Managing SQL Server on a Cluster

For the majority of tasks, you can administer a Microsoft® SQL Server™ virtual server with SQL Server Enterprise Manager, the same as with any other nonclustered server running SQL Server. However, several important tasks, such as starting and stopping a virtual server or failing over a server, must be accomplished by using the Cluster Administrator, available through the Administrative Tools program group.


Note SQL Server Enterprise Manager displays a SQL Server virtual server configuration in the same way as a nonclustered SQL Server; it does not show the underlying physical configuration.


The Cluster Administrator main window displays a detailed view of a virtual server configuration, including the physical Microsoft Windows NT® Servers that make up the cluster and their resources, network connections, and status.

Use the Cluster Administrator to view the components of a virtual server configuration or to start, stop, or fail back a virtual server that has failed over.

If you use SQL Server Enterprise Manager or SQL Server Service Manager to stop SQL Server, Clustering Service assumes the shutdown is a failure and restarts the SQL Server virtual server on the cluster’s secondary server. A virtual SQL Server service and a SQL Server virtual server should be controlled from the Cluster Administrator rather than the Windows NT Service Control Manager. Replication, when installed, can be managed in the normal manner from SQL Server Enterprise Manager.

There are occasions when a virtual SQL Server might be moved from its primary server to its secondary server manually rather than as the result of a system failure, for example, when hardware or system maintenance is needed on the Windows NT Server acting as the primary node. Using the Cluster Administrator, control of SQL Server can be moved to the secondary server until the maintenance is completed. Clients will experience a failover, just as if the primary server failed and the secondary server had taken over the SQL Server virtual server.

After SQL Server has been moved to the secondary server, client utilities are no longer available from the primary server. Run the client utilities either from a client system or from the secondary server of the cluster. If the client utilities are always run from a client system (as opposed to running them on one console of the cluster or the other), they are not affected by failover.

For more information, see the online Clustering Service Administrator’s Guide, available with Microsoft® Windows NT® Server, Enterprise Edition.


Note Before using the Failover Setup Wizard to install your SQL Server virtual server, it is recommended that you first review Using SQL Server Failover Support.


To upgrade SQL Server 6.5 to SQL Server7.0 on a cluster

To run Clustering Service setup on a new SQL Server 7.0 installation using the Failover Setup Wizard

 

  


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