Test SQL Server 2000 clustering in VMware
Steven Warren MCSE, MCDBA, Net+
Published: 13 May 2003 10:49 BST
SQL Server 2000 is a robust and complicated product, especially when you are using it in a clustered setup. Properly deploying and managing it requires a reliable testing environment, but that can be costly. An economical alternative is to build a clustered SQL 2000 testing environment using VMware.
I'm going to walk you through the process of installing SQL Server in a VMware configuration. I'll begin by explaining how SQL Server works with clustering. Then, I'll give you a tutorial on the installation process.
Designing a SQL Server cluster
When you design a SQL Server cluster, you can choose one of the following configurations:
- Active/active configuration
- Active/passive configuration
Let's take a look at the differences between these two.
Active/active configuration
An active/active configuration (Figure A) allows you to have multiple instances of SQL Server running on both nodes of a two-way cluster. If one of the SQL Servers in the cluster fails, the failed instances of SQL Server will automatically fail over to the other server. This means that both instances of SQL Server will be running on one physical server, instead of two separate servers. An active/active cluster can have up to four nodes and supports up to 16 named instances.
Figure A
Active/passive configuration
An active/passive configuration allows you to have a single instance of SQL Server running on one of the physical servers in the cluster. The other nodes in the cluster are in standby mode until a failure on the active node or a manual failover during maintenance occurs. Only one SQL Server 2000 virtual server is installed on an active/passive SQL Server cluster environment.
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