This post descript the steps to setup a SQL Server failover cluster playground environment.
Create a base server template VM of Windows Server 2022, with features .Net Framwork 3.5.1, Failover Clustering, and Multipath I/O installed via the Server Manager. Assign 4 Network Adapters, with the first adapter using NAT. Once the template server setup is done, run sysprep from cmd. The options for sysprep should be set to “Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE)” and the checkbox for Generalize should be checked, and set Shutdown option as Shutdown.
Resources from Jonathan Kehayias at SQLSkills:
Building a Completely Free Playground for SQL Server – 1 – Downloading the Software and Setting up a Windows Server 2008R2 VM TemplateBuilding a Completely Free Playground for SQL Server – 2 – Setting up Active Directory and the iSCSI Virtual SAN
(Note: this iSCSI virtual SAN only works for Windows 2008R2, for 2012+, need to use Storage Spaces Direct (S2D). Using Storage Spaces Direct S2D on VMware Workstation)
Building a Completely Free Playground for SQL Server – 4 – Creating the Cluster