Initiating the Installer Wizard for Failover cluster Setup
The preparatory phase in an SQL Server Cluster installation is a long drawn one with a lot of checks that you need to carry out before you actually set out to install the failover cluster. However, the process of installing with the Installer wizard is very easy. If your preparation is right, there is no reason why you should run into dead ends! The installer will do all the work for you while you take a few critical decisions on the way to ensure that you get the cluster working the way you want it to!
As indicated in the article “Preparing to install failover clusters”, the set up program will begin by making some fundamental checks on your system. If something is not in place it will point it out to you and even tell you how the problem can be fixed.
The first activity that is performed by the installer is a node recognition procedure. It will tell you that the nodes listed out by it exist in the configuration and ask you whether it should go ahead with the installation given the current configuration. If you concur, it will move on to install the binaries on the local drives of each one of the nodes identified. The system databases are also stored on the shared array you will be prompted to designate.
The set up program for active/passive cluster, active/active and multi cluster are similar. However, for active/active cluster and multi node cluster the SQL Server 2005 you will have to run the setup on every instance of the cluster and specify the different logical drives on the shared array.
In this article we propose to assume that the SQL Server 2005 Cluster set up is being run on an active/passive two node cluster configuration.
Initiating the Wizard
You can begin installation by inserting the CD/DVD in the drive and directly initiating the installer from the media. You can also copy the files on to a directory on your hard drive of the current active node and install from there. Locate Setup.exe and run it. The introductory screen appears and disappears leaving you confronted with the first install dialog box shown on the left. The user is informed that Microsoft SQL Native Client and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Setup Support files will be installed so that SQL Server setup is enabled. It should be noted that the number of components that need to be installed will vary in accordance with the components already available and installed on the system in which the installation wizard is being run. It should also be noted that the prerequisite components will only be installed in the current active node.
Installation of these components on the passive node will happen automatically during the process of installation on that node. The user is instructed to click the install button to continue with the installation. Click it to proceed with the installation.
The process of installing the components will take some time and you will be prompted to when the process is completed to move on to the next step. If any component fails to install correctly, you will be prompted to troubleshoot the installation. You could begin by rebooting both the active and passive nodes and running the installation wizard again. However, if it still fails you will have to fix the problem before you can proceed.
If the prerequisite components are successfully installed you will be shown the following screen. Click Next to proceed.
The next in the process is the System Configuration Check. If the check is successful you will get green icons on your dialog box. Else you will get red or yellow icons which indicate that there is a problem that needs to be fixed before you can proceed. If all is well you can proceed with the installation by clicking Next.
The next dialog box is the registration dialog box. Here you will be required to enter the name of your company and the license key if applicable. The dialog box that follows prompts you to select the SQL Server 2005 components you want to install.
If the Analysis Services are being installed then you will be required to select “Create an Analysis Server failover cluster”. After selecting the required components, click next to proceed forward to selecting the name of the instance that is being installed. After selecting the instance, now click next to enter the name of the virtual server name.
You need to pay some attention to this step as this is the name the clients will use when they connect to this instance. Therefore, you should take care to select a name that is meaningful to your organization. Moreover, changing this name is not easy. You will have to uninstall and reinstall the SQL Server Cluster for the purpose!
The next step is equally important. You will have to assign an IP address for the instance of the SQL Server 2005. This is the IP address the clients will use to connect to the instance of the SQL Server. Make sure that the IP address you use belongs to the same subnet as the IP address used by all other nodes. Also note that this dialog box requires you to select the network to be used for public network from the list of networks that will be listed in the drop down box. It is recommended that the networks should be named public and private in the first instance so that this selection process is facilitated. Now click Add to add the network and IP address to the “Selected Networks”.
In the dialog box that follows select the server group for which you want to create server group resources. Make sure that the Data files are created in the correct logical drive of the shared array.
Once this is done, you will be required to define the cluster node configuration and specify the nodes on which the SQL Server needs to be installed. In the dialog box that follows specify the account and the password for the Administrator who has rights on all the nodes where the instance of SQL Server 2005 has been installed. This could be a domain account too.
The service account dialog box opens. You will be prompted to select predefined global domain groups that have the startup account for each clustered service. You can add all three services to the same global group or to different groups.
The dialog boxes that follow are similar to the dialog boxes that open for any SQL Server 2005 installation and will take you to the final dialog box which actually begins the installation of the SQL Server Cluster.
The installation process is long drawn as binaries are installed on the cluster nodes and the system data files are installed in the shared array. You can watch the progress of installation on each of the nodes by selecting the nodes from the drop down box.
Failure of any installation step will be indicated by a red or yellow icon. In such a case, the entire installation process will have to be rolled back, problems fixed and the process restarted.
Canceling an installation is not always advisable as some of the components installed may not get uninstalled. Also, in cases where the installation breaks the rollback may not happen and the different components may have to be uninstalled manually. If the installation is a success you will see the final dialog box prompting you to click Finish.
