Course Overview: Advanced High Availability and Disaster Recovery for SQL Server

This in-depth course is designed to equip IT professionals with the essential knowledge and practical skills to design, implement, and manage High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions for SQL Server environments, leveraging Windows Server technologies. The training will focus on key HA/DR concepts, including Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Recovery Time Objective (RTO), and uptime metrics, as well as critical HA features introduced in Windows Server 2012 R2 and 2016. You will gain expertise in SQL Server’s most widely used HA and DR features, such as Failover Clustering and Availability Groups, and understand how to integrate them into your enterprise solutions for maximum reliability, scalability, and performance.

The course will also cover the practical aspects of maintaining and troubleshooting these HA/DR configurations, along with advanced features like quorum configurations, storage management, and hybrid environments. Additionally, you will explore how to ensure interoperability with other SQL Server technologies like Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Design and implement reliable High Availability (HA) solutions using Windows Server 2012 R2/2016 and SQL Server 2014/2016.
• Manage and maintain HA solutions within SQL Server environments.
• Build and configure Disaster Recovery solutions to ensure minimal downtime.
• Troubleshoot and resolve common HA issues in SQL Server 2014/2016 environments.
• Gain hands-on experience in monitoring and maintaining Failover Clusters and Availability Groups.

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to High Availability (HA) Concepts

• Foundations of High Availability
  Understanding key concepts such as Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Recovery Time Objective (RTO), and uptime metrics.

• Overview of HA Features in Windows Server 2016
  Introduction to the HA capabilities in Windows Server 2016, including Failover Clustering, Cluster Shared Volumes, Scale-Out File Services, and Storage Replica.

• SQL Server 2016 HA Features
  A comprehensive overview of SQL Server's built-in HA features, including Failover Cluster Instances (FCI), Availability Groups (AG), and Log Shipping.

Day 2: Implementing and Managing Windows Server 2016 Failover Clustering

• Cluster Installation and Configuration
  Step-by-step guide to setting up Failover Clusters in Windows Server 2016, including storage configuration and node setup.

• Cluster Maintenance
  Best practices for maintaining and patching clusters, adding/removing nodes, and upgrading the cluster environment.

• Monitoring and Troubleshooting
  Techniques for effectively monitoring the health of your Failover Cluster and diagnosing common issues.

Day 3: Configuring SQL Server Failover Clustering Instances (FCI)

• FCI Configuration
  In-depth configuration of SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances, including setting up Active/Passive and Active/Active cluster modes.

• MS DTC Configuration
  Configuring the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) for SQL Server FCI environments.

• Cluster Maintenance and Troubleshooting
  Strategies for maintaining and troubleshooting SQL Server FCIs, with practical exercises on adding/removing SQL Server nodes and handling common failures.

Day 4: Advanced SQL Server Availability Groups (AG)

• AG Configuration and Management
  Detailed guidance on setting up and configuring Availability Groups, including synchronous and asynchronous replication, and the use of read-only routing and load balancing.

• Advanced Features of AG
  Direct seeding, Distributed Availability Groups, and best practices for maintaining AGs in production environments.

• Patching, Upgrades, and Monitoring
  Managing AGs through patches and upgrades, as well as adding/removing databases and files to/from Availability Groups.

• Troubleshooting AGs
  Techniques for troubleshooting common issues in Availability Groups, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime.

Day 5: SQL Server Interoperability and Integration

• Interoperability with SQL Server Technologies
  Exploring the integration of SQL Server High Availability solutions with other SQL Server technologies, including Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services.

• Ensuring Seamless Integration
  Configuring and troubleshooting integration scenarios to ensure consistent and reliable performance across services in a highly available SQL Server environment.

Conclusion

Upon completing this course, participants will have the skills necessary to architect, deploy, and manage robust High Availability and Disaster Recovery solutions for SQL Server environments using the latest Windows Server technologies. By gaining hands-on experience with Failover Clustering, Availability Groups, and other HA/DR features, you will be prepared to design systems that provide high performance, resilience, and scalability. This course is ideal for SQL Server DBAs and IT professionals aiming to enhance their expertise in HA and DR, ensuring the continuous operation of mission-critical applications.