January 15, 2010 at 11:58 am
A question - I have a Sql 2008 cluster with virtual network name as Vir1. Suppose I bring down the sql server services. Can I build a new Sql 2008 on the same domain with same virtual name Vir1. Is this possible?
If the answer is No, my requirement is to build a Cluster with same name as an already existing cluster (only one will be up any point in time). How can this be done?
Please advise..
January 15, 2010 at 12:10 pm
What is the purpose of doing that?
Shawn Melton
Twitter: @wsmelton
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January 15, 2010 at 12:15 pm
We are setting up a remote DR site. The apps team wants the DR sql instance to have the same name as the production instance. The production instance is a Sql 2008 2 node x64 cluster. We would be building a new cluster on the remote site. This site will be up only when the production is down.
January 15, 2010 at 2:16 pm
You should really go with completely new and fresh names. Would your applications not be moved with the databases in a DR scenario and thereby the DR site just be set to use that DR instance?
January 15, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Just build the cluster with a new name. In a true disaster recovery, you can rename the cluster using the procedure below.
How to: Rename a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance
January 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm
What you could do is build your DR, call it whatever you want, and use a DNS entry within your applications. Point it at production and in the event you need to go to DR change that record in DNS to point to the new location.
January 16, 2010 at 9:16 am
Let me reframe my question: I have a production Sql Server cluster with the network name as Vir1. I bring down the sql server services on production. Remove the Sql Server Network Name from AD/DNS server. Then I build a new sql server cluster instance with the same network name Vir1 but with a different IP for DR pupose.
If now I bring down the DR Sql Server services, then change the IP assigned to the network name Vir1 in DNS to the production sql server IP. If I now bring up the Sql Server services in production, will the network name point correctly to the production instance. Will there be any issues?
January 16, 2010 at 9:48 am
There likely will be some issues, DNS caching, client caching, ARP/network issues.
Put your new server up as a new name for DR. You can rename it in the event if a disaster, but then you'll be sure that most things are working and you're not dealing with others issues on the machine.
January 16, 2010 at 10:09 am
Thanks a lot everyone. I will explain the entire scenario and the reason why I'm going for installing a cluster with the same name:
We are using Sql Server 2008 Enterprise x64 edition on Windows Server 2003 Ent platform. The production environment is configured in a 2 node Active/Passive cluster. Our requirement is to setup a remote DR site using SRDF R1-R2 SAN (EMC) based replication. This is the standard DR model followed for Oracle & Unix and we have instructed to do a PoC for the same model using Sql & Windows cluster. The remote site already has a setup similar to production (Sql 2008 Ent x64 + 2 node cluster) and is currently used as a Staging Environment. The apps team wants the remote DR site to have the same name as the production instance. So achieve all this I plan to do the following:
1. The replication will happen between the shared disk resouces (which Sql Server uses in Production) to the DR SAN.
2. The DR SAN will be made available in the DR site.
3. The sql Server related folders (instance root directory say MSSQL10.InstanceID) will be renamed
4. I will install a 2nd intance in the DR site with the same name, disk configuration and patch levels as in production.
5. Then bring down the sql server services in DR.
6. Rename the Sql Server folders (of the newly installed instance) to a dummy name.
7. Rename back the folders (modified in Step 3) to the actual names
8. Bring up the Sql Server services.
9. I believe the Sql Server will be automatically mapped to the production data.
10. By keeping the DR Instance with the same name as production I hope to avoid any registry errors or any other dll missing issues.
The entire method is kind of complex. I want to this up as a PoC and check if it works.
Please advise if I'm going to run into any problems if I follow the above steps. Any advise on this would be very helpful.
Thanks again..
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