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Suspend or Resume Network Load Balancing

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

You might need to suspend and resume Network Load Balancing (NLB) to override any remote control commands that are issued. All subsequent cluster-control commands except resume and query are ignored. The following procedures can be performed on the whole NLB cluster or on a single host.

Suspending or resuming Network Load Balancing

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a Command Prompt window

To suspend or resume Network Load Balancing by using the Windows interface

  1. To open NLB Manager, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Network Load Balancing Manager. You can also open NLB Manager by typing Nlbmgr at a command prompt.

  2. If NLB Manager does not already list the cluster, connect to the cluster.

  3. If you want to suspend cluster operations on all cluster hosts, right-click the cluster, point to Control Hosts, and then click Suspend.

    If you want to suspend the cluster service on only a particular host, right-click the host, point to Control Host, and click Suspend.

  4. If you want to resume cluster operations on all cluster hosts, right-click the cluster, point to Control Hosts, and then click Resume.

    If you want to start the cluster service on only a particular host, right-click the host, point to Control Host, and then click Resume.

Additional considerations

  • When you are using Network Load Balancing (NLB) Manager, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the host that you are configuring, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If you are configuring a cluster or host by running NLB Manager from a computer that is not part of the cluster, you do not have to be a member of the Administrators group on that computer.

  • Suspending NLB differs from stopping the handling of NLB cluster traffic in that suspending NLB stops NLB on the host and suspends all NLB cluster-control commands on the host (except for the resume and query commands). Stopping the handling of NLB cluster traffic stops NLB on the host, but it does not affect the other NLB cluster-control commands. For more information on the stop command, see Additional references.

Additional references

Stop or Start Handling Network Load Balancing Cluster Traffic

Controlling Hosts on Network Load Balancing Clusters

To suspend or resume Network Load Balancing by using a Command Prompt window

  1. To open a Command Prompt window, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click either Run as administrator or Open.

  2. Type one of the following commands:

    • To suspend NLB on this host, type:

      nlb.exe suspend

      Or, if you want to suspend cluster operations on all cluster hosts, type:

      nlb.exe suspend <cluster IP address | cluster name> global

    • To resume NLB on this host, type:

      nlb.exe resume

      Or, if you want to resume cluster operations on all cluster hosts, type:

      nlb.exe resume <cluster IP address | cluster name> global

Additional considerations

  • When you are using Network Load Balancing (NLB) Manager, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the host that you are configuring, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If you are configuring a cluster or host by running NLB Manager from a computer that is not part of the cluster, you do not have to be a member of the Administrators group on that computer.

  • The stop command differs from the suspend command. The suspend command stops NLB on the host and suspends all NLB cluster-control commands on the host (except the resume and query commands). The Stop command stops NLB on the host, but it does not affect the other NLB cluster-control commands.

Additional references

Stop or Start Handling Network Load Balancing Cluster Traffic

Controlling Hosts on Network Load Balancing Clusters