5
Knowledge Base Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere: Guidelines for supported configurations (1037959) Details VMware provides customers additional flexibility and choice in architecting high-availability solutions. Microsoft has clear support statements for its clustering solutions on VMware. Additionally, VMware provides guidelines in terms of storage protocols and number of nodes supported by VMware on vSphere, particularly for specific clustering solutions that access shared storage. Other clustering solutions that do not access shared storage, such as Exchange Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) and Database Availability Group (DAG), can be implemented on VMware vSphere just like on physical systems without any additional considerations. This article provides clear guidelines and vSphere support status for running various Microsoft clustering solutions and configurations. Solution VMware vSphere support for Microsoft clustering solutions on VMware products This table outlines VMware vSphere support for Microsoft clustering solutions: Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere support VMware HA support vMotion DRS support Storage vMotion support MSCS Node Limits Storage Protocols support Shared Disk FC In-Guest OS iSCSI Native iSCSI In-Guest OS SMB FCoE NFS RDM VMFS Shared Disk MSCS with Shared Disk Yes Yes No No 2 5 (5.1 and 5.5) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Exchange Single Copy Cluster Yes Yes No No 2 5 (5.1 and 5.5) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes SQL Clustering Yes Yes No No 2 5 (5.1 and 5.5) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes SQL AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instance Yes Yes No No 2 5 (5.1 and 5.5) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Non shared Disk Network Load Balance Yes Yes Yes Yes Same as OS/app Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A Exchange CCR Yes Yes Yes Yes Same as OS/app Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A Exchange DAG Yes Yes Yes Yes Same as OS/app Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A SQL AlwaysOn Availability Group Yes Yes Yes Yes Same as OS/app Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A Table notes: 1. When DRS affinity/anti-affinity rules are used. For more information, see the HA/DRS specific configuration for clustered virtual machines (#ha-drs) section in this article. 2. For details on shared disk configurations, see the Disk Configurations (#disk) section in this article. 3. Supported in Cluster in a Box (CIB) configurations only. For more information, see the Considerations for Shared Storage Clustering (#considerations) section in this article. 4. In vSphere 5.5, native FCoE is supported. In vSphere 5.1 Update 2, a two-node cluster using FCoE with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 is supported. In vSphere 5.1 Update 1 and 5.0 Update 3, two-node cluster configurations with Cisco CNA cards (VIC 1240/1280) and driver version 1.5.0.8 are supported on Windows 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit guest OS. For more information, see the VMware Hardware Compatibility guide: ◦ Cisco UCS VIC1240 (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=21077) ◦ Cisco UCS VIC1280 (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=21080) 5. Windows Server 2012 and 2012-R2 Failover Clustering only. 6. vSphere 5.5 only. 7. In vSphere 5.1 Update 2, up to a five-node cluster with FibreChannel is supported with Windows Server 2012. Notes: • For vSphere 5.5 MSCS support enhancements, see MSCS support enhancements in vSphere 5.5 (2052238) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2052238) . • Microsoft Clustering Services (MSCS) virtual machines use a shared Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus. Any virtual machine using a shared bus cannot make hot changes to virtual machine hardware as this will disrupt the heartbeat between the MSCS nodes. These activities are not supported and will cause MSCS node failover: ◦ vMotion migration ◦ Increasing the size of disks ◦ Hot adding memory ◦ Hot adding CPU ◦ Using snapshots ◦ Pausing and/or resuming the virtual machine state ◦ Memory over-commitment leading to virtual swapping or memory ballooning Note: For more information on MSCS limitations, see the vSphere MSCS Setup Limitation section in the Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere- 51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-511-setup-mscs.pdf) VMware white paper. • For the purpose of this document, SQL Mirroring is not considered by VMware to be a clustering solution. VMware fully supports SQL Mirroring and SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group on vSphere with no specific restrictions. • MSCS clusters are not supported for VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers. • Storage vMotion and vMotion migrations for Shared Disks configurations are not supported and will fail when the migration is attempted. For more information, see Troubleshooting migration compatibility error: Device is a SCSI controller engaged in bus-sharing (1003797) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1003797) . 1 7 6 5 4 2 3 1 7 6 5 4 2 3 1 7 6 5 4 2 3 1 7 6 5 4 2 3 1 1 1 1 Page 1 of 5 VMware KB: Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere: Guidelines for supported config... 5/27/2014 http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC...

