SQL Server 2008 and R2 Cluster Best Practices

An article by NG    No Comments

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pamitt/archive/2010/11/06/sql-server-clustering-best-practices.aspx

Read about this in above article, few highlights to remember,

1. Configure MSDTC as per best practices

2. Pre-stage MSDTC and SQL Server account objects in Active Directory prior to installing a MSDTC or SQL server cluster

3. Benchmark Disk Performance using SQLIOSIM

4. Use Slip Streaming or install the latest support files prior to starting the SQL Server installation

5. Ensure that the account used to install SQL Server cluster has the appropriate permissions

6. Ensure that the SQL Server account should not be a member of Local Administrators group

7. Implement antivirus exclusion to avoid database corruption

8. Run SQL Server 2008 BPA tool to check for other best practices

9. Configure SQL Server memory settings appropriately on a multi instance cluster

Suggestion: Consider adding a third passive node to the 2-node cluster

10. While configuring the data directories in the SQL Server setup, do not use the root mount drive (Master drive) to store any data/log/backup files