Dell PowerVault 775N (Rackmount NAS Appliance) - Manual (Page 31)

The quorum resource is typically a hard drive in the shared storage system that serves the following purposes in a PowerVault
NAS Cluster configuration:
Acts as an arbiter between the cluster nodes to ensure that the specific data necessary for system recovery is
maintained consistently across the cluster nodes
Logs the recovery data sent by the cluster node
Only one cluster node can control the quorum resource at one time. This node continues to run if the two nodes are unable to
communicate with each other. If the two nodes are unable to communicate through the private network, MSCS automatically
shuts down the node that does not contain the quorum resource.
When one of the cluster nodes fails for any reason, changes to the cluster configuration database are logged to the quorum
resource, ensuring that the healthy node gaining control of the quorum resource has access to an up-to-date version of the
cluster configuration database.
Creating a Partition for the Quorum Resource
Dell recommends creating a separate partition—approximately 1 GB in size—for the quorum resource.
When you create the partition for the quorum resource:
Format the partition with NTFS.
Use the partition exclusively for your quorum logs.
Do not store any application data or user data on the quorum resource partition.
To properly identify the quorum resource, Dell recommends that you assign the drive letter "Q" to the quorum resource
partition.
Dell does not recommend using the remainder of the virtual disk for other cluster resources. If you do use the space for
cluster resources, be aware that when you create two volumes (partitions) on a single virtual disk, they will both fail over
together if a server fails.
Preventing Quorum Resource Failure
Because the quorum resource plays a crucial role in cluster operation, losing a quorum resource causes the entire cluster to
fail. To prevent cluster failure, configure the quorum resource on a RAID volume in the shared storage system.
NOTICE: Dell recommends that you use a RAID level other than RAID 0, which is commonly called striping. RAID 0
configurations provide very high performance, but they do not provide the level of redundancy that is required for the
quorum resource.
Configuring the Shared Disk for the Quorum Resource
1. Open Dell OpenManage Array Manager.
2. Locate two hard drives of the same size in the external storage system(s).
3. Create a RAID 1 virtual disk.
See your Array Manager documentation for information on installing a virtual disk.