A rollup hotfix package for Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering WMI provider

Issue 1

Consider the following scenario:

• You install Failover Clustering on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008.

• One or more private property names of the Cluster objects contain characters that are not supported by Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

In this scenario, any WMI queries against the Failover Clustering WMI provider fail.

For example, you receive the following error message when you use WMI to enumerate all instances of the MSCluster_Resource type:

Notes

• Valid characters include lowercase letters (a-z), uppercase letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and the underscore character (_) character.

• A property name ending with (_) is an invalid property name.

• This issue occurs only when the names of the private properties contain unsupported characters. However, this restriction does not apply to the values of the private properties. For example, resource and group names can have the hyphen (-) character and other characters.

Issue 2

Consider the following scenario:

• You install Failover Clustering on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008.

• An application uses the cluster WMI interface to query the resource class of a cluster resource. For example, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 uses the cluster WMI interface to query all the storage class resources in the cluster.

In this scenario, the application cannot determine the corresponding resource class for the resources in the cluster. Therefore, the application may not perform correctly, and the exact behavior of the application in this scenario varies based on the application.

Issue 3

Consider the following scenario:

• You install Failover Clustering on computer that is running a non-English version of Windows Server 2008.

• You use the AddToCluster method in the MSCluster_AvailableDisks class to add a failover cluster disk.

In this scenario, the AddToCluster method fails, and you receive the error code 5013 (ERR_GROUP_NOT_FOUND).

Cause of Issue 1

The private properties on a cluster resource, cluster group, or any other cluster object can be queried and set by using multiple methods. This includes the Cluster API and the Cluster WMI provider. However, when a private property on a cluster object is created by using the Cluster API, there are no restrictions on the characters in the private property name. Therefore, when you create a private property name that contains any unsupported characters on the object, any attempt to query the private property name by using the Cluster WMI provider fails.

Cause of Issue 2

The failover cluster WMI provider does not set the value of the ResourceClass property.

Cause of Issue 3

The text localization causes the association between the Available Storage group and the characters that are used to reference the group to fail in a non-English version of Windows Server 2008.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=supportNote The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.


Important Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, only one of these products may be listed on the “Hotfix Request” page. To request the hotfix package that applies to both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, just select the product that is listed on the page.

Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 and for Windows Vista