You can add storage to a failover cluster after exposing that storage to all cluster nodes (by changing LUN masking or zoning). You do not need to add the storage to the cluster if the storage is already listed for that cluster under Storage in the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in.
If you are only adding storage to a particular clustered service or application (not adding entirely new storage to the failover cluster as a whole), see Add Storage for a Clustered Service or Application.
Membership in the local Administrators group on each clustered server, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Also, the account you use must be a domain account. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at
 | To add storage to a failover cluster |
In the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in, if the cluster that you want to configure is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Manager, click Manage a Cluster, and then select or specify the cluster that you want.
If the console tree is collapsed, expand the tree under the cluster that you want to configure.
Right-click Storage, and then click Add a disk.
Select the disk or disks you want to add.
Additional considerations
- You can also perform the task described in this procedure by using Windows PowerShell. For more information about using Windows PowerShell for failover clusters, see
- To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Manager. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.
- After you click Add a disk, if you do not see a disk that you expect to see, review the following:
- The list of disks that are shown when you click Storage in the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in. If the disk is already in that list, you do not need to add it to the cluster.
- The configuration of the storage interfaces, including the storage interfaces that run on the cluster nodes. The disk must be available to all nodes in the cluster before you can add it to the set of storage for the cluster.
- The disks shown in Disk Management (check each node in the cluster).
If the disk that you want to add does not appear at all in Disk Management (on any node), there might be an issue with the storage configuration that is preventing the operating system from recognizing or mounting the disk. Note that disks currently in use by the cluster will appear in Disk Management on one node only (the node that is the current owner of that disk).
If the disk that you want to add appears in Disk Management but does not appear after you click Add a disk, confirm that the disk is configured as a basic disk, not a dynamic disk. Only basic disks can be used in a failover cluster.
To open Disk Management, click Start, click Administrative Tools, click Computer Management, and then click Disk Management. (If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.)
- The list of disks that are shown when you click Storage in the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in. If the disk is already in that list, you do not need to add it to the cluster.