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Failover Clustering

Building on the strengths of Windows Server 2008 Failover is the new support for geographically dispersed clusters. Even with a highly available infrastructure, organizations can still be vulnerable to very large service interruptions, such as natural disasters, wide-area network (WAN) infrastructure failures, or widespread power loss, for an extended period of time. To mitigate this risk, a key feature of Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering that supports geographically dispersed clusters is Multi-Site Clustering. This High Availability solution allows for the connection of cluster nodes through a local-area network (LAN) or WAN, spanning many miles, for a solution that not only achieves High Availability, but also provides automatic disaster recovery.

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Characteristics of a Multi-Site Cluster

A Multi-Site Cluster is a cluster that has been extended so that different nodes in the same cluster reside in separate physical locations.

  • Primary reasons for implementation:

    • Extends a cluster from being a High Availability solution, to also being a Disaster Recovery solution

    • Provides local access to clients spread across a wide geographic area

    Primary reasons for implementation:

  • Multi-Site Clusters differ in the following attributes:

    • Multiple storage arrays that are independent in each site

    • Nodes commonly access storage local to their own sites

    • Storage is replicated between sites

    • No ‘true’ shared disk

  • Multi-Site Clusters have the following advantages over a cold standby server in a disaster recovery site:

    • By providing automatic failover, a Multi-Site Cluster will reduce downtime and lower complexity.

    • Multi-Site Clustering also reduces administrative overhead by providing automatic synchronization of application and cluster changes.

    • Reduces the possibility of manual errors.

Multi-Site Clustering Resources