"No disks were found on which to perform cluster validation tests" - why not?

Question

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 10:31 AM}

I am new to clustering, and I'm trying to create my first cluster. I have two HP DL585 servers, each with a RAID configuration of RAID1 for the C: (system drive) and RAID6 for the Data drive. Both logical drives on each server are NTFS, and the two Data drives (the drives I am trying to cluster) are empty.

When ever I try to run the validation test for Failover Cluster Manager between the two servers, I get an error saying "No disks were found on which to perform cluster validation tests".

Why not? What do I need to do to the logical drives in order to allow them to be seen/accessed/used by Failover Cluster Manager?

Any help gratefully received.

All replies (7)

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 11:15 AM ✅Answered}

Have you verified that each disk has been assigned drive letter, formatted NTFS and has been presented to both nodes at the same time?  Present the disks to both nodes but only attempt to access and format them from one node until disks are added to cluster.

Dave Guenthner [MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. http://blogs.technet.com/b/davguents_blog

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 12:16 PM ✅Answered}

From your description, it sounds like your data drives are direct attached and not shared drives (iSCSI, Fibre Channel, or SAS).  In order for a drive to be seen by the cluster, it must be presented as a shared drive, i.e. directly accessible by both systems.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/1/0/b106fc39-936c-4857-a6ea-3fb9d1f37063/Step-by-Step%20Guide%20for%20Configuring%20a%20Two-Node%20File%20Server%20Failover%20Cluster%20in%20Windows%20Server%202008.doc provides a good step-by-step guide on setting up a two-node file share cluster.

tim

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 12:54 PM}

Ah, you mean that it can't be a "local" drive? What about it I were to 'share' the drives?

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 1:41 PM}

No.  What Tim is saying is that the disks must be based on SAN storage or iSCSI from which they can be zoned so that each node can the disk at the same time.  Using direct attached storage will not work.  You can use free target software and walkthrough this using VMs for example to get a better feel for what is needed from storage perspective or reach out to your storage vendor for assistance.  [Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3]

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=19867

Dave Guenthner [MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. http://blogs.technet.com/b/davguents_blog

_{Thursday, July 5, 2012 2:03 PM}

Understood. I think I had misunderstood how clustering worked (I think I was working along a "mirroring" model, rather than actual clustering). Thanks for clearing this up for me! :)

_{Tuesday, June 4, 2019 7:34 PM}

As per two-node file share cluter, should the storage (whatever Disks or Pools) be set in the cluster? Same warnings" "No disks were found on which to perform cluster validation tests" listed in my Failover Cluster Validation report.

thanks

John

_{Wednesday, June 5, 2019 12:28 PM}

You posted a new question to a thread that was marked as answered seven years ago.  Please create a new post and provide a description of your configuration.  Without knowing your configuration, people will just be guessing at an answer.

tim