Operation of new resource types in mixed-version clusters

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Operation of new resource types in mixed-version clusters

The operation of a mixed-version cluster is complicated if a resource type that you add to the cluster is supported in one version of the operating system but not the other. For example, the Cluster service in Windows Server 2003 supports the Generic Script resource type. However, older versions of the Cluster service do not support it. A mixed-version cluster can run a Generic Script resource on a node running Windows Server 2003 but not on a node running Windows 2000.

The Cluster service transparently sets the possible owners of new resource types to prevent these resources from failing over to a Windows 2000 node of a mixed-version cluster. In other words, when you view the possible owners of a new resource type, a Windows 2000 node will not be in the list, and you will not be able to add this node to the list. If you create such a resource during the mixed-version phase of a rolling upgrade, the resource groups containing those resources will not fail over to a Windows 2000 node.