File Share Witness Configuration

File Share Witness Configuration Guide
Version 1.2
Purpose
The document details the proper procedures for configuring a File Share Witness for
Failover Clusters utilizing the Node and File Share Majority Quorum Configuration.
Contents
Purpose...................................................................................................................................... 1
File Share Witness Questions and Answers...........................................................................2
File Share Witness Configuration.............................................................................................3
STAGE 1 – Create the Failover Cluster.............................................................................................3
STAGE 1 – Configure the File Share Witness..................................................................................5
STAGE 2 – Changing the File Share Resource Properties..........................................................13
Associated documents............................................................................................................ 18
Appendix.................................................................................................................................. 19
Appendix A – Selecting the Correct File Share Host for the File Share Witness.......................19
File Share Witness Questions and Answers

Q: What is a File Share Witness?
A: A File Share Witness serves the same purpose as a Disk Witness. It simply acts as
additional voting member for clusters comprised of an even number of nodes.
Q: When to Use the Node and File Share Majority Quorum Configuration?
A: As you may know, Failover Clusters comprised of an even number of nodes require an
addition resource as a Witness. Until recently, this Witness was the Disk Witness (often
referred to as the Quorum Disk). Recently, we began supporting Failover Clusters
configurations where a Disk Witness isn’t available. In those scenarios, a File Share Witness is
the only option. The two scenarios where the Node and File Share Majority Quorum
Configuration is used are:
- Failover Clusters with no Shared Storage

- Failover Clusters comprised of nodes in different subnets
Q: Where will the File Share Witness be hosted?
A: There are a total of six File Share Failover Clusters and one stand-alone File Share server
spread across four Data Centers that are tasked with hosting the File Share Witness for MSIT
Clusters and are listed in Appendix A.
Q: How do we know which File Share Cluster to select for hosting the File Share
Witness?
A: Appendix A contains a table that will provide guidance on this.
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Security Classification: LBI
Last updated by Sanjay Tyagi Page 2 of 20 Last Modified: SEP 29, 2014
File Share Witness Configuration

