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  • #2101643

    Setting up SQL 7.0 in a Server cluster

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    by elmck ·

    Using Win2000 servers I need to install SQL 7.0 and use MSCS or cluster design. I understand what MSCS is however I need more info on setting up SQL in this configuration.

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    • #3427855

      Setting up SQL 7.0 in a Server cluster

      by shanghai sam ·

      In reply to Setting up SQL 7.0 in a Server cluster

      We run that particular setup right now. We have absolutely zero problems with it. No unscheduled downtime in almost two years. We use it in an Active / Passive configuration as a data tier for our web services. What you need to consider is whether connection capacity or server redundancy is your driving factor. We use primarily as an intranet server. We have a couple hundred uses and only one weekly usage spike. We opted for an active / passive configuration to save a little money. You onlyhave to pay for SQL licenses on the active nodes. What this gave us is an online hot spare. Whenever we need to service pack or update the server then we just fail it over to the passive side. Downtime is about one minute during the resource handoff.

      If you have a capacity problem then you will need to run an active / active server. SQL running on all nodes, I think that Win 2K server will do 4 nodes and Advanced srv will do 8 nodes. This allows the connections to be spread over all of the nodes in the cluster. This gives you high capacity and a good amount of fault tolerance. It is a little more expensive as you have to pay for a copy per server.

      As for installation, each server and shared storage system has its own quirks. Download and follow the clustering white papers on the Microsoft site. Document every step of the build process. If you run into a bug during the build, document it and then start over from scratch. Clusters are very touchy. You will be very frustrated ifyou don’t put the time in upfront and build it right. If you are not going to have a spare cluster to train you trouble shooting people on then you ought to consider letting many people build and then destroy the server before you put it into production. This way many people will be familiar with the design and operation.

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