Configuring a cluster for GeoCluster

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. The recommended quorum resource for GeoCluster is the Majority Node Set or Majority Node Set with File Share Witness.

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.

 

• 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.
• 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, 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.

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

1. Login with an account that has administrative rights on the domain and the local machine.
2. 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.
3. Add your additional nodes to the cluster. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to add nodes to the cluster.
4. Install Double-Take Availability on each node of the cluster. See Installing Double-Take Availability on Windows using the installation wizard.
5. Configure your quorum. See your Windows documentation for instructions on configuring the quorum appropriate for your environment.
6. If desired, you can install Double-Take Availability on non-clustered client machines if you want to use Cluster Administrator to control the GeoCluster resources. Install Double-Take Availability, selecting the Client Components Only installation option.

The default quorum resource in a Windows 2008 or 2012 environment will vary depending on your configuration (number of nodes, shared disks, and so on). The recommended quorum resource for GeoCluster is the Node and File Share Majority. There are other quorum types available. Review the following list to determine which quorum is appropriate for your environment.

• 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.
• 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 or 2012 cluster. See your Windows cluster documentation as a complete reference.

1. Login with an account that has administrative rights on the domain and the local machine.
2. Create the cluster, if it is not already created. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to create a cluster.
3. Configure a Node and File Share Majority quorum. See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to configure the quorum.
4. 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.
5. Install Double-Take Availability on each node of the cluster. See Installing Double-Take Availability on Windows using the installation wizard.
6. If desired, you can install Double-Take Availability on non-clustered client machines if you want to use Cluster Administrator to control the GeoCluster resources. Install Double-Take Availability, selecting the Client Components Only installation option.
7. 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.

8. From Failover Cluster Management, create your application group or role.

   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 your application requires a disk before installation can begin, create an Empty Service or Application or Empty Role. After your GeoCluster Replicated Disk resource is created, you can delete the empty item and Double-Take will automatically move the GeoCluster Replicated Disk resource to available storage for your application installation.

    

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