I have read many articles on the matter and I have probably used up all my printer's ink in doing so, however, some questions still remain.
1) What happens if I have to reboot the mirror.. security update, etc.? Obviously the session is broken during reboot, but would I have to do another backup of the principal and resync everything?
2) I know it is not best practice but at this point I have no choice, however, I wanted to get your guys feedback on having two instances of SQL2005 on my development box. One for the mirroring of the production and the second for development. The two instances would live on their own drive... not partitioned and have adequate memory and space.
What would I have to look forward with this?
3) Lastly, I am still uncertain if mirroring is approved for production. Is it?
Following a bunch of tests I've concluded that mirroring works very well, even in sync mode the perf impact is low. Log shipping integration is clean following failover. Excellent stuff, thanks. However there are a few things that would make it a much better sell against competetive solutions:
1. It's my experience that Database Mirroring in HA mode effectively only supports one failure, so if your Witness goes bang you lose auto failover capability. If the mirror then fails you lose database service. This makes robustness requirements for the Witness very important. Are there any plans to allows multiple witnesses with some form of active/passive failover between them? I seems a little over the top to have to consider clustering a witness.
2. It's extremely irritating that we can't create logins on the mirror if the login has the mirror database as their default database, just because the database is in recovery; I mean it not as if the db doesn't exist. Can this be addressed with the security team, perhaps masking the error somehow if the database can't be opened ? Bear in mind the database principal will already exist in the mirror database as it will have been created on the principal server, all we need is the output from sp_help_revlogin from the principal server to match up the sid and password.
3. If number 2 is addressed, it would be possible to build a more elegant and robust sync mechanism using service broker, without having to rely on alerts to then create any missing logins on failover. Are MS looking at building something to address login synchronisation of the failover servers, perhaps using service broker? Seems for a supposed HA solution this is a very untidy missing piece and with some environments which might not be able to rely on using Windows groups (sql logins), it makes rapid failover difficult.
4. It would also be useful, while on the subject of number 3, to provide some mechanism for, at least, auto-checking configuration/msdb differences between servers and reporting these, if not provision for keeping them in sync. I appreciate that not all systems will want exact matches between the partner servers, but at least providing mechanisms to sync them up would help.
5. Any plans for supporting multiple mirrors? Even async? Would make for reporting provision using snapshots much cleaner as the main mirror could be left alone for HA.
Our company is looking to move to a more robust database platform/setup, and it looks like sql 2005 + database mirroring is what we are looking for. First I have some questions about it.
Can a server that is functioning as a mirror for one database be the primary server for a seperate database? Basically think of a triangle of three sql servers, each serving as a primary server for a specific database, and using the next server in the triangle as a mirror for that specific database. To be more specific:
Server 1, Primary Database A, Mirroring Database C Server 2, Primary Database B, Mirroring Database A Server 3, Primary Database C, Mirroring Database B
If that is possible, how many witness servers would be needed to accomplish the above topology? On that note, how robust hardware wise should the witness server be?
On a completely seperate note, what method is recommended for interconnecting these servers? Is gigabit ethernet fast enough, or does it require something like fibre channel or infiniband?
We are planning to update our two node, active/passive clustered system to SQL 2005 from SQL2K. Would we be better off to use database mirroring rather than clustering with failover? I believe mirroring takes 3 systems rather than two (one for each mirror and one for monitoring), but can the monitor be a rather low powered PC?
Our current cluster uses two 4-processor Dells and an external PowerVault RAID array with fiber channel connections. Each server has two NICs, one for general network and one for heartbeat and a fiber channel card to connect to the external PowerVault.
Here are my questions:
1 - If I understand it correctly, mirroring uses just separate servers without the need for the rather expensive and complicated shared fiber channel array that must go between them. Do I still need a shared array or can I just use internal RAID arrays in each box?
2 - Are there any advantages to keeping our current system? Our current system has worked well, but the failover takes a couple of minutes. Is mirroring faster?
3 - Is there still a virtual IP address and network name that everyone connects to?
4 - What are the drawbacks?
5 - Can I run non-mirrored DBs on the same servers or are they really locked together tightly?
6 - How much different in configuration can the two boxes be? With the cluster, I really need duplicates in every way.
7 - Do I need a separate license for the SQL Server on each box in the mirror or is one enough, since they work in lock step?
You will all have to excuse my ignorance. I'm a developer who also doubles up as a development DBA. I am however not particularly knowedgeable about all the really important DBA stuff.
