6.5.1

Cluster Virtual Machines Across
Physical Hosts 3
You can create a MSCS cluster that consists of two or more virtual machines on two ESXi or more hosts.
A cluster across physical hosts requires specic hardware and software.
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ESXi hosts that have the following:
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Two physical network adapters dedicated to the MSCS cluster and to the public and private
networks.
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One physical network adapter dedicated to the VMkernel.
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Supported shared storage conguration. For more information, see “Supported Shared Storage
Congurations,” on page 11.
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RDM in physical compatibility (pass-through) or virtual compatibility (non-pass-through) mode.
VMware recommends physical compatibility mode. The cluster cannot use virtual disks for shared
storage.
Failover clustering with Windows Server 2008 is not supported with virtual compatibility mode (non-
pass-through) RDMs.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Create the First Node for MSCS Clusters Across Physical Hosts,” on page 19
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“Create Additional Nodes for Clusters Across Physical Hosts,” on page 20
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“Add Hard Disks to the First Node for Clusters Across Physical Hosts,” on page 21
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“Add Hard Disks to Additional Nodes for Clusters Across Physical Hosts,” on page 22
Create the First Node for MSCS Clusters Across Physical Hosts
To create the rst node, you create and congure a virtual machine with two virtual network adapters and
install a guest operating system on the virtual machine.
You congure the virtual network adapters to handle virtual machine trac for the cluster: a private
network connection for the private heartbeat and a public network connection.
Procedure
1 Open the vSphere Web Client and connect to the vCenter Server system.
Use the user name and password of the user who will have administrator permissions on the virtual
machine.
2 In the vSphere Web Client navigator, right-click the host and select New Virtual Machine.
VMware, Inc.
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