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Win2016 multi site cluster creation - Could not detect if cluster feature is installed on... remote site nodes

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Wednesday, January 17, 2018 4:41 PM

I’m trying to build a test cluster with which to test Storage Replicas using CSV using Windows Server 2016 with desktop experience. I want two nodes, with drives shared between them at site 1 and two nodes at a different location (site 2) with drives shared between them.

I’m failing right at the start when trying to create the cluster. I can add two local nodes but I get the error ‘Could not detect if cluster feature is installed on ‘s3srv22.h4.local’ in the Custer admin MMC.
To try to eliminate network and/or remote management I have:

  1. Added all 4 nodes into Server Manager on the server I’m working from. All show as Online in Server Manager so I know I’ve got connectivity and rights to access them.
    I used Server Manager to install Failover Clustering remotely from the server I’m working from.
    To be absolutely sure I’ve got all features/roles, I’ve run:
$Servers = 'S1srv11','S1srv12','S3srv21','S3srv22' 
$Servers | foreach { Install-WindowsFeature -ComputerName $_ -Name Storage-Replica,Failover-Clustering,FS-FileServer -IncludeManagementTools -restart }

Result:
Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result                              
                                    
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}

  1. I’ve set the Windows Firewall to Allow all incoming connections on one of the remote nodes. I did this for all firewall profiles.
  2. The Layer 3 firewall between the two locations currently has an allow Any/Any rule to allow all IP4 traffic including ICMP (it does not support IPv6).
    I’ve specifically enabled Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing on the remote node which I can’t add to the cluster.

Can anyone suggest what else I should do to troubleshoot or get rid of:
Could not detect if cluster feature is installed on

Thanks

Rob

RobinG

All replies (11)

Thursday, January 18, 2018 9:03 AM

Hi RobinG,

Based on my understanding, you use powershell command to install Failover Cluster feature on four servers, while when you want to add one of the nodes into the cluster, it promote the message that the failover cluster feature is not installed.

If my understanding is correct, you may login the remote Server locally and check if the failover cluster feature is installed, if you can't access the server locally, you may use RDP to connect to the Server, in cmd, type "mstsc", then enter account and password to login the server remotely.

Best Regards,

Anne

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Friday, January 19, 2018 1:16 AM

Hi RobinG,

Just to check if the above reply could be of help, if yes, please mark useful reply as answer, if you have other concerns, welcome to feedback.

Best Regards,

Anne

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help.
If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].

Friday, January 19, 2018 9:39 AM

Hi Anne, no. Your reply doesn’t help. I have WFC installed and don’t need advice on how to check that.

RobinG

Friday, January 19, 2018 1:14 PM

Do you get the same error message when you run the cluster validation wizard?

tim

Friday, January 19, 2018 6:06 PM

Hi, yes. That screen of the wizard is common to validating or creating a cluster and it gives exactly the same error.

RobinG

Saturday, January 20, 2018 1:40 PM

I just noticed in your original post that your firewall does not support IPv6.  What happens if you attempt the cluster creation from one of the cluster nodes so you are not trying to go through the firewall?

tim

Saturday, January 20, 2018 5:31 PM

What is it about IPv6 that caught your attention? Are you aware of some requirement for it? I can't find any suggestion of that in MS tech docs.

I am performing the work on one of the nodes. Whichever node I work on is fine and so is the other at the same site. The error is reported for the nodes at the remote site.

If I move a remote node to the local site, the cluster can be formed. If I move it back to the remote site, with unlimited IPv4 connectivity, the error comes back.

RobinG

Sunday, January 21, 2018 1:09 PM

Yes, IPv6 has been a mandatory component of Windows for a while, and I know the cluster defaults to its use for some things.  I didn't think it was mandatory, but there may be some specific configuration steps that need to be performed if you are blocking IPv6 in the network.  You might have properly disable IPv6 on the hosts if your firewall is blocking IPv6 on the network.

