How configure Cluster in Window 8

Windows 2008 R2 Cluster Installation and Configuration

1. IntroductionThis document describes how to enable the failover component in a Windows 2008 R2 environment.Failover clusters in Windows Server 2008 provide High Availability (HA) and scalability for Mission-Critical applications such as databases, messaging systems, file and print services, and virtualized workloads.
Windows Server 2008 clusters can support more nodes than Windows Server 2003 clusters. Specifically, x64-based failover clusters support up to 16 nodes in a single cluster, as opposed to the maximum of 8 nodes in Windows Server 2003.

ii. Pre-requisites

1. Microsoft recommends that all of the nodes in a cluster be comprised of similar hardware.
2. Apply the latest drivers and firmware for all of the nodes.
3. Configure primary and heartbeat connections.
4. Crossover cable for two-node cluster and dedicated virtual Local Area Network (vLAN) for three or more nodes.
5. Coordinate with the Storage Team to allocate 1GB minimum shared Logical Unit Number (LUN) for the Quorum drive. Common storage disks should support Persistent Reservations (PR) small computer system interface (SCSI) commands. Initialize the Quorum disk and assign drive letter as Q from one of the cluster nodes.
6. Configure the shared disks as Basic Master Boot Record (MBR) as per standard. Create the Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT) for larger partition/volumes based on customer request only.
7. Set up Domain Name System (DNS) entry for cluster nodes including cluster name.
8. The Administrative account must be granted the Create Computer Objects and Read All Properties permissions in the domain.
9. Create the computer object in AD HCL OU for cluster name.
10. Windows 2008 cluster failover cluster service runs under the local administrator account with the same privileges as the Cluster Service Account.

iii. Install Windows 2008 R2 Failover Cluster Feature
1. Log on to Cluster Node1.

2. Under Server Manager, click Features.The Features screen displays.
3. In the Features screen, click Add Features. The Select Features screen displays.
4. Select Failover Clustering.
5. Click Next.
The Confirm Installation Selections screen displays.

6. Click Install.
The Installation Results screen displays.

7. After the Installation succeeded message displays, click Close.
The Features Summary screen displays.

8. Check that the Failover Clustering component was installed as shown above.

9. Repeat Steps 1 through 8 for Node2 and Node3.

iv. Validate Windows 2008 R2 Failover Cluster Feature
Windows Server 2008 clustering comes with a built-in Cluster Validate Tool. Validate performs a software inventory, tests the network, and validates system configuration.
1. Log on to Cluster Node1.
2. Under Server Manager, click Failover Cluster Manager.
The Failover Cluster Managerscreen displays.

3. Click Validate a Configuration.

The Before You Beginscreen displays.

4. Click Next.
The Select Servers or a Cluster screen displays.

5. Type or browse to the primary and/or secondary cluster nodes using Fully-Qualified Domain Names (FQDN) as shown above and click Add for each.
6. Click Next.
The Testing Options screen displays.

7. Select the Run all tests (recommended) radio button.
8. Click Next.
The Confirmationscreen displays.

9. Click Next.

The Validatingscreen displays, showing the state of progress of each of the tests.

When all of the tests have run to completion, the Summary screen displays.

10. Click View Report to check for any errors.
Note:You may be presented with an Active Directory (AD)-related error like the one highlighted in yellow, below. This is because the HCL Team does not have rights to create a computer object in the default path. Ignore this error since the cluster will reside within the HCL Organization Unit (OU).

 v. Create Windows 2008 R2 Failover Cluster

1. Log on to Node1.
2. Under Server Manager, select Features.
3. Click Failover Cluster Manager.

The Failover Cluster Mangerscreen displays.

4. Click Create a Cluster.
The Before You Beginscreen displays.

5. Click Next.
The Select Servers screen displays.

6. Type or browse to the primary and/or secondary cluster nodes using FQDNs as shown above and click Add for each.
7. Click Next.
The Access Point for Administering the Clusterscreen displays.

8. Provide the Cluster Name and IP Address as shown above.
9. Click Next.
The Confirmationscreen displays.

10. Click Next.

You may be presented with an error stating that an enabled computer object was not found. If so, disable the computer object in Active Directory.
11. Click Next.
The Creating New Cluster screen displays, showing a progress bar.

After the progress bar has run to completion, the Summaryscreen displays.

12. Click View Report.
13. Click Finish.

14. In the Remote Desktop Connection screen, under Server Manager, navigate through Features > Failover Cluster Manager to the server icon. Then navigate through Services and applications > Nodes. The status of all of the nodes that appear should be Up.
 vi. Post-check of the Cluster Configuration
1. Re-start Node1 and test the cluster’s ping response. You may observe that two or three packets drop, which is fine. All resources (here it would be Quorum drive only) should move to Node2.
2. Once Node1 is back, re-boot Node2 and check the cluster’s ping response. It should not fail. Also check that all resources are back to Node1.
3. Remove the Network Interface Cards (NICs) one-at-a-time. There should not be any ping failure to the cluster.
4. Remove Fibre cables one-at-a-time. Check the Quorum drive remotely: (\\usa0300avxxx\Q$)
5. Check the cluster name (in the AD HCL container) which was disabled. It should now be auto-enabled.
6.  Add the additional shared disks by going to the “failover cluster” console. It will show one of the nodes as Owner for each disk.