Malware Exclusions for a Failover Cluster

Q: What are the right file system locations for a Windows Server 2012 Failover Cluster that should be excluded from malware scanning?

A: The locations to be excluded in a Failover Cluster from malware scanning are documented at the Microsoft website. These locations were targeted for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 but apply equally to Windows Server 2012. The key locations to be excluded are as follows:

• The path of the \mscs folder on the quorum hard disk. For example, exclude the Q:\mscs folder from virus scanning.
• The %Systemroot%\Cluster folder.
• The temp folder for the Cluster Service account. For example, exclude the \clusterserviceaccount\Local Settings\Temp folder from virus scanning.