Windows Server 2003 Clustering supports a dual-redundant Microsoft SQL Server configuration for the Microsoft Provisioning System (MPS) databases. This enables single point of failure compensation for the MPS Configuration, Audit log, Resource Manager, Transaction logs, and the Audit and Recovery Service databases.
Tasks Summary
- Deploy Windows Server 2003 on the Cluster
- Configure Windows Server 2003 Clustering
- Install SQL Server onto the Clustered Configuration
Preinstallation Considerations
Before you continue to create the clustering configuration, review the following:
- You must log on using an account that is a member of the Domain
Administrators group to create the first node in a cluster or add
additional nodes.
- All nodes must have joined a domain (instead of a workgroup)
and be members of the same domain.
- When you create a cluster or join nodes to a cluster, specify
the domain user account under which the Cluster service runs. It is
best if the Cluster service user account is a new account. The
account must have local administrative rights and permissions on
the cluster nodes.
- Ensure that applications (for example, Microsoft SQL Server
2005) do not use the same account as the Cluster service account.
Be sure to keep the password from expiring on the account and
follow your organization's policies for password renewal.
Other Considerations for SQL Server
Clustering
When you install the operating system on a member server, Setup adds the Cluster service account as a member of the local administrators group. When you install the operating system on a domain controller, Setup gives cluster-administrative permissions to the Domain Administrators group.
When you use Cluster Administrator to administer a cluster from a remote location, such as from another server or a computer running Windows XP Professional, or to administer a cluster locally from a node, you must use an account that is a member of the local administrators group on all nodes.