Business Continuity Consulting Support for
Small Business Networks:
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 Failover Cluster Solutions
Clustering is a key technique to achieve maximum fault tolerance. A cluster is a collection of computer systems responsible for running a shared set of applications and services. The systems in the cluster are interconnected through hardware and software in such a way that in case any component in the cluster stops functioning, the workload will "failover" to, or be assumed by, another system in the cluster without a disruption of service.
Failover clustering clearly has an advantage in increasing network availability in the case of a hardware breakdown, but it also allows non-disruptive system maintenance for environments that have no time window when key applications such as email or web commerce can be taken offline without hurting business. For geographically dispersed environments, multi-site clustering provides insurance against natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes.
The Enterprise and Datacenter editions of Windows Server 2008 included significant improvements in failover clustering such as easier deployment, management, and migration; enhanced support for multi-site clusters; improved security architecture and quorum models; stronger authentication and encryption; and more efficient tools for backup and recovery. Windows Server 2008 R2 offers even more advanced support for clustering through the addition of features that make clusters more secure, more available, and easier to manage. Major clustering improvements in Windows Server 2008 R2 include Live Migration support through Cluster Shared Volumes, enhanced support for IPsec security, and expanded cluster storage.
Progent offers a full range of Windows Server 2008 Server consulting services and Windows Server 2008 R2 expertise and can assist businesses of any size to maintain and troubleshoot failover clusters powered by Windows Server 2008. If you are considering an upgrade to a modern version of Windows Server, Progent can provide Windows Server 2019 migration expertise and Windows Server 2016 failover clustering consulting to maximize the availability and performance of your system.
New and Improved Features of Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering
The failover clustering capabilities incorporated into Microsoft Windows 2008 Server represents more than a decade of Microsoft's experience in developing clustering technology. The Enterprise and Datacenter Editions of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 offer a number of new clustering services and capabilities including:
More Convenient Management Interfaces
Windows Server 2008 includes Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0, a new easy-to-use interface for controlling network resources. The new Failover Cluster Administration Console is task oriented rather than cluster resource oriented. To make a file share highly available, for example, the administrator no longer has to create a group, a disk resource, an IP address resource, Network Name, configure IsAlive/LookAlive, configure preferred services, and set dependencies. Instead, the wizard simply asks for the Network Name. You do not necessarily need to assign an IP address because Windows Server 2008 failover clustering now supports DHCP.
Windows Server 2008 also supports remote management via the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). You can manage multiple clusters throughout the organization from a single MMC. Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters are also fully scriptable with Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
Built-in Cluster Validate Tool
Windows Server 2008 clustering includes a cluster Validate Tool, an expanded and integrated version of the ClusPrep tool released for Windows Server 2003 server clustering. As a part of the cluster configuration process, Validate runs a set of tests to determine whether the selected servers, cluster networks, and storage meet the requirements for failover clustering. Validate performs an inventory that includes BIOS information, operating systems, adapters, drivers and software updates; verifies cluster topology for redundancy; checks IP configuration details; and makes sure that storage can correctly handle simulated cluster actions. The Validate Tool helps prevents configuration errors, which is one of the most common problems encountered in failover clusters.
Support for Windows Server 2008 Server Core
Windows Server 2008 offers a Server Core installation option that supports failover clustering and provides a bare-bones environment for running distinct server roles. By limiting the services that need to be maintained and updated, this minimalist installation reduces support and management expense and enhances security by shrinking the server's attack surface. Server Core supports a variety of important roles including DHCP server, file services, print services, DNS server, Active Directory Domain Services, streaming media services, and Windows Server 2008 virtualization.
Better Storage and Backup Support
Improvements in storage and backup offer increased stability and availability for failover clusters. Support for both Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks allows the creation of disks greater than 2 terabytes. Built-in logic initiates self healing automatically as long as the system can find either the disk signature in the Master Boot Record or the SCSI inquiry page 0x83 data (VPD).
Support for Storage Area Networking (SAN) solutions is improved for storage hardware that supports SCSI-3 SPC3-compliant SCSI commands for persistent reservation/release. All multi-path solutions are Microsoft Multipath I/O (MPIO). The Device Specific Module (DSM) provided by the storage vendor is responsible for sending PR registration information down each path to the storage system. Closer integration with Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) makes the backup process easier. Failover clustering in Windows Server 2008 has its own VSS.
