Windows Server FCI Lab – WSFC Achieved

Milestones

• Promoted NODE1 to Domain Controller and confirmed DNS/AD DS health (lab.local zone).
• Joined NODE2 and NODE3 to the domain with secure channel verification.
• Established consistent SMB shares from the host:
  • \\MSL-Laptop\PowerShellScripts → T:
  • \\MSL-Laptop\nyctaxi → N:
  • \\MSL-Laptop\ISOs → I:
• Created and presented cluster-capable virtual drives (SQLData, SQLLog, SQLBackup).
• Validated disk visibility and ownership across nodes.
• Ran and passed WSFC validation tests.
• Built the Windows Server Failover Cluster with NODE2 and NODE3 as initial members.

Objectives

• Confirm domain/DNS health across all nodes.
• Ensure cluster disks are online and visible.
• Run WSFC validation.
• Create a healthy Failover Cluster as the foundation for SQL Server.

Notes

• Nodes must remain online during cluster operations. Even if another node owns the resources, paused nodes cannot participate in SQL FCI setup.

Nuance: A paused node is still a cluster member but won’t host or accept clustered roles while paused; pausing is commonly used for maintenance with drain roles. For an Add Node FCI step, the target node should be online and able to access required resources; pausing can interfere with owning/bringing resources online during parts of setup. Keep nodes online and not paused during FCI add/maintenance unless you’re deliberately draining roles for maintenance.

• Always rerun Test-Cluster after changes. Adding nodes or disks without revalidating can surface issues later during SQL installation.
• Consistent drive letters and labels are critical. SQL setup depends on predictable disk mapping; mismatches complicate placement of data, log, and backup files.
• Validate SMB share access via UNC paths. Shares may appear mapped but silently break under DNS or domain hiccups; confirm visibility from every node.

---

Steps

1. Promote NODE1 to Domain Controller
   Installed AD DS + DNS, established lab.local, and confirmed zone health.

2. Validate DNS resolution
   Ensured lab.local, SQLNODE1.lab.local, and hostnames resolved cleanly across nodes.

3. Join NODE2 and NODE3 to domain
   Verified secure channel trust; corrected any DNS/GW issues blocking domain membership.

4. Map SMB shares from host
   Consistent drive letters across all nodes:
   • T: → \\MSL-Laptop\PowerShellScripts
   • N: → \\MSL-Laptop\nyctaxi
   • I: → \\MSL-Laptop\ISOs

5. Prepare cluster-capable storage
   Created virtual drives outside Hyper-V for SQLData, SQLLog, and SQLBackup.

6. Initialize and label shared disks
   Brought disks online, formatted, and assigned consistent letters (E:, F:, G:).

7. Audit and correlate disk mapping
   Ran scripts to validate ownership, drive letters, size, and eligibility across nodes.

8. Create WSFC cluster
   Established Windows Server Failover Cluster with NODE2 and NODE3 as members.

9. Run Test-Cluster validation
   Confirmed readiness of nodes, network, and storage prior to SQL installation.

10. Confirm disk/resource failover
    Moved clustered disks between NODE2 and NODE3 to validate online/offline behavior.

11. Checkpoint the environment
    Captured stable state (LKGC-PreSQLServer) as baseline before SQL install.

12. Prepare for SQL Server 2022 FCI
    Verified service accounts, privileges (e.g., Perform Volume Maintenance Tasks), and feature selection in readiness for installation.

---

Scripts

• 20250914021500 – ensure-share-winvm.ps1
  Ensures the host exposes a named share and reports UNC path. Used for confirming PowerShellScripts, nyctaxi, and ISOs shares.

• 20250915160000 – check-disk-eligibility.ps1
  Validates candidate disks for WSFC clustering (online state, reserved status).

• 20250916182000 – list-cluster-disks.ps1
  Enumerates all cluster disks with status and eligibility.

• 20250916194500 – correlate-cluster-disks.ps1
  Correlates WSFC Physical Disk resources with OS volumes (labels, drive letters, size).

• 20250916212000 – validate-wsfc.ps1
  Wrapper to run Test-Cluster with logging, ensuring no steps skipped before FCI setup.

