Virtual Server Clustering with Virtual Server 2005 R2

Clustering options
VS2005 R2 offers three different clustering scenarios:

• Virtual Machine Guest Clustering (iSCSI): Virtual Machines are clustered on different hosts.
• Virtual Machine Guest Clustering (Shared SCSI): Virtual Machines are clustered on the same host.
• Virtual Server Host Clustering: Virtual Servers are clustered on different hosts

With Virtual Machine Guest Clustering, each Virtual Machine (VM) is a cluster node. Cluster-aware applications that are running inside a guest are considered resource groups. If an application within a resource group fails or if the guest fails, the VM containing the failure will automatically failover to another VM on the same host or on a different host. This protects against application failure.

Virtual Server Host Clustering, on the other hand, protects against host failure. Should a VS2005 R2 host fail, the VMs running on the failed host can be automatically migrated to another host in the cluster.

Using iSCSI with Virtual Server 2005 R2

Comparing Host Clustering to Other Types of Clustering