InfoScale™ 9.0 Storage Foundation and High Availability Solutions HA and DR Solutions Guide for Microsoft SQL Server - Windows
- Section I. Getting started with Storage Foundation and High Availability Solutions for SQL Server
- Introducing SFW HA and the VCS agents for SQL Server
- About the Veritas InfoScale solutions for monitoring SQL Server
- How application availability is achieved in a physical environment
- How is application availability achieved in a VMware virtual environment
- Managing storage using VMware virtual disks
- Modifying the ESXDetails attribute
- How VCS monitors storage components
- Shared storage - if you use NetApp filers
- Shared storage - if you use SFW to manage cluster dynamic disk groups
- Shared storage - if you use Windows LDM to manage shared disks
- Non-shared storage - if you use SFW to manage dynamic disk groups
- Non-shared storage - if you use Windows LDM to manage local disks
- Non-shared storage - if you use VMware storage
- What must be protected in an SQL Server environment
- About the VCS agents for SQL Server
- About the VCS agent for SQL Server Database Engine
- About the VCS agent for SQL Server FILESTREAM
- About the VCS GenericService agent for SQL Server Agent service and Analysis service
- About the agent for MSDTC service
- About the monitoring options
- Typical SQL Server configuration in a VCS cluster
- Typical SQL Server disaster recovery configuration
- SQL Server sample dependency graph
- MSDTC sample dependency graph
- Deployment scenarios for SQL Server
- Workflows in the Solutions Configuration Center
- Reviewing the active-passive HA configuration
- Reviewing the prerequisites for a standalone SQL Server
- Reviewing a standalone SQL Server configuration
- Reviewing the MSDTC configuration
- VCS campus cluster configuration
- Reviewing the campus cluster configuration
- VCS Replicated Data Cluster configuration
- Reviewing the Replicated Data Cluster configuration
- About setting up a Replicated Data Cluster configuration
- Disaster recovery configuration
- Reviewing the disaster recovery configuration
- Notes and recommendations for cluster and application configuration
- Configuring the storage hardware and network
- Configuring disk groups and volumes for SQL Server
- About disk groups and volumes
- Prerequisites for configuring disk groups and volumes
- Considerations for a fast failover configuration
- Considerations for converting existing shared storage to cluster disk groups and volumes
- Considerations when creating disks and volumes for campus clusters
- Considerations for volumes for a Volume Replicator configuration
- Considerations for disk groups and volumes for multiple instances
- Sample disk group and volume configuration
- MSDTC sample disk group and volume configuration
- Viewing the available disk storage
- Creating a dynamic disk group
- Adding disks to campus cluster sites
- Creating volumes for high availability clusters
- Creating volumes for campus clusters
- About managing disk groups and volumes
- Configuring the cluster using the Cluster Configuration Wizard
- Installing SQL Server
- About installing and configuring SQL Server
- About installing multiple SQL Server instances
- Verifying that the SQL Server databases and logs are moved to shared storage
- About installing SQL Server for high availability configuration
- About installing SQL Server on the first system
- About installing SQL Server on additional systems
- Creating a SQL Server user-defined database
- Completing configuration steps in SQL Server
- Introducing SFW HA and the VCS agents for SQL Server
- Section II. Configuring SQL Server in a physical environment
- Configuring SQL Server for failover
- Tasks for configuring a new server for high availability
- Tasks for configuring an existing server for high availability
- About configuring the SQL Server service group
- Configuring the service group in a non-shared storage environment
- Verifying the SQL Server cluster configuration
- About the modifications required for tagged VLAN or teamed network
- Tasks for configuring MSDTC for high availability
- Configuring an MSDTC Server service group
- About configuring the MSDTC client for SQL Server
- About the VCS Application Manager utility
- Viewing DTC transaction information
- Modifying a SQL Server service group to add VMDg and MountV resources
- Determining additional steps needed
- Configuring campus clusters for SQL Server
- Configuring Replicated Data Clusters for SQL Server
- Tasks for configuring Replicated Data Clusters
- Creating the primary system zone for the application service group
- Creating a parallel environment in the secondary zone
- Setting up security for Volume Replicator
- Setting up the Replicated Data Sets (RDS)
- Configuring a RVG service group for replication
- Creating the RVG service group
- Configuring the resources in the RVG service group for RDC replication
- Configuring the IP and NIC resources
- Configuring the VMDg or VMNSDg resources for the disk groups
- Modifying the DGGuid attribute for the new disk group resource in the RVG service group
- Configuring the VMDg or VMNSDg resources for the disk group for the user-defined database
- Adding the Volume Replicator RVG resources for the disk groups
- Linking the Volume Replicator RVG resources to establish dependencies
- Deleting the VMDg or VMNSDg resource from the SQL Server service group
- Configuring the RVG Primary resources
- Configuring the primary system zone for the RVG service group
- Setting a dependency between the service groups
- Adding the nodes from the secondary zone to the RDC
- Adding the nodes from the secondary zone to the RVG service group
- Configuring secondary zone nodes in the RVG service group
- Configuring the RVG service group NIC resource for fail over (VMNSDg only)
- Configuring the RVG service group IP resource for failover
- Configuring the RVG service group VMNSDg resources for fail over
- Adding nodes from the secondary zone to the SQL Server service group
- Configuring the zones in the SQL Server service group
- Configuring the application service group IP resource for fail over (VMNSDg only)
- Configuring the application service group NIC resource for fail over (VMNSDg only)
- Verifying the RDC configuration
- Additional instructions for GCO disaster recovery
- Configuring disaster recovery for SQL Server
- Tasks for configuring disaster recovery for SQL Server
- Tasks for setting up DR in a non-shared storage environment
- Guidelines for installing Arctera InfoScale Enterprise and configuring the cluster on the secondary site
- Verifying your primary site configuration
- Setting up your replication environment
- Assigning user privileges (secure clusters only)
- About configuring disaster recovery with the DR wizard
- Cloning the storage on the secondary site using the DR wizard (Volume Replicator replication option)
