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sqlp
Starting Member
4 Posts |
 Posted - 2010-10-18 : 07:21:07
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| We are having 2 SQL Server 2005 EE databases(on Windows 2003 EE) of different sizes ( 60G and 1.5TB(includes BLOBS)). We are planning for a DR solution for this database.This is only for DR and not for load balancing purpose, the secondary database would be only used when primary fails or during maintenance of primary database. The amount of redo generated for 1Tb database would be 1G per day and for the other smaller database it would be 500M per day. The network would be able to handle bandwidth upto 1.5Mbps. We dont have a shared location between these two servers for security purposes. We want the DR to be exact copy of the primary and in case of the DR, the secondary would become the primary and the primary database needs to take on the secondary role without much reconfiguration(not looking for a complete restore as this may slow things). DR would be initated manually so wouldn't want that to happen automatically.I did go through Peer to peer transactional replication and SQL Mirroring but not sure what would be the best fit here?Any suggestions? I am an Oracle DBA with little knowledge on SQL Server, so any help would be very much appreciated.Will replication/mirroring be possible between two different version? |
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webfred
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
8781 Posts |
Posted - 2010-10-18 : 07:47:47
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I think you should go and read about Mirroring because that is fitting your scenario.But I don't know what is EE. Is it Enterpride Edition?
No, you're never too old to Yak'n'Roll if you're too young to die. |
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sqlp
Starting Member
4 Posts |
Posted - 2010-10-18 : 07:51:47
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| Thanks for the reply.Yes, we normally use EE as an acronym for Enterprise Edition in Oracle. Sorry if that would have caused any confusion.I've read about Mirroring but I was not sure whether mirroring would require a shared directory where the transaction logs would be placed for the standby server to apply them or whether they would be transferred via network? We cannot have a shared location due to security restrictions.I am an Oracle DBA, so from Oracle point of view I would go for physical standby and in case of failover I would flash back the database to instantiate the failed primary.In case of SQL Server mirroring how would I get the failed database(old primary) in sych with the new primary and will it automatically take over as standby?In the case of mirroring will it handle any design changes, like adding schemas, filegroups, datafiles etc automatically?Is there anything that needs to be done manually in a Mirroring approach? Are there any restrictions with Mirroring like Large objects, different SQL Server editions etc?Also the database is an active/passive cluster configuration, so not sure whether this also needs to be taken into consideration while planning DR or whether this is going to be the same as a single node DR configuration? |
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webfred
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
8781 Posts |
Posted - 2010-10-18 : 08:02:28
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I think to answer those questions is a bit more than my skill allows to answer.I hope Tara or Gail (or ...) is coming up soon to give the right answer.Cheers!Webfred
No, you're never too old to Yak'n'Roll if you're too young to die. |
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GilaMonster
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
4507 Posts |
Posted - 2010-10-18 : 10:42:54
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quote:
Originally posted by sqlp
I've read about Mirroring but I was not sure whether mirroring would require a shared directory where the transaction logs would be placed for the standby server to apply them or whether they would be transferred via network?
Neither. That's log shipping that you're thinking of.With mirroring the principal (active) sql server transmits the individual log records directly to the mirror server. There are no log backups copied or stored anywhere.I suggest you read up on mirroring, limitations, requirements and how it works, see if it fits your scenario.Replication is not a DR solution. It can be used that way, but it's not ideally set up for DR. There's no provision for redirecting apps to the secondary server (which there is in mirroring). Replication is more typically for scale-out type solutions.--Gail ShawSQL Server MVP |
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sqlp
Starting Member
4 Posts |
Posted - 2010-10-21 : 09:29:02
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| Thanks a lot. Mirroring would be the best solution then.We have a EE but just out of curiosity, is SE Mirroring similar to EE except that redo apply uses single redo thread and Safety set to on(Synchronous mode)? |
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Best DR solution