Should the MSSQLSERVER service be running on both nodes in...

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MGeles - 27 Jul 2005 16:54 GMT

I'm relatively new to the world of sql clusters. We have and Active/Passive
cluster with Windows 2003 server.

I recently did a test where I manually moved the resources from node 1 to
node 2. I've noticed that the MSSQLSERVER service was now running on the 2nd
node, but not on the first.

Should the MSSQLSERVER service be running on both nodes in an Active/Passive
cluster?

We were monitoring the services on each node seperately. Should we be using
the virtual IP instead?

One more thing is that the cluster has 2 virtual IPs. Are 2 ips needed on a
cluster or is this redundent?

Thanks
Mike

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Geoff N. Hiten - 27 Jul 2005 17:11 GMT

Comments Inline

> I'm relatively new to the world of sql clusters. We have and
> Active/Passive
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Active/Passive
> cluster?

No. Do not control or monitor the MSSQLSERVER service directly. The
Cluster service handles all of those tasks.

> We were monitoring the services on each node seperately. Should we be
> using
> the virtual IP instead?

Yes

> One more thing is that the cluster has 2 virtual IPs. Are 2 ips needed on
> a
> cluster or is this redundent?

1 Virtual IP for the Cluster itself. 1 Virtual IP for the SQL service.
This is normal.

> Thanks
> Mike

Geoff N. Hiten
Senior Database Administrator
Microsoft SQL Server MVP

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Uttam Parui[MS] - 28 Jul 2005 05:35 GMT

In a cluster, the clustered resource (in this case SQL Server clustered resource) runs on one node at a time. So, when you manually move the group to another node, the resources in this group will become online on
the other node. Say SQL was running on node 1 and you manually move the SQL group to node 2, SQL will be taken offline on node 1 i.e. the SQL service will shutdown on node 1 and then taken online on node 2 i.e.
SQL Service will be started on node 2 and it will go through the normal recovery process.

Ofcourse, one can design a two node cluster and have two clustered SQL instances each running on either node. But again each service will be a different SQL instance service and here also at any time the same
service will not run on both nodes.

Here are some links that you may find useful

Microsoft Whitepaper - SQL Server 2000 Failover Clustering
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2000/maintain/failclus.mspx

SQL Server 2000 Pricing and Licensing
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/sqlserverlicensing.asp

SQL Server 2000 Licensing FAQ
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/faq.asp

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability Series
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2000/deploy/sqlhalp.mspx

The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability Series helps you plan and deploy a highly available data center that uses Microsoft SQL Server 2000 through proper procedures that increase availability, backups
help recover from catastrophic disasters, redundant components prevent downtime, and redundant servers minimize downtime.

The series consists of:
o PLANNING to help you design a data center to achieve the level of availability needed for the business environment.
o DEPLOYMENT to help you implement selected server redundancy solutions to minimize unavailability caused by server failures and planned downtime.

SQL Server Consolidation on the 32-Bit Platform using a Clustered Environment
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2000/deploy/32bitconsolidation.mspx

TechNet Support WebCast: How to install a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 virtual server on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 cluster
Discusses how to install Microsoft SQL Server 2000 clustering on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and differences between Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;888121

Best Regards,

Uttam Parui
Microsoft Corporation

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