SQL Server 2008 & SQL Server 2008 R2 clustering FAQ’s:

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1. Can I use SQL 2008 slipstreamed installer to install SQL Server 2008 failover cluster?

Yes. Launch the setup.exe from command prompt with PCUSource = <path to extracted SP1>. Refer https://blogs.msdn.com/petersad/archive/2009/03/02/sql-server-2008-basic-slipstream-steps.aspx for additional information. You can use merged slipstream installer for SQL 2008 cluster installation.

2. If I install failover cluster using slipstream, do I need to add next node using slipstream setup?

Yes. If you start your failover cluster install with slipstream installer, make sure that all add node operations to this cluster are also done with slipstream installer.

3. SKIPRULES command line parameter does not work though I have specified "/SKIPRULES=xxxx". Is it supported?

The SKIPRULES parameter for setup is not a documented feature. But if you still want to try this in your test environment, note that SKIPRULES parameter will not work unless you specify an ACTION command along with it. For ex:

Setup /SKIPRULES=xxxx /ACTION=xxxx

The only documented usage of that parameter is in this article https://support.microsoft.com/kb/953748 .

4. Can we deploy SQL Server using windows sysprep image?

Yes. Starting from SQL Server 2008 R2, we support command line parameter to deploy sysprep windows image. For more info, refer https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210664(SQL.105).aspx. It is important to note that IA64 editions & WOW 64 installations are not supported by SQL Server SysPrep.

5. Do we need to pre-create SQL Server group under “Services and Applications” before installing SQL and add clustered disk to that group?

No. SQL Server will present you all disk listed under available storage and you can choose the clustered disk to be added to SQL group. SQL Server installer will create the group and add resources for you.

6. Can we make SQL Server cluster to listen on Multiple IP Address? Is it supported?

Yes. You can make SQL Server failover cluster to listen on Multiple IP Address. All you have to do is to configure new IP resource under SQL group and make SQL Server Network Name depend on this new IP resource and restart SQL Server. Now your clustered SQL instance will be listening on multiple IP address.

7. Can we rename SQL Server failover cluster instance name?

Yes and No.

Yes, if your SQL Server failover cluster instance is a default instance then you can just rename the SQL Network Name which obviously changes the SQL Server instance name.

No, if you SQL Server failover cluster instance name is a named instance.

Refer BOL https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178083.aspx

8. Is SQL Server supported on a geographically distributed cluster?

Yes. Refer https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189910(SQL.90).aspx for more info.

9. Does SQL Server support Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Live migration?

Yes. Refer Q5 at https://support.microsoft.com/kb/956893

Stay tuned for further questions…..

Disclaimer: This post is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. It should be tested before using the same in production environment.

Sakthivel Chidambaram
SE, Microsoft SQL server

Reviewed by
Rakesh Singh
Technical Lead, Microsoft SQL Server.