How do I add a new instance to an existing 2 node cluster?
I have two Server 2008 nodes supporting 2 clusters (active/active); cluster1
running as the default instance & cluster2\inst1.

Now I want to create cluster2\inst2 using the same shared disk and resource
group as cluster2\inst1.

How do I do that without creating cluster3\inst2?

You can't use a drive that is already being used by a different clustered
instance. For the new instance, you need at least one new drive in its own
resource group.

Linchi

"BMarxhausen" wrote:

Why not? I have a staging and development instance that I want to share the
same drives and network name. If one fails over the other one can/should too.

"Linchi Shea" wrote:

Sure, conceptually why not if you indeed want them to go together. But there
is only so much flexibility one can design into a product and still be
profitable. I guess the restriction is by design, and for good enough
reasons. After all, this is an HA feature, and as such you'd rather it be
clean.

Then, you may want to ask yourself, do you really need to have them fail
over together in a DEV/UAT environment? If it does work that way, does it
really cause any real problem for you? I don't think so.

Linchi

"BMarxhausen" wrote:

Main issue I have is a lack of drive letters. I had intentions of installing
more instances, but run out of letters quick if I seperate data, logs,
backup, tempdb for each instance, and already allocate a drive for DTC,
Quorum, sysvol, and DVD. Not to mention drive mappings that fire via login.

Seems to me an artificial restriction. If the instances can share drives via
directory seperation, why force them to have their own resource group with
dedicated drives?

Maybe a licensing issue? Are 2 licenses required for cluster1\inst1 +
cluster2\inst2 vs. cluster1\inst1 + cluster1\inst2? Still this could be
handled with the requirement to have seperate network name per cluster yet
still allow the drives to be shared.

"Linchi Shea" wrote:

Use Mount points.

You only need one drive letter per instance.

As for Licensing, there may be issues for Standard Edition, but Enterprise
Edition allowas as many instances on a node as you can install. They quit
testing at 50.

--
Geoff N. Hiten
Principal SQL Infrastructure Consultant
Microsoft SQL Server MVP



"BMarxhausen" <BMarxhausen (AT) discussions (DOT) microsoft.com> wrote