Troubleshooting Cluster Event ID 1068 (306684)

SYMPTOMS

The Cluster service may generate the following error message when you attempt to bring a File Share resource online:

Event ID: 1068
Source: ClusSvc
Description: Cluster file share resource ResourceName failed to start with error 2118.

Error 2118 indicates that the name has already been shared.

You may also see the following error message in the Cluster.log file:

File Share File: Share ShareName is online already, try and delete and create it again
File Share File: Share ShareName deleted successfully !
[RM] RmpSetResourceStatus, Posting state 2 notification for resource File Share
[FM] NotifyCallBackRoutine: enqueuing event

After this error message occurs, the File Share resource may be in an Online state, or may be accompanied by event ID 1069 and be in a Failed state.

CAUSE

This issue is caused by attempting to share a folder with the same share name twice. Error 2118 indicates that the share has already been created. When the Cluster service attempts to bring the resource online, it is unable to create the share for the resource because it already exists.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, identify and remove the duplicate share:

Start Cluster Administrator and take the File Share resource offline.
Start Computer Management.
Expand the System Tools, Shared Folders, and Shares items.
Right-click any duplicates for the share, and then click Stop Sharing.
Bring the file share resource back online.

MORE INFORMATION

This issue is commonly caused by incorrectly creating file shares on a cluster with Explorer.exe instead of Cluadmin.exe. For additional information about the proper procedure for setting up File Share resources on a cluster, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

224967 How to Create File Shares on a Cluster

Another cause for the issue, in which a folder is shared twice, is if a file share resource is created by pointing to a path where the root directory is already shared with another File Share resource and has the "Share Subdirectories" option selected in the File Share Properties / Parameters / Advanced settings of the root. When you click the Share Subdirectories option, the Cluster service automatically shares all of the subdirectories, and the other new resource attempts to share the directory twice.