Busting the Myth: You cannot cluster Windows Small Business Server
August 30, 2011 24 Comments
Microsoft created Windows Small Business Server as a one-box solution for companies that did not need more. It has always been a hobbled product, based on Windows Server Standard, but limited in things like domain trusts, FSMO roles, and more.
Of course even if it were based on Windows Server Enterprise, the idea of creating a failover cluster for a product designed to be a single-server solution seems a little silly… or at least it would have in the late 1990s, when SBS was first delivered.
Welcome to the world of virtualization and the free Windows hypervisor.
Over the past several months I have written several articles on using free tools from Microsoft to create a failover cluster using the free Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 as the hypervisor, and the free Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 as the Storage Area Network (SAN) device (see the articles outlined in IT Pro Connection & the TechNet Flashfor details).
While it is not licensed to be a virtualization host, there is no reason why Microsoft Windows Small Business Server cannot be a virtualization guest. Of course, it would require a little extra planning – if you plan to use the Fax service, for example, or if you rely on USB hard drives for your backup – but other than that, I am not aware of any limiting factors.
In this diagram you see the physical infrastructure required; the Virtual SBS box resides on the iSCSI Target and is homed by one of the nodes in the cluster at any given time. It should be noted that this can be expanded to up to 16 cluster nodes, but two is not uncommon for smaller organizations.
This solution, it should be mentioned, it not free. There are a number of costs involved, which I will outline. However for a small organization that knows the dangers of their entire business relying on a single piece of hardware, the costs involved are often less than the potential downtime should your physical server fail.
Costs:
- Instead of a single server to run SBS you need three: two virtualization hosts and one for the software iSCSI target.
- One license of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (to run the software iSCSI target)
While there are other costs involved (storage, networking) they are all a big ‘it depends’. If you do have a SBS box that your business relies on, and you cannot afford downtime (who really can?) then these costs should be factored into the cost of doing business, and should be considered business critical. In other words, invest in proper server hardware (HP ProLiant is a good choice!) rather than trying to do it on the cheap with white boxes or even worse, workstation-class hardware. You may not think to thank me for it when everything is running smoothly, but you will remember reading this and regret not following my advice if you do not heed it and everything comes crashing down!
One more thing you should always remember: Take the time to familiarize yourself with all of the tools involved. Build it in a lab environment that you can try out and make mistakes on before finally implementing the real thing. When you do build it, TEST IT… Failover Cluster Manager has a feature to simulate cluster node failures… or if you want to really test it, try unplugging the network cable from the owner node. Your Highly Available SBS should restart within seconds on the second node.
Remember that you are now adding a level of complexity to your SBS environment that you never had before, and one for which SBS was not designed; it will work, but as you are now working outside of the box, you have to start monitoring outside the box. Make sure that your cluster is healthy every day; if you have a tool such as Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 that monitors your network, implement the Clustering Management Pack. If you use a third-party managed service provider (such as CharTec) then make sure that they know to monitor this solution for you.
Now that you know how to do it… Plan, Implement, and Enjoy! I always welcome your comments on how you loved – or hated – my recommendations 
About Mitch Garvis
I would like to thank my buddy Brian K. Doré, who noticed a blatant error in the diagram originally included in this post. Thanks to him it has been fixed (read: recreated properly) and hopefully now the article will make a lot more sense!
Thanks Brian! -M
Dude! Hobbled??? Users have always had the option to pay the normal going rates for OS and then purchase and install their desired server applications – but they had to have full Standard or better versions to make Trusts, move FSMO roles, and purchase more Client Access Licenses than SBS allowed, etc.
SBS has ALWAYS been a terrific bargin! It is only when deployed in the hands of those that did not understand its rational and the reasons for the significant cost savings (at a discount which – BTW – one received terrific management, integration and wizard tools that NO OTHER VERSION HAD!) that the enduser (and technician) had experiences that were not good.
Restricted – maybe – Hobbled – not a chance – when provisioned by the knowledgable technician!
Hi Mitch!
Calvin I did not mean to offend… When I say that SBS is hobbled I mean that some of the features of the Server Standard platform (on which it is based) are restricted, and that you are limited by the number of users. I did not mean to suggest or imply that it was and is not a great deal for companies that fit into that <75 space… in fact you know that I spent several years working with it, and do not think that I was wrong to.
SBS IS a great bargain… considering that the full versions of Server and Exchange alone would cost so much more to implement than SBS which includes those and so much more. It does have great management which (unlike its enterprise cousins) can be monitored and maintained with little experience, and in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable IT Pro (such as yourself and a few others we know) can do wonders for a small biz.
Please accept my apologies if you feel I implied otherwise
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Hi, dear friends, my concern is this, in my organization
There is a small network of about 30 users all the services depend on a
single server running Windows SBS 2008 Server R2, we are currently
hardware having problems, ye are buying a new server with the
order to make a current mirror. Will I be able to perform this task
this version of operating system available to the organization?
