HPE CLX Virtual Machine Protection Fails

Recently a colleague was attempting to configure the cluster extension protection (CLX) which is required by our Active/Active HPE 3PAR storage setup. Our Microsoft Failover Clusters are stretched over geographically separate sites and the Cluster Share Volumes (CSV) are spread over the 3PAR storage arrays in each site. We use the CLX software to manage … Read more

HPE 3PAR Remote Copy Volumes Both Read Only

I recently ‘enjoyed’ working on an issue where a 3PAR remote copy group issue resulted in both virtual volumes entering a read-only state. I’ve seen a similar problem where both copies go into a read-write state which is probably more worrying when it happens. Let’s take a look at the problem, the data I had … Read more

Set Cluster Log Size and Verbosity in Microsoft Server 2008 R2

Recently a critical cluster system had a bit of a hiccup wherein the SQL resource failed between nodes a few times and then gave up. Most of my clusters run on Microsoft Server 2012 R2 so I tend to use PowerShell for everything, in this case the cluster is an older one running Server 2008 … Read more

Disable Automatic Chkdsk on Windows Failover Cluster

These days it is pretty rare to be prompted to run a chkdsk on a Microsoft system, I certainly remember it being a more frequent occurrence on older hardware and OS versions. That being said, there are still occasions where Windows will prompt for a chkdsk and this post deals with a particular event – … Read more

HPE CLX Error – Socket connection timed out to port 2550

This week I came across an interesting problem on one of our Microsoft Failover Clusters (FOC) which utilises the HPE Cluster Extensions (CLX) software to  provide failover support with our HPE 3PAR arrays. A couple of roles within one FOC showed the CLX resource as failed with everything else still showing as online. We were … Read more

Microsoft Cluster Shared Volume Caching

I recently learned of a feature which had previously been unknown to me – Microsoft Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) caching. I use both Hyper-V and VMware at work though typically I focus on VMware as that is where the majority of our environment runs. I am deploying more systems to Hyper-V every day and the … Read more

Microsoft Failover Cluster Fails With Error Code: 0x80071398

Today I spent quite some time building SQL server instances on a Microsoft Failover Cluster. Everything appeared to go as expected with no errors or alerts generated during or after install. Unfortunately at the end I encountered an unexpected error. Once I had completed deployment to all nodes I tried to move my newly created … Read more

Microsoft Failover Cluster–Unable to remove a CSV due to dependency

We have a Microsoft 2012 R2 Failover Cluster (FOC) with disk resources presented from our HP 3PAR SAN. At some point two of the volumes were removed on the 3PAR however they had not been removed as Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) on the FOC. When we attempted to remove the disks as CSV resources and … Read more

Changing Microsoft Failover Cluster File Share Witness

I need to migrate my Microsoft Failover Clusters (FOCs) from one file share witness (FSW) quorum to another. Currently they point to a virtual machine (VM) running from an old site with a single rack mount server. This isn’t ideal and was only ever a temporary solution and now we are ready to move the … Read more

HP 3PAR Cluster Extension (CLX) License Issue

I had to troubleshoot a Microsoft Failover Cluster with a SQL instance recently and it proved an interesting one. This cluster uses the HP 3PAR Cluster Extension software (CLX) to interact with the 3PAR arrays in our datacenters and facilitate the movement of the SQL instance between sites. Note – the HP 3PAR CLI (command … Read more