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New Features of Windows Server Failover Clustering

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New Features of Windows Server Failover Clustering

Elden Christensen recently blogged about some of the new features of Windows Server Failover Clustering in Windows Server 8. You can read the entire post here

All of these features found in Windows Server Failover Clustering in Windows Server 8 are welcome additions. My personal favorite is the “Dynamic Clusters” or what I think is probably better described as “Dynamic Quorum”. It basically allows the quorum to reconfigure itself dynamically which I think is a fantastic feature! If configured properly, you could actually withstand the failure of all but one remain node (last man standing) and still have a functional cluster. Previously this was only possible if you used the “Disk Only” quorum model, which is not recommended as the disk quorum represented a single point of failure.

With the new dynamic quorum model as nodes are removed from the cluster, the remaining nodes reconfigure themselves in the most resilient manner. For example, previously you had a 5 node cluster using the “Node Majority” quorum model. If you lose three nodes, the remaining two nodes would shut down as they no longer had a majority vote (2 out of 5 is not a majority). With the new model, as nodes leave the cluster, the quorum reconfigures itself so that the remaining two nodes would remain online.

The description above is really an over simplification of what actually happens under the covers. I plan to write more about it in the future, but it is definitely a welcome feature to check out!

For More Information

There are a few other blog articles relevant to Windows Server Failover Clustering you should refer to

How to Enable Failover Clustering and Network Load Balancing PowerShell Help on Windows Server “8”:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2012/03/21/10286213.aspx

How to Enable CSV Cache:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2012/03/22/10286676.aspx

How to Create a Cluster in a Restrictive Active Directory Environment:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2012/03/30/10289577.aspx

Reproduced with permission from Clusteringformeremortals

 

Failover Clustering & Hyper-V: Multi-Site Disaster Recovery

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Here is a great video from a friend of mine and former MVP Cluster Lead, Symon Perriman. It looks like he is enjoying his new job as Microsoft product evangelist.

Video: Failover Clustering & Hyper-V: Multi-Site Disaster Recovery

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/Hh133452

Reproduced with permission from https://clusteringformeremortals.com/2011/05/11/failover-clustering-hyper-v-multi-site-disaster-recovery/

Step-By-Step: Configuring A 2-Node Multi-Site Cluster On Windows Server 2008 R2 – Part 2

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Integrate Storage Replication With Failover Clustering

In Part 1 of this series, we took a look at the first steps required for building a multi-site cluster. We got to the point where we had a two node cluster that used a node and file share majority quorum, with no resources yet defined.

Let’s Continue

In this section we will start where we left off and look at how your replication solution will integrate with your failover clustering. Because each vendor’s replication solution will be implemented differently, it is hard to have one document that describes them all. The important thing to remember is that you want to purchase a replication solution that integrates with failover clustering and is certified by Microsoft. Your choices are basically array based, appliance based or host based replication solutions. EMC makes both appliance-based and array-based replication solutions and seem to do a great job at both. EMC’s John Toner maintains a blog that is dedicated to Geographically Dispersed Clusters and if you are going the EMC route, I’m sure he could lead you in the right direction. All the major vendors have solutions, you will just need to contact them to get the details.

SIOS DataKeeper

For this demonstration, I’m going to use a host based replication solution, SteelEye DataKeeper Cluster Edition, from my company, SteelEye Technology. It is so easy, that I thought instead of doing a long article, I would just record the steps and share it with you in a video. One of the advantages of host based replication is that you can utilize your existing storage, whether it is just some local attached disks, iSCSI or an expensive SAN. Host based replication can replicate across any storage devices.

Here is a summary of what you will see in the video.

  • Launch the SteelEye DataKeeper MMC Snap-in
    • Create a new DataKeeper job, define mirror end points, network, compression, etc.
  • Launch the Failover Cluster MMC Snap-in
    • Create a Hyper-V resource
    • Add a DataKeeper Volume Resource
    • Edit the properties of the DataKeeper Volume resource to associate it with the mirror created earlier
    • Make the Virtual Machine configuration dependent upon the new DataKeeper volume resource

That’s it! You are now done. Sit back and enjoy your new Hyper-V multi-site cluster.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

In Part 3 of this series, we will tackle SQL 2008 multi-site clusters on Windows Server 2008 R2. There are a few more steps and some tips and tricks you will definitely need to know, so make sure you check back to get all of the details. In the meantime, if you need assistance, leave me a comment or contact me through SIOS and I’d be glad to help you out.

Reproduced with permission from https://clusteringformeremortals.com/2009/09/18/step-by-step-configuring-a-2-node-multi-site-cluster-on-windows-server-2008-r2-%E2%80%93-part-2/