and having been down this road several times at several companies, the best solution is always here;

http://www.symantec.com/business/products/overview.jsp?pcid=2247&pvid=31_1

adds a bit of a cost, but it is 'rock solid' geo clustering solution...

what you are describing sounds like a candidate for SQL Mirroring.

automatic fail over is archived by introducing a witness server. In order to successfully implement a sql 2005 mirror, answer...

there are many, many options to do this.

for a SAN based solution, look into SDRF (EMC) or Metro Mirror (IBM)

for a SQL based solution, look into database mirroring. depending on...

cool. thanks

but won't backing up the primary cause issues with the shipping?