MSSQLTips

This post is related to this tip: Installing SQL Server 2008 on a Windows Server 2008 Cluster Part 3

http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1709

Good article.. In the next part of this series can you include steps for the installation of Reporting Services too in this environment, because I read some where that Reporting Service is not supported in Failover cluster environment.... It would be of great help.. Eagerly waiting for next part... Bitoo

 Thanks for the feedback.  Reporting Services, as it runs on IIS, is not supported in a Failover Cluster environment.  rather, it should be installed in an NLB environment. I'll complete this series first, then write an article on how you can install Reporting Services in an NLB environment

Ok, that will be great.. But just for information, if we have to install SSRS on this environment then we will have to install an instance of SSRS on each cluster node and configure them separately???

Hi,

I'm enjoying reading your article as a few months ago when installing a Windows 2008/SQL 2008 cluster I found very little information. This meant I spent sometime with the trial and error approach, installing and reinstalling. I would like your opinion regarding the DTC being installed as part of the cluster.

 I first installed it as you suggest, as the SQL install flagged a warning, giving the DTC it's own IP, Storage, Network name and resource group. An article I found suggested, to to allow the DTC it to failover with the SQL, moving it into the SQL resource group. This however left an empty resouce group in cluster administrator and l felt it was not a good solution.

 The installation I settled on was to install the DTC after the SQL cluster. Once the SQL is installed select the SQL Server group, right click, select add a resource the select the DTC. This means the DTC is installed as part the the SQL group and does not require it's own network name or IP address but will fail over with the SQL.

 Good or Bad?

 Thanks

Mark

Installing SSRS requires a totally different mindset as you are working on a web application on an NLB and not a cluster so its not like having to install it on the cluster nodes separately. I'll work on that article in no time

There are a  couple of ways to look at this.  The reason why MSDTC is moved into the same resource group as your SQL Server resource group is because of the fact that only your SQL Server will really take advantage of this. It would make sense to have them in the same resource group. This Microsoft TechNet article explains that scenario. A good reason why to put MSDTC in its own resource group is for performance

Hi. Do we need to have the same subnet for the SQL server 2008 to work on Windows Server 2008?. If yes, does this apply for Private and Public networks or only for Private?

Thank You

N.Raja

Your SQL Server IP could be in the same subnet as your Windows or on a different subnet as long as they get routed correctly to enable it to communicate with the rest of the network. We have settings where the SQL Server IP is on a diiferent subnet than that of the Windows IP but the IPs are routed to enable them to properly communicate with the infrastructure.  You do have to check with your network engineers on how to properly configure the IP/subnet. It's not a recommended best practice but it can be done

Hi. What about Cluster (Private / heartbeat and Public / Network)?. Do we need to have same subnet or everywhere the limitation of same subnet and VLAN requirements are removed??.

With the introduction of geographically dispersed clusters in Windows Server 2008, you can now have IP addresses that reside in different subnets across routed networks, eliminating the need to create a VLAN.

Hi,

We are building SQL 2008 Cluster on Win 2008 Cluster. We have configured the MSDTC service as cluster resource as you mentioned in this tip. But the MSDTC resource is not coming up. It is giving the below error.

Cluster network name resource 'xyz' failed to create its associated computer object in domain 'abc.com' for the following reason: Unable to create computer account. The text for the associated error code is: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.

Please work with your domain administrator to ensure that: -The cluster identity 'pqr$' can create computer objects. By default all computer objects are created in the 'Computers' container; consult the domain administrator if this location has been changed. - The quota for computer objects has not been reached.- If there is an existing computer object, verify the Cluster Identity 'pqr$' has 'Full Control' permission to that computer object using the Active Directory Users and Computers tool.

The cluster service is running under Local System account (which has been given permission to create objects in AD).

We have tried by pre-creating a computer object with the MSDTC Network Name in disabled state and giving cluster identity full control on it. But, when we configure the MSDTC it is giving an error 'xyz' is already in use in the Active Directory.

Can you please let me know how can we resolve this issue?

This might be caused by a lot of reasons. Did you create your server as a clone or an image? Does the account that you are using have permissions to create AD objects? Have you tried delegating control to the Computers OU in your AD?

Has anyone successfully installed a SQL Server 2008 R2 Failover Cluster on Server 2008 R2 ? I'm getting stuck at the Instance Configuration screen, i get an error when trying to detect the SQL Server Network Name, here is the error:

The given network name is unusable because there was a failure trying to determine if the network name is valid for use by the clustered SQL instance due to the following error: 'The network address is invalid.'

This issue is not happening on Win 2008 (Non R2)



Inference

Issue happens ONLY when:

Environment is VMWARE and O/S IS WINDOWS 2008 R2

Issue DOESNT happen when:

Environment is VMWARE and O/S IS WINDOWS 2008 R1
Environment is Physical and O/S IS WINDOWS 2008 R1/R2

I'll try to reproduce your issue on a Hyper-V failover cluster and will report back on the updates. I did successfully install SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster on a Windows Server 2008 R2 and documented the additional steps in this tip.