Configuring your cluster for GeoCluster installation

If you want to use a GeoCluster configuration, where data is stored on volumes local to each node and replicated to each node in the cluster, complete the cluster configuration appropriate for the operating system you are using.

Configuring your Windows 2003 cluster

In a typical Windows 2003 MSCS shared disk cluster configuration, the quorum resource, by default, is the Local Quorum and is located on the first shared disk in the cluster. Because in a GeoCluster configuration there is no shared physical disk, the Local Quorum will not work as the quorum resource. You will need to choose one of the other Windows quorums. Review the following table to determine which quorum is appropriate for your environment.

Note:

If you are upgrading from a previous GeoCluster version and were using GeoCluster as a quorum, you must select another quorum type. GeoCluster can no longer be used as a quorum resource.

Quorum Type	Description	GeoCluster Recommendation
Local Quorum	This quorum is for single node clusters and shared disk clusters. It cannot be used in a GeoCluster configuration.
Majority Node Set	This quorum is for clusters with three or more nodes.	X
Majority Node Set with File Share Witness	This quorum is for clusters with only two nodes. If you are using Windows 2003 Service Pack 1 or earlier, see the Microsoft support article 921181 for an update for the File Share Witness. If you are using Service Pack 2 or later, the update is not needed.	X

Use the following instructions as a guideline for configuring your Windows 2003 cluster. See your Windows cluster documentation as a complete reference.

Login with an account that has administrative rights on the domain and the local machine.
Create the cluster on the first node, if it is not already created. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to create a cluster.
Add your additional nodes to the cluster. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to add nodes to the cluster.
Install GeoCluster on each node of the cluster.
Configure your quorum. See your Windows documentation for instructions on configuring the quorum appropriate for your environment.
If desired, you can install GeoCluster on non-clustered client machines if you want to use Cluster Administrator to control the GeoCluster resources. Install GeoCluster, selecting the Client Components Only installation option.

Configuring your Windows 2008 cluster

The default quorum resource in a Windows 2008 environment will vary depending on your configuration (number of nodes, shared disks, and so on). The ideal quorum resource to use for GeoCluster is the Node and File Share Majority. There are other quorum types available. Review the following table to determine which quorum is appropriate for your environment.

Quorum Type	Description	GeoCluster Recommendation
Node Majority	This quorum is recommended for clusters with an odd number of nodes. The cluster can handle failures of half of the nodes (rounding up) minus one and still stay online.
Node and Disk Majority	This quorum is recommended for clusters with an even number of nodes. The cluster can handle failures of half of the nodes (rounding up), as long as the witness disk remains online, and still stay online. If the witness disk fails, the cluster can handle failures of only half of the nodes (rounding up) minus one and still stay online.
Node and File Share Majority	This quorum is recommended for clusters with special configurations, such as GeoCluster. The cluster can handle failures of half of the nodes (rounding up), as long as the witness share remains online, and still stay online. If the witness share fails, the cluster can handle failures of only half of the nodes (rounding up) minus one and still stay online.	X
No Majority: Disk Only	This quorum is not usually recommended. The cluster can handle failures of all nodes except one and still stay online.

Use the following instructions as a guideline for configuring your Windows 2008 cluster. See your Windows cluster documentation as a complete reference.

Login with an account that has administrative rights on the domain and the local machine.
Create the cluster, if it is not already created. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to create a cluster.
Configure a Node and File Share Majority quorum. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to configure the quorum.
If you are going to be using Hyper-V, install the Hyper-V server role on all nodes in the cluster. Make sure that you have the required Microsoft hotfixes applied, including KB958065 which is a failover clustering hotfix and KB950050.
Install GeoCluster on each node of the cluster.
If desired, you can install GeoCluster on non-clustered client machines if you want to use Cluster Administrator to control the GeoCluster resources. Install GeoCluster, selecting the Client Components Only installation option.
If you are going to be using Hyper-V, create your virtual machine from within Hyper-V. Be sure to leave the virtual machine off.
From Failover Cluster Management, create your application or service group.

Note:

If you are creating a file server using clustered file shares, the path for the file share in the Failover Cluster Management wizard is case-sensitive. If the drive letter is uppercase, the path in the clustered file share wizard must also be uppercase. If the case does not match, the wizard will fail stating the path does not exist.

If you are using Hyper-V, add your virtual machine resource to the group. Any warnings about storage may be disregarded because the GeoCluster Replicate Disk will alleviate storage requirements.