Recent KB Hotfixes for Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clustering

I’m catching up after my Norway vacation and the recent Intune roadshow in Ireland.

KB2462468: Unable to manage cluster using failover cluster manager. Error Received: "Connection to the cluster is not allowed since you are not an administrator on the cluster node(s) "

While managing cluster using failover cluster management console we receive the following error:
Error
The operation has failed.
An error occurred connecting to the cluster ‘.’.
[Expanded Information]
An error occurred trying to display the cluster information.
Connection to the cluster is not allowed since you are not an administrator on the cluster node(s) (Node name)

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or
When you run the Cluster validation you recieve the following error:
Unable to determine if you have administrator privileges on server "Node name" . Please ensure sure that the server service and remote registry services are enabled, and that the firewall is properly configured for remote access.
Managing cluster using command prompt will still work and will be able to list groups (cluster group), resources (cluster . res) and even be able to do failover of groups (cluster group "cluster group" /move) but will error out while managing cluster using GUI (Failover Cluster Management console).
Note: Command to list group & resources, move group are given in bracket.

This issue occurs if you have server service not started on the node which is shown in the error. Please expand the error to check node name.
Additionally, you may get above mentioned issue due to incorrect protocol enabled which are required for Microsoft clustering.

Open services console and start the Server service.
Ensure the cluster network has both the mentioned below protocol checked:
1. Client for Microsoft networks
2. File and printer sharing for Microsoft networks

KB2008795: Unable to access ClusterStorage folder on a passive node in a server 2008 R2 cluster

On a Windows Server 2008 R2 cluster with Cluster Shared Volume(CSV) feature enabled, a user may be unable to access a CSV volume from a passive (non-coordinator) node. When clicking on a CSV volume, explorer may hang. One or all of the following events may be displayed:

Event ID: 5120
Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverCluster
Level: Error
Description: Cluster Shared Volume "volume_name" is no longer available on this node because of "STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_PATH(c00000be)’. All I/O will temporarily be queued until a path to the volume is re-established.

Event ID: 5120
Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverCluster
Level: Error
Description: Cluster Shared Volume "volume_name" is no longer available on this node because of ‘STATUS_CONNECTION_DISCONNECTED(c000020c)’. All I/O will temporarily be queued until a path to the volume is reestablished.

Event ID: 5120
Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverCluster
Level: Error
Description: Cluster Shared Volume "volume_name" is no longer available on this node because of ‘STATUS_MEDIA_WRITE_PROTECTED(c00000a2)’. All I/O will temporarily be queued until a path to the volume is reestablished.

Event ID generated: 5142
Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverCluster
Description: Cluster Shared Volume "volume_name" (‘Cluster Disk #’) is no longer accessible from this cluster node because of error ‘ERROR_TIMEOUT(1460)’. Please troubleshoot this node’s connectivity to the storage device and network connectivity.

When accessing a CSV volume from a passive (non-coordinator) node, the disk I/O to the owning (coordinator) node is routed through a ‘preferred’ network adapter and requires SMB be enabled on that network adapter. For SMB connections to work on these network adapters, the following protocols must be enabled:

• Client for Microsoft Networks
• File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks

Review each cluster node and verify the following protocols are enabled the network adapters available for Cluster use

• Client for Microsoft Networks
• File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks

1. Click Start , click Run , type ncpa.cpl , and then click OK .
2. Right-click the local area connection that is associated with the network adapter, and then click Properties .
3. Verify that the above protocols appear in the This connection uses the following items box. If either is missing, follow these steps:
a. Click Install , click Client , and then click Add .
b. Select the missing protocol, click OK , and then click Yes .
4. Verify that the check box that appears next to Client for Microsoft Networks is selected.

Personal Note: Those two articles are closely related.  It appears that people are incorrectly unbinding the 2 required networking protocols for CSV: Client for Microsoft Networks & File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.

KB2637197: CSV LUNs fail if you use a VSS hardware provider to back up virtual machines on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based cluster

Consider the following scenario:

• You configure a failover cluster that consists of servers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2.
• You create a cluster shared volume (CSV) that includes some virtual machines that are owned by different cluster nodes.
• You back up the virtual machines by using a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) hardware provider. For example, you back up a protection group in Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010.
• The owner of the CSV changes during the backup process.

In this scenario, the CSV logical unit numbers (LUNs) enter a failed state, and do not come online on the next cluster node. Therefore, the backup process fails.
Notes

• This issue does not occur if you do not use a VSS hardware provider to back up the virtual machines.
• This issue does not occur if the change of owner of the CSV is not triggered during the backup process.

This issue occurs because the Cluster service incorrectly accesses stale information to determine whether a CSV LUN is in the correct state to start the backup process.

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.