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SQL Server 2014 Failover Cluster Instance with SIOS DataKeeper
Azure Deployment Template

This template will create a high availability/disaster recovery (HA/DR) solution with the following features:

  • A Virtual Network
  • Three data storage accounts and one dedicated diagnostic storage account
  • Four public IP addresses and associated NICs for remote connections to all four VMs via RDP
  • One internal load balancer for client connectivity to clustered instance of SQL Server
  • One Windows Server 2012 R2 VM configured as a Domain Controller for a new forest with a single domain
  • Two Windows Server 2012 R2 VMs in a Windows Server Failover Cluster, both running an SQL Server 2014 (180 day evaluation license) and SIOS DataKeeper
  • One Windows Server 2012 R2 VM configured as a client outside of the cluster
  • Two Availability Sets; one for the cluster VMs, and the other for the configured client VM

External connections via RDP can be made to all four VMs created by this template. The cluster is configured to use a file share witness for quorum. This file share is hosted on the AD Domain Controller.

Known Issues

This template is mostly deployed in a serial manner, and uses PowerShell DSC Extensions for final configurations. As a result, and because of current restrictions in the Azure back-end logic, deployment of this template requires 45-60 min to complete. Microsoft is working toward a solution that allows more parallel operations (enabling faster deployment times). This template will be updated accordingly as soon as possible.

Notes

  • The default settings for storage are to deploy using premium storage. All four VMs use a P10 Disk for the OS. The domain controller and two cluster nodes are also configured with an additional P10 disk for data and diagnostics. These sizes can be changed by changing the relevant variables.

  • By default, these settings require that you have at least 4 cores of available quota to deploy.

  • The images used to create this deployment are:

    • AD VM - Latest Windows Server 2012 R2 Image
    • SIOS DataKeeper / SQL Server VMs - DataKeeper 8.3.0 marketplace image (requires license), which is based on the latest Windows Server 2012 R2 Image, with SQL 2014 SP1 180 day evaluation version
    • Client - Latest Windows Server 2012 R2 Image

Click the button below to deploy a
SIOS DataKeeper / SQL 2014 Failover Cluster in the Azure Portal

Deploying from PowerShell

For details on how to install and configure Azure Powershell visit
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/powershell-install-configure

Launch an Azure PowerShell console, and login to your account

Login-AzureRmAccount

If you have multiple subscriptions, provide the subscription ID you wish to use with the following

Select-AzureRmSubscription -SubscriptionID <YourSubscriptionId>

Switch to the folder containing this template. It is a best practice to create a new Resource Group for the deployment with the following

New-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name "<new resourcegroup name>" -Location "<new resourcegroup location>"

Finally, launch the deployment with the following

New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -Name <Deployment Name> -ResourceGroupName <resource group name> -TemplateFile .\azuredeploy.json

You will be prompted for the following parameters:

  • licenseKeyFtpURL: - Enter the path to your temporary license file. This path appears in the email that you received from SIOS Technology Corp. that contained your evaluation key. Provide the folder name which contains the license in this field.
    Example input - http://ftp.us.sios.com/pickup/EVAL_Some_User_2016-01-26_DKCE. To request a free 14 day trial, visit http://us.sios.com/clustersyourway/cta/14-day-trial.
  • newStorageAccountNamePrefix: - The prefix of the new storage account created to store the VMs disks. Different storage accounts will be created for AD and DataKeeper VMs. This value must be composed of all lowercase letters or numbers, be a maximum of 20 characters long, and be globally unique within all of Azure.
  • storageAccountType: - Type of storage account to create. This must be set to Premium if DS size VMs are being created.
  • domainName: The domain name in FQDN form. This value should contain at least two parts, separated by a '.' (for example, datakeeper.local). The first part of the FQDN will be used as the login domain name (for example, login as datakeeper\siosadmin), and must not match the domainAdminUsername. If domainName does not contain a '.', the suffix '.local' will be appended.
  • domainAdminUsername: The username for the Administrator of the new VMs and Domain. The domainAdminUsername chosen must not match the domain specified in the domainName parameter (for example: using domainName 'datakeeper.local' and domainAdminUsername 'datakeeper' will cause the deployment to fail).
  • domainAdminPassword: The password for the Administrator account of the new VMs and Domain.
  • vMNamePrefix: The name prefix for all of the SIOS DataKeeper / SQL VMs.
  • aDVMSize: The size of the primary domain controller VM. If a DS size is selected, the storageAccountType parameter must have a Premium type selected.
  • sQLVMSize: The size of the DataKeeper / SQL VMs. If a DS size is selected, the storageAccountType parameter must have a Premium type selected.