I'm tasked with creating a failover cluster for Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) as a proof of concept. I've successfully set up and validated the failover cluster, but I'm struggling with the MSMQ configuration. I have the role installed on both servers running Windows Server 2019, but I can't seem to get the configuration right. It's been about 12 to 15 years since I worked with MSMQ, so I'm a bit rusty. I'm following an online guide but still stuck.
Specifically, should I set up storage for MSMQ? I have extra disks configured on both servers with a working storage pool, but I can't get MSMQ to recognize them correctly. If anyone knows of a better guide or has advice, I'd appreciate it!
2 Answers
Honestly, do you really have to stick with MSMQ in 2025? Maybe see if your dev team can move away from that to something more current?
MSMQ typically stores data in `C:WindowsSystem32msmqstorage`. Make sure you cluster the MSMQ service across your nodes first. Then, cluster a disk, create a directory on that clustered disk, and point MSMQ's storage to that directory.
I have disks set up on the VMs for this, and I created a storage pool, but I can't get them to communicate. Can the clustered disk be on one of the nodes, or does it need to be on a shared setup?
Yeah, unfortunately, my manager is set on it. It's tied to an old legacy application we can't replace until 2029. I've tried explaining that the docs are from Windows 2003 or 2012, but no luck.