Greater Expandability
With Windows Server 2008, x64-based failover clusters support up to 16 nodes in a single cluster, as opposed to the maximum of 8 nodes in Windows Server 2003. Windows Server 2008 failover clusters also now support GPT disks, which use the GUID partition table (GPT) disk partitioning system. A GPT disk allows up to 128 primary partitions and a much larger volume size. In comparison, MBR disks can support up to four primary partitions and a volume size limit of up to 2 terabytes. For greater reliability, GPT disks offer replication and cyclical redundancy check (CRC) protection of the partition table. The increased number of nodes plus support for GPT disks dramatically extends the scalability of larger volumes in cluster environments.
A New Quorum Model
Windows Server 2008 introduces a new failover clustering quorum model that incorporates a combination of Microsoft's earlier shared disk and majority node set models. In Windows Server 2008 failover clustering there are now four ways to establish a quorum:
- No Majority - Disk Only (same as Windows Server 2003 shared disk quorum)
- Node Majority (same as the Windows Server 2003 majority node set)
- Node and Disk Majority
- Node and File Share Majority
An Improved Security Model
Windows Server 2008 failover clustering incorporates a new security model that enhances its security and dependability. Changes include:
- Elimination of the need for a domain user account for the Cluster Service Account (CSA)
- Better logging and event tracing
- Transition from unsecure datagram remote procedure call (RPC) communications to TCP-based RPC communications
- Default enabling Kerberos authentication on all cluster network name resources
- The ability to audit access to the cluster service via either the Failover Cluster Management snap-in or the cluster command-line interface
- Ability to secure Inter-Cluster communications.
New Networking Capabilities and More Flexible Dependencies
Windows Server 2008 failover clustering includes a new networking model. Major improvements include:
- Enhanced support for geographically distributed networks
- The ability to place cluster nodes on different networks
- The ability to use DHCP server to assign IP addresses to cluster interfaces
- Improvements in the cluster heartbeat mechanism
- Support for IPv6
Cluster IP address resources can now get their addressing from DHCP servers as well as from static entries. The cluster heartbeat mechanism has moved from a UDP broadcast health checking mechanism to a UDP unicast communication that it uses a Ping-like Request-Reply process. This allows better security and more reliable packet sequence numbering. Windows Server 2008 supports IPv6 IP Address resources and IPv4 IP Address resources either alone or in combination in a cluster. Clustering also supports 6-4 and Intra-site Automatic Tunneling Addressing Protocol (ISATAP).
Enhancements to Failover Clustering In Windows Server 2008 R2
Major enhancements to Failover Clustering available with Windows Server 2008 R2 include:
- Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV) with dynamic I/O redirection
- Geographically dispersed clustering for immunity from natural disasters
- Easier setup and migration through the new Best Practices Analyzer
- Redundant Quorum Resource to eliminate single-point failure for the cluster quorum
- Improved security through support for IPsec security between client and cluster nodes
- Supports for GPT disks that exceed 2 terabytes in capacity
How Progent Can Help You Benefit from Microsoft's Failover Clustering
Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you evaluate the business benefits of Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clustering, set up pilot programs to validate performance and compatibility for your key workloads, develop and execute a cost-effective deployment plan, train your IT staff to manage your clustering environment, and provide ongoing consulting and technical support services remotely or at your site. Progent can also provide comprehensive Help Desk services.
Progent's service professionals can also help you migrate from Windows Server 2003 cluster nodes. This migration requires experience because these two types of nodes cannot share the same cluster, which eliminates a rolling migration.
If you currently have a clustering environment based on Windows Server 2008 R2 and are considering a move to Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2016, Progent can help you plan and carry out a Windows Server 2019 failover clustering upgrade or create a Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery solution.
Progent's CISM, CISA, GIAC, CISSP, and CRISC certified security engineers can assess the protection offered by your cluster environment and can recommend and implement affordable improvements. Progent's security experts can also help you design, document, and test business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
Non-stop Solutions Offered by Progent
Progent's certified support professionals can assist your company to build a sensible, fault-tolerant network that resolves major problems covering a broad range of networking technologies and processes including:
Business Continuity Planning
Progent's disaster recovery planning professionals can help you design a workplace recovery strategy in order to resume network functionality in the event of an IT system disaster. Progent can help you to develop a complete disaster recovery strategy that includes periodic disaster recovery assessments and drills. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized consultants can also help you create an affordable, fault-tolerant network solution that addresses reliability issues covering a wide range of network technologies and processes. For details, visit Business Continuity Consulting.
