Failover Cluster Installation Error

  • I'm attempting to install a failover cluster (using 2014 Standard), and I'm having a problem.  The installer requires a SQL Server Network Name, which I assumed was referring to a DNS entry which our applications would use to point to the cluster.  Our Sys Admins created the DNS entry, but the installer doesn't accept it. 

    "The SQL Server Failover Cluster Network Name is not valid."

    Am I wrong about what the network name is used for?  Am I missing something?  I've gone through a few install guides but they all gloss over this part.

    Any help would be appreciated.

  • I believe this is the regular network name. You can have DNS point here later, but this should just be SQL01 if the DNS would be SQL01.mydomain.com

  • So this would be the name of the server I'm setting up the node on (in this case, it's the first node in the cluster)?

  • No, IIRC, you need a network name.

    So if I had two Windows hosts, SQL01 and SQL02, I might have the cluster be SQLSales. Essentially each has two names it responds to. This is separate from DNS, which could be SQL01.mycorp.com, SQL02.mycorp.com and SQLSales.mycorp.com.

  • Assuming a 2 node, active/passive cluster, you would need the following:
    1. Server 1 actual name and IP address
    2. Server 2 actual name and IP address
    3. Virtual cluster name and IP address
    4. Virtual SQL name and IP address

    In my case, here's what I've got on one of the clusters:
    PROD-DB01 
    PROD-DB02
    These are both physical boxes, 
    PROD-DB-CLST
    This is the virtual cluster
    PROD-SQL
    This is the virtual SQL name

    When you connect to the database, you would always use PROD-SQL.  Regardless of which node(physical box) is active, PROD-SQL is available.
    You are also going to need a virtual IP and a shared drive so that you can cluster MSDTC.

    Michael L John
    If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
    To properly post on a forum:
    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/

  • So what I have looks like this:

    Node 1 - LFSQL01
    Node 2 - LFSQL02
    Virtual Cluster - LF_FV_CL
    SQL Cluster - LF_CL_SQL

    All of the above are valid dns entries, yet when I'm trying to set up the first node of the sql cluster (through the Install a SQL Server Failover Cluster wizard) I get  the following:
              The SQL Server failover cluster network name 'LF_CL_SQL' is not valid.  The name must be a valid DNS and WinS name.

    My networking guys have verified that the name and ip's are all configured correctly.  This has me pretty thoroughly confused.  What am I missing?

  • Mark Harley - Thursday, December 7, 2017 9:59 AM

    I'm attempting to install a failover cluster (using 2014 Standard), and I'm having a problem.  The installer requires a SQL Server Network Name, which I assumed was referring to a DNS entry which our applications would use to point to the cluster.  Our Sys Admins created the DNS entry, but the installer doesn't accept it. 

    "The SQL Server Failover Cluster Network Name is not valid."

    Am I wrong about what the network name is used for?  Am I missing something?  I've gone through a few install guides but they all gloss over this part.

    Any help would be appreciated.

    Hi

    to answer your question, you need to have a domain administrator create a computer account for you in Active Directory.
    When the account is created a DNS host A records would usually be created too.
    If the user performing the sql server install is not a domain admin ( as they usually are not ) then the account needs to be pre staged correctly as detailed in the following link

    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn466519.aspx

    Please also read my stairway to HA at the following link

    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/stairway/112556/

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉

  • I actually am a domain admin, but I got it working.  It seems that for some reason it kept choking on the name I was using.  For example, TEST would work without issue.  I changed the network name to something without underscores and it just worked.  Perhaps underscores aren't allowed?  Or perhaps that's just a coincidence?  Regardless, it's working now.

    Thanks for all of the help!

  • Mark Harley - Wednesday, December 13, 2017 10:00 AM

    I actually am a domain admin, but I got it working.  It seems that for some reason it kept choking on the name I was using.  For example, TEST would work without issue.  I changed the network name to something without underscores and it just worked.  Perhaps underscores aren't allowed?  Or perhaps that's just a coincidence?  Regardless, it's working now.

    Thanks for all of the help!

    an underscore is not allowed in a windows computername

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉

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