Installing SQL SERVER in Clustered Environment

  • I have a clustered environment(active\active) nodes,which on each node I have SQL SERVER 2000.Is it possible to install SQL SERVER 2008,on this clustered environment on one of nodes,without upgrading any of existing SQL SERVER's.Is ithis doable

  • Yes, you can add a new clustered instance running SQL Server 2008. But, the new instance is going to require new cluster resources (separate drives, IP address/name, etc...).

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

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    Managing Transaction Logs

  • Thanks for your response,you mean I can not use any of drives, which belong to one of nodes?because I do not have any extra drive for new instance and I want to install SQL SERVER 2008 on one of existing drives

  • No, you cannot use any existing drives as those existing drives have been setup as resources in the cluster group where that instance of SQL Server also exists.

    Think of it this way, if instance1 on node1 fails over - you need all of the disk resources available for that instance, so all of those disk resources have to fail over also. Now, if you install a new instance and try to install on that drive - you would have to put SQL Server into the same group. This cannot be done...

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

    How to post questions to get better answers faster
    Managing Transaction Logs

  • I installed SQL Server 2008 on one machine which had SQL Server 2000 before. After installation 2000 stopped working. I have to uninstall both versions and then install 2000 as it had couple of databases in use.

    I think 2000 and 2005 can exists on same server but 2008 would not work with previous versions or in combination.

    Does any one else also faced this issue before?

    SQL DBA.

  • What about Local drive of one of the nodes?

  • SanjayAttray (6/24/2009)


    I installed SQL Server 2008 on one machine which had SQL Server 2000 before. After installation 2000 stopped working. I have to uninstall both versions and then install 2000 as it had couple of databases in use.

    I think 2000 and 2005 can exists on same server but 2008 would not work with previous versions or in combination.

    Does any one else also faced this issue before?

    If you are talking about the client tools - I can see that happening. If you are talking about the database engine, no - I have not seen that or heard about.

    As far as I know - they can run side by side.

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

    How to post questions to get better answers faster
    Managing Transaction Logs

  • arctica82 (6/24/2009)


    What about Local drive of one of the nodes?

    You can install a separate instance locally on that node - yes. The question really then is why are you doing this?

    This sounds like a production system, and if you are not planning on moving one of those 2000 instances to 2008 then I would not recommend installing 2008 on one of the nodes. I would invest in a separate system for testing/development work.

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

    How to post questions to get better answers faster
    Managing Transaction Logs

  • I agree with Jeffrey. You buy a cluster to maintain uptime. Don't ruin that by experimenting.

    Setup a separate cluster system, virtual if you have to, to test everything before you do it.

  • Sorry, I am a little bit confused.So,can I install SQL SERVER 2008(Database Engine+Client tools) on local drive of one of nodes without creating any problem for Clustered environment.

  • arctica82 (6/24/2009)


    Sorry, I am a little bit confused.So,can I install SQL SERVER 2008(Database Engine+Client tools) on local drive of one of nodes without creating any problem for Clustered environment.

    Yes - you can. No - you really shouldn't do this.

    Installing a temporary non-clustered instance onto a cluster environment is really just asking for trouble, especially if that cluster is your production cluster.

    Remember, performing the installation is going to require a reboot of the node - which is going to cause the existing instances on that node to failover to the other node. After your installation is done, you will need to fail that instance back over.

    Once you have multiple instances on a single node - you need to make sure you adjust the memory options for each instance so that each instance is only taking a portion of overall memory and they do not add up to more than the server has available.

    In your case, you also have another instance that you have to worry about. So, that means less memory available for each instance so you can make sure that if you lose the second node you have enough memory available for all three instances.

    The memory requirements don't change whether or not you install SQL Server 2008 in the cluster or on a single node. You still have to account for being able to run all instances on a single node.

    Again, it is possible for you to do this - but I don't think you should.

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

    How to post questions to get better answers faster
    Managing Transaction Logs

  • By the way,Can I just upgrade my clustered environment to SQL SERVER 2008,Is it easy to do that?Should I consider any specific thing for this upgrade?Should I fallow any spcofoc order of nodes for upgrading or I can start from any of nodes?

  • arctica82 (6/25/2009)


    By the way,Can I just upgrade my clustered environment to SQL SERVER 2008,Is it easy to do that?Should I consider any specific thing for this upgrade?Should I fallow any spcofoc order of nodes for upgrading or I can start from any of nodes?

    At this point, I really have to ask what you are trying to accomplish? Is it simply that you want an instance of SQL Server 2008 available to work with?

    If so, buy the developer's editon (around $50) and install it on your workstation.

    If you are looking to test an upgrade, then you really need a test system and shouldn't be doing this on a live system.

    As for just upgrading, you can try that but if this is a production system I would not do that until I have tested it. There are quite a few issues that could come up in the upgrade - and I would definitely be running the Upgrade Advisor on the source system first.

    Jeffrey Williams
    “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

    ― Charles R. Swindoll

    How to post questions to get better answers faster
    Managing Transaction Logs

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