Web Host Chat - View Single Post - Microsoft Licensing and hardware redundancy

TDMWeb · 29th May 2006

You would need licences for both servers I think. I'd suggest servers in two different datacentres (for effective redundancy) and a software-based automated failover solution -- we use Simple Failover and it works very well.

As far as SQL Server goes, you could use Log Shipping to keep both servers in sync, but you would need at least Workgroup as Express does not support log shipping. Otherwise you'd need to keep them in sync using your own code, which could be a pain but is possible. Remember too that Express does not support live backups.

In our experience, you are probably more likely / as likely to see datacentre/provider glitches (power, network) as server hardware glitches, so having 2 servers with the same provider could see you no better off.

Backup: daily backup to second drive and regular offserver backup works well. RAID is not backup. For RAID 1 and backup you need 3 drives; but many lower cost servers will only take 2 drives. However, if you are coloing rather than using dedicateds, the time it will take you to get to the dc and swap a drive out may mean that RAID is a necessity.

29th May 2006	#2 (permalink)
TDMWeb Certified Host TDMWeb About My Company! Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: London Posts: 488	You would need licences for both servers I think. I'd suggest servers in two different datacentres (for effective redundancy) and a software-based automated failover solution -- we use Simple Failover and it works very well. As far as SQL Server goes, you could use Log Shipping to keep both servers in sync, but you would need at least Workgroup as Express does not support log shipping. Otherwise you'd need to keep them in sync using your own code, which could be a pain but is possible. Remember too that Express does not support live backups. In our experience, you are probably more likely / as likely to see datacentre/provider glitches (power, network) as server hardware glitches, so having 2 servers with the same provider could see you no better off. Backup: daily backup to second drive and regular offserver backup works well. RAID is not backup. For RAID 1 and backup you need 3 drives; but many lower cost servers will only take 2 drives. However, if you are coloing rather than using dedicateds, the time it will take you to get to the dc and swap a drive out may mean that RAID is a necessity. __________________ Chris at TDMWeb.com Windows & Linux hosting and fully managed dedicated servers with great customer service! UK-based but serving the world... (VAT No: 474698684) Last edited by TDMWeb; 29th May 2006 at 01:02 PM.