Help - Need to take all SQL DB's down for possible electrical shutdown

  • Hi - We have been advised that some electrical work is possibly being carried out tomorrow morning at 7am, which could result in the building we work in losing power. As a result I'm concerned about the affect this could have on the DB's. Is it best to close down all Servers with SQL DB's or take down the sql server service & agent.

    Some advice asap would be very much appreciated.

    Many thanks

    Dax

  • First backup everything.

    I assume the outage is scheduled for longer than the UPS rating is the reason to shut down.

    Find out if any SQL Server Agent Jobs will be affected by the outage.

    You may need to run them manually after restart.

    Personally I shut down the services then the server but this may not be the best way.

  • Hi - Thanks for that, yes you're correct the UPS will last up to around 2hours. We thought the best approach would be to take SQL down cleanly, only if the UPS kicks in as we're unable to get a definitive answer that the work will definitely have an impact.

    I will of course check the backups prior to doing anything. I believe when we've had a power down before we've checked any sql jobs and have then taken the Server down and powered up when safe to do so.

    Does this sound like a plan?

    Cheers

    Dax

  • I stop the services through Configuration Manager before shutting down the server. Best to try for a graceful shutdown ;).

    One thing to be aware of (but which probably isn't strictly in your remit) is that if your SQL servers come up again before your domain controller they might have trouble authenticating for a while.

  • dax.latchford (6/25/2014)


    Hi - Thanks for that, yes you're correct the UPS will last up to around 2hours. We thought the best approach would be to take SQL down cleanly, only if the UPS kicks in as we're unable to get a definitive answer that the work will definitely have an impact.

    I will of course check the backups prior to doing anything. I believe when we've had a power down before we've checked any sql jobs and have then taken the Server down and powered up when safe to do so.

    Does this sound like a plan?

    Cheers

    Dax

    Sounds good to me.

  • Hi - That's great, many thanks for the advice. I tend to stop everything through Config Manager as I know stopping and starting through Win Services can cause issues.

    Many thanks

    Dax

  • I agree with everyone else, make sure the backups are in place. I'd probably shut down & startup using PowerShell just because I could do all the servers at once.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

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