CRISC-Premier IT Risk Management
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) program was initiated by ISACA in 2010 to verify a consultant's skills to design, implement, and maintain information system control mechanisms to mitigate network risk. Progent offers the expertise of a CRISC-certified engineer to assist you to develop and execute a workplace continuity strategy based on industry best practices identified by CRISC and geared to align with your company's risk appetite, business objectives, and IT budget. For details, visit CRISC-Premier IT risk management specialists.
Windows Server 2019 Fault-tolerant Failover Clustering
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 incorporated significant improvements in capacity, performance, manageability, cybersecurity, app compatibility, Linux co-existence, container technology, and hybrid integration of local and cloud-hosted assets. Headline new features of Windows Server 2019 are Windows Admin Center for centralizing the management of hybrid local/cloud-hosted resources, System Insights for utilizing advance predictive intelligence to control local networks, Windows Defender ATP Exploit Guard for host-intrusion defense, container networking using Kubernetes, Cluster Sets for creating and managing massive non-stop scale-out clusters, and Storage Migration Service for streamlining the migration from outdated releases of Windows Server. For details, visit Microsoft Windows Server 2019 High Availability Failover Clustering Help.
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery/business continuity consultants can help your organization to plan and deploy a disaster recovery solution based on Microsoft's most advanced Failover Clustering technologies such as Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade for non-intrusive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance storage clusters using low-cost equipment, VM Load Balancing for improving the speed and fault-tolerance of Failover Clusters while reducing TCO and operational expenses, and Cloud Witness for fast, economical creation of a failover cluster quorum witness. For more information, go to Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Expertise.
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager is an extension to VMware vCenter that allows you to orchestrate, automate and verify a repeatable runbook for restoring applications and services rapidly following a breakdown. SRM supports centrally controlled and automated recovery, application mobility, plus non-intrusive site relocation, failback and site re-protect. SRM also allows non-disruptive testing for disaster recovery, upgrades and patches and can produce reports to verify complete service restoration, validate SLAs and demonstrate disaster recovery compliance. Progent can provide the support of a VCDX certified VMware Site Recovery Manager consultant to assist you to design, deploy, test and manage a disaster recovery system powered by VMware Site Recovery Manager.
NetApp MetroCluster High Availability and Disaster Recovery Technology
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery software suite that uses failover storage clustering along with replication to provide fast, zero data loss disaster recovery (DR) between sites located as far as 185 miles (300km) apart. Progent can provide the skills of a certified NetApp MetroCluster expert who can help your business to design, deploy, administer, update, test and repair a disaster recovery solution based on NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can assist you to choose an architecture for your MetroCluster environment that meets your technical needs and IT budget. Progent can ensure you adhere to best practices for configuring your MetroCluster solution by delivering help with tasks such as assigning shelf IDs, determining aggregate layout, provisioning NetApp FlexVol volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, provisioning Cisco and Brocade switches, designing a tiebreaker mechanism, designing a TCP/IP configuration replication network between your peered clusters, and testing your disaster recovery system to prove adherence with industry standards and regulatory mandates.
High Availability Load Balancing
Progent offers fault tolerant load balancing consulting covering system load balancing, load balanced applications, LAN/WAN backbone routing, and content delivery technology including Cisco Content Engine. High availability load balancing solutions for which Progent offers consulting expertise include Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Access Gateway, Cisco CSS, Cisco Content Distribution Manager and Cisco CDN Software, and F5 Networks BIG-IP. To find out more, go to Fault Tolerant Load Balancing.
Zero Downtime Data Centers
Progent's Data Center professionals can show you how to select high availability data centers that meet the specific needs of your company. High availability off-site data centers are particularly appealing to small and mid-size businesses due to of their affordability and simplified logistics compared to pursuing a do-it-yourself approach. Attempting to create an on-site data center with even a basic degree of fault tolerance is too expensive for the majority of small businesses. Progent is ready to help you reap all the benefits of non-stop data centers by providing a complete array of consulting and support services. To find out more, see Fault Tolerant Colocation Consulting.
24x7 Branch Office Connectivity
Progent's branch office connectivity consultants can help organizations achieve zero-downtime interoffice connectivity solutions via redundant system architectures with automatic failover. Progent's Cisco-premier CCIE engineers can design and implement fault-tolerant Inter-office networks supported by zero-downtime EIGRP routers or non-stop OSPF deployment of Cisco routers. Progent can demonstrate how redundant connectivity and automatic fail-over offers economical non-stop interoffice networking. To learn more, visit 24x7 Inter-office Networking.
