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Define a Server Cluster in Storage Manager for SANs

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

With Storage Manager for SANs, you can provide logical unit number (LUN) access to a group of servers (a server cluster) in your storage area network (SAN). Server clusters are created by defining them in Storage Manager for SANs and by installing Failover Clustering on each server that will be part of the cluster.

After you create a server cluster, you can assign LUNs to it in the same way you assign LUNs to individual servers.

Warning

To prevent data loss, make sure that each server is a member of only one cluster and that Failover Clustering has been installed on each server in the cluster. For more information about installing Failover Clustering, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=86168.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Local and Domain Default Groups (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477).

To define a server cluster in Storage Manager for SANs

  1. In the console tree, click LUN Management.

  2. In the Actions pane, click Manage Server Connections.

  3. In the Manage Server Connections dialog box, click Manage Clusters.

  4. In the Manage Clusters dialog box, click Add.

  5. In the Add New Cluster dialog box, type a name for the cluster and optionally, type a general description that will help you identify the cluster.

  6. From the server list, select all the servers that you want to include in the new cluster.

Note

To add servers to a cluster you must first add them to the server list in Manage Server Connections. For more information see Manage Server Connections.

  1. Click OK to create the new cluster.

  2. Click OK again, to go back to the Manage Server Connections dialog box.

    The new cluster will now be listed in the Manage Server Connections dialog box.

  3. To configure the connections of the cluster, configure the Fibre Channel ports or iSCSI initiator adapters of each individual server included in the cluster by selecting the server from the list. All configuration changes you do on individual servers will take effect on the cluster.

Warning

If you are going to enable more than one connection (Fibre Channel ports and/or iSCSI initiator adapters) on a server in the cluster, and that server is not configured to use Multipath I/O, data corruption can occur. For more information about Multipath I/O, see Support for Multipath I/O (MPIO).

  1. Click OK when you have finished configuring the cluster.

Additional references