Storage Tools and Services

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Remote Storage- Remote storage services are not supported by Server Cluster.

Removable Storage- Removable storage services are not supported by Server Cluster.

Backup- NTBackup and any backup solution that use the Cluster Backup APIs are supported for Server Cluster Backup scenarios. Using the APIs allows for consistent backup and restore of cluster configuration data. Shared disks can only be backed up on the node that owns the disk at the time of backup.

Indexing- Indexing is not supported by Server Cluster. It also has serious implications with regard to resource utilization and careful consideration must be given before turning it on.

Distributed File System- DFS is fully supported by Server Cluster. In Windows Server 2003, multiple DFS roots can be hosted in a cluster.

Offline Files- Client-side caching can be enabled on clustered file share in Windows Server 2003. This feature is not available in Windows 2000 or NT 4.0. This is meant for user shares only and not for application data.