Server 2012 R2 - Building a Scale-out File Server

The following checklist details how to set up a Scale-out File Server Cluster in Server 2012 R2.

... DRAFT ...

• Scale-Out File Server for Application Data Overview
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831349.aspx
   
• Deploy Scale-Out File Server
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831359.aspx
   
• Step 1: Install Prerequisites for Scale-Out File Server
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831478.aspx
   
• Step 2: Configure Scale-Out File Server
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831718.aspx
   
• New Network Name Resource Fails to come Online
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2013/04/04/new-network-name-resource-fails-to-come-online.aspx
   
• Step 3: Configure Hyper-V to Use Scale-Out File Server
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831463.aspx
   

Links for Microsoft (Hyper-V, Clustering, Server 2012)

Microsoft Tech Ref

• Microsoft Server TechCenter
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/windowsserver
   

Microsoft Blogs

• Virtualization Blog
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/
   
• Jose Barreto's Blog
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/
   
• Ask the Core Team
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/
   
• Windows Server Blog
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/
   
• Clustering and High-Availability
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/
   
• 
  

Hyper-V

• Deploying a Hyper-V Cluster
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj863389.aspx
   
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Best Practices
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2013/11/03/windows-server-2012-r2-hyper-v-best-practices-in-easy-checklist-form.aspx
   
• Teaming and Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithmayer/archive/2012/11/20/vlan-tricks-with-nic-teaming-in-windows-server-2012.aspx#.Uoznp8Ln-M9
   
• Everything you want to know about Network Teaming in Windows Server 2012
  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2012/12/07/everything-you-want-to-know-about-network-teaming-in-windows-server-2012.aspx
   
• Hyper-V over SMB.  Server 2012 Hyper-V
  http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/VIR306
   
• How does New-SmbShare know whether the new share should be standalone, clustered or scale-out?
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2013/01/18/how-does-new-smbshare-know-whether-the-new-share-should-be-standalone-clustered-or-scale-out.aspx
  Here are the rules:
  
  • If the path is on a local, nonclustered disk, New-SmbShare creates a standalone share
  • If the path is on a classic cluster disk, New-SmbShare creates a classic cluster file share on the group that owns that disk.
  • if the path is on a clustered shared volume (CSV), it creates a scale-out file share.
  
  

Be Careful upgrading Hyper-V Integration Services. Can Break Exchange 2007

Scenario:
We are running a hosting environment of Windows 2012 Hyper-V, with Virtual Servers running Windows 2008 R2.  In this environment, we also are running Exchange 2007.

If you examine the status of a VM in the Hyper-V manager, you may notice that the Integration Services is running in a "degraded" state and is not fully functional.  Example: it does not show the IP address of the VM.

Hyper-V Manager on a Windows 2012 showing the Networking status of a VM which has the original version of Integration Services in a Windows 2008 R2 Server, out of the box.

Note that the version of Integration Services that comes in Windows 2008 R1 is reported as version 6.1.  Hyper-V 2012 would have you install version 6.2.

Well, I elected to install the newer version by simply clicking the menu to select to install the new version from the mounted disk.

The Problem:
A reboot was required to complete the Integration Services upgrade.
After the reboot, Exchange would not mount one of the databases.

The error was, in part, in the event log said "Error -546, unable to read the header of log file E01.log".

Also, when a repair is attempted, "JET_errorLogSectorSizeMismatch, -546".

An examination of the database that would not mount showed that it was in a Dirty-Shutdown status.

All attempts to run eseutil to repair or cleanup the problem resulted in the above errors.  Error -546.

The Solution:
We theorized that the Integration Services upgrade had caused the problem, but how to confirm this? 
Easy:  we shut down the VM, mounted the disks temporarily on a VM of the same OS but with the original Integration Services, and low and behold!  We were able to easily run the eseutil commands to clean up the database and return it to a "Clean Shutdown" state.

Root Cause:
See this article regarding disk geometry, and you will quickly see that there is an opertunity to create a disk on new OS's, that is not compatible with some older applications, such as dare I say, Exchange 2007.
Now this is not a problem unless you have a database that is in a "Dirty-Shutdown" state and it needs files that were saved using the "old" disk geometry, but reside on the new Geometry. 

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2510009

It appears that Exchange (at least version 2007 ) is one of the "incompatible applications" mentioned in the above link.

My advice?  Do not upgrade the Integration Services unless you have tested EVERYTHING.  Don't assume that it will all be ok.

Additional References:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/04/24/exchange-2010-database-availability-groups-and-disk-sector-sizes.aspx

Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Best Practices Checklist

Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Best Practices Checklist

• Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Best Practices
   http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2013/11/03/windows-server-2012-r2-hyper-v-best-practices-in-easy-checklist-form.aspx
   
• Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Best Practices Checklist
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2013/03/10/windows-server-2012-hyper-v-best-practices-in-easy-checklist-form.aspx

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If you are demoing Hyper-V on a laptop, how do you set up Hyper-V networking to allow you to use your wireless card on the host?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IoZJYQeq4U

HYPER-V Logon as a service

Discovered today that you need to create a GPO to allow the account “NT Virtual Machine\Virtual Machines” to logon as a service.

Without this, you will discover that eventually you will not be able to start a VM.   It will give a Logon denied error message.

• Install the GPMC on a Hyper-V server
• Create or modify an existing GPO to include the above account in the LOGON AS A Service policy
• Run GPUPDATE /FORCE on all Hyper-V servers.

No mouse? What to do...

Using your computer without a mouse

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Your-Computer-Without-a-Mouse

Before anyone flames me, this was required for me to install a Windows Server 2003 Pre-SP1 as a VM on Hyper-V 2012.  This was required for a migration lab.  You are unable to install the Integration Tools until SP2 is installed.