Hi there,

i am briefed with the setup of a multi node Cluster Sql system
containing 4 nodes
with 3 active and 1 passive node using HP DL380s and a HP EVA 3000 SAN
with FC switched fabric.

Now i am looking for documents and whitepapers helping me doing the
job.

Unfortunately multi node clusters are not as well documented als 2
node clusters,
so still some things are unclear to me such as the order of installing
cluster service
on the nodes, presenting the vdisks and setting up the instances.

If anybody could send me some advice on the principles of multinode
SQL Clustering,
that would be really helpfull.

Thanks in advance.


Regards,

Steve

Hi

Imagine a multi-node cluster to be no more than a 2 node cluster. It just
happens that you have more than 2 nodes.
All the same rules apply, like which nodes can be potential owners of
resources etc.

Clustering setup and order does not change.
Setup node 1 then create cluster
Setup node 2 then add to cluster
Setup node 3 then add to cluster
etc.

On multi node clusters, always setup the 1st 2, make sure that the
clustering works as expected (failovers etc), then carry on adding nodes
until you have added all the nodes you need. After adding each node, make
sure that everything still works.

Once clustering is setup, start adding SQL Server and other cluster aware
applications.

Regards
--------------------------------
Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Zurich, Switzerland

IM: mike (AT) epprecht (DOT) net

MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp

Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/

"Stefan Demelhuber" <2Meter (AT) gmx (DOT) net> wrote

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your quick answer. My setup would then be like this (Node4
ist for Failover only):

1.Node 1 up, Node2,3,4 down
Present Quorum and Data/Log VDisk to Host1
Set Quorum Drive to Q: and Data/Log to S:/T:
Setup Clustering Service on Host1

2. Node1,2,3 down, Node 4 up
Present Quorum and Data/Log VDisk to Host4
Set Quorum Drive to Q: and Data/Log to S:/T:
Setup Clustering Service on Host4

3. Shutdown Host4
Present VDisks to both Host1 and Host4
Start Host1, then startup Host4
Test the clustering, e.g. move Data and Log Ressource from Node1
to Node4 and back

Now comes the point where i am not shure what to, i now have to add
Node2 witch should use its
own Data/Log VDisk and which should also be able to be taken over by
the Failover Node 4.

What is the correct order for VDisk presentation and must/mustnt the
the other nodes be running,
when Node 2 comes up? When must the Quorum Drive be presented to
Node2?

Is the only restriction in the setup process, that 2 Hosts should
never see the same VDisk without
having Cluster Service installed?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Regards,

Steve

You are close, but not there yet.

Install node 1, with 2-4 down. Leave 1 up, bring 2 up, install clustering
leaving 3&4 down. Leave 1-2 up, bring 3 up, leave 4 down, install
clustering. Bring 4 up, leaving 1-3 up, install clustering. At this point
you have a 4 node cluster, the quorum should be movable to any node.

The SQL install is easy, it will install on all 4 nodes at the same time,
make sure to leave all 4 nodes running. If you create the first install as
the default instance, the rest of the SQL installs will have to be named
instances. To get the 2nd or 3rd install of SQL, repeat the process on a
free node, just give it a new named instance name

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering
http://www.msmvps.com/clustering - Blog

"Stefan Diebelshausen" <2Meter (AT) gmx (DOT) net> wrote

Hi Rod,

thanks for the tip. One more question: Do I have do care about VDisk
presentation?
Can I present all VDisks to all hosts? And what about the quorum
drive?
At the moment i have presented the Quorum VDisk to all hosts, but when
installing
the Cluster Service on node2, the Quorm Ressource is not accessible
and
computer management says 'unknown disk' 'unreadable'.

Thanks in advance

Steve

Answer inline...

Rod

"Stefan Diebelshausen" <2Meter (AT) gmx (DOT) net> wrote

No.

Yes, absolutely yes, especially the quourum!!!

Microsoft uses the shared nothing model, which means that only one computer
at a time will see the drives properly. You are seeing excepted behavior, if
the quourum was controlled from Node 1, 3, or 4.

Question for Rod or Steve,

I plan to install 2 node clusters (initially) and then add third node to the
existing cluster later.

I plan to assign the driver letters for SQL Data (E, F, G) and Logs (S, T)

Would this work for 3/4 node cluster?

My configuration is as follows:


Server1 (Node1/Active)
Local
------
C:\ (Mirrored) = OS
D:\ (Mirrored) = SQL Binary + PAGE FILE
SAN
----
Data=E:\
Log=S:\
Quorum=Q:\

Server2 (Node2/Passive)
Local
------
C:\ (Mirrored) = OS
D:\ (Mirrored) = SQL Binary + PAGE FILE
SAN
----
Data=E:\
Log=S:\
Quorum:Q:\

Server3 (To be added later as an ACTIVE Node with Server 2 as PASSIVE/Standby)
Data=F:\
Log=T:\
Quorum=Q:\

Does the above configuration sounds ok or there will be issues?

Regards,

Kamal





"Rodney R. Fournier [MVP]" wrote:

Sure, that would work, but what is the G drive for? MSDTC?

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering
http://msmvps.com/clustering - Blog

"Kamal Hassan" <KamalHassan (AT) discussions (DOT) microsoft.com> wrote

Hi Rod,

First thanks for the answer/response.

Second. the drive G is for data of the third NODE (Active) server to be
added later.

My concern is how the clustering/failover will work where S1 & S3 have
unique drives (Data=E&F) and (Log=S&T) sharing Quorum Q:\ drive.

Let's say we add third Active NODE (Server4) with Data on G:\ but Log on T:\
(shared with Server3) ..

Do you see any issues with that ?

As you seem to know this stuff well, I would really appreciate your
feedback/suggestions/comments.

Kamal.



"Rodney R. Fournier [MVP]" wrote:

Only one instance can controlled a drive at a time. So, your plan won't work
as stated.

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering
http://www.msmvps.com/clustering - Blog

"Kamal Hassan" <KamalHassan (AT) discussions (DOT) microsoft.com> wrote