Cluster Service Does Not Start After You Upgrade to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

When you upgrade your server cluster from Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) to Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, the Cluster service does not start, and an event similar to the following may be recorded in the application event log:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: VSS
Event Category: None
Event ID: 8213
Date: 3/18/2003
Time: 5:01:51 PM
User: N/A
Computer: Computername
Description: Volume Shadow Copy Service error: The process that hosts the writer with name Cluster Service Writer and ID {41e12264-35d8-479b-8e5c-9b23d1dad37e} does not run under a user with sufficient access rights. Consider running this process under a local account which is either Local System, Administrator or Backup operator. For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

Data:

0000: 57 52 54 57 52 54 49 43 WRTWRTIC

0008: 33 39 39 00 00 00 00 00 399.....

0010: 57 52 54 57 52 54 49 43 WRTWRTIC

0018: 33 36 34 00 00 00 00 00 364.....

This problem may occur if the Cluster service account is not an explicit member of the local Administrators group. In Windows Server 2003, the Cluster service uses the Volume Shadow Copy service to make sure that the backup of cluster configuration information is consistent for backup products that use it. The cluster backup writer that is used by Volume Shadow Copy service cannot start if the Cluster service account is not explicitly granted local administrative rights. The code does not parse users in the groups that are added to the local Administrators group.

Earlier versions of Windows do not require the Cluster service account to be explicitly added to the local Administrators group. If the user is a member of a domain group that is a member of the local Administrators group, Windows 2000 Cluster service starts without problems. Upgrading to Windows Server 2003 does not change this behavior.

Note When you configure a server cluster on a Windows Server 2003-based computer, the New Server Cluster Wizard adds the Cluster service account to the local Administrators group on the cluster node. It adds this account even if the account is an indirect member (that is, a member of a domain group that is a member of the local Administrators group). Therefore, if the computer was not upgraded from an earlier version of Windows, the Cluster service starts successfully, unless the Cluster service account has been removed manually from the local Administrators group.

To resolve this problem, determine which account is used by the Cluster service, and then use one of the methods that follows.

To determine the Cluster service account:

1. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
2. In the list, double-click Cluster Service.
3. Click the Log On tab, and then note the domain account name that appears in the This account box.

Method 1: Make the Cluster Service Account a Member of the Local Administrators Group

Add the Cluster service account explicitly to the local Administrators group on the local computer. Adding a group that includes the Cluster service account as a member to the Local Admin group on the node does not resolve this problem.

Method 2: Edit the Volume Shadow Copy Service Access Control Registry Entry to Grant Access

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS\VssAccessControl
   Note If the VssAccessControl subkey does not exist, add it. To do this, right-click VSS, point to New, and then click Key. In the New Key #1 box, type VssAccessControl, and then press ENTER.
3. Right-click VssAccessControl, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. In the New Value #1 box, type example.com\cluster account (where example.com is the name of the domain where the cluster account is located, and where cluster account is the name of the Cluster service account), and then press ENTER.
5. Right-click the new registry value that you added, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 1 (one), and then click OK.
7. Quit Registry Editor.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.