STAGE 1 – Create the Failover Cluster
Configuring a Failover Cluster with a Node and File Share Majority Quorum Configuration is the
same as those using the Node and Disk Majority Quorum Configuration with a couple of
exceptions.
- There is no shared storage
- For Virtual Machines, there is no need for iSCSI NICs
- Once the Failover Cluster has been configured (Ref Windows 2008/2012 Failover
Cluster Installation Guide), the final panel notifying you of a successful configuration will
contain some warnings.
To view these warnings, click on the View Report… button to view the warnings.
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When the page opens, scroll down to the warnings. You should see the following warnings
displayed in the browser:
- The first warning alerts you that a quorum disk was not found. Whenever a Failover
Cluster is configured with an even number of nodes with voting rights*, the Wizard
attempts to default to the Node and Disk Majority Quorum Configuration. Since no there
is no shared storage, this warning is to be expected.
- The second warning lets you know that the current Quorum Configuration has defaulted
to Node Majority which is NOT the recommended configuration given the fact that you
have an even number of cluster nodes with voting rights*.
Close the browser and then click on Finish to close the window.
(NOTE*: Most times, all of the nodes in the cluster have voting rights with regards to quorum.
However, SQL2012 AlwaysOn clusters that utilize a Disaster Recovery (DR) site are, at this
time, the only exception. These clusters are comprised of three nodes: two nodes at the
primary site, and one node at the DR site. The two nodes at the primary site have voting rights,
but the node in the DR site does not. Therefore, even though the cluster is comprised of an odd
number of nodes where the Node Majority Quorum Configuration is the norm, the correct
Quorum Configuration should be Node and File Share Majority.)
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STAGE 1 – Configure the File Share Witness
1. Open up the Failover Cluster Manager and connect to the cluster. Right click on the
Cluster Name in the left pane. Select More Actions...->Configure Cluster Quorum to
start the Configure Cluster Quorum Wizard.
2. Select the radio button next to Node and File Share Majority and click the Next> button.
For windows server 2012 choose Advanced configuration option
Screenshot for windows server 2008/2008R2
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Screenshots for windows server 2012/2012R2
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3. The following panel will appear:
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4. Click on the Browse… button. Use the Matrix depicted in Table 1 in Appendix A to
select the correct Data Center, and the information in Table 2 to obtain the File Share
Service name. Enter the name of the File Share Service to host the cluster (If
configuring remotely, ensure that you add the FQDN for Clusters residing in the Partners
and Parttest Domains), and click on the Show Shared Folders button.
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5. Click on the New Shared Folder… button to create the File Share, and enter the name
of the Failover Cluster you’re configuring in the text box under Share Name:
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6. In the test box underneath Local path of shared folder:, enter the local path of the file
share you’re creating. The format to be used is <Local Drive>:\<Cluster Name>. The
Local Drive for the particular File Share Cluster is found in Table 2 in Appendix A. The
Cluster Name will be the same value you entered under Share Name in the previous
step (The name of the Failover Cluster).
7. Under the Shared folder permissions: settings, select Administrators have full access;
other users have read-only permissions. The panel should now resemble the following:
Ensure all of the data is correct and then click on OK.
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8. The following panel appears detailing the path to the newly created File Share:
Review and then click on the Next> button to advance to the Confirmation panel.
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9. Review the data displayed in the panel below noting the File Share name and Quorum
Configuration.
Click on the Next> button to proceed with the configuration.
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10. Once the task is completed the following panel should appear:
This indicates the Quorum Configuration has completed successfully. Click on the
Finish button to close the panel and proceed to Stage 2 – Changing the File Share
Resource Properties.
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STAGE 2 – Changing the File Share Resource Properties
1. Open the Failover Cluster Manager and click on the cluster name. In the lower part of
the center pane you’ll find a title bar called Cluster Core Resources. If not already
expanded, click on the arrow next to the title and you should something like the
following:
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2. Right click on the newly created File Share Witness (Circled) and select Properties
which will display the following panel:
3. Select the Dependencies and ensure there are no dependencies listed.
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4. Click on the Policies tab and configure the properties as seen below (Pay close attention
to the values circled in red as these are the ones the will probably need changing.
Those are the correct values for this resource. The values in the panel below are the
CORRECT values):
Note: - For windows server 2012/2012R2 there would be an extra setting “Delay between
restarts”, leave this as default
5. Once the properties have been properly configured, click on the OK button to save the
settings and close the Properties Panel.
File Share Witness configuration is now complete.
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Associated documents
http://infoplus/GetDocument.aspx?DocumentID=D11-GV
http://infoplus/GetDocument.aspx?DocumentID=D12-TH
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Appendix
Appendix A – Selecting the Correct File Share Host for the
File Share Witness
There are six File Share Clusters and one Stand-alone File Share server strategically placed
across four Data Centers that are to host File Share Witnesses for all MSIT Failover Clusters
utilizing the Node and File Share Witness Majority Quorum Configuration. Three of the File
Share Clusters are in the Redmond Domain and will service clusters in CORP, and the other
three are in the Partners domain and will service all clusters in Partners. The Data Centers are
in BY1, CO1, DB3, and TK3. BY1, CO1, and DB3 each have two File Share Clusters; one for
Corp and one for Partners. The Stand-alone File Share server in TK3 is for Parttest clusters
only. The matrix depicted in Table 1 is to be used to determine the appropriate Data Center for
your cluster. Table 2 on the next page contains information for the appropriate File Share
Cluster that will host the File Share Witness.
Table 1
BY1 CY1 CO1 CO2 DB3 PH1 TK5 TK3 SG2
BY1 BY1 CO1 DB3 DB3 CO1 CO1 CO1 --- CY1
CY1 CO1 CY1 DB3 DB3 CO1 CO1 CO1 CO1
CO1 DB3 DB3 CO1 BY1 BY1 DB3 DB3 --- CY1
CO2 DB3 DB3 BY1 CO1 BY1 DB3 DB3 CY1
DB3 CO1 CO1 BY1 BY1 DB3 CO1 CO1 --- CY1
PH1 CO1 CO1 DB3 DB3 CO1 CO1 CO1 --- CY1
TK5 CO1 CO1 DB3 DB3 CO1 CO1 CO1 --- CY1
SG2 CY1 CO1 CY1 CY1 CY1 CY1 CY1 - -
TK3 --- --- --- --- --- --- TK3 -
The top row and first column are for the location(s) of the cluster being configured (No more
than two locations). The cell where the selected row and column intersect holds the appropriate
Data Center for your cluster.
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Table 2 provides the name of the File Share Service for each Data Center and the appropriate
Domain. It also contains the Local Drive specific to that service (Step #5 in Configuring the File
Share Witness).
Table 2
Data Center Domain File Share Name Drive
Corp BY1SQLCORFILEFS S:
BY1
Partners BY1SQLEXTFILEFS S:
Corp CO1SQLCORFILEFS T:
CO1
Partners CO1SQLEXTFILEFS E:
Corp DB3SQLCORFILEFS S:
DB3
Partners DB3SQLEXTFILEFS S:
CORP CY1SQLCORFILEFS S:
CY1 Partners CY1SQLEXTFILEFS S:
Parttest CY1SQLPTFILE1 E:
TK3 Parttest TK3SQLPTFILE1 D:
Here are a couple of examples:
1. You have 2-node Single-site cluster located in BY1 and resides in the Partners Domain.
The appropriate Data Center for the File Share Witness is CO1.
The File Share Service Name is CO1SQLEXTFILEFS.
The Local Drive is E:.
2. You have a Multi-site cluster with nodes in TK5 and CO1 and resides in the Redmond
Domain.
The appropriate Data Center for the File Share Witness is DB3.
The File Share Service Name is DB3SQLCORFILEFS.
The Local Drive is S:.
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This document’s security classification is Low Business Impact (LBI).
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Document history
Date Updated by Change

October 15, 2012 John Slyman Version 1.0
May 22, 2014 Sanjay Tyagi Version 1.1
SEP 29, 2014 Sanjay Tyagi Version 1.2
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File Share Witness Configuration Guide

File Share Witness Questions and Answers

- Failover Clusters with no Shared Storage

Q: Where will the File Share Witness be hosted?

A: Appendix A contains a table that will provide guidance on this.

File Share Witness Configuration

STAGE 1 – Configure the File Share Witness

Screenshot for windows server 2008/2008R2

Screenshots for windows server 2012/2012R2

3. The following panel will appear:

Ensure all of the data is correct and then click on OK.

Click on the Next> button to proceed with the configuration.

STAGE 2 – Changing the File Share Resource Properties

3. Select the Dependencies and ensure there are no dependencies listed.

File Share Witness configuration is now complete.

CY1 CO1 CY1 DB3 DB3 CO1 CO1 CO1 CO1

CO2 DB3 DB3 BY1 CO1 BY1 DB3 DB3 CY1

SG2 CY1 CO1 CY1 CY1 CY1 CY1 CY1 - -

TK3 --- --- --- --- --- --- TK3 -

Here are a couple of examples:

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Security level for InfoPlus

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