We've built a small BI solution using SQL Server 2000. Our problem is that our server is getting on in years (5) and doesn't really have enough disk space or grunt. We havce a number of summary cubes that we've optimised quite successfully but our billing line level cubes run to 60 million rows and, well, they're about as quick as a dead ferret. Especially given the stupid queries our data analysts keep running.
We have however proved our point. That this can be done and indeed SQL Server can do it. So we're now looking at some infrastructure spend and some new copies of SQL2005.
But i need some advice. Our user base is climbing through the roof, we originally had 10, now we have closer to 50 and at this rate it'll be a couple of hundred by the end of the year. We're using a plugin called XLCubed to deliver that data into Excel from the Analysis Server.
The OLTP database that sits behind it is fairly robust but we have a number of web based apps (mostly lookup systems) that want to use the nice shiny new accurate tables of data we have created.
So I'm looking at a fairly big server to hold the OLTP DB, this will also serve up live data to our web apps. Its worth pointing out that the source data system is a batch system that processes overnight so we load data from yesterday at 6pm each evening and process our cubes and stuff overnight. Thus the data is a couple of days out of date. Don't laugh they used to use MS Access and got one mangy data set a month so this is a massive leap forward.
I wanted to mirror the DB to another machine but I also want to have a separate Cube Server. I wondered if the cube server could use the mirror to read its data from as opposed to loading the Main Server (the mirror would be an identical box) we would also have a separate box running some of our other systems acting as the witness.
I also wonderd about exporting the Cubes onto file shares for use locally as opposed to via the server which is how they connect now.
We have been using Reporting Services and some of the queries the devs write are not exactly efficient. So I was also planning on clustering a pair of smaller servers into a reporting farm. Could I use another SQL Server to serve data up to them? Could I use a DB snapshot to copy the data required to this server? What are the time / size implications of using a snapshot and replicating it over each night?
Any suggestions for places to read up on this? I've looked at the MS marketing blurb and while its big on buzzwords its light on specifics. Like how it actually works and how you would actually configure it to do some of this and what the implications would be.
I am trying mirroring in my own laptop in 2 different instances of 2005 but when i configure it gives me an error "one or more of the server network addresses lacks a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). Specify the FQDN for each server, and click start mirroring again"
does anyone know what is the problem???? i read one post but could not understand properly.
Hi everyone, I have a project on my hand in which i need to implement two SQL 2005 servers And configure it as DB mirroring. I know that for the sake of 'fail over' I need to configure a witness server as well.
My question is: For the purpose of the mirror server and the principle server - what are the software requirements (enterprise, standard?) For the purpose of the witness server - what are the software requirements (enterprise, standard, express?) Should the witness server be a 'server' in terms of hardware...or is it enough to establish a strong pc machine?
I am working on a proof of concept to take to our Technical Board.
This POC is concearned with SQL server 2005 Mirroring for High Availability and Failover in a Highly Critical business sector.
The problem is that we use custom web pages to give the Operations Center an overview of the status of the system and that there are so many metrics available (not may are well documented). I have looked at the following
sys.database_mirroring_witnesses
is_suspended to show the state of the Sync
database_name to return the name of the mirrored database
safety_level_desc to show that the Safety level is at Full
Principal_server_name to show the name of the Principal server
Mirror_server_name to Show the Name of the Mirror Server.
I am at a loss as to what is the best approach as I do not want to display too much Information and confuse.
The Servers are locked down to remove any permissions not required so I have to create a SQL account with only acces to the required sys views. one issue is that the following SQL only works on the Principal
Code SnippetSelect * from sys.database_mirroring where mirroring_guid is not null
I am trying to set up a SQL mirroring senario - I have some questions
Do I need to purchase an extra SQL Server license for the SQL server instance on the Mirror? what about the Witness does that also need a separate license/
Can the witness be a virtual server on the Mirror box itself? Do I still require a license if the witness is on a virtual server?
I am using SQL 2005 (Enterprise Edition, SP2) Mirroring with a Principal, Mirror and Witness set to High Safety mode and am a little confused!
As far as I understand it, during a failover, although the database content will automatically be available on the Mirror any user accounts will need to be either manually created or manually mapped to the new principal. Is this the case? If so, I can't really see the purpose of using Mirroring (in my scenario anyway).
