3.6.0 Matrix Server Installation Guide (5697-7079, February 2008)

Chapter 2: Configuration Information 7

“Administrative Considerations” in Chapter 3 for information about SAN

restrictions.

NOTE: You can attach a matrix server to other SANs that are not under

Matrix Server control. These SANs can include tape drives and

non-PSFS filesystems. You can use Windows utilities or other

applications to access these devices and filesystems.

Requirements for Active Directory

Matrix Server requires that Active Directory be configured. You should

be aware of the following:

• With Windows 2003, all Matrix Server nodes must be members of an

Active Directory domain. This is necessary for filesystem security.

• Active Directory user and groups should be used in filesystem ACLs

and SQL Server service accounts and roles. Do not use local users and

groups for these purposes because they are meaningless to other

nodes in the matrix.

• Matrix Server nodes should not be used as domain controllers because

the two services will compete for resources, resulting in decreased

performance.

• The DNS servers used by Active Directory and Matrix Server should

not reside on Matrix Server nodes. Placing the DNS servers on Matrix

Server nodes creates a race condition that prevents Matrix Server from

starting.