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Posts tagged Cluster
Set Cluster Live Migration Settings
Apr 18th
Today we, Paul Huijbregts and I, resolved one of the last hurdles in finalizing our automated cluster installation script. This hurdle was to change the priority of the Live Migration settings when creating a Hyper-V cluster.
To change this priority we first tried to use the Set-VMMigrationNetwork PowerShell command. Unfortunately this command can only be used when dealing with non-clustered Hyper-V hosts. So we dug deeper and deeper using different PowerShell commands and BING without any satisfying results.
Then we realized there is something called “the registry” which holds the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Cluster key. After some more digging we found two registry entries called MigrationExcludeNetworks and MigrationNetworkOrder. These entries hold the IDs and order from the Cluster Networks available in your cluster.
Aha … room for possibilities! So, changing these registry entries would order and select the Cluster Networks in the way you want? Yes it does!
For this we fabricated some PowerShell lines.
$ClusterNetworkLM = Get-Clusternetwork LM
$ClusterNetworkCLUSTER = Get-Clusternetwork CLUSTER
$ClusterNetworkMGMT = Get-Clusternetwork MGMT
$ClusterNetworkISCSI = Get-Clusternetwork ISCSI$includeIDs = $ClusterNetworkLM.id + ";" + $ClusterNetworkCLUSTER.id
$excludeIDs = $ClusterNetworkMGMT.id + ";" + $ClusterNetworkISCSI.idSet-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Cluster\ResourceTypes\Virtual Machine\Parameters" -Name MigrationExcludeNetworks -Value $excludeIDs
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Cluster\ResourceTypes\Virtual Machine\Parameters" -Name MigrationNetworkOrder -Value $includeIDs
The result is very very satisfying as you can see in the screen dump below. We are now able to control the order and the selection of the Live Migration settings in a cluster using the Cluster Network ID’s.
Wiki for Windows Server 2012 Cluster Hotfixes
Mar 6th
For Windows Server 2012 clusters it was still very difficult to find a complete list of hotfixes. In the past there were blogs and other locations for Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and clusters, but not always authorized by Microsoft. This could cause a trust issue for customers who don’t want to rely on some blog.
As MVP’s we have also expressed a wish to see an official list which is maintained by Microsoft. It is great to see our request is honored so quickly and you can now find the Windows Server 2012 Cluster hotfixes
Here is a message from John Marlin, Senior Support Escalation Engineer Microsoft Enterprise Platforms Support:
In a previous blog, it was discussed on where you can get a list of the Failover Clustering and Hyper-V hotfixes for Windows Server 2008 R2.
Looking for Windows Server 2008 R2 Cluster and Hyper-V Hotfixes?
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2013/02/15/looking-for-windows-server-2008-r2-cluster-and-hyper-v-hotfixes.aspxIn this blog, we give the links to newly released hotfixes for Failover Clustering and Hyper-V so you know what hotfixes are out there. There are two Wiki pages that will make life easier for you when looking for hotfixes for Windows Server 2012 Clustering and Hyper-V.
Hyper-V: Update List for Windows Server 2012
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/15576.hyper-v-update-list-for-windows-server-2012.aspxList of Failover Cluster Hotfixes for Windows Server 2012
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/15577.list-of-failover-cluster-hotfixes-for-windows-server-2012.aspxThese Wiki pages are updated on a regular basis. You can setup an RSS Subscription to the Wiki page so you can the updated Wiki page in your favorite RSS app or Outlook.
W2K12 Hotfix related to Host Level Backup of VMs
Feb 15th
[UPDATE 1/15/2013]: See problems reported after installing this hotfix at end of this forum post. I have opened a line with the product team to find out what is going on
[UPDATE 2/15/2013]: We are now exactly 1 month after I warned you to be very careful with installing http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2799728/en-us as it caused a severe memory leak. If you have followed the forum post mentioned above, you will have gathered that Microsoft has worked feverishly to get on top of the problem. Mike Jacquet who has been very communicative about this issue, has today confirmed that a fix is now code complete, has been fully tested and is only waiting for the KB article to be written.
The memory leak was caused by a fault found in the CSV filter driver (CSVFLT.sys). When the fix arrives (any time now), you can simple install it whether you have applied the hotfix mentioned in this blog or not. The original kb article will be superseded by this one.
[UPDATE 2/17/2013]: The hotfix is available from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2813630/en-us
[UPDATE 2/18/2013]: If you are still seeing a problem, take a look at this (which is an excerpt from the forum post mentioned above:
“Cluster Shared Volume ‘Volume2′ (‘ClusterStorage Volume 2′) is no longer available on this node because of ‘STATUS_CLUSTER_CSV_AUTO_PAUSE_ERROR(c0130021)’. All I/O will temporarily be queued until a path to the volume is reestablished.
STATUS_CLUSTER_CSV_AUTO_PAUSE_ERROR is generated when csvfs filter attempts to retrieve the Copy On Write bitmap for a snapshot volume that has been cleaned up. This error is most likely occurring on large scale hyper-v deployments and is one of the issues we discover after fixing other scale out problems addressed in the V2 fix. Due to ongoing long haul testing required to be done, we did not want to hold up V2 of the fix that we just released, so the Windows group will release a more compressive V3 patch a little later to address that and other issues found during large scale testing.
For any customers still experiencing the same symptoms as outlined in KB2813630 after installing the fix, please check binary versions on all nodes.
File name File version File size Date
====== ========= ====== ====
Csvflt.sys 6.2.9200.20626 205,824 06-Feb-2013
Clussvc.exe 6.2.9200.20623 7,217,152 07-Feb-2013
Ntfs.sys 6.2.9200.20623 1,933,544 07-Feb-2013
If Binaries are correct on all nodes, please open a support case so we can investigate the issue further.”
