Add a Failover Cluster to a Replication Group

Updated: October 16, 2013

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2

DFS Replication includes the ability to add a failover cluster as a member of a replication group. To add a failover cluster as a member of a replication group, use the following procedure. Alternatively, use the Add-ClusterFileServerRole cmdlet along with the DFS Replication cmdlets that were introduced in Windows Server 2012 R2.

Important

To include a failover cluster in a replication group, the failover cluster cannot be running Windows Server 2008 or earlier. To view or manage replication groups that contain read-only replicated folders or members that are failover clusters, you must use the version of DFS Management that is included with Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Add a failover cluster to a replication group

  1. Install and configure the Failover Cluster feature. For additional information, see the Failover Cluster Manager Help.

  2. In the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in, if the cluster that you want to configure is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Manager , click Manage a Cluster , and then select or specify the cluster that you want.

  3. Click Services and Applications and then, under Actions (on the right), click Configure a Service or Application .

  4. Follow the instructions in the High Availability Wizard to specify the service or application that you want to configure for high availability, along with the following details:

    • On the Select Service or Application page of the High Availability Wizard, click File Server .

    • On the Client Access Point page of the High Availability Wizard, type the name for the clustered file server instance. This name will be registered in the Domain Name System (DNS) server and AD DS as the computer account for this clustered file server.

  5. In DFS Management, launch the New Replication Group Wizard or the New Member Wizard, and then type the name of the clustered file server instance that you want to add to the replication group. You must store the replicated folder and staging folder on shared storage.

Note

To move the replicated folder between nodes, create a shared folder for the replicated folder, or perform other cluster administration tasks, use the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in. DFS Management cannot directly perform these tasks on a failover-cluster.

Additional references