1. Network Cards
Server clusters use a variety of networks to communicate with other nodes and with clients.

2. The typical server cluster has one NIC on each server which is designated for internal, cluster-only communications. One or more other NICs are designated for all public communications, including a mixed network that can serve both cluster and client.

3. Network Descriptions
If the cluster node uses multiple, identical PCI network cards, it may be difficult to identify them when you run the Cluster service setup. Microsoft Windows 2000 setup assigns network descriptions to each card. You will need to identify which network cards that the cluster will use for private, public, or mixed cluster networks, and enter descriptions for each.
For example, you would use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Ipconfig utility to display the network driver name with an index (such as E190x1 and E190x2) and the network card’s IP address and subnet mask. Using this information, you can then assign appropriate names to the networks when you run the Cluster service setup. For example, if El90x1 uses a private IP address , this address is for node-to-node communication. If El90x2 uses an IP address on the public network, this address is for client-to-node communication.
Note: Two network adapters are recommended so that the nodes of the cluster can have a private network for node-to-node communications.

4. Supported Network Types
A supported Cluster service configuration can use as its interconnect virtually any network technology that Windows 2000 Advanced Server supports. This includes the following:
10BaseT Ethernet
100BaseT Ethernet
Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) network card
Specialized interconnect technologies such as Tandem ServerNet and GigaNet Cluster LAN (cLAN)