Configure Quorum in a Single-Site or Multi-Site Failover Cluster

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

If you are creating a multi-site failover cluster, or have special requirements in a single-site failover cluster, you might need to configure quorum options for the cluster.

Important

In most situations, use the quorum configuration that the cluster software identifies as appropriate for your cluster. Change the quorum configuration only if you have determined that the change is appropriate for your cluster.

For important details about quorum configuration options, see Failover Cluster Step-by-Step Guide: Configuring the Quorum in a Failover Cluster.

Membership in the local Administrators group on each clustered server, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Also, the account you use must be a domain account. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Local and Domain Default Groups (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477).

To select quorum options for a cluster

  1. In the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, if the cluster you want to configure is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Management, click Manage a Cluster, and select or specify the cluster you want.

  2. With the cluster selected, in the Actions pane, click More Actions, and then click Configure Cluster Quorum Settings.

  3. Follow the instructions in the wizard to select the quorum configuration for your cluster. If you choose a configuration that includes a witness disk or witness file share, follow the instructions for specifying the witness.

  4. After the wizard runs and the Summary page appears, if you want to view a report of the tasks that the wizard performed, click View Report.

Additional considerations

  • To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Management. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.

Additional references