Windows 2008 R2 Failover Clustering Ramp Up Guide

It is always a good idea to read the white papers for a technology as they give you a good overview of the product/feature. You can always deeper when you have a good grounding.

• Overview of Failover Clustering in Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering Architecture Overview

Understand the basics

A good foundation into the technology will help you develop further as you dive deeper into specific areas. Although not essential it is nice to know what was released and with what version.

• What’s New in Failover Clusters in Windows Server 2008
• What’s New in Failover Clusters in Windows Server 2008 R2
• Description of the failover cluster security model in Windows Server 2008
• What is a Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Adapter?

Step-by-step guides

These particular guides are very well written as they walk you through various scenarios end to end. They start off with the basics and then focus on specific tasks.

• Validating Hardware for a Failover Cluster
• Configuring a Two-Node File Server Failover Cluster
• Configuring a Two-Node Print Server Failover Cluster
• Configuring the Quorum in a Failover Cluster
• Migrating Clustered Services and Applications to Windows Server 2008 R2
• Migrating DHCP to a Cluster Running Windows Server 2008 R2
• How to install service packs in a cluster

Microsoft iSCSI Initiator

This tool is extremely useful in a test environment/lab. The guides here show you how to install and configure the tool so you can build your own test cluster which you can then use to ramp up further.

• Understanding Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Features and Components
• Installing and Configuring Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
• Using Microsoft iSCSI Initiator in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7

Specific task based information

This lists contain deep dive information into specific parts of Failover Clustering. They focus on one given aspect of the technology and provide detailed information.

• Rights needed for user account when pre-creating a Cluster Name Object (CNO) on Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Cluster
• Rights needed for user account to create a Cluster Name Object (CNO) on Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Cluster
• Configuring Auditing for a Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster
• Understanding the Cluster Debug Log in 2008
• Requirements for Using Cluster Shared Volumes in a Failover Cluster in Windows Server 2008 R2
• The implications of using the /forcequorum switch to start the Cluster service in Windows Server 2008
• Support for booting from a Storage Area Network (SAN)
• Pause or Resume a Node in a Failover Cluster
• Understanding Backup and Recovery Basics of Failover Cluster in Windows 2008 and 2008 R2
• Recovering a Deleted Cluster Name Object (CNO) in a Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster
• Recovering a Deleted Cluster Name Object (CNO) in a Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster, Part 2

PowerShell for Failover Clustering

Whist I knew a little bit about PowerShell at the operating system level I did not know that there were so many cmdlets specific for clustering. These links helped me understand the cmdlets as well as helped me transition my Cluster.exe knowledge to PowerShell. As Cluster.exe will be deprecated in later versions of Failover Clustering is the right time to get your hands dirty and try out the cmdlets.

• Failover Cluster Cmdlets in Windows PowerShell
• Mapping Cluster.exe Commands to Windows PowerShell Cmdlets for Failover Clusters
• Performing Common Tasks in a Failover Cluster by Using Windows PowerShell

Multi-Site Failover Cluster

A vast improvement in Windows 2008 R2 Failover Clustering is the support for multi-site clustering. This technology will definitely be used many companies and it is definitely worth knowing well.

• Design for a Clustered Service or Application in a Multi-Site Failover Cluster
• Requirements and Recommendations for a Multi-Site Failover Cluster
• Checklist: Setting Up a Clustered Service or Application in a Multi-Site Failover Cluster
• Configure Heartbeat and DNS Settings in a Multi-Site Failover Cluster

Additional Resources

Blogs and webcasts a very useful way of learning specific information. If like me you are a visual learner you will enjoy the webcasts as they provide some in depth knowledge in the specific areas.

Blogs & Blog sites

• Ask the Core Team – Failover Clustering Blog Posts
• Clustering and High Availability – Failover Clustering and Network Load Balancing Team Blog
• Windows Server 2008 and R2 Cluster Log Appears to Be Missing Gaps of Data
• Backing up and recovering the failover Cluster Configuration database in Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2

Webcasts & Podcasts

• Introduction to Failover Clustering (Level 100)
• High Availability Basics with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V (Level 200)
• Failover Clustering Feature Roadmap for Windows Server 2008 R2 (Level 300)
• Innovating High Availability with Cluster Shared Volumes (Level 300)
• Multi-Site Clustering with Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (Level 300)
• Failover Cluster Troubleshooting with Windows Server 2008 R2 (Level 300)
• Microsoft podcasts for clustering

Other useful links

• Windows 2008 R2 Failover Clusters – Checklists
• The Microsoft Support Policy for Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clusters

Premier WorkshopPLUS

• WorkshopPlus – Windows Server 2008 Deploying and Managing Failover Cluster