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  • Knowledge Base

    Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere: Guidelines for supported configurations (1037959)

    Details

    VMware provides customers additional flexibility and choice in architecting high-availability solutions. Microsoft has clear support statements for its clustering solutions on VMware.

    Additionally, VMware provides guidelines in terms of storage protocols and number of nodes supported by VMware on vSphere, particularly for specific clustering solutions that access shared storage. Other clustering solutions that do not access shared storage, such as Exchange Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) and Database Availability Group (DAG), can be implemented on VMware vSphere just like on

    physical systems without any additional considerations.

    This article provides clear guidelines and vSphere support status for running various Microsoft clustering solutions and configurations.

    Solution

    VMware vSphere support for Microsoft clustering solutions on VMware products

    This table outlines VMware vSphere support for Microsoft clustering solutions:

    Microsoft

    Clustering on

    VMware

    vSphere

    support

    VMware

    HA

    support

    vMotion

    DRS

    support

    Storage

    vMotion

    support

    MSCS

    Node

    Limits

    Storage Protocols support Shared Disk

    FCIn-Guest

    OS iSCSI

    Native

    iSCSIIn-Guest OS SMB FCoE NFS RDM VMFS

    Shared

    Disk

    MSCS with

    Shared DiskYes Yes No No

    2

    5 (5.1 and 5.5)Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes

    Exchange SingleCopy Cluster

    Yes Yes No No25 (5.1 and 5.5)

    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes

    SQL Clustering Yes Yes No No2

    5 (5.1 and 5.5)Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes

    SQL AlwaysOn

    Failover Cluster

    Instance

    Yes Yes No No25 (5.1 and 5.5)

    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes

    Non

    shared

    Disk

    Network Load

    BalanceYes Yes Yes Yes

    Same as

    OS/appYes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A

    Exchange CCR Yes Yes Yes YesSame as

    OS/appYes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A

    Exchange DAG Yes Yes Yes YesSame as

    OS/appYes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A

    SQL AlwaysOnAvailability

    Group

    Yes Yes Yes YesSame as

    OS/appYes Yes Yes N/A N/A No N/A N/A

    Table notes:

    1. When DRS affinity/anti-affinity rules are used. For more information, see the HA/DRS specific configuration for clustered virtual machines (#ha-drs) section in this article.

    2. For details on shared disk configurations, see the Disk Configurations (#disk) section in this article.

    3. Supported in Cluster in a Box (CIB) configurations only. For more information, see the Considerations for Shared Storage Clustering (#considerations) section in this article.

    4. In vSphere 5.5, native FCoE is supported. In vSphere 5.1 Update 2, a two-node cluster using FCoE with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 is supported. In vSphere 5.1 Update 1 and 5.0

    Update 3, two-node cluster configurations with Cisco CNA cards (VIC 1240/1280) and driver version 1.5.0.8 are supported on Windows 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit guest OS. For more information, see the

    VMware Hardware Compatibility guide:

    Cisco UCS VIC1240 (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=21077)

    Cisco UCS VIC1280 (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=21080)

    5. Windows Server 2012 and 2012-R2 Failover Clustering only.

    6. vSphere 5.5 only.

    7. In vSphere 5.1 Update 2, up to a five-node cluster with FibreChannel is supported with Windows Server 2012.

    Notes:

    For vSphere 5.5 MSCS support enhancements, see MSCS support enhancements in vSphere 5.5 (2052238) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2052238) .

    Microsoft Clustering Services (MSCS) virtual machines use a shared Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus. Any virtual machine using a shared bus cannot make hot changes to virtual machine

    hardware as this will disrupt the heartbeat between the MSCS nodes. These activities are not supported and will cause MSCS node failover:

    vMotion migration

    Increasing the size of disks

    Hot adding memory

    Hot adding CPU

    Using snapshots

    Pausing and/or resuming the virtual machine state

    Memory over-commitment leading to virtual swapping or memory ballooning

    Note: For more information on MSCS limitations, see the vSphere MSCS Setup Limitation section in the Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-

    51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-511-setup-mscs.pdf) VMware white paper.

    For the purpose of this document, SQL Mirroring is not considered by VMware to be a clustering solution. VMware fully supports SQL Mirroring and SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group on

    vSphere with no specific restrictions.

