SQL2008R2 on Windows2008R2 or 2003R2

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SQL2008R2 on Windows2008R2 or 2003R2

Andrew Fowler-367854

SSC Enthusiast

Points: 194
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August 26, 2010 at 5:37 pm

#387672

Hi,
I currently have a Windows2003 cluster running SQL2005. We are about to do a harware refresh and want to upgrade to SQL2008R2 to take advantage of some new features. To me it seems to be the perfect opportunity to run a Windows2008R2 cluster. I have built one in our test environment and am very happy with the result.
Unfortunately, my bosses are quite risk averse and, while they are keen on SQL2008, want to build the new cluster on Windows2003, the same as we arlready have.
So, after that long winded explanation, my question is, what advantages do I get running SQL2008 on a Windows2008 cluster vs Windows2003 Cluster?
Has anyone run SQL 2008 on a Windows2003 cluster previously? Where there and issues?
How can I convince my boss that we should be using Windows2008 clustering?
Any advice (for or against) would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew

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WayneS SSC Guru Points: 95460 More actions · Answer 1

Andrew Fowler-367854 (8/26/2010)
Hi,
I currently have a Windows2003 cluster running SQL2005. We are about to do a harware refresh and want to upgrade to SQL2008R2 to take advantage of some new features. To me it seems to be the perfect opportunity to run a Windows2008R2 cluster. I have built one in our test environment and am very happy with the result.
Unfortunately, my bosses are quite risk averse and, while they are keen on SQL2008, want to build the new cluster on Windows2003, the same as we arlready have.
So, after that long winded explanation, my question is, what advantages do I get running SQL2008 on a Windows2008 cluster vs Windows2003 Cluster?
Has anyone run SQL 2008 on a Windows2003 cluster previously? Where there and issues?
How can I convince my boss that we should be using Windows2008 clustering?
Any advice (for or against) would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I just spent the last week testing a SQL 2008 on a Windows Server 2003 cluster. We're testing our upgrade path to 2008, and used this recently deactivated cluster to test everything cluster on 2008. One of the things we had going on is that two databases on this server are a secondary database in a log shipping setup. (This is a default instance install.) We also added a named instance running in parallel.

While we didn't run this for but 10 days, we had absolutely zero issues. At least until we deleted all SQL 2008 stuff to re-install 2005 to test the upgrade procedure, but this is a different story.

We are also starting to roll out Windows Server 2008. So far, I have not seen any issues with it.

As far as a recommendation goes, I'd say go with Windows Server 2008. If for nothing else, the lifecycle support for Windows Server 2003 is expired. Which by itself can be a compelling reason to upgrade.

Wayne
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes

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Andrew Fowler-367854 SSC Enthusiast Points: 194 More actions · Answer 2

Thanks Wayne,

Good to know that it should work if we go that way.

The main reasons that management are keen to stay with 2003 are:

1. This a a hardware refresh of a system that is currently running a 2003 cluster.

2. All other servers (DC, Web, Proxy etc) in the domain will remian 2003.

3. The entire envirnment is going to be completely replace within 3 years.

From my point of view, these are not good enough reasons to run old technology on shiney new harware. From the bosses point of view, I need to give him reasons to change.

With that in mind, is there anything I can say to my boss that he will see as a compelling reason to change or should I just suck it up and spend 3 more years on a 2003 cluster?

Cheers

Andrew

Perry Whittle SSC Guru Points: 234013 More actions · Answer 3

There's a whole host of reasons why, remember that Windows 2003 SP2 is the minimum supported OS to cluster SQL server 2008. If management are happy opting for minimum spec then fine. Most companies go out and buy the best hardware available for their nice shiny new cluster thingamyjig, so why opt for a minimum spec on the OS??

Theres also a whole host of hotfixes just to get SQL Server 2008 installed on a Windows 2003 cluster. Clustering under Windows 2008 is also a whole lot better. You really should be deploying Windows 2008 to support your SQL Server 2008 cluster

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