- Creating temporary storage on the secondary site using the DR wizard (array-based replication)
- Installing and configuring SQL Server on the secondary site
- Cloning the service group configuration from the primary site to the secondary site
- Configuring the SQL Server service group in a non-shared storage environment
- Configuring replication and global clustering
- Creating the replicated data sets (RDS) for Volume Replicator replication
- Creating the Volume Replicator RVG service group for replication
- Configuring the global cluster option for wide-area failover
- Verifying the disaster recovery configuration
- Adding multiple DR sites (optional)
- Recovery procedures for service group dependencies
- Configuring DR manually without the DR wizard
- Testing fault readiness by running a fire drill
- About disaster recovery fire drills
- About the Fire Drill Wizard
- About post-fire drill scripts
- Tasks for configuring and running fire drills
- Prerequisites for a fire drill
- Preparing the fire drill configuration
- System Selection panel details
- Service Group Selection panel details
- Secondary System Selection panel details
- Fire Drill Service Group Settings panel details
- Disk Selection panel details
- Hitachi TrueCopy Path Information panel details
- HTCSnap Resource Configuration panel details
- SRDFSnap Resource Configuration panel details
- Fire Drill Preparation panel details
- Running a fire drill
- Re-creating a fire drill configuration that has changed
- Restoring the fire drill system to a prepared state
- Deleting the fire drill configuration
- Considerations for switching over fire drill service groups
- Configuring SQL Server for failover
Re-creating a fire drill configuration that has changed
When you run the Fire Drill wizard, a fire drill service group may already exist for the selected application service group. However, the application service group may have changed since the fire drill service group was created. The wizard compares the resource names of the two service groups. If differences are found, the wizard lists them on the Re-create Fire Drill Service Group panel.
The wizard also checks the RVGs configured for disk groups. If a single RVG is configured per disk, the wizard allows you to re-create the service group; the existing snapshots are retained. If multiple RVGs are configured on a disk, the wizard only allows you to delete the service group; the existing snapshots are deleted. To create a corresponding new one, you need to launch the wizard again and perform the fire drill preparation steps.
Note:
The wizard does not check for changes in volume attributes, such as the MountPath attribute. For example, if you have a MountV resource with an attribute that points to drive Y and you change that attribute to point to drive X, the wizard does not identify this change and does not give the option to re-create the fire drill service group.
You can choose whether to manually edit the fire drill service group for such changes and then run the fire drill, ignore the differences, or delete the configuration and start over.
You have the following choices from the Re-create Fire Drill Service Group panel:
Leave the option checked to re-create the fire drill service group. Proceed with using the wizard to re-create the configuration to match the application service group. The wizard deletes the existing fire drill configuration first, before creating the new one.
For a Volume Replicator replication environment, the wizard handles existing volumes as follows: It does not delete the mirrors for volumes that still exist. When it re-creates the fire drill configuration, it prepares new mirrors only for new volumes. If volumes have been removed, the wizard displays an additional option to snap abort the obsolete snapshot volumes to free up disk space.
Clear the option to re-create the fire drill service group. You can then proceed with using the wizard to do either of the following:
Run the fire drill, ignoring the differences.
Delete the entire fire drill configuration. Then start over with preparing the fire drill configuration.
The following procedure describes the choice of re-creating the fire drill configuration.
Note:
Arctera recommends that you do not use this procedure to re-create any existing fire drill service groups after performing an upgrade. Instead, use the Fire Drill Wizard to delete the existing service groups and create corresponding new ones.
To re-create the fire drill configuration if the service group has changed
- In the Re-create Fire Drill Service Group panel, leave the option checked to re-create the configuration before running the fire drill.
For a Volume Replicator replication environment, if volumes have been removed, optionally select to snap abort the volumes.
Click Next.
- In the Fire Drill Mode Selection panel, Delete Fire Drill Configuration is selected. Click Next, and click Yes to confirm the deletion.
- The Fire Drill Deletion panel shows the progress of the deletion.
For a Volume Replicator replication environment, the wizard leaves the existing fire drill snapshot volumes so that those snapshot mirrors do not have to be prepared again. If volumes were removed and you selected the option to snap abort, the wizard snap aborts the snapshots of those volumes.
Warning:
If you close the wizard after deleting the fire drill configuration without continuing on to the fire drill preparation step, the information of the existing snapshot volumes is lost.
When all tasks are complete, click Next.
- In the Fire Drill Prerequisites panel, review the information and ensure that all prerequisites are met. Click Next.
- The wizard selects the appropriate panel to display next, depending on the replication method. Fill in any required information on the panel that is displayed.
Volume Replicator replication
If volumes have been added, the Disk Selection panel is displayed. Specify the information for the added volumes.
If there is not enough disk space, you can use the Veritas Enterprise Administrator to add disks to the disk group. Then click the Refresh button in the wizard.
Hitachi TrueCopy replication
Horcm Files Path Selection panel
See Hitachi TrueCopy Path Information panel details.
HTCSnap Resource Configuration panel
EMC SRDF replication
SRDFSnap Resource Configuration panel
Click Next.
- The Fire Drill Preparation panel is displayed. Wait while the wizard re-creates the fire drill service group.
For Volume Replicator replication environments, wait while the wizard starts mirror preparation.
Mirror creation can take some time. You may want to minimize the wizard while the task runs in the background. You can also close the wizard and track the mirror preparation progress in the VEA.
- Once preparation is complete, click Next. The Summary page is displayed. To continue with running the fire drill, click Next.
See Running a fire drill.