Failover Cluster Manager affected by KB2750149
Jan 10th
I ran into a problem with a misbehaving Failover Cluster Manager (FCM) on a Windows Server 2012 cluster after allowing Cluster Aware Updating (CAU) to update the cluster. The following updates were gracefully installed, automatically placing the nodes in maintenance mode, installing the updates and moving on to the next node:
After the cluster had been updated it was no longer possible to view the roles (Hyper-V VM’s in this case) on the cluster. Instead the following screen popped up:
Because another unpatched cluster did not have this symptom, I decided to uninstall all updates that had been installed by CAU and after a reboot all is well.
After I reported this problem, I got a quick note from the Microsoft cluster team that KB2750149 was the cause of this problem and that the current advice is to uninstall this update until further notice.
It is important to note that this is only a problem of the Failover Cluster Manager (CluAdmin.msc) snap-in. The cluster and all its roles continue to run fine, which can be verified by opening a PowerShell screen on one of the affected cluster nodes and run Get-ClusterGroup. I was also able to run FCM successfully from another cluster or a management station with the Failover Clustering management tools.
Windows Server 2012 cluster scalability goes up to 8000 VMs
Sep 4th
During launch of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft has doubled the number of VM’s per cluster: going up from 4000 to 8000 since the last announcement at RTM.
Source: keynote Transform the Datacenter – Bill Laing
Moving Core Cluster Resources in a Windows Sever 2012 Hyper-V Cluster
Aug 31st
In Windows Server 2008 R2 it was not possible to move the Core Cluster Resources via Cluster Failover Manager (FCM). When performing maintenance on a cluster node, I prefer not only to evacuate all running guests on that node, but also the CSV disks which are owned by that node. If the Cluster Resource Group also resides on the node that is due for maintenance, one must resort to PowerShell to move that group somewhere else.
In a Windows Server 2012 cluster, the PowerShell commands are exactly the same as in Windows Server 2008 R2. If you don’t feel comfortable using PowerShell, you might be pleasantly surprised that this activity can now also be performed from the Failover Cluster Manager.
In FCM, right-click the Clustername, click on More Actions, Move Core Cluster Resources and select either Best Possible Node or select the node of your choice.
The Experts Conference US 2012
May 24th
VKernel’s Mattias Sundling discusses The Expert Conference event with MVPs Hans Vredevoort and Anil Desai. Topics include highlights of the technical sessions presented by Microsoft, Quest and industry experts as well as updates and highlights of Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V3 advances.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQF6Gguwb8M
VKernel’s Mattias Sundling discusses The Expert Conference event with MVPs Hans Vredevoort and Anil Desai. Topics include highlights of the technical sessions presented by Microsoft, Quest and industry experts as well as updates and highlights of Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V3 advances.
http://www.vkernel.com/podreader/items/top-features-hyper-v-3-windows-server-2012
Live online training: Failover Clustering with Hyper-V
Dec 2nd
Designing a Highly Available Infrastructure for the Private Cloud
If you are new to Hyper-V and building a highly available infrastructure for the Private Cloud then don’t miss this free session by Symon Perriman and Elden Christensen on December 6, 2011. Symon was our Cluster MVP lead until early 2011 before he became a Technical Evangelist for Private Cloud traveling the globe and spreading the word. Elden is still going strong in the Cluster product team in Building 34 working as a Principal Program Manager Lead for Clustering.
If you can spare the time, I warmly recommend their 3-hour training which includes:
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Module 1 – Introduction to clustering
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Module 2 – Hyper-V high-availability
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Module 3 – Private Cloud HA (System Center, Multi-Site).
Go and register as soon as you can!
Virtualization Career Training
Sep 22nd
UPDATE October 20th 2011: Here is a link to the video: http://t.co/v1xAMV6x
On Tuesday, October 4th Technical Evangelists Symon Perriman and Rick Claus are hosting an online conference on Virtualization Career Training with Microsoft Learning. This half day virtual event (8am – 11am PST) will offer a Level 100 to 200 introduction for anyone who wants to learn more about Microsoft Virtualization and how it can help their career. It is free and public so sign up for this warm-up for the Jump Start event on October 6th.
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Module 1 – Technology: Learn about Microsoft’s virtualization technologies, how they work, and the future roadmap to the Cloud!
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Module 2 – Career: Understand the importance of virtualization and Private Cloud, and how it can make or break an IT Professional’s career!
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Module 3 – Certification: Get prepared for your next steps towards a virtualization career by understanding and preparing for the Microsoft 70-659 Technical Specialist exam, Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization.
Learn More: http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=270
Register: http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=288
Instructor Bios: http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=287
Reviewing Altaro Hyper-V Backup including CSV support
Aug 2nd
Back in May, Femi Adegoke reviewed an early beta version of Altaro Hyper-V Backup which was geared to easily backup & recover Hyper-V guests using the Hyper-V VSS Writer. Now Femi submitted his second guest blog focusing on how to protect guests in a clustered Hyper-V environment.
By Femi Adegoke
This is a follow up to our previous blog post from May 2011:
http://www.hyper-v.nu/archives/hvredevoort/2011/05/altaro-hyper-v-backup-review/
One interesting feature in this Altaro Hyper-V Backup release is support for CSV:
http://www.altaro.com/hyper-v-backup/
The current revision of the software is 2.0.8.0 BETA, download size is approximately 12.1 MB.
Our test was performed on a Dell 4 node Hyper-V cluster running 2008 R2 SP1 with a few virtual machines.
Installation
Installing the software was fast & easy and involved only a few mouse clicks. Can you believe that?
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This software installs in less than 3 minutes per node.
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No agent is required inside each guest
Dashboard
Dashboard view (this so schweeet…)
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