Published: January 1, 2004

The goal of this document is to provide a plain English explanation of the new quorum type available in Windows Server 2003 clusters-majority node set (MNS) clusters. Currently, the standard quorum that is used by the Microsoft Cluster service (MSCS) in Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 and the Windows 2000 Server family is sufficient for the majority of situations users will encounter. With the introduction of Windows Server 2003, Microsoft has introduced the MNS quorum, which is primarily for advanced users and other software vendors to create more sophisticated end-to-end solutions.

In This White Paper

Motivation (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

What Is a Majority Node Set? (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

How to Set Up a Majority Node Set (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

Using the Cluster Command to Setup a Majority Node Set (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

Sizing a Majority Node Set Cluster (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

What to Do If You Lose Quorum (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)

Other Considerations (Server Clusters: Majority Node Set Quorum)