For example - We principally use the database servers for our web applications which we connect to using ADO.NET. Each database and Web app has a different SQL user account to allow access etc. If we experience a failover this means the users will not be able to use the web app until we have manually recreated/mapped the SQL accounts for each and every database. Surely this is a massive oversight?! Or am I simply getting the wrong end of the stick.
I'm devlving into 2005 and specifically mirroring.Having read the following article (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...5/dbmirror.mspx ),is mirroring a sensible option as it indicates that it should not beused in a production environment, yet the SQL2005 seminars I've been toindicate that this is a worthy option.Do we also need a witness server, or can this be done (sensibly) withtwo SQL2005 servers ?Currently we have 2xSQL2000 (clustered) servers and a SAN for the data.If we go down the route of mirroring, it looks like we can get rid ofthe SAN and Cluster and use the mirroring instead.Any advice on the pro's / cons would be appreciated.ThanksRyan
Can I know is it possible using database mirroring for only certain tables from the database, not for the whole database in sql server 2005. Hopefully able to get any assistance here. Thx alot.
Hi, for SQL 2005 - to set up database mirroring, is it required to have Active Directory installed or to be part of a domain? I am looking to use a workgroup with the SQL machines only and to not reference any domain and cannot find this information - is this possible?
Hi, im trying to mirror a database with SQL server 2005. I have completed all the setup for this, including attacthing a copy of the principal database and all the other settings. When I completed the Mirroring wizard, it prompted me to start mirroring and when I accepted, it gave to me the following error:
TITLE: Database Properties ------------------------------ An error occurred while starting mirroring. ------------------------------ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Alter failed for Database 'CTM'. (Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo)
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&ProdVer=9.00.3042.00&EvtSrc=Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.ExceptionTemplates.FailedOperationExceptionText&EvtID=Alter+Database&LinkId=20476 ------------------------------ An exception occurred while executing a Transact-SQL statement or batch. (Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfo) ------------------------------ The server network address "TCP://DBNAME.domain1.local:5022" can not be reached or does not exist. Check the network address name and that the ports for the local and remote endpoints are operational. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 1418)
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&ProdVer=09.00.3042&EvtSrc=MSSQLServer&EvtID=1418&LinkId=20476
We have a .NET application with a backend SQL 2005. The issue started when we setup DB mirroring on this db. The issue is an System.InvalidOperationException that is thrown every once in a while when connecting to the databases. The message is 'Internal .Net Framework Data Provider error 6.'.
Both Operating System (Windows 2003) and databases (SQL server 2005) are up to date, including all Security Updates and Service Packs.
The issue disapeared when we stopped db mirroring.
I am new to 2005 mirroring but have read a lot of documentation on it. I want to use mirroring to centralize a bunch of DBs to one location and then back them up from that central point. However, from what I've read since the mirror is kept in a "recovering state" it cannot be accessed directly. Does that mean I wont be able to backup the mirrors? If so, are there any work arounds or different strategies for this?
I have sql server 2005 evaluation edition. And This version doesn't provides Mirroring option.Even after installation of service Pack1. Is there any other edition (Freeware or Evaluation) which provides the Database Mirroring.
We are currently running a corporate client with Windows 2000 and .Net 1.1. We are running a number of SQL Server 2000 applications and are now thinking of upgrading to SQL Server 2005 as part of a data consolidation exercise. I am concerned on a number of points:
Can I connect to SQL Server 2005 using old ADO connectors? We have about 40 Excel VBA solutions, and we dont want to upgrade to SQL Server 2005 if we will be unable to connect to the data source. We cannot upgrade any new versions of MDAC or upgrade the .NET framework so this is a concern.
Do we need .NET 2.0 or Visual Studio 2005 to connect and work with SQL Server 2005? If so, this will be a problem as we cannot upgrade any client beyond .NET 1.1, and only have VS 2003 as a scripted application we can install for any development.
Has anyone have any experience of the KPI capabilities of SQL 2005? We are bordering on committing to a Business Objects BI platform, and having worked with BO Dashboard Manager and Performance Manager for 4 months (it was horrible), I am not relishing the prospect and would like to propose SQL 2005 as an alternative.
What is the proper syntax to return records that appear in 1 table but NOT the other table? I have 2 tables that should contain the same records(based on shipping report number), so my join will use this field. How can I only return the data where the shipping report number appears in only 1 of the tables though>?
