Shared Folder-Based Cluster Configuration (Velocity)

[This topic is pre-release documentation and is subject to change in future releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

When you are using Microsoft project code named "Velocity" and you select the shared folder cluster configuration storage option, cluster configuration details are stored in the shared folder that you designate. Within that folder, "Velocity" creates a SQL Server Compact data file to store the cluster configuration settings, named ClusterConfig.sdf. This file is created automatically during installation. "Velocity" uses this configuration file as the primary point of reference for defining the cache cluster, cache hosts, and named caches.

For more information about preparing a shared folder for the cluster configuration storage location, see How to: Prepare a Shared Network Folder for Cluster Configuration Settings (Velocity).

Before installing "Velocity" on the first cache server, you must create and configure a shared folder to act as the cluster configuration storage location. The installation program will need this shared folder to create or modify the cluster configuration files and folder structure. For this reason, all cache servers in the cluster must be able to access the cluster configuration shared folder.

The cluster configuration storage location can be a single point of failure for your distributed cache system. For this reason, we recommend that you use Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering to host a "clustered" folder resource for the cache cluster configuration storage location. Doing this optimizes the availability of your cluster's configuration data.

Permissions

The cluster configuration shared folder must have its sharing and security settings configured so that each cache server has read and write permission to the folder contents.

To simplify long-term administration of the cluster configuration folder, do not run the "Velocity" service under the credentials of a domain user account. By using the default installation settings, you can use the domain computer accounts of the cache servers instead and avoid password maintenance.

If you create a Windows security group to manage access to the cache configuration shared folder, you set up permissions on that folder only once. For example, if the Windows security group is named ClusterACacheServers, it indicates that the cache servers have permission to become part of the cache cluster named ClusterA.

After you create the ClusterACacheServers security group, grant the domain computer accounts of the applicable cache servers membership to this group (for example, "domain\computername$"). Then grant ClusterACacheServers read and write permissions in the sharing and security settings of the cluster configuration shared folder. When this is set up, for each new server that you add to the cache cluster, add only the domain computer account of the new server to the security group.

File Structure

When you install "Velocity" for the first time with the shared folder-based configuration option, the installation program creates two files in the folder specified for the configuration storage location:

• ClusterConfig.sdf is the SQL Server Compact file that keeps track of configuration settings. When the cluster starts, these settings are used to instantiate the cluster.

• ConfigStore.sdf is the SQL Server Compact file is used by the cluster to store operational information.

See Also

Concepts

SQL Server-Based Cluster Configuration (Velocity)
Cluster Configuration Settings (Velocity)
Client Configuration Options (Velocity)

Other Resources

Configuring the Cache Cluster (Velocity)
Administration Guide (Velocity)
Programming Guide (Velocity)