Checklist: Setting Up a Clustered Service or Application in a Multi-Site Failover Cluster

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

  Task Reference

Review the hardware and infrastructure requirements for a failover cluster.

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

Review the documentation for your multi-site cluster hardware and firmware, including networking documentation and documentation for the replication solution that you will use.

Documentation for your multi-site cluster hardware and firmware

Review the requirements and recommendations for a multi-site failover cluster.

Requirements and Recommendations for a Multi-Site Failover Cluster (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129109)

Review the documentation for the role, service, or application you want to use in the cluster, and install that role, service, or application on every server that will be in the cluster, or as instructed in the application documentation.

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

Configure the heartbeat and DNS settings for the multi-site cluster.

Configure Heartbeat and DNS Settings in a Multi-Site Failover Cluster

Requirements and Recommendations for a Multi-Site Failover Cluster (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129109)

Configure the quorum options for the multi-site cluster. In many cases, the design for a multi-site failover cluster uses the Node and File Share Majority option.

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

Requirements and Recommendations for a Multi-Site Failover Cluster (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129109)

If your application provides specific instructions for installation in a cluster, follow those instructions. Otherwise, run the High Availability Wizard to specify configuration information for a service or application that you want the cluster to provide.

Configure a Service or Application for High Availability

Configure the failback settings and a sequence of preferred owners for each clustered service or application according to your design. In other words, specify servers at the main site as being more preferred than servers at the secondary site, so that services and applications will fail over to the secondary site only when servers at the main site are unavailable.

Configure Failover and Failback Settings for a Clustered Service or Application

For a clustered file server, add shared folders. For a clustered print server, configure print settings such as the setting that specifies the printer. For a clustered application, check the length of time that the Cluster service allows for starting the application when it is brought online.

Create a Shared Folder in a Clustered File Server

Configure Print Settings for a Clustered Print Server

Configure the Pending Timeout for a Clustered Service or Application

Test failover of the clustered service or application, including failover between sites.

Verify the Configuration and Failover of a Clustered Service or Application

Additional references