First, the storage must be managed by the cluster, so you add the disk resource and then promote it by creating a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV). According to Microsoft best practices for CSVs, you must put the disk in maintenance mode (Suspend-ClusterResource) before modifying the volume with encryption to ensure exclusive access. Next, you enable BitLocker on the volume to encrypt the data. Finally, you update the BitLockerProtectorInfo property (using Set-ClusterParameter) with the key protector ID; this step is crucial for ensuring the Cluster service can retrieve the key and unlock the volume automatically across all nodes.

Microsoft Learn - BitLocker on Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV):

"When using BitLocker with volumes designated for a cluster... Put the resource into maintenance mode before enabling BitLocker."

This source confirms the necessity of maintenance mode specifically for CSVs.

Source: BitLocker: How to deploy on Windows Server 2012 and later (Section: BitLocker on Cluster Shared Volumes).

Microsoft Learn - PowerShell Cmdlets for Clustering:

Documentation for Set-ClusterParameter often uses BitLockerProtectorInfo in examples for configuring CSV encryption, confirming this is a post-encryption configuration step to store the recovery key ID in the cluster database.

Microsoft Technical Documentation - Failover Clustering:

The workflow is described as: Add Disk -> Add to CSV -> Suspend Resource (Maintenance) -> Enable BitLocker -> Resume Resource -> (Optional/Required per version) Update Cluster Parameter.