SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups Configuration and Tips
Prerequisites Install Windows Failover Cluster on each node Install SQL Server stand-alone instance on each node SQL 2012 R2 or better All nodes with EXACT same hardware configuration All nodes patched to same level Static IPs 1 for each node 1 for each listener Nodes should be members of the same domain Possible to create “domain independent” AG’s
Demo Turn On via SQL Configuration Manager Ensure using domain-level service account for SQL Server Configuration Availability Group via SQL Server Management Studio
Basic Availability Groups Limited to two replicas No Read access on secondary replicas No backups / integrity checks on secondary replicas Requires SQL 2016 CTP3+ ONE availability database Cannot be upgraded to Advanced Availability Groups (Must drop and re- add) Standard Edition only Cannot be part of a distributed availability group (I.e. no group spanning)
Tips / Gotcha’s Use a domain-level SQL Server service account Some Applications / Clients need to be cluster aware Depends on driver Might need to sync SQL login GUIDs Instance users are not sync’d as part of AG’s Put maintenance plans on ALL replicas No guarantee which node will be primary / secondary Don’t confuse with AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instances (FCI) Monitoring Built-in SQL Sentry (https://www.sentryone.com) Roll your own
Sources Basic Availability Group Limits Domain Independent AG’s https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/basic- availability-groups-always-on-availability-groups?view=sql-server-2017 Domain Independent AG’s https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/domain- independent-availability-groups?view=sql-server-2017 Sync Login GUIDs https://sqlsunday.com/2016/10/11/how-to-sync-logins-between-availability-group-replicas/ Windows Server Failover Cluster http://mssqllover.blogspot.in/2017/03/step-by-step-configring-windows-fail.html Brent Ozar https://www.brentozar.com
Jason Holden Gamer :: Coder :: DBA Website http://www.jasonholden.com Email Jason@jasonholden.com Phone 918-409-CODE (2633)