Checklist: Create a Failover Cluster

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

If you want to provide high availability for users of one or more file shares, see a more complete checklist at Checklist: Create a Clustered File Server.

If you want to provide high availability for users of one or more print servers, see a more complete checklist at Checklist: Create a Clustered Print Server.

	Step	Reference
	Review hardware and infrastructure requirements for a failover cluster.	Understanding Requirements for Failover Clusters
	Install the failover cluster feature on every server that will be in the cluster.	Install Failover Clustering
	Connect the networks and storage that the cluster will use.	Prepare Hardware Before Validating a Failover Cluster
	Run the Validate a Configuration Wizard 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.	Validate a New or Existing Failover Cluster
	Create the failover cluster.	Create a New Failover Cluster

After you have created a failover cluster, the next step is usually to configure the cluster to support a particular service or application. For more information, see Configuring a Service or Application for High Availability.

Additional references

• Overview of Failover Clusters

• For design and deployment information for failover clusters, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=86168.