DOCUMENT:Q224967 22-AUG-2001 [winnt] TITLE :How to Create File Shares on a Cluster PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows NT PROD/VER::2000,4.0 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbenv diskmem kbDiskMemory ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Cluster Server, included with: - Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 - Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server - Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= To create highly available file shares on a cluster, you should create them using either Cluster Administrator (CluAdmin.exe) or the cluster API set. When the share is placed in a group with other related resources (IP Address, Network Name, and a storage device), the share is available from whichever node in the cluster owns the group of resources. This article lists basic steps for creating a basic File Share resource. MORE INFORMATION ================ To create a file share on a server cluster, follow these steps: 1. Open Windows Explorer and create a folder on a shared disk that you want to share out for users. 2. Assign the appropriate NTFS file level permissions on the folder. Make sure that the account used to start the Cluster Service has at least READ rights to the folder. NOTE: Do not share the folder in Windows Explorer as you normally would for a file share. If you do not grant the Cluster account the appropriate permissions or share the folder through Windows Explorer, it may cause the cluster file share to fail. This also includes any administrative shares that already exist, you do not want to create shares for the root of the drive (Q$) for example. 3. Start Cluster Administrator (CluAdmin.exe). 4. Select a group that has an existing IP Address and Network Name resources. If you do not have these resources created, you will need to complete this before continuing. Please reference this article for additional information: Q257932 Using Microsoft Cluster Server to Create a Virtual Server 5. Right-click, and select New, then Resource. 6. Fill in an administrative name and description for the resource. From the Resource Type pull down, select "File Share", click Next. NOTE: This is the name that will be displayed in Cluster Administrator and is only used for administrative purposes. This is not the share name that users will connect to, give the resource a name that will be easy to identify and manage. 7. Select the nodes that you want to be possible owners of the resource. Click Next to leave all nodes as possible owners. NOTE: Possible Owners defines whether a resource is ever able to failover to a specific node. Use extreme caution in defining Possible Owners because defining a possible owner for a single resource will effect the failover for the entire group. 8. Select a Network Name and Physical Disk resource that the file share will be dependent on. NOTE: Dependencies serve two functions. a. They define the bindings for a resource. You want the file share to be dependent on the Network Name resource that clients are going to use when connecting to the file share. The IP Address resource that the Network Name resource is dependent upon is the IP Address that will be used when connecting to this share. You never want a file share resource to be dependent on the "Cluster Name" resource. b. They define the start order for a resource. You want to make sure that the network name that the share is going to be created under and the physical disk where the folder resides that is going to be shared are online and available before attempting to bring the File Share online. When creating a dependency 'Tree' it is best to keep it as simple as possible. A file share resource should always be dependent on a Network Name that the clients will use to connect to this share and Physical disk resource where the folder is located. The Physical Disk resource should never be dependent on anything. The Network Name resource should be dependent on a IP Address resource which the virtual server will be associated with. The IP Address resource should not be dependent on anything. See the following article for additional information: Q171791 Creating Dependencies in Microsoft Cluster Server 9. On the File Share Parameters screen fill in the following information and click Finish: a. The "Share Name" is the name of the share that will be created for the UNC when clients connect. This needs to be a valid NetBIOS name, and is recommended to be a valid URL name as well. b. The "Path" is the full path on the local node to the shared disk where the folder is located. For example: T:\Users. c. The "Comment" is the information about the share that will appear when a client browses the share. 1. The 'User Limit' dialog can be used to limit the number of simultaneous users. 2. Click the "Permissions" button to set share level permissions. Only domain level groups should be used in defining share level permissions because local groups and user accounts do not reside on the other node, and the permissions will not take effect when the file share is failed over. The only exception to this is if all nodes in the cluster are domain controllers. It is recommended to use NTFS permissions instead of share level permissions on a server cluster. 3. The 'Advanced' dialog can be used to create a Dynamic file share or a DFS Root, see the following articles for more information: Q256926 Implementing Home Folders on a Server Cluster Q220819 How to Configure Dfs Root on a Windows 2000 Server Cluster NOTE: The advanced button was a new feature added in Windows NT 4.0 service pack 4. If you are running NT4 and the advanced button is not present, reapply SP4 or higher. When browsing the file share, file shares for other virtual servers on the same cluster may be visible. Reference the following article for additional information. Q170762 Cluster Shares Appear in Browse List under Other Names If you are going to create a large number of file share resources, it may be easier to script the creation using Cluster.exe. See the following article for additional information: Q284838 How to Create a Server Cluster File Share with Cluster.exe Additional query words: mscs ====================================================================== Keywords : kbenv diskmem kbDiskMemory Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbClustServSearch Version : :2000,4.0 Issue type : kbhowto ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. 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