High Availability Internet Access
Progent's Cisco-authorized IT experts can show you how to design an affordable, fault tolerant Internet connection solution that can achieve 24x7 Internet access via a broad range of fault tolerant Internet access solutions including non-stop BGP, automatic fail-over, and multiple ISPs. Progent offers Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert engineers to show you how to apply the most advanced technology for fault tolerant Internet connectivity to create an economical, completely redundant Internet network with automatic failover and other capabilities to create fault tolerant Internet connections. To read more, go to Fault Tolerant Internet Access Architecture.
Backup and Recovery Solutions Consulting Services
Progent can provide affordable online support from IT engineers with expertise in a broad array of utilities and technologies that provide solutions for protecting Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux/UNIX servers and workstations plus laptops and handhelds. Progent offers consulting support for all major data protection platforms including Acronis Backup and Recovery, Backup Exec, BackupAssist Software, HP Data Protector, Double-Take, Mozy, Retrospect, Apple Time Machine, vSphere Data Protection, and Solaris FLARs. Progent can assist you to deploy, upgrade, or maintain backup/restore systems for a variety of architectures such as on-premises, edge to datacenter, cloud, or hybrid. To learn more, visit Backup and Recovery Technology Expertise.
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager Backup and Recovery Consulting
Progent's certified System Center Data Protection Manager engineers can assist your company to develop a practical business continuity strategy, design a cost-effective fault-tolerante IT infrastructure, install a Microsoft SCDPM-based backup and restore system, comprehensively test your system, educate your IT staff or local service providers how to maintain Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, or provide extensive information technology support outsourcing such as off-site housing of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager servers in Progent's secure data center. To find out more, see Microsoft SCDPM Consulting Services.
Barracuda Backup Cloud and Offsite Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is an affordable, subscription-based backup/restore platform for small and mid-size organizations. A Barracuda Backup deployment can incorporate a custom-designed hardware appliance built by Barracuda or a virtual appliance with similar functionality but which utilizes your existing storage infrastructure. Barracuda Backup protects vital business data generated on-premises, at one or multiple remote sites, or in the cloud. For disaster recovery, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon Web Services (AWS), or to any location with a physical or virtual Barracuda appliance. Progent is a Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consultants offer a wide array of consulting services to help you to design, configure, manage and repair a backup and disaster recovery system built on Barracuda technology. For more information, see Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consulting.
ProSight Altaro VM Backup Solutions for Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup provides small businesses a dependable and affordable solution for backing up and recovering Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be deployed in on-premises, offsite, multi-site, and cloud architectures and also enables cost-effective cloud backup to Microsoft Azure storage. Altaro VM Backup includes high-end capabilities like Immutable Cloud Storage for an extra layer of recoverability from ransomware. Progent is a Hornetsecurity Altaro partner and offers a wide range of remote or onsite services to help you to plan, install, optimize and debug a comprehensive backup/restore solution based on Altaro VM Backup software. With ProSight Data Protection Services Altaro VM Backup, Progent offers a fully managed backup/restore service based on Altaro VM Backup software. To find out more, go to Altaro VM Backup certified consultants.
ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup Solutions for Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 offers rudimentary archiving but does not include integrated support for vital data protection capabilities like Exchange Online backups or greater than 30-day point-in-time data recovery for OneDrive or SharePoint. Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup provides a feature-rich platform for programmable backup and quick recovery of all your company's M365 mail, Microsoft Teams Chats, SharePoint sites, OneDrive data, and content on Windows endpoints. Progent is a certified Hornetsecurity/Altaro partner and has designed ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) 365 Total Backup to provide end-to-end managed services for Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup product. ProSight Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup provides an affordable backup-as-a-service alternative that defends M365 components against data loss or corruption caused by human or software error, malevolent corruption, and cyber attacks such as ransomware. To find out more, see ProSight Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup services for Microsoft 365.
Fully Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO
ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO provide small and medium-sized businesses a low cost and fully managed solution for reliable backup/disaster recovery (BDR). For a fixed monthly rate, ProSight DPS ECHO automates your backup processes and allow fast recovery of vital data, apps and VMs that have become unavailable or corrupted due to hardware breakdowns, software glitches, disasters, human mistakes, or malicious attacks like ransomware. ProSight DPS ECHO can help you back up, retrieve and restore files, folders, apps, system images, as well as Hyper-V and VMware virtual machine images. Critical data can be protected on the cloud, to an on-premises device, or mirrored to both. Progent's cloud backup consultants can provide world-class expertise to set up ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO to to comply with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, FIRPA, PCI and Safe Harbor and, whenever needed, can assist you to restore your critical data. Find out more about ProSight DPS ECHO managed cloud backup and recovery.
