Inconsistent File Access in File Cluster

Q: I received an error message when I tried to open a particular file on a file share that was hosted on a specific node in the cluster. However, I could access the file if I moved the file server to another node in the cluster. What could be causing this problem?

A: This problem could have a couple of possible causes. One possible problem could be stale data in memory on the node in question; a solution might be to reboot the problem node. Another possible problem is that the anti-virus software might be configured differently on the various nodes. Yet another possibility is that you've enabled data deduplication on the volume but you don't have the data deduplication file services role service installed, which means files that have been deduplicated can't be opened on a node without the data deduplication role; you'll receive an error message saying the system can't access the file. To solve this problem, you need to install the data deduplication role on all the servers in the cluster.