Naming Convention--UNC--backslashes).
Finally, you must open the Packages Installed folder for the source server. Look at the System package properties to determine whether the package has administrative security enabled. You need to enable administrative security on the System package if you plan to use component push. (For information about enabling administrative security, see the sidebar "MTS Security," page 158.) If the System package has administrative security enabled, make sure that the NT account that the destination computer's System package runs under is a member of the Reader or Administrator role for the source server's System package. When you have completed this preliminary setup, you're ready to configure your component push or pull.
Set up component push on the source server. The first step to enabling component push is to make sure that the NT user account that you use to log on to the source server is a member of the MTS Administrator role for the System package on the destination server. Then, expand the hierarchy beneath the icon representing the destination server. Open the Remote Components folder, because the component will execute remotely from the perspective of the destination server. Select New from the Action menu. Use the Remote Computer drop-down list box to select the source server. Then use the Package drop-down list box to select the package on the source computer that contains the component you want to push information for. Select the component from the Available Components list box, and click Add to move the component to the Components to Configure list box. If you select the Details check box, the Components to Configure box will show information about the remote computer, package, and path for DLLs.
Repeat these steps for every component you want to push. Click OK when you finish. MTS will push component information from the source server to the destination server. The destination server will then have an icon under the Remote Components folder in the MTS Explorer for each pushed component. Client applications will be able to access the components as if they were running on the destination server.
Set up component pull on the destination server. In the MTS Explorer, open the Remote Components folder under the My Computer icon in the Computers folder, because the components will execute remotely from the perspective of the destination server. Select New from the Action menu. In the dialog box that appears, select the remote computer and package that contain the component you want to pull. From the Available Components list, select the component that you want to pull. Click Add to add the component to the Components to Configure list box. Click OK.
Repeat these steps for every component you want to pull. When you finish, click OK to close the Remote Components dialog box. MTS will pull component information from the source server to the destination server, and client applications will be able to access the components as if they were running on the destination server.
Keep Your System Running Smoothly
Downloading and installing the most current MTS service packs (SPs) helps optimize performance. SPs add new features and fix problems in the system. However, SPs occasionally introduce bugs to the system.
If I have a system that works, I usually wait until a few weeks after the SP's release before I install it. I watch newsgroups for reports of problems with the SP. If I don't hear of problems with the SP, I install it. However, I make exceptions to this rule when my system urgently needs some functionality that the SP can fix. I always let the setup program create an uninstall directory. You can find MTS SPs at http://premium.microsoft.com/support/transaction.
MTS will soon be an indispensable tool for systems administrators. As NT becomes an enterprise operating system (OS), it must run software that can support organizations. In addition, more and more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are running NT with Internet Information Server (IIS) and using MTS to run Web applications that support many Internet users.
Fortunately, MTS is surprisingly easy to administer. The MTS Explorer lets you manage servers and applications through an easy-to-use hierarchy. Use this article's tips to keep your MTS servers running enterprise applications efficiently and reliably to support your business' needs.
End of Article
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