    MSCS clusters are not supported for VMware Paravirtual SCSI Controllers.

    Storage vMotion and vMotion migrations for Shared Disks configurations are not supported and will fail when the migration is attempted. For more information, see Troubleshooting migration compatibility error: Device is a SCSI controller engaged in bus-sharing (1003797) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1003797) .

    1 7 6 5 4 2 3

    1 7 6 5 4 2 3

    1 7 6 5 4 2 3

    1 7 6 5 4 2 3

    1

    1

    1

    1

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  • ESXi 5.1 and 5.5 support up to five-node clusters for Windows Server 2008 SP2 and above, but earlier ESXi versions support only two-node clusters. For more information, see Setup for Failover

    Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service - ESXi 5.1 vCenter Server 5.1 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-51-setup-mscs.pdf) .

    A Microsoft cluster consisting of both physical Windows server nodes and virtual machine nodes is supported. For more information, see the Cluster Physical and Virtual Machines section in the Setup for

    Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-51-setup-mscs.pdf) guide.

    To avoid unnecessary cluster node failovers due to system disk I/O latency, virtual disks must be created using the EagerZeroedThick format on VMFS volumes only, regardless of the underlying protocol.

    Note: Although EagerZeroedThick VMDKs can be created on VAAI-capable NAS arrays using a suitable VAAI NAS plug-in, NFS is not a supported storage protocol with Microsoft Clustering.

    Commonly used Microsoft clustering solutions

    These are common Microsoft clustering solutions used by VMware users in virtual machines:

    Microsoft Clustering Services: MSCS or Windows Failover Clustering is a clustering function that provides failover and availability at the operating system level. Commonly clustered applications

    include:

    Microsoft Exchange Server

    Microsoft SQL Server

    File and print services

    Custom applications

    Microsoft Network Load Balance (I/O Load Balance): Microsoft Network Load Balance (NLB) is suited for stateless applications or Tier 1 of multi-tiered applications, such as web servers providing a

    front end for back end database and application servers. A physical alternative is an appliance, such as those available from F5.

    Note: Sharing RDMs between virtual machines without a clustering solution is not supported.

    VMware vSphere support for running Microsoft clustered configurations

    This table outlines VMware vSphere support for running Microsoft clustered configurations:

    Clustering

    Solution

    Support

    StatusClustering Version

    vSphere

    VersionNotes

    MSCS with

    shared disk

    Supported Windows Server 2003

    Windows Server 2008Windows Server 2008 R2

    Windows Server 2012Windows Server 2012 R2

    4.x/5.x See additional considerations

    NetworkLoad Balance

    Supported Windows Server 2003 SP2Windows Server 2008

    Windows 2008 R2

    4.x/5.x

    SQL clustering Supported Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2008

    Windows 2008 R2Windows Server 2012

    Windows Server 2012 R2

    4.x/5.x See additional considerations

    SQL AlwaysOn

    Failover Cluster Instance

    Supported Windows Server 2008 SP2 or higher

    Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or higher

    Windows Server 2012

    4.x/5.x See additional considerations

    SQL AlwaysOnAvailability

    Group

    Supported Windows Server 2008 SP2 or higherWindows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or higher

    Windows Server 2012

    Windows Server 2012 R2

    4.x/5.x

    Exchange

    Single copycluster

    Supported Exchange 2003

    Exchange 2007

    4.x/5.x See additional considerations

    Exchange CCR Supported Windows 2003Windows 2008 SP1 or higher

    Exchange 2007 SP1 or higher

    4.x/5.x

    Exchange DAG Supported Windows 2008 SP2 or higher

    Windows 2008 R2 or higher

    Windows Server 2012Windows Server 2012 R2

    Exchange 2010

    Exchange 2013

    4.x/5.x

    Table notes:

    1. This table lists the support status by VMware on vSphere. Check with your vendor as the status of third-party software vendor support may differ. For example, while VMware supports configurations using MSCS on clustered Windows Server 2003 virtual machines, Microsoft does not support it. The same applies for the support status of the operating system version. Support for software that has

    reached end-of-life may be limited or non-existent depending on the life cycle policies of the respective software vendor. VMware advises against using end-of-life products in production environments.

