SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step A hands on look at implementing AlwaysOn in SQL Server 2014

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Dave Bermingham Microsoft Cluster MVP (2010-current) Founder of SIOS Technology Senior Technical Evangelist (2004-current) –Focused on helping customers deploy HA and DR solutions on Windows Servers Follow me on

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step What is SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn? SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn describes two distinct SQL Server High Availability features: –AlwaysOn Availability Groups –AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instance

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Availability Groups Introduced in SQL Server 2012 Evolution of Database Mirroring New Features Include –Grouping Databases into Failover Groups –Integration with Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) Uses WSFC quorum models Uses Cluster Client Access Point Requires SQL Server 2012/2014 Enterprise Edition SQL 2014 AlwaysOn enhancements –Secondary Replicas increased from 4 to 8 –CSV now supported in SQL Server Failover Clusters

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instance Renamed in SQL Server 2012 –Previously called SQL Server Failover Cluster New features include –Support for cross subnet failover Integration with Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) –Uses WSFC quorum models –Uses cluster Client Access Point –Actually is a true “clustered instance” Requires SQL Server 2012 Standard or Enterprise Edition

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Failover Cluster Instance vs. Availability Group AlwaysOn Availability Groups AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Support SQL Standard Edition 04 Distributed Transactions 04 Unlimited Databases 04 Automated Client Redirection 24 Protects System Databases (Master, MSDB, etc.) 04 Eases Database Administration 04 Supports Replication (Transactional, Merge, etc) 14 Support more than 2-nodes in failover configuration 24 Eliminates SAN as a single point of failure 40 Supports Multisite Clusters 40 Readable Secondary 40

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Building a 2-node Failover Cluster Instance These steps are documented in detail in my blog article – server-2012-clustering-step-by-step/ server-2012-clustering-step-by-step/ Add the Failover Clustering Feature –Add Roles and Features Configure your storage –Supported Storage: Fiber Channel, iSCSI, Storage Spaces, SMB 3.0, shared VHD (Windows 2012 R2), local disk with 3 rd party replication solution Run Cluster Validation Create the cluster Adjust quorum type if necessary

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Configuring the Quorum Highly recommend reading the Failover Cluster Team Blog article –Understanding Quorum in a Failover ClusterUnderstanding Quorum in a Failover Cluster Quorum Types –Node Majority –Node & Disk Majority –Node & File Share Majority –Disk Only (legacy, not recommended) Rule of Thumb –Always have an odd number of votes –Multisite cluster quorum…it’s complicated File Share Witness in 3 rd site required for automatic failover Read TechNet Blog on File Share WitnessFile Share Witness

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Quorums in Windows 2012 R2 Dynamic Quorum (introduced in Windows 2012) Dynamic Witness Tie Breaker for 50% node split –(Get-ClusterNode –Name "Node1").Id –(Get-Cluster).LowerQuorumPriorityNodeID = 1 Take Away – In Windows 2012 R2 it is ALWAYS recommended to configure a witness, regardless of the number of nodes in the cluster.

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Configuring AlwaysOn Availability Groups Steps –Install Windows Cluster –Install a Standalone SQL Server 2012 Use the domain account for the SQL service account Open Port 1433 and 5022 or disable the Windows Firewall –Create a sample database Set recovery model to Full Back up this sample database –Enable the AlwaysOn feature on both instances using SQL Server Configuration Manager –Create an Availability Group using the Availability Group Wizard

SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn Step-by-Step Resources My Blog On Failover Clustering – Always On Failover Cluster Overview – Understanding Quorum in a Failover Cluster – Understanding File Share Witness Placement – share-witness-and-when-should-i-use-one.aspxhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2012/06/27/clustering-what-exactly-is-a-file- share-witness-and-when-should-i-use-one.aspx Configuring Availability Groups – availability-groups-in-system-center-2012-virtual-machine-manager-service-pack-1.aspxhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/scvmm/archive/2012/10/24/how-to-configure-sql-2012-alwayson- availability-groups-in-system-center-2012-virtual-machine-manager-service-pack-1.aspx – What’s New in Failover Clustering in Windows Server 2012 R2 –