This post is a quick guide on how to create a Scale Out File Server using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 R2 from Windows Server host 2012 R2.
The scenario is different from creating a SOFS starting from “bare metal”.
I haven't been able to find excellent documentation for this scenario and so here it is:
Preparation:
- At least 2 host Windows Server 2012 R2 (configured for winrm and open ports on the firewall to allow the installation of the VMM agent ’ ’)
- Hosts must have access to the shared storage that will be used to scale out file server
- Create a domain account (SOFS Runas Account), give local administrator privileges on all nodes in the cluster, add it as administrator on the VMM server. This runas account must be created and must be different from the VMM service account ’
- Do Pre-provision of computer accounts that are required to the cluster for Active Directory ’ (see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731002.aspx for more details )
- Creating the computer account with the name of the cluster, give the SOFS account run as the rights to make provision of the machine. Disable ’ account
- Creating the computer account under the name of SOFS, give the computer cluster account Full Control rights for the ’ account. Disable ’ account.
Do Pre-provision of computer accounts in Active Directory ’ is ’ only way I was able to operate the creation of SOFS from VMM. This is missing from the product documentation, If you don't do the pre-provision of accounts, Once the cluster has been created ( given that the runasaccount you are using has the necessary rights to make the join of the new computer account to the OU where the nodes reside) creating the cluster name SOFS will fail. The computer account of the computer account is created in the context of the SOFS cluster, This is the reason why we need pre-provision.
Once you have completed the above steps the procedure documented on technet is working properly.
Just to make a summary, create a new file server cluster and specify a previously created account run as
Add the cluster name and SOFS, those that must be done pre-provision
Add nodes and is made
One final note on Azure, If you are trying to use Azure to do i test this feature you should be aware that on Azure VMS are not yet able to have multiple ip, so for this to work you must ’ whole scenario l:
- Define a static IP when you created the cluster from VMM Wizard. To define a static Ip you need to add an address pool in VMM, l ’ IP needs to be part of this pool
- Add an entry in the hosts file on the VMM server where the cluster name must be resolvable from the node ( It is a good idea that the cluster name is connected to a single node, After all this is a test enviroment). For example, if the node's IP is ’ 10.1.0.1 and the name of the cluster is Cluster, a row with “10.1.0.1 Cluster” should be added to hosts.