    2. Supported only with in-guest SMB and in-guest iSCSI for vSphere 5.1 and earlier. This restriction does not apply to vSphere 5.1 Update 2 and 5.0 Update 3. (See relevant footnotes under table 1 above)

    3. In-guest clustering solutions that do not use a shared-disk configuration, such as SQL Mirroring, SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group, and Exchange Database Availability Group (DAG), do not require explicit support statements from VMware.

    4. vSphere 5.0 Update 1 and later, 5.1 Update 1 and later, and 5.5 and later (where Guest OS is supported)

    5. vSphere 5.5 Update 1 and later.

    Additional notes:

    System disk (C: drive) virtual disks can be on local VMFS or SAN-based VMFS datastores only, regardless of the underlying protocol. System disk virtual disks must be created with the

    EagerZeroedThick format. For more information, see the Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service guide for ESXi 5.0 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-

    vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf) or ESXi/ESX 4.x (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_mscs.pdf) .

    In Windows 2012 and 2012 R2, cluster validation completes with this warning: Validate Storage Spaces Persistent Reservation. You can safely ignore this warning.

    For support information on Microsoft clustering for MSCS, SQL, and Exchange, go to the Windows Server Catalog (http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvpwizard.htm) and select the appropriate dropdown.

    Windows Server 2012 failover clustering is not supported with ESXi-provided shared storage (such as RDMs or virtual disks) in vSphere 5.1 and earlier. For more information, see the Miscellaneous Issues section of the vSphere 5.1 Release Notes (https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere5/doc/vsphere-esx-vcenter-server-51-release-notes.html) . VMware vSphere 5.5 provides complete support for Windows 2012 failover clustering.

    VMware vSphere 5.5 Update 1 provides complete support for Windows 2012 R2 failover clustering.

    For related information, see these Microsoft pages:

    Support policy for Microsoft SQL Server products that are running in a hardware virtualization environment (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956893)

    Support Policy for Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clusters (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943984)

    Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794548.aspx)

    1

    2

    5

    1

    2

    5

    2

    3

    3 4

    1

    1

    3

    3 4

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  • Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program (http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htm)

    Note: The preceding links were correct as of February 11, 2014. If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

    Considerations for shared storage clustering

    Storage protocols

    Fibre Channel: In vSphere 5.1 and earlier, configurations using shared storage for Quorum and/or Data must be on Fibre Channel (FC) based RDMs (physical mode for cluster across boxes "CAB",

    virtual mode for cluster in a box "CIB"). RDMs on storage other than FC (such as NFS or iSCSI) are not supported in 5.1 and earlier. In vSphere 5.5, Quorum or data can be on both iSCSI or FCoE as well. Virtual disk based shared storage is supported with CIB configurations only and must be created using the EagerZeroedThick option on VMFS datastores.

    Native iSCSI (not in the guest OS): Supported in vSphere 5.5. VMware does not support the use of ESXi/ESX host iSCSI initiators, also known as native iSCSI (hardware or software) with MSCS in

    vSphere 5.1 or earlier.

    In-guest iSCSI software initiators: VMware fully supports a configuration of MSCS using in-guest iSCSI initiators, provided that all other configuration meets the documented and supported MSCS

    configuration. Using this configuration in VMware virtual machines is relatively similar to using it in physical environments. vMotion has not been tested by VMware with this configuration.

    In-guest SMB (Server Message Block) protocol: VMware fully supports a configuration of MSCS using in-guest SMB, provided that all other configuration meets the documented and supported MSCS configuration. Using this configuration in VMware virtual machines is relatively similar to using it in physical environments. vMotion has not been tested by VMware with this configuration.

    FCoE: FCoE is fully supported in vSphere 5.5. However, in earlier versions, FCoE is only supported in very specific configurations. For more information, see note 4 (#note4) in the Microsoft clustering

    solutions table above.

    Virtual SCSI adapters

    Shared storage must be attached to a dedicated virtual SCSI adapter in the clustered virtual machine. For example, if the system disk (drive C:) is attached to SCSI0:0, the first shared disk would be attached to

    SCSI1:0, and the data disk attached to SCSI1:1.

    The shared storage SCSI adapter for Windows Server 2008 and higher must be the LSI Logic SAS type, while earlier Windows versions must use the LSI Logic Parallel type.

