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How to Cluster DFS Replicated Resources on Windows Server 2008 R2 (Part II)

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On How to Cluster DFS Replicated Resources on Windows Server 2008 R2 (Part I) we installed the file server role, the failover clustering feature and we brought online our quorum disk. On that post we will see how to create our cluster, assign resources and cluster the file server role; to prepare everything to properly cluster DFS-R shares.

Create the Cluster

Now that we have all needed features in place we need to build our cluster. So, we will start by opening the Failover Cluster Manager on the first node (node-a) of our cluster.

You can open the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in by clicking Start, Administrative Tools and Failover Cluster Manager. Also, it can be opened by typing cluadmin.msc in the command prompt.

To begin using the failover clustering feature we will need to validate the hardware configuration clicking on Validate a Configuration…. For an insight vision and message interpretation visit Failover Cluster Step-by-Step Guide: Validating Hardware for a Failover Cluster. After reviewing the results and check if your hardware match the minimum requirements to build a cluster, follow the steps below:

  1. In the Failover Cluster Manager MMC snap-in, select Create a Cluster… from the Actions pane on the right
  2. Click next and add the cluster nodes on the next screen. Click next.
  3. Type the cluster name and assign an IP. Click next.
  4. Click next in the confirmation screen.
  5. Wait the cluster creation process to complete all the operations when building the cluster and click finish.

Once created, we need to tweak our configuration a little bit. Let’s rename our networks to clarify their purpose. To rename them click Networks inside the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in and right click over Cluster Network 1 (Crossover connection between nodes) and select properties.

Change the name to Internal and click Accept. (Repeat it for the public interface and be sure to checkmark Allow clients to connect through this network box)

Add Storage to the Cluster

Now we need to add storage to our cluster, so we need to make the disks (Quorum and Data) visible to it. To add disks to the cluster follow the procedure below:

  1. From the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, click Storage.
  2. In the Actions pane click Add a disk.
  3. Select the disks you want to add to the cluster and click OK.
  4. You can re-label the disks once added to the cluster for a better understanding.

Now we need to configure the cluster quorum settings. The quorum configuration in a failover cluster determines the number of failures that the cluster can sustain while still remaining online. If an additional failure occurs beyond this threshold, the cluster will stop running.

Quorum is design to handle the scenario when there is a problem with communication between sets of cluster nodes, so that two servers do not try to simultaneously host a resource group and write to the same disk at the same time. This is known as a split brain and we want to prevent this to avoid any potential corruption to a disk by having two simultaneous group owners.

By having this concept of quorum, the cluster will force the cluster service to stop in one of the subsets of nodes to ensure that there is only one true owner of a particular resource group. Once nodes which have been stopped can once again communicate with the main group of nodes, they will automatically rejoin the cluster and start their cluster service.

In or scenario we will be using Node & Disk Majority quorum type. This quorum configuration is most commonly used since it works well with 2-node and 4-node clusters which are the most common deployments. More information can be found in Understanding Quorum in a Failover Cluster.

Configure Quorum

To configure the Cluster Quorum Settings, we will use the Configure Cluster Quorum Settings Wizard; follow steps below:

  1. From the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, right click the Cluster.
  2. Click More Actions, and then click Configure Cluster Quorum Settings.[ 
  3. Click next on the welcome screen, choose Node and Disk Majority.
  4. Select the name of the disk you want to store the Quorum. Click next. 
  5. Click next and finish to finish configuration.

Cluster the File Server Role

Let’s cluster the File Server role in order to get high availability for our DFS Replicated shares. By configuring a high available file server on this cluster, the DFS Replication service also gets configured automatically for high availability.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Select Configure a Service or Application… either from the Configure section or from the Actions pane on the right side of the Failover Cluster Manager MMC snap-in.
  2. Select File Server from the Select Services or Applications step and click **next.
  3. Type the cluster service name (this one would be the one used by our clients to connect to the DFS-R network shares) and assign an IP. Click next.
  4. Select the storage volume that will be assigned to the service. Click next.
  5. Click next and finish completing the procedure.

Note that this procedure involves creating 4 computer accounts in Active-Directory. If you don’t pre-create them they will be created under Computers OU, so don’t forget to move them to the appropriate servers OU in order to get the GPOs correctly applied.

To be continued….