Checklist: Setting Up a Failover Cluster with Multiple Services and Applications

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

  Task Reference

Review hardware and infrastructure requirements for a failover cluster.

Failover Cluster Requirements (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129108)

Review the documentation for the roles, services, or applications you want to use in the cluster, and install the roles, services, or applications according to your failover cluster design.

Important
If the documentation for your application contains instructions for installing the application in the context of a failover cluster, and those instructions differ from this checklist, use that documentation, not the checklist.

Documentation for your server role, service, or application

Install the failover clustering feature on every server that will be in the cluster.

Install the Failover Clustering Feature on a Set of Servers

Connect the networks and storage that the cluster will use.

Prepare Hardware Before Validating a Failover Cluster

Run the Validate a Configuration wizard to confirm that the hardware and hardware settings of the servers, network, and storage are compatible with failover clustering. If necessary, adjust hardware or hardware settings and rerun the wizard.

Validate the Nodes, Networks, and Storage for a Failover Cluster

Create the failover cluster.

Create a New Failover Cluster

If the clustered servers are connected to a network that is not to be used for network communication in the cluster (for example, a network intended only for iSCSI or only for backup), then configure that network so that it does not allow cluster communication.

Modify Network Settings for a Failover Cluster

Run the High Availability Wizard to configure the first type of service or application that you want to create in the cluster.

Configure a Service or Application for High Availability

Run the High Availability Wizard to configure another service or application that you want to create in the cluster.

Configure a Service or Application for High Availability

Configure failback settings and a preferred owner for each clustered service or application so that it will fail back to the server specified in your design. If your design specifies that some applications should never fail over to a particular node, remove that node from the Possible owners list.

Configure Failover and Failback Settings for a Clustered Service or Application

If your cluster includes a clustered file server, add shared folders.

If your cluster includes a print server, configure print settings such as the setting that specifies the printer.

Create a Shared Folder in a Clustered File Server

Configure Print Settings for a Clustered Print Server

Check the length of time that the Cluster service allows for starting each application when it is brought online, and decide whether the default (3 minutes) is appropriate.

Configure the Pending Timeout for a Clustered Service or Application

Test failover of the clustered file server.

Verify the Configuration and Failover of a Clustered Service or Application

Additional references