Hi Raul,
I am not sure that I understand your question; Firstly there is no SBS 2008 R2 – they went from 2008 to 2011. Secondly in an IT Infrastructure with a cluster (and especially in a smaller environment with single points-of-failure) it is critical that hardware be solid, and properly maintained. If you have SBS installed on a physical server that is starting to die, I would suggest running a simple P2V migration tool such as disk2vhd from SysInternals (www.sysinternals.com) so that you can capture your server as it is. Next I would acquire good hardware to implement it onto as a virtual machine (using the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1. Once you do that, I would then acquire the second node plus a server on which to build your iSCSI Software target; once you have done that, you can go follow the steps laid out in my articles to create the cluster and then to make the SBS virtual machine highly available.
Good luck! -M
Dude, my question is. You can make a
Mirror two servers with operating system Windows Small Bussines Server 2008
Hi Raul,
The answer to that question is no… because Windows Small Business Server 2008 is based on Windows Server Standard, it is not a clusterable operating system. Clustering is only available with Windows Server Enterprise and Datacenter Editions… or with Microsoft Hyper-V Server (for HAVMs).
I don’t understand why small businesses buy expensive hardware and keep it in house, it just does not make financial any sense anymore. When you have companies like , who can take your entire business computing platform and consolidate it in a data center with high availability and full redundancy. This company is a small company, but they spent a fortune on the right hardware to do the job. We were able to eliminate a full IT person at our facility because we get 9×5 support with our package with them.
Tyler while the cloud may be the right way for some companies, others prefer to keep their infrastructure in-house. Your company (I removed the name unless you want to buy advertising) may have a great solution… but if the customer’s Internet connection goes down so does their connection to your great solution.
Mitch,
Was interested in your article and thought I would give it a try. It appears however that your Hyper-V hosts need to join domain before they can be clustered. What are you using for a DC? If I where using two Hyper-V 2008 R2 core hosts and a iSCSI device (Synology, Qnap etc) clustering would not be possible would it?
Hi Brian,
I do not use SBS in my environment, so I didn’t have the issue. However for SBS what I would do depends on how we are starting:
1) Virtualizing an existing SBS:
Join the two hosts to the existing SBS domain, create your cluster.
2) Starting from scratch:
On one of the hosts, install Hyper-V, then build the VM for SBS. Join the second host to the domain, create a VM running Server 2008 R2, join it to the domain, and promote it to Domain Controller. Join the first host to the domain; shut down the SBS VM, export it from the original location. Build your CSV (Cluster Shared Volume). Configure the default file locations on both Hyper-V hosts to be on the CSV. Import the SBS VM back onto the host. Make it an HAVM (Highly Available Virtual Machine) in Failover Cluster Manager. test that it can migrate, and then start it up again. At this point you can shut down and delete the second domain controller if you don’t have a license for it.
I know it sounds complex, but it is worth it
-M
Did a test setup with Windows 2008 R2 Foundation Server as the DC and created the failover cluster for Hyper-v. Foundation Server does not have Hyper-V manager installed however you can still create the Virtual Machines with another PC i.e Windows 7 or with 59 Manager. Worked a treat.
I am happy to hear you had a positive experience with this! It always makes me feel great when people tell me they benefitted from my articles! Thanks!! -M
Hi !
Thanks for your article. I manage a small (<20 workstations) network with a single 2003 SBS server and I was looking for a failover option for it. I'll try with a 2nd server + a synology NAS for iSCSI.
Regards,
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Thanks Mitch! This addresses my suggestion for more real world scenarios that was included in my comments on the eval for the IT Virtualization Boot Camp that I attended in Vancouver yesterday.
Cheers,
Brett
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How this work in term of license?
I have a dell server with SBS 2011 installed. If I virtualize do I have to re-activate SBS 2011 license? What, in term of license, when the SBS 2011 virtual machine starts up from another Hyper-V host in case of master host failure?
Thanks in advance
Hi Ripon,
Depending on how you purchased your license the answer is different. If your SBS 2011 license was purchased as an OEM, then it must be installed on the physical hardware (unless you upgrade it by adding Software Assurance). However an OEM license cannot be transfered from machine to machine, nor can it be installed in a VM. -M
Thanks for reply!
How the licensing work in term of Hyper-V Highly available virtual machine (HAVM)?
We have two non-identical dell servers. My goal is to create a HAVM using Hyper-V Server on both hosts. what kind of licensing I need for the guest OS to transfer it machine to machine without any licensing issue? Does 90 days transfer restirction rule apply in case of HAVM?
Thanks again
Hi Ripon,
If you have any other license other than the OEM then the operating system will be installed into a virtual machine which can then be made highly available. As long as your two hosts pass the Cluster Validation tests you should be fine. With regard to adding SA to an OEM license I do not know the exact rules, and it may be 60 days… but if you are able to do it then yes, you can then make that virtual machine an HAVM. -M
Hi Mitch,
This means if I have a license other than OEM, for example windows 7 full or Server 2008 R2, install it into a virtual machine, activate it, make it a HAVM, then I will able to tranfer it machine to machine at anytime or when of one host fails? Do I have to re-activate the OS after transfering?
Thanks for your great support.
Hi Ripon,
Firstly I need to stress that I am not a licensing expert. Microsoft does have those… I am not one of them. Also virtualizing Windows 7 (or any client) falls under a different licensing program called the VDA (Virtual Desktop Access). With regard to Windows Server licensing, the license of your SBS is installed on the virtual machine itself, so the hardware becomes irrelevant. There is no reactivation required when you migrate from host to host, because the hardware is virtual and moves with it.