This Guide is compatible with Windows Server 2012 and 2016
*NOTE: You will need to have an MYSQL Server active before you continue with this setup. This is how the clustered nodes will access the SafeConsole Database.
Result of Setup: The Cluster Manager Instance will create a virtual IP that will reassign when a failover event takes place.
Steps To Take: (Details of each step are explained below)
Step 1: Connect both physical computers to the network
Step 2: Install Hyper-V and Failover Clustering on both physical computers
Step 3: Create a virtual switch
Step 4: Validate the cluster configuration
Step 5: Create the cluster
Step 6: Add the second server to the Cluster
Step 7: Install SafeConsole on both Servers
Example Diagram of a Failover Environment:
Step 1: Connect both physical computers to the network
Connect and configure the networks that the servers in the cluster will use.
Step 2: Install Hyper-V and Failover Clustering on both physical computers
Install Hyper-V by using Server Manager
In Server Manager, on the Manage menu, click Add Roles and Features.
On the Before you begin page, verify that your destination server and network environment are prepared for the role and feature you want to install. Click Next.
On the Select Installation type page, select Role-based or feature-based installation and then click Next.
On the Select destination server page, select a server from the server pool and then click Next.
On the Select server roles page, select Hyper-V.
To add the tools that you use to create and manage virtual machines, click Add Features. On the Features page, click Next.
On the Create Virtual Switches page, Virtual Machine Migration page, and Default Stores page, select the appropriate options.
On the Confirm installation selections page, select Restart the destination server automatically if required, and then click Install.
When the installation is finished, verify that Hyper-V is installed correctly. Open the All Servers page in Server Manager and select a server on which you installed Hyper-V. Check the Roles and Features tile on the page for the selected server.
Install the Failover Clustering feature
You must install the Failover Clustering feature on every server that you want to add as a failover cluster node.
To install the Failover Clustering feature
Start Server Manager.
On the Manage menu, click Add Roles and Features.
On the Before You Begin page, click Next.
On the Select Installation type page, click Role-based or feature-based installation, and then click Next.
On the Select Destination server page, click the server where you want to install the feature, and then click Next.
On the Select server roles page, click Next.
On the Select Features page, select the Failover Clustering check box.
To install the failover cluster management tools, click Add Features, and then click Next.
On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.
Step 3: Create a virtual switch
Perform this step on both physical computers if you did not create the virtual switch when you installed the Hyper-V role. This virtual switch provides the highly available virtual machine with access to the physical network.
To create a virtual switch
Open Hyper-V Manager.
From the Actions menu, click Virtual Switch Manager.
Under Create virtual switch, select External.
Click Create Virtual Switch. The New Virtual Switch page appears.
Type a name for the new switch. Make sure you use exactly the same name on both servers running Hyper-V.
Under Connection Type, click External network, and then select the physical network adapter.
Click OK to save the virtual network and close Virtual Switch Manager.
Step 4: Validate the cluster configuration
Before you create the cluster, we strongly recommend that you run a full validation test of your cluster configuration by running the Validate a Configure Wizard in Failover Cluster Manager, or the Windows PowerShellTest-Cluster cmdlet. Specific validation tests are included for the configuration of the Hyper-V role in the failover cluster.
Step 5: Create the cluster
Create the failover cluster
To create the failover cluster
Start Server Manager.
On the Tools menu, click Failover Cluster Manager.
In the Failover Cluster Manager pane, under Management, click Create Cluster.
The Create Cluster Wizard opens.
On the Before You Begin page, click Next.
If the Select Servers page appears, in the Enter name box, enter the NetBIOS name or the fully qualified domain name of a server that you plan to add as a failover cluster node, and then click Add. Repeat this step for each server that you want to add. To add multiple servers at the same time, separate the names by a comma or a semicolon. For example, enter the names in the format server1.contoso.com; server2.contoso.com. When you are finished, click Next.
If you skipped validation earlier, the Validation Warning page appears. We strongly recommend that you run cluster validation. Only clusters that pass all validation tests are supported by Microsoft. To run the validation tests, click Yes, and then click Next.
On the Access Point for Administering the Cluster page, do the following:
In the Cluster Name box, enter the name that you want to use to administer the cluster. Before you do, review the following information:
During cluster creation, this name is registered as the cluster computer object (also known as the cluster name object or CNO) in AD DS. If you specify a NetBIOS name for the cluster, the CNO is created in the same location where the computer objects for the cluster nodes reside. This can be either the default Computers container or an OU.
To specify a different location for the CNO, you can enter the distinguished name of an OU in the Cluster Name box. For example: CN=ClusterName, OU=Clusters, DC=Contoso, DC=com.
If a domain administrator has prestaged the CNO in a different OU than where the cluster nodes reside, specify the distinguished name that the domain administrator provides.
If the server does not have a network adapter that is configured to use DHCP, you must configure one or more static IP addresses for the failover cluster. Select the check box next to each network that you want to use for cluster management. Click the Address field next to a selected network, and then enter the IP address that you want to assign to the cluster. This IP address (or addresses) will be associated with the cluster name in Domain Name System (DNS).
When you are finished, click Next.
On the Confirmation page, review the settings. By default, the Add all eligible storage to the cluster check box is selected. Clear this check box if you want to do either of the following:
You want to configure storage later.
You plan to create clustered storage spaces through Failover Cluster Manager or through the Failover Clustering Windows PowerShell cmdlets and have not yet created storage spaces in File and Storage Services.
Click Next to create the failover cluster.
On the Summary page, confirm that the failover cluster was successfully created. If there were any warnings or errors, view the summary output or click View Report to view the full report. Click Finish.
To confirm that the cluster was created, verify that the cluster name is listed under Failover Cluster Manager in the navigation tree. You can expand the cluster name, and then click items under Nodes, Storage or Networks to view the associated resources.
Realize that it may take some time for the cluster name to successfully replicate in DNS. After successful DNS registration and replication, if you click All Servers in Server Manager, the cluster name should be listed as a server with a Manageability status of Online.
Step 6: Add the second server to the Cluster
Open the failover cluster manager
Click Connect to Cluster in the menu on the right
Select the Cluster you want to join in the drop-down menu
After you select the cluster, the second node will automatically connect to the cluster.
Step 7: Install SafeConsole on both Servers
First Server Install
Install on SafeConsole On-Prem. Click here to open the guide: https://media.datalocker.com/manuals/safeconsole/safeconsole_on-prem_install_guide.pdf
When running the configurator during the installation, you will need to point both nodes to your MYSQL database.
Set Database type to MySQL external server (BETA)
Input your Database Host IP
Enter the Port Number for the Database
Input your Database Name
Input the Database User Name
Input the Password
Click on Test Connection
Confirm that the test was successful and continue on with step 4 of 5
Second Server Install
Copy the Safeconsole install folder from the first server
(Default location: C:\Program files (x86)\safeconsole
Paste the Safeconsole folder to the same location on the second server
Run Safeconsole in debug mode to confirm the start-up of the service