    Disk configurations

    RDM: Configurations using shared storage for Quorum and/or Data must be on Fibre Channel (FC) based RDMs (physical mode for cluster across boxes "CAB", virtual mode for cluster in a box "CIB") in vSphere 5.1 and earlier. RDMs on storage other than FC (iSCSI and FCoE) are only supported in vSphere 5.5. However, in earlier versions, FCoE is supported in very specific configurations. For more

    information, see note 4 (#note4) in the Microsoft clustering solutions table above.

    VMFS: Virtual disks used as shared storage for clustered virtual machines must reside on VMFS datastores and must be created using the EagerZeroedThick option. This can be done using the

    vmkfstools command from the console, the vSphere CLI, or from the user interface. For more information, see the Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service guide for ESXi 5.0

    (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf) or ESXi/ESX 4.x (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_mscs.pdf) .

    To create EagerZeroedThick storage with the vmkfstools command:

    1. Log into the console of the host or launch the VMware vSphere CLI.

    2. For example, to create a 10 GB file in datastore1 named myVMData.vmdk, run the command:

    Using the console:

    vmkfstools d eagerzeroedthick c 10g /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/myVM/myVMData.vmdk

    Note: Replace 10g with the desired size.

    Using the vSphere CLI:

    vmkfstools.pl -server ESXHost -username username --password passwd d eagerzeroedthick c

    10g /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/myVM/myVMData.vmdk

    To create EagerZeroedThick storage with the user interface:

    1. Using the vSphere Client, select the virtual machine for which you want to create the new virtual disk.

    2. Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.

    3. From the virtual machine properties dialog box, click Add to add new hardware.

    4. In the Add Hardware dialog box, select Hard Disk from the device list.

    5. Select Create a new virtual disk and click Next.

    6. Select the disk size you want to create.

    7. Select the datastore with the virtual machine or select a different datastore by clicking Specify a datastore and browsing to find the desired datastore.

    8. To create an EagerZeroedThick disk, select Support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance.

    Note: Step 8 must be the last configuration step. Changes to datastores after selecting Support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance cause it to become deselected.

    9. Complete the wizard to create the virtual disk.

    Non-shared storage clustering

    Non-shared storage clustering refers to configurations where no shared storage is required to store the application's data or quorum information. Data is replicated to other cluster nodes (for example, CCR) or

    distributed among the nodes (for example, DAG).

    These configurations do not require additional VMware considerations regarding a specific storage protocol or number of nodes, and can be deployed on virtual in the same way as physical.

    Notes:

    With the Exchange Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) in Microsoft Exchange 2007, data is replicated between the cluster nodes over the network. Exchange Database Availability Group (DAG) in Microsoft Exchange 2010 replaced the CCR feature that was available with Exchange 2007. This feature is network-based and does not require shared storage. For related information, see the Microsoft

    Exchange 2010 on VMware Best Practices Guide (http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/exchange-2010-on-vmware-best-practices-guide.pdf) .

    Microsoft Network Load Balance (NLB) must be configured in Multicast Mode. For more information, see Sample Configuration - Network Load Balancing (NLB) Multicast Mode Configuration

    (1006558) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1006558) .

    HA/DRS specific configuration for clustered virtual machines

    Affinity/Anti-affinity rules

    For virtual machines in a cluster, you must create virtual machine to virtual machine affinity or anti-affinity rules. Virtual machine to virtual machine affinity rules specify which virtual machines should be kept

    together on the same host (for example, a cluster of MSCS virtual machines on one physical host). Virtual machine to virtual machine anti-affinity rules specify which virtual machines should be kept apart on different physical hosts (for example, a cluster of MSCS virtual machines across physical hosts).

    For a cluster of virtual machines on one physical host, use affinity rules. For a cluster of virtual machines across physical hosts, use anti-affinity rules. For more information, see the Setup for Failover Clustering

    Page 3 of 5VMware KB: Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere: Guidelines for supported config...

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  • and Microsoft Cluster Service guide for ESXi 5.0 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf) or ESXi/ESX 4.x (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_mscs.pdf) .

    To configure affinity or anti-affinity rules:

    1. In the vSphere Client, right-click the cluster in the inventory and click Edit Settings.

    2. In the left pane of the Cluster Settings dialog under VMware DRS, click Rules.

    3. Click Add.

    4. In the Rule dialog, enter a name for the rule.

    5. From the Type dropdown, select a rule:

    For a cluster of virtual machines on one physical host, select Keep Virtual Machines Together.