ProSight MSP360 Backup Services
Progent can assist your company to design, implement and debug a backup/restore solution built around MSP360 software. MSP360 offers file or image-based backup/recovery for VMs and physical computers, works with all leading public clouds, and permits businesses to build a data protection solution with a minimum RTO and a defined Recovery Point Objective. With ProSight MSP360 Backup, Progent can provide comprehensive monitoring and remote management of your backup environment to protect against data loss caused by human miscues, computer glitches, malicious users, and external attacks such as ransomware. For details, visit ProSight MSP360 Backup services.
Consulting for Double-Take Software for Data Backup
Double-Take Software publishes a family of tools intended to deliver small businesses a range of affordable alternatives for replicating and restoring vital workloads such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL, Blackberry, and SharePoint. Progent's business continuity planning consultants have in-depth experience integrating Double-Take products into small business IT networks to achieve a high state of availability and disaster recovery readiness at a budget-friendly cost. To find out more, go to Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Backup.
Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Since Progent is a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner and offers professional application expertise for a broad variety of business applications, Progent can assist customers to arrive at complete IT solutions that substantially enhance the productivity of your network. As a Registered Partner for Cisco, Progent offers the support of certified engineers and specialists with expertise in designing, installing and maintaining infrastructure environments built on Cisco products. The depth of Progent's technical experience and Progent's familiarity with the needs of small companies make Progent the ideal resource for building and running an affordable, fault-tolerant information system.
How You Can Access Progent's Experts for Support for Non-stop IT Systems
In order to get in touch with Progent about professional assistance for non-stop infrastructure, phone
An index of content::
Microsoft Operations Manager Remote Support
Biggest Support and Integration Operations Manager
Remote continuous monitoring, automated alarms, and periodic analytical reporting are crucial to preserving the health of your network and eliminating unnecessary and costly downtime. Remote Monitoring and Management technology has progressed so far that businesses of any size can get a degree of network stability that was previously limited to large enterprises. Progent can provide several RMM options available as economical services designed to assist you to identify and fix a an array of network problems before they get big enough to hurt productivity.
Specialists Nagios for Linux
Consultancy MRTG for Linux
Network monitoring commonly entails observing a network's resource usage in order to identify data traffic bottlenecks or troubleshoot hardware or program issues. Nagios and Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG) are useful, license-free network monitoring tools that work under Linux or UNIX and can be used to observe multi-OS networks where UNIX and Windows coexist. Progent's network integration consultants can help you take advantage of both these tools to optimize and repair your network. Progent's Linux support services provide small businesses and developers assistance with administering and servicing UNIX and Linux systems that coexist with Microsoft-based products.
Microsoft Windows 2019 Network Consulting
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Computer Consulting Services
Progent's Microsoft-certified experts offer computer help and IT consulting services for Microsoft .NET Servers and programs and for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2003. Progent's support professionals can show you how to plan, deploy, maintain and manage the entire suite of Windows .NET Servers including Microsoft SQL Server 2012, ISA Server, Small Business Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Windows Hyper-V, Microsoft Lync Server, Project Server, and System Center Operations Manager.
UNIX, Windows Consulting Services
Windows, UNIX, Solaris Remote Consulting
If your company computer system mixes UNIX, Linux or Sun Solaris platforms with Microsoft Windows, Progent can help you to incorporate your computers into a unified network that allows all your OS platforms to coexist for easy management, transparent dataflow, high dependability, enhanced performance, and strong protection. Progent's UNIX/Linux/Solaris and MS Windows integration support offerings include network infrastructure integration and service, consulting for Windows services for UNIX, online server monitoring and administration, remote network support and troubleshooting, in-person technical support, and Helpdesk support.
Microsoft Windows 11 Configuration Manager Technology Professional
Windows 11 Management Online Support
Progent's Windows 11 experts offer a range of services for Windows 11 such as Microsoft 365 integration, mobile device management and synchronization, teleworker connectivity, data and identity security, streamlined deployment, and Call Center support services.
ransomware data restore Engineer
Consult Avaddon ransomware recovery
Progent's ransomware experts can assist your business to assess your ransomware defenses, monitor and guard your network, help with settlement negotiations with a hacker, and restore an information system victimized by a ransomware variant such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Snatch or Nephilim.
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