AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure Exam

Configure Hyper-V Failover Clusters

Hyper-V failover clusters are designed to keep virtual machines running even when a node or site fails. By provisioning cluster nodes across different Azure availability zones, you protect against datacenter-level failures. Using proximity placement groups and accelerated networking helps maintain low latency between nodes. It is important to place each application tier in separate availability sets to isolate failures. This setup supports automated failover and continuous VM service.

A quorum in a failover cluster ensures that a majority of nodes agree on operations, preventing split-brain scenarios. Common quorum resources include cloud witness, disk witness, and file share witness.

• Cloud Witness is ideal for multi-site or multi-region clusters.
• Disk Witness works well with Azure Shared Disks.
• File Share Witness can be used when other options are unavailable.
  Assign votes carefully based on each node’s role to maintain quorum and enable reliable failover.

Shared and witness storage must be configured correctly to support cluster health and recovery. Use Azure Shared Disks for shared storage that integrates seamlessly with failover clustering. For a local witness, ensure an SMB 2.0 file share has at least 5 MB of free space and proper network access. For cloud witness, verify that outbound port 443 is open and both nodes have reliable internet connectivity. Proper storage setup underpins continuous VM availability.

Regularly validating cluster health helps catch issues before they impact services. Perform cluster validation tests to check connectivity, storage, and configuration settings. Monitor vote assignments and adjust them if nodes or witnesses go offline. Schedule periodic checks and use Azure monitoring tools to track node status. This proactive approach ensures robust high availability for your Hyper-V VMs.

Conclusion

In this section, you learned how to configure Hyper-V Failover Clusters to support high availability for virtual machines in Azure. You now understand the importance of provisioning nodes across availability zones and using proximity placement groups for low-latency communication. The role of a quorum and the differences between cloud, disk, and file share witnesses were explained to maintain cluster reliability. Finally, you saw how to set up shared storage with Azure Shared Disks and conduct regular cluster health validations to ensure continuous VM service during failures. This knowledge forms the foundation for resilient Hyper-V deployments in a hybrid cloud environment.