Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Bible

Chapter 48. Clustering

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding SQL Server 2008 failover clustering

• Enhancements in SQL Server 2008 failover clustering

• Installing a SQL Server 2008 failover cluster

• Performing rolling upgrade and patching

• Maintaining and troubleshooting a SQL Server 2008 failover cluster

Remember the sitcoms in the 1970s with identical twins? They could switch clothes and fool the teacher, or wear the same clothes and switch boyfriends halfway through a date. I've wondered what life would have been like if I had a twin. I suspect that we would have gotten in more trouble together than I got into alone. Having twins brings a whole new set of "opportunities."

SQL Server failover clustering is like having identical twin SQL Servers. They share the same clothes, and look exactly alike. When one gets into trouble, the other can step right in and continue the job with barely a hiccup. Similarly, like human twins, SQL Server failover clusters bring their own set of challenges. This chapter introduces the SQL Server twins and walks through all their twin tricks so you won't be caught by their jokes.

SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering Basics

SQL Server 2008 failover clustering is built on top of Windows failover clustering to provide high availability for the entire SQL Server 2008 instance. A high-availability SQL Server solution masks the effects of a hardware or software failure and maintains the availability of SQL Server so that any downtime for users is minimized.

Achieving 100 percent ...