• test-cluster.ps1
  Wrapper to run Test-Cluster with logging, ensuring readiness validation before SQL Server FCI installation.

(Script IDs follow the YYYYMMDDHHMMSS pattern for traceability across posts.)

---

Achievements

• Domain and DNS confirmed healthy.
• SMB shares accessible and mapped.
• Cluster disks created and validated across NODE2 and NODE3.
• WSFC successfully created and stable.

---

Sources

• Failover clustering hardware requirements and storage options – Microsoft Learn
  Confirms WSFC native disk support expects basic disks (not dynamic) and recommends NTFS; a disk witness can be NTFS or ReFS.

• Cluster Shared Volumes Overview – Microsoft Docs
  Describes CSV architecture, GPT/NTFS requirements, and how multiple nodes use the same storage. Also explains that CSV lets multiple nodes read/write the same LUN and exposes a consistent path under C:\ClusterStorage; also notes SQL Server FCI support begins with SQL Server 2014 (not 2012).

• Create a failover cluster – Microsoft Learn
  Run validation before creating a cluster; Microsoft support requires the complete configuration to pass validation.

• Validate hardware for a failover cluster – Microsoft Learn
  Use Validate a Configuration or Test-Cluster; rerun validation after changes (adding nodes/storage). A validation report is required for Microsoft support; two nodes are needed to run all storage tests.

• Test-Cluster (FailoverClusters) – Microsoft Learn
  Runs hardware/network/storage validation; storage tests won’t run on disks in use—stop the clustered role or take disks offline first.

• Move-ClusterGroup (FailoverClusters) – Microsoft Learn
  Moves a clustered role to another node (common way to simulate failover and for maintenance preparation).

• Suspend-ClusterNode (FailoverClusters) – Microsoft Learn
  Pauses a node; with -Drain it gracefully moves workloads off the node before maintenance (optionally to a specific -TargetNode).

• Manage Cluster Shared Volumes – Microsoft Learn
  Management guidance for CSVs, including that you can rename CSV volumes in %SystemDrive%\ClusterStorage for clarity across nodes.

• Using a Shared Disk as Drives on Two VMs – Microsoft Q&A
  Confirms shared disks are typically required for cluster workloads like SQL Server FCI, with WSFC managing disk ownership.

• Windows Hyper-V Storage Architectures – Microsoft Docs
  Explains Hyper-V storage architectures (local, shared, SAN/NAS) and how they apply in clustering scenarios.

• Create Hyper-V Guest Clusters with Shared VHDX and VHD Sets – BDRShield
  Overview of Shared VHDX and VHDS (VHD Set) in Hyper-V, including limitations and newer alternatives.

• Hyper-V Shared VHDX Explained – Vinchin Tech Tips
  Explains how Shared VHDX works, performance considerations, and when it is appropriate to use.

• Configuring a Shared VHD in Hyper-V – Redmond Magazine Walkthrough of setting up shared VHDX, including dependencies on CSV and SMB storage.

• Shared VHDX in Hyper-V CSV not keeping data synced between VMs – Stack Overflow
  Community thread describing data synchronization issues when using Shared VHDX.

• Always On failover cluster instances (SQL Server) – Microsoft Learn
  States an FCI uses shared storage (WSFC-managed) and that only one node owns the resource group at a time; FCIs support CSV and require uniquely assigned disk drive letters.

• Storage: Performance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs – Microsoft Learn
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-storage?view=azuresql
  Recommends formatting data disks with 64-KB allocation unit size; marketplace SQL Server VMs default to 64-KB AU for data disks.

• Database instant file initialization – Microsoft Learn
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/databases/database-instant-file-initialization?view=sql-server-ver17
  Enable IFI by granting Perform volume maintenance tasks; historically for data files, and from SQL Server 2022 transaction log autogrowth up to 64 MB can benefit from IFI (TDE blocks data-file IFI but not the log-autogrowth behavior).

---

Next Steps

• Install SQL Server 2022 FCI binaries on NODE2.
• Verify SQL services come online in cluster.
• Apply latest SQL Server Cumulative Updates.
• Add NODE3 into the SQL FCI.
• Document and test failover scenarios across nodes.

