Tools used when building Windows cluster with iscsi

Tools used when building Windows cluster with iscsi:

• Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> View network status and tasks including Change adapter settings
• Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager including View -> show hidden devices
• Disk Management
• Server Manager -> Manage -> Add roles and features
• Server Manager -> Tools -> Failover Cluster Manager
• Server Manager -> Tools -> iSCSI Initiator
• Server Manager->Tools->Routing and Remote Access
• Server Manager -> File and Storage Services on left panel -> iSCSI
• Server Manager->Tools-> Group Policy Management
• Server Manager->Tools-> Active Directory Users and Computers
• diskpart
• sysprep

Tip and undo hints when things go wrong!:

• Sysprep everything, see below, technically I read only DC needs sysprep but I was safe.
• diskpart – to remove GPT protected or recovery partitions – list disk – select disk N – list partitions – select partition N- delete partition override
• Server Manager->Tools-> Active Directory Users and Computers -> expand domain -> expand computers -> delete computer to allow retry – not only done on my play setup!
• Backup all VMs BEFORE installing Failover Clustering features

Sysprep myth

After a lot of reading I found Mark Russinovich’s answer.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/markrussinovich/2009/11/03/the-machine-sid-duplication-myth-and-why-sysprep-matters/

So sysprep is only needed when 1 machine will reference another machine’s SID :

• The first domain controller in a domainhas a machine SID and this becomes the “Domain SID”.
• All DCs have the their machine SID matching the “Domain SID”.Machines
• All machines which are not a Domain Controller MUST not have a machine SID matching the “Domain SID”.

I sysprep’ed everything in my cluster builds so I have not tested this!