Clustering Configuration Overview

Several applications use clustering, including stateless applications such as Web servers, and applications with built-in recovery features such as database servers. You can set up MSCS clusters in several configurations, depending on your environment.

A typical clustering setup includes:

• Disks that are shared between nodes. A shared disk is required as a quorum disk. In a cluster of virtual machines across physical hosts, the shared disk must be on a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN, FCoE or iSCSI. A quorum disk must have a homogenous set of disks. This means that if the configuration is done with FC SAN, then all of the cluster disks should be FC SAN only. Mixed mode is not supported.
• A private heartbeat network between nodes.

You can set up the shared disks and private heartbeat using one of several clustering configurations.

In ESXi 6.7, MSCS pass-through support for VVols (Virtual Volumes) permits the shared disk to be on a VVol storage that supports SCSI Persistent Reservations for VVols.