Checklist: Create a Clustered Virtual Machine

Review hardware and infrastructure requirements for a failover cluster.

Understanding Requirements for Failover Clusters

Review hardware requirements for Hyper-V.

Hardware requirements for Hyper-V (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137803)

Review concepts related to Hyper-V and virtual machines in the context of a cluster.

If you want to use Cluster Shared Volumes for your virtual machines, review concepts related to Cluster Shared Volumes.

Understanding Hyper-V and Virtual Machines in the Context of a Cluster

Understanding Cluster Shared Volumes in a Failover Cluster

Install Hyper-V (role) and Failover Clustering (feature) on every server that will be in the cluster.

Install Hyper-V (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137804)

Install the Failover Clustering Feature

Connect the networks and storage that the cluster will use. In Hyper-V Manager, create virtual networks that will be available for virtual machines to use.

Prepare Hardware Before Validating a Failover Cluster

Managing virtual networks (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139566)

Run the Validate a Configuration Wizard on all the servers that you want to cluster, to confirm that the hardware and hardware settings of the servers, network, and storage are compatible with failover clustering. If necessary, adjust hardware or hardware settings and rerun the wizard until all tests pass (required for support).

Validate a New or Existing Failover Cluster

Create the failover cluster.

Create a New Failover Cluster

If the clustered servers are connected to a network that is not to be used for network communication in the cluster (for example, a network intended only for iSCSI or only for backup), then configure that network so that it does not allow cluster communication.

Modify Network Settings for a Failover Cluster

If you want to use Cluster Shared Volumes and you have not already enabled this feature, enable Cluster Shared Volumes.

Enable Cluster Shared Volumes in a Failover Cluster

Create a virtual machine and configure it for high availability, being sure to select Store the virtual machine in a different location and specify appropriate clustered storage. If you have Cluster Shared Volumes, for the storage, specify a Cluster Shared Volume (a volume that appears to be on the system drive of the node, under the \ClusterStorage folder). Otherwise, create the virtual machine on the node that currently owns the clustered storage for the virtual machine, and specify the location of that storage.

None of the files used by a clustered virtual machine can be on a local disk. They must all be on clustered storage.

Configure a Virtual Machine for High Availability

If you have not already installed the operating system for the virtual machine, install the operating system. If there are Hyper-V integration services for that operating system, install them in the operating system that runs in the virtual machine.

Install a guest operating system (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137806)

Reconfigure the automatic start action for the virtual machine so that it does nothing when the physical computer starts.

Configure virtual machines (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=137807)

Test the failover of the clustered virtual machine.

Test the Failover of a Clustered Virtual Machine