Active/Active/Active/Passive

We are using SQL2000 and considering clustering the
solution. Could someone point us good documentation on
clustering. We are particularly interested in
Active/Active/Active/Passive
Thanks in advance
Amar
Amar,
It appears that you are interested in
-- 3+1 cluster with 3 nodes having instances of SQL Server 2000 and the fourth node is passive. Is that true?
-- i.e. multiple instance SQL cluster
A multiple-instance SQL cluster can have up to four server nodes (next version of SQL Server --Yukon will support upto 8 nodes) and supports up to 16 instances (1 default, 15 named or 16 named). Each SQL
Server 2000 virtual server requires its own disk resources that cannot be used by other instances. These disk resources are the logical drive names (for example, drive F:\) used by SQL Server on which to store
data and log files. Separate physical disk sets are needed to make up the logical drive, unless your disk subsystem supports multiple logical drives on one physical drive set. SQL Server in a clustered
environment also behaves differently from a stand-alone named instance in relation to IP ports. During the installation process, a dynamic port that may be something other than 1433 is configured, and that port
number is reserved for the instance. In a failover cluster, multiple instances can be configured to share the same port, such as 1433, because the failover cluster listens only to the IP address assigned to the SQL
Server virtual server, and is not limited to a 1:1 ratio. However, for security and potentially increased availability, you may want to assign each virtual server to its own unique port of your choice or leave it as it was
configured during installation
Here are some related links that you may find useful:
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability (MS Press)
ISBN 0-7356-1920-4
Support WebCast: Windows Clustering: An Overview of Microsoft Clustering Technologies
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=325423
Microsoft Whitepaper - SQL Server 2000 Failover Clustering
http://www.microsoft.com/SQL/techinf...vercluster.asp
SQL Server 2000 Pricing and Licensing
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobu...rlicensing.asp
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability Series
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...y/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:
oPLANNING to help you design a data center to achieve the level of availability needed for the business environment.
oDEPLOYMENT 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/pro...olidation.mspx
Q260758 - INF: Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server 2000 - Failover Clustering
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=260758
Q243218 INF: Installation Order for SQL 2000 Enterprise Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=243218
NOTE:
======
Make sure that the four node cluster that you use is a complete certified solution.
How to locate qualified cluster solutions for Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=828262
Cluster Support Policy
Microsoft's Cluster support policy is explained in these Q articles: Please read these carefully for the official support policy of
Cluster (General): http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;309395
Cluster (SQL): http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;327518
-- The above links are for Windows 2000 cluster. For a four node cluster you will need either Win2K DataCenter or Win2K3 EE or Win2K3DataCenter. If you are using Win2K3, the following links will help you.
Although most of the things are same for SQL 2K Failover cluster on Win2K3, here are some things that are different:
815431 PRB: Installation of a Named Instance of SQL Server 2000 Virtual Server on a Windows 2003-Based Cluster Fails
http://support.microssoft.com/?id=815431
SQL Server 2000 Cluster Does Not Install on Windows Server 2003-Based Computers Where Terminal Services Is Installed
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=301520
SQL Server 2000 Is Not Supported on Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Application Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=327270
PRB: Virtual SQL Server 2000 Installation Fails on Cluster That Has Eight Nodes
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=811054
SQL Server 2000 support for mounted volumes
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=819546
HTH,
Best Regards,
Uttam Parui
Microsoft Corporation
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
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|||I assume you mean 4 nodes and 3 SQL instances? I haven't seen much
documentation on clusters with more than two nodes, but it is very much
possible. I have such a system running for about 8 months and it works very
well. Most of the standard clustering stuff applies, just with a few extra
twists. Here is a good overview on SQL failover clustering:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro.../failclus.mspx
Geoff N. Hiten
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Senior Database Administrator
Careerbuilder.com
I support the Professional Association for SQL Server
www.sqlpass.org
"Amar" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2cc1c01c46a68$d62f8cc0$a601280a@.phx.gbl...
> We are using SQL2000 and considering clustering the
> solution. Could someone point us good documentation on
> clustering. We are particularly interested in
> Active/Active/Active/Passive
> Thanks in advance
> Amar
|||Hi Thanks a lot for your quick response.
One more question. Can we have
Active/Active/Active/Passive talking to single database?

>--Original Message--
>I assume you mean 4 nodes and 3 SQL instances? I
haven't seen much
>documentation on clusters with more than two nodes, but
it is very much
>possible. I have such a system running for about 8
months and it works very
>well. Most of the standard clustering stuff applies,
just with a few extra
>twists. Here is a good overview on SQL failover
clustering:
>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro.../sql/2000/main
tain/failclus.mspx
>
>--
>Geoff N. Hiten
>Microsoft SQL Server MVP
>Senior Database Administrator
>Careerbuilder.com
>I support the Professional Association for SQL Server
>www.sqlpass.org
>"Amar" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:2cc1c01c46a68$d62f8cc0$a601280a@.phx.gbl...
>
>.
>
|||No. SQL clustering is a failover technology, not a scale-out technology.
Each instance has a unique set of databases and appears on the network as a
complete and unique virtual system. Read over the link I included to get a
better idea of what SQL clustering really does. It is critical to
understand the benefits and limitations of SQL clustering before you try and
build a highly available system around that technology.
Geoff N. Hiten
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Senior Database Administrator
Careerbuilder.com
I support the Professional Association for SQL Server
www.sqlpass.org
"Amar" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2da4901c46a8d$8f3b07c0$a401280a@.phx.gbl...[vbcol=seagreen]
> Hi Thanks a lot for your quick response.
> One more question. Can we have
> Active/Active/Active/Passive talking to single database?
> haven't seen much
> it is very much
> months and it works very
> just with a few extra
> clustering:
> tain/failclus.mspx
> message
sql