Authoritative Restore Cluster Database (Windows Server 2008 Cluster or later)--Lets you perform an authoritative restore on Windows Server 2008 or later clusters. An authoritative restore lets you to restore the cluster database across all nodes. You should enable this option when you want to roll back the cluster configuration to the previous version.
Use the following guidelines to determine when to process an authoritative restore or a non-authoritative restore:
- Authoritative restore--An authoritative restore lets you use the cluster configuration that is stored in the backup data, not the current cluster node configuration, to recover the node. An authoritative restore lets you allow the cluster to use the restored configuration as the most recent configuration. If you recover the node using an authoritative restore, the current cluster configuration replicates to all of the nodes in the cluster.
- Non-authoritative restore--A non-authoritative restore lets you use the backup data to recover disabled nodes. With a non-authoritative restore, the latest cluster configuration information replicates to the recovered node after it becomes functional and joins the cluster.
Be aware of the following behaviors and considerations:
- The Authoritative Restore Cluster Database (Windows Server 2008 Cluster or later) option can be applied at the node level.
- If the node that you want to restore is corrupt or disabled, you must perform a node restore before you perform an authoritative restore. To perform a node restore, do not enable this option.
- You must restart the node after you perform an authoritative or a non-authoritative restore.
Note: For information about recovering clusters from a disaster, see "Recovering Clusters" in the Disaster Recovery Option Guide.