Refer to the Microsoft documentation for detailed installation information. As you progress through the installation, use the following guidelines to create an installation that will function properly in a Microsoft Failover Clustering environment with SFW:

• Ensure that the Volume Manager Disk Group resource is added to the Failover Cluster and the resource is online on the node where you plan to begin the SQL installation.

• Ensure that you set the installation path for the data files to the drive letter and location of the SFW volume created for the SQL Server system data files (for example, INST1_SYS_FILES). Allow the rest of the path (Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server) to remain. This must be the same path on all nodes.

  The installation program installs the system databases on the specified cluster (shared) disk. System databases must be on a clustered disk so that they can be shared between the nodes (and failed over when necessary), because these databases contain specific user login and database object information that must be the same for each node. The virtual server name will allow users access to the online node.

• If you are installing multiple instances, specify an instance name; only one default instance is allowed per cluster. Specify the same instance name when installing this instance on all cluster nodes.

• You must assign a unique virtual server name, for example, SQLVS, during installation. Specify the same virtual server name when installing this SQL instance on all cluster nodes.

  For a disaster recovery configuration, when installing on a secondary site, you must specify the same name for the SQL virtual server as that on the primary site.

• When configuring the virtual server, specify the IP address for the SQL virtual server.

• For the cluster group, specify the SQL Server resource group that you configured earlier.

• After installation, verify that SQL Server installed correctly according to Microsoft instructions. Check that the SQL virtual server group has the correct dependencies.

  Note:

  If you select the checkbox to enable FILESTREAM for file I/O streaming access, the installation creates a resource SQL Server FILESTREAM share of type File Share. It is created with the appropriate dependencies set on the Volume Manager Disk Group, SQL Server, and SQL Server Network Name resource.

• After the installation on the first node is complete, proceed to install SQL Server on the additional cluster nodes. To install SQL Server on additional nodes, launch the "Add node to a SQL Server failover cluster" wizard. The wizard identifies the existing cluster and accordingly proceeds with the installation.

• Using the same guidelines, install SQL Server on additional passive nodes. Make sure that you install the binaries on the same local drive on each node.