See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929852/how-to-disable-ipv6-or-its-components-in-windows for the proper way to disable IPv6.

tim

Sunday, January 21, 2018 5:08 PM

Hi Tim, I'm aware that MS don't support or test anything with IPv6 disabled on a Server but I've never heard any suggestion that it is required for connectivity between cluster nodes or anything else - MS are clear about the distinction between leaving it enabled and providing infrastructure to route it. I can't find anything to suggest its required for cluster comms. Have you seen anything to suggest it is? If you can provide a reference/KB it could solve my problem and tell me my config is never going to work.

Regards

Robin

RobinG

Monday, January 22, 2018 1:00 PM

" I can't find anything to suggest its required for cluster comms. "

I doubt that you will find anything saying it is required. And I am not saying it is required.  What I am saying is that you have it configured on the cluster nodes, but you are blocking it via your firewall.  So the cluster will try to use it because it is configured.  Since you have disabled it on your firewall, you should disable it on the cluster nodes so they don't try to use it.

Maybe you have found a bug.  You could post it to Microsoft's UserVoice web site - https://windowsserver.uservoice.com/forums/295074-clustering.  Product managers do read these, though it may take a while for a response.  If it is critical, open a support case.  But my first step would be to disable IPv6 on the nodes to see if that fixes your issue.  If it does, you have a valid point to raise with Microsoft.

tim

Monday, January 22, 2018 4:47 PM

I’m trying to build a test cluster with which to test Storage Replicas using CSV using Windows Server 2016 with desktop experience. I want two nodes, with drives shared between them at site 1 and two nodes at a different location (site 2) with drives shared between them.

I’m failing right at the start when trying to create the cluster. I can add two local nodes but I get the error ‘Could not detect if cluster feature is installed on ‘s3srv22.h4.local’ in the Custer admin MMC.
To try to eliminate network and/or remote management I have:

  1. Added all 4 nodes into Server Manager on the server I’m working from. All show as Online in Server Manager so I know I’ve got connectivity and rights to access them.
    I used Server Manager to install Failover Clustering remotely from the server I’m working from.
    To be absolutely sure I’ve got all features/roles, I’ve run:
$Servers = 'S1srv11','S1srv12','S3srv21','S3srv22' 
$Servers | foreach { Install-WindowsFeature -ComputerName $_ -Name Storage-Replica,Failover-Clustering,FS-FileServer -IncludeManagementTools -restart }

Result:
Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result                              
                                    
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}      
True    No             Success        {File and iSCSI Services, File Server}

  1. I’ve set the Windows Firewall to Allow all incoming connections on one of the remote nodes. I did this for all firewall profiles.
  2. The Layer 3 firewall between the two locations currently has an allow Any/Any rule to allow all IP4 traffic including ICMP (it does not support IPv6).
    I’ve specifically enabled Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing on the remote node which I can’t add to the cluster.

Can anyone suggest what else I should do to troubleshoot or get rid of:
Could not detect if cluster feature is installed on

Thanks

Rob

RobinG

The cluster firewall settings we configure by Group Policy.

Given that there are two subnets being dealt with make sure the destination subnet is configured in the policy to allow incoming Cluster communications from the Source Network and also the opposite.

Make sure Firewall Logging is _enabled_ for all profiles to allow for a more detailed troubleshooting. In most cases, once the logs are checked the firewall turns out not to be the problem.

Are NETBIOS calls allowed to traverse the connection between sites?

Has SERVER.Domain.Com (FQDN) been tried in the scripts to set things up between sites?

Also, a mandatory step for us is to run the following in an elevated CMD:

sc config "NlaSvc"  start= delayed-auto

The above command sets the Network Location Awareness service to a delayed start. If this is not done, NLA sometimes runs its network polls prior to the network stack being initialized. When that happens it defaults the firewall to PUBLIC and locks everything down.

Philip Elder Microsoft High Availability MVP Blog: http://blog.mpecsinc.ca Twitter: @MPECSInc