Similarities and differences between regular cluster and MetroCluster configurations

The configuration of the nodes in each cluster in a MetroCluster configuration is similar to that of nodes in a standard cluster.

The MetroCluster configuration is built on two standard clusters. Physically, the configuration must be symmetrical, with each node having the same hardware configuration, and all the MetroCluster components must be cabled and configured. But the basic software configuration for nodes in a MetroCluster configuration is the same as that for nodes in a standard cluster.

Configuration step	Standard cluster configuration	MetroCluster configuration
Configure management, cluster, and data LIFs on each node	Same in both types of clusters
Configure root aggregate
Configure nodes in the cluster as HA pairs
Set up cluster on one node in the cluster
Join the other node to the cluster
Create a mirrored root aggregate	Optional	Required
Create a mirrored data aggregate on each node	Optional	Required
Peer the clusters	Optional	Required
Enable the MetroCluster configuration	Does not apply	Required