Hello,I have been researching the use of symmetic and asymmetic encryption inSQL 2005 and I am pretty excited to give it a try. Through examples, Ican encrypt the data, but I cant figure out what to do next...What I want:1. our social security field to be encrypted so that only the person(s)that need it can decrypt it.2. prevent DBA's from decrypting the data themselfs3. Simple way to encrypt the data on the table (maybe a trigger?)I thought I would use asymmetric keys, this way I can embed the publickey into my data warehouse process to encrypt the data.I thought I would prompt the user for the private key when the reportruns, that way I wont store the key on the server.This would be a place to start.Someone in the office said that we can store the keys in Activedirectory, so maybe I could make this seemless to the user running thereport?I've found a lot of great articles that got me started, but I amneeding the next stepAny Ideas would be apprecitated!TIARoblinks to articles I have found handy:http://www.databasejournal.com/feat...int.php/3483931http://www.devx.com/dbzone/Article/29232/0/page/3http://www.sqlservercentral.com/col...rintversion.asp
I am an Oracle DBA who inherited SQL Server administration. I have been to some 2005 training and I've been supporting several DB's for a while now but I still have some nagging security questions and would appreciate some help.
1) I needed to grant execute on a specific procedure but when I drilled down, I found that it already had execute in the EFFECTIVE PERMISSIONS. I would like to know how to tell where it got this permission from. I did some digging and found that execute appears to have been granted to the schema itself. I didn't know you could do that. Would this result in the effective permission that I observed?
2) I am trying to audit the permissions on existing principles. In Management Studio I drilled down and found permissions under Security and under Server Properties. There are also more permissions under Database Properties and Security and still more assigned at the specific object level. Where can I go or what can I query to see ALL the permissions a principle has been granted across the entire server?
3) If I grant a principle CONTROL to a schema does that also automatically confer DDL rights to said schema or would additional privs be required to perform DDL?
Hello, My question is simply: according to BOL, a DB snapshot taken from a Mirror is read-only. Say I wanted a temporary (disposable) read-write DB created from the snapshot. Is there a way to generate a writable temp DB (that's not tempdb) from the snapshot? Thanks,AK
I am developing an enterprise class solution using SQL Server 2005 and MS .NET v2 and am tying determine if SQL Server 2005 (which edition and if so how) would be adequate for my proposed solution. Any feedback, tips, comments would be greatly appreciated.
As a background the solution I am developing will be web services based and used by multiple offices around the globe by over 500 users. I have already developed a prototype using a single SQL Server 2005 instance but as this solution is going to be used by offices around the world I want to have an IIS Server and SQL Server 2005 server instance in each office with "links" back to the primary SQL Server 2005 cluster in Australia.
One of my thoughts was to set up replication between the offices that would happen at midnight remote office local time and then set up triggers to update the primary cluster when assoociated data was changed on the remote sites or on the primary cluster. Does anyone know or can anyone suggest alternatives to this strategy?
I effectively need some sort of inter site caching functionality with store and foreward capabilities ...
I was hoping to learn from real world experience regarding the hardware requirements for SQL 2005. For both the 32 and 64 bit OS the minimumn recommendaiton is single processor, 1GB or more, 512 MB RAM.
This seems very thin and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for hardware configs for a mirrored db cluster? I'm filling in as a DBA and apologize for the ignorance.
I get a general question about the feacture "Database Mirroring". Is it support by SQL Server Standard. Edition without SP1?? Of i still need to upgrade the server from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2005 with SP1?
Another question: are there any problem if the one machine(server) has installed SQL server 2005 Standard edition and the other with "Developer Editon".
I hope some one can answer my question. Thanks anyway!
I recently upgraded to sql server 2005 for developing on my local system and cant seem to find the option that automatically sets the drop procedure at the top and the usernames on the bottom of a procedure that I script as new. I used to do it in the old query analyzer so Im sure its in there somewhere. Thanks in advance for any help.RyanOC
I printed out several pages of documentation regarding the install of 2005. When I tried performing the installation from CD I double-click splash.hta, as indicated in "How to: Install SQL Server 2005 (Setup)". Under Install I see two options:
Server components, tools, Books Online, and samples Run the SQL Native Client Installation Wizard
The documentation indicates I should be clicking on "Run the SQL Server Installation Wizard", which is not an option. If I select "Run the SQL Native Client..." it appears to be only installing the client and does not follow the remainder of the instructions. I can't find any information on Microsoft's site on how to perform an install from CD.
I'm guessing I should be using the DVD, but has anyone else noticed the "How to" documentation is a little off and have you found any other documentation that is more accurate?
