Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases: Clustering and AlwaysOn

  • 7/15/2012

Case Scenarios

In the following case scenarios, you apply what you have learned about SQL Server clustered instances and AlwaysOn. You can find answers to these questions in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

Case Scenario 1: Failover Cluster Instances at Contoso

You are designing a failover cluster instance solution at Contoso. You will deploy a four-node failover cluster at the Melbourne site. You will also deploy a failover cluster instance that has nodes in the cities of Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth. Each of these cities resides on a different TCP/IP subnet.

With these facts in mind, answer the following questions:

  1. Which edition of SQL Server 2012 should you deploy to support the proposed cluster configuration at the Melbourne site?

  2. Which host operating systems can you use to support the proposed cluster configuration at the Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth sites?

  3. Which tools can you use to perform manual failover when performing maintenance?

Case Scenario 2: AlwaysOn Availability Groups at Fabrikam

You are planning an AlwaysOn Availability Groups deployment at Fabrikam. Fabrikam wants to deploy replica instances in the cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, and Melbourne. Fabrikam security policy dictates that you must use local virtual accounts rather than domain security accounts for the SQL Server service accounts for each of the replica instances. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Fabrikam wants you to configure the AlwaysOn Availability Group so that automatic failover is possible.

With these facts in mind, answer the following questions:

  1. Which editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 could you use to support the proposed configuration?

  2. What factors influence the choice of authentication method for the mirroring endpoints?

  3. Which availability mode should you configure on the primary and secondary replicas, given the project requirements?