Event details

Failover clustering remains the foundation of resilient private cloud and datacenter infrastructure. Walk through the failover clustering roadmap and key investments coming in the next version of Windows Server. Learn about new and improved capabilities, such as enhanced update orchestration and admission control, which is designed to improve availability, predictability, and operational confidence at scale. We’ll also dive into how failover clustering continues to evolve to meet the real‑world needs of modern private cloud and private datacenter environments, informed directly by customer feedback and real-world experiences.

 

This session is part of Windows Server Summit 2026.

Pearl-Angeles
Updated May 15, 2026

8 Comments

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  • RezaBasaki's avatar
    RezaBasaki
    Copper Contributor
    May 13, 2026

    Is the ReFS format suitable only for S2D, or does it also have any effect on CSVs in cluster with an iSCSI-based storage structure?

    • Rob-Hindman's avatar
      Rob-Hindman
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 13, 2026

      We recommend using ReFS on CSV on S2D systems. For iSCSI-based storage such as iSCSI-based SAN systems or iSCSI Target, we recommend NTFS. We are investigating ReFS support for CSV on SAN LUNs in a future release.
      -Rob.

  • fkh's avatar
    fkh
    Copper Contributor
    May 13, 2026

    Regarding the new cluster update mechanism: would it be possible to create node groups within a cluster and define different update maintenance windows? For example, could node group 1 be updated on a Tuesday and node group 2 one or two days later?

    We're running failover clusters stretched over 2 data centers and prefer to update each location separately. If this were possible, we could start using the cluster's update mechanism. :)

    • Rob-Hindman's avatar
      Rob-Hindman
      Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
      May 13, 2026

      Thanks for the question, fkh !!! We are working on this capability for Cluster Native Updating (CNU) in Windows Server vNext.
      -Rob.

      • fkh's avatar
        fkh
        Copper Contributor
        May 13, 2026

        Sounds awesome! I'm looking forward to it. :)

  • Heather_Poulsen's avatar
    Heather_Poulsen
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    May 13, 2026

    Thanks for joining us! We hope you enjoyed this session. We’ll continue to answer questions here in the chat for the rest of the hour and we’ll check back through the end of the week. If you missed the live broadcast, don’t worry – you can watch it on demand.

    We look forward to bringing you more great Windows Server Summit sessions tomorrow. Visit https://aka.ms/WindowsServerSummit to see the full agenda.

    Also, please let us know your thoughts on Windows Server Summit overall? Share your feedback and help shape the direction of future events - thank you! 👇

    Share your feedback on Windows Server Summit by visiting https://aka.ms/WSS2026Survey
  • JohnMarlin-CitiGroup's avatar
    JohnMarlin-CitiGroup
    Copper Contributor
    May 13, 2026

    Let’s save some time.  N+1 is only upgrade option.  Always have, may very well be always be.  But it is being looked at and not forgotten as it is always a question