SQL Server Failover Clustered Instances (FCI) and Availability Groups (AG) depend a lot on Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC). Understanding how the underlying WSFC platform works can help us maintain availability of our databases This blog post is the third in a series that talks about the process that I follow when troubleshooting availability of SQL Server failover […]
PostReviewing the SQL Server Error Logs to Find the Two Most Common Keywords That Can Cause Availability Issues
SQL Server Failover Clustered Instances (FCI) and Availability Groups (AG) depend a lot on Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC). Understanding how the underlying WSFC platform works can help us maintain availability of our databases This blog post is the second in a series that talks about the process that I follow when troubleshooting availability of SQL Server failover […]
PostBeyond Technical Reasons: Running a Single Instance or a Multi-Instance SQL Server Failover Cluster
When asked about best practices on running multiple SQL Server failover clustered instances (FCI) on a multi-node Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC,) a common response from SQL Server experts might include the following: – appropriately allocating enough hardware resources on all of the nodes in the WSFC – appropriately configuring maximum server memory settings […]
PostThe Traffic Light In Your Datacenter
You know how it feels like to stare at this for a very long time (I ended up having to wear eyeglasses because of it.) Better yet, try it. Just for 5 minutes straight without blinking. But staring at a computer monitor for a long time isn’t the real issue. It’s the confusion of trying to […]
PostAn Underrated Feature: Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs) with SQL Server Failover Clustered Instances
[callout]*My online course, Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) for the Smart SQL Server DBA, is all about helping you become confident in deploying SQL Server workloads that run on top of a WSFC. This series of blog posts explores some of the lessons covered in the course. If you want to learn more about the […]
PostHow Attention To Detail Can Make Your Systems Highly Available
As my son was struggling to figure out how to download the Amazon Kindle app on his iPad, I can’t help but notice the email he got from Amazon. The email contains the URL link where to download the Kindle app. And the message said something like this: [callout]Download the free Kindle reading app on your […]
PostWhy We Need To Understand How Active Directory Affects SQL Server High Availability
But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything. – Alan Watts – WARNING: There will be a ton of acronyms in this blog post. Make sure to keep your notebook handy for note-taking […]
PostVideo: Simplify Installation of a 2-node SQL Server Failover Clustered Instance on Windows Server 2012 (and higher versions)
I like writing step-by-step guides because they make good documentation for folks like me who keep forgetting how to do things. The guide makes the process repeatable and can easily be shared with junior members of your team. But with the different ways we consume information nowadays, written documentation does not suffice anymore. Besides, providing different […]