---

Script Index

PowerShell – Cluster & Storage

• audit-drive-letter-conflicts.ps1
  Detects conflicting drive letter assignments across nodes.

• audit-drive-letters-clusterwide.ps1
  Validates consistency of drive letters in WSFC.

• check-share-winvm.ps1
  Confirms SMB share visibility from Windows VMs.

• correlate-cluster-disks-(various versions).ps1
  Maps WSFC disks to OS volumes (labels, drive letters, size).

• create-checkpoints.ps1
  Automates Hyper-V checkpoint creation.

• create-cluster.ps1
  Builds initial Windows Server Failover Cluster.

• create-host-share.ps1
  Publishes host folders as SMB shares.

• create-sql-setup-shortcuts.ps1
  Places shortcuts for SQL setup executables.

• create-sentinel-files.ps1
  Places marker files on shared storage.

• delete-sentinel-files.ps1
  Cleans up marker files.

• dismount-sql-iso.ps1
  Detaches SQL Server ISO.

• drain-process-batch.ps1
  Utility for draining batch processes (cleanup).

• fci-prereqs-fix-nodes.ps1
  Applies prereqs for SQL FCI nodes.

• get-adfs-install-state.ps1
  Checks ADFS installation state.

• get-winfeatures.ps1
  Lists Windows roles/features.

• get-wsmm-memory-state.ps1
  Reports memory usage per node.

• get-wsmm-resources.ps1
  Enumerates cluster resources.

• init-shared-disks.ps1
  Initializes shared cluster disks.

• install-ad-ds-measured.ps1
  Installs Active Directory Domain Services with checks.

• install-sql2022-fci.ps1
  Installs SQL Server 2022 FCI.

• join-vm-to-domain.ps1
  Domain-joins VMs.

• launch-dc-admin.ps1
  Opens administrative session for DC tasks.

• map-host-drive.ps1
  Maps host drives to VMs.

• map-shares.ps1
  Maps SMB shares to drive letters.

• map-vmDrive-to-hostShare.ps1
  Maps VM drives back to host shares.

• measure-script-time.ps1
  Records runtime of scripts.

• mount-sql-iso-and-launch-setup.ps1
  Mounts SQL Server ISO and launches setup.

• move-cluster-disk-group.ps1
  Moves ownership of clustered disk groups.

• netstat.ps1
  Reports Windows network connections.

• network-status.ps1
  Validates cluster node connectivity.

• parse-par.ps1 / parse-par2.ps1
  Parses log/parameter output files.

• prepare-tempdb-folders.ps1
  Creates TempDB folder structure.

• promote-dc-manual.ps1
  Manually promotes node to Domain Controller.

• register-sql-fci.ps1
  Registers SQL Server FCI.

• restart-graceful.ps1
  Performs controlled VM restarts.

• set-labWindowsProcessor.ps1
  Configures lab Windows VM processor settings.

• set-name-n*.ps1
  Renames lab VMs to SQLNODE1/2/3, etc.

• set-status.ps1
  Marks checkpoint or lab state.

• system-network-status.ps1
  Captures full networking state.

• test-cluster.ps1
  Runs WSFC validation suite.

• test-winvm-status.ps1
  Confirms Windows VM readiness.

• verify-ag-fci-move-and-sentinels.ps1
  Verifies AG/FCI transitions with sentinel files.

• verify-ag-fci-connectivity.ps1
  Validates connectivity post-AG/FCI.

• verify-ag-fci-status.ps1
  Confirms AG/FCI health.

• windows-updates.ps1
  Applies and validates Windows patches.

• winvm-assign-to-template.ps1
  Assigns VM roles from template.

LinuxScripts

• ensure-smb-mount-linux.sh
  Ensures Linux VMs mount SMB shares correctly.

• netstat-linux.ps1
  Reports Linux network socket states.

• network-status-linux.sh
  Checks host/VM network connectivity from Linux side.

• recreate-scripts-share-linux.ps1
  Rebuilds script share mount on Linux systems.

⬆ Back to Top