    For a cluster of virtual machines across physical hosts, select Separate Virtual Machines.

    6. Click Add.

    7. Select the two virtual machines to which the rule applies and click OK.

    8. Click OK.

    Multipathing configuration

    Path Selection Policy (PSP)

    Round Robin PSP is not supported for LUNs mapped by RDMs used with shared storage clustering in vSphere 5.1 and earlier. If you chose to use Round Robin PSP with your storage arrays, or if the vSphere

    version in use defaults to Round Robin PSP for the array in use, you may change the PSP claiming the RDM LUNs to another PSP. For more information, see Changing a LUN to use a different Path Selection Policy (PSP) (1036189) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1036189) .

    With native multipathing (NMP) in vSphere versions prior to 5.5, clustering is not supported when the path policy is set to Round Robin. For more information, see vSphere MSCS Setup Limitations in the Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service guide for ESXi 5.0 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf) or ESXi/ESX 4.x

    (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_mscs.pdf) .

    In vSphere 5.5, Round Robin PSP (PSP_RR) support is introduced. For more information, see MSCS support enhancements in vSphere 5.5 (2052238) (/selfservice/search.do?

    cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2052238) .

    Path Selection Policy (PSP) using third-party Multipathing Plug-ins (MPPs)

    N+1 cluster configuration occurs when cluster nodes on physical machines are backed by nodes in virtual machines (that is, one node in each cluster nodes pair is in a virtual machine). In this configuration, the

    physical node cannot be configured with multipathing software. For more information, see your third-party vendor's best practices and support.

    Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service setup guides

    For more information, see the guide for your version:

    ESXi 5.5 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-setup-mscs.pdf)

    ESXi 5.1 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-51-setup-mscs.pdf)

    ESXi 5.0 (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf)

    ESXi/ESX 4.x (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_mscs.pdf)

    Additional Information

    Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS) support on ESXi/ESX (1004617) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1004617)

    ESXi/ESX hosts hosting passive MSCS nodes with RDM LUNs may take a long time to boot (1016106) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1016106)

    For translated versions of this article, see:

    Espaol: Agrupacin en clsteres de Microsoft en VMware vSphere: Pautas para configuraciones compatibles (2033131) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2033131)

    Portugus: Clustering da Microsoft no VMware vSphere: Diretrizes para as configuraes suportadas (2032969) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2032969)

    VMware vSphereMicrosoft (2011107) (/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2011107)

    Update History

    06/21/2012 - Updated 5.x for CCR and DAG for supportability

    10/31/2012 - Modified table column label for In-Guest iSCSI 01/29/2013 - Updated table with 5.1 MSCS 5 node limitations

    05/29/2013 - Added "vMotion is not yet supported with this configuration" to "in-guest iSCSI" section 05/31/2013 - Corrected the Windows server 2012 failover clustering statement to "not supported"

    06/19/2013 - Various edits to clarify support

    06/21/2013 - Changed table 1 "SMB" column header to "in-Guest OS SMB" 09/23/2013 - Added vMotion support with 5.5 and clarified RDM limited support with FCoE (note 4)

    09/24/2013 - Added 5.0U3 to note 4 03/16/2014 - mk - corrected footnote 2 under table 2 to reflect the original context.

    03/20/2014 - mk - Removed references to Windows Server 2012 R2 from shared storage configurations. Merged FCoE footnotes into note 4 table 1.

    04/30/2014 - mk - Added support for Windows 2012-R2 clustering with shared storage on 5.5_U1 05/06/2014 - mk - Removed footnote 6 table 2 since it pertains to validation wizard failure only. Ignoring the error RR should still work.

    Request a Product Feature

    To request a new product feature or to provide feedback on a VMware product, please visit the Request a Product Feature (http://www.vmware.com/contact/contactus.html?department=prod_request) page.

    Permalink to: Microsoft Clustering on VMware vSphere: Guidelines for supported configurations (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1037959)

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    KB: 1037959

    Updated: May 6, 2014

    Categories:

    Informational

    Languages:

    English

    Product(s):

    VMware ESXVMware ESXi

    Product Version(s):

    VMware ESX 4.0.x

    VMware ESX 4.1.xVMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable

    VMware ESXi 4.1.x EmbeddedVMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable

    VMware ESXi 5.0.x

    VMware ESXi 5.1.xVMware ESXi 5.5.x

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