Implementing SQL high availability

The following recipe will guide you through the steps required to set up SQL Server with high availability for use with System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager.

For this recipe, we will be implementing the SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature. You could also use the well-known method of Windows Failover Clustering (WFC) and SQL Server Failover Clustered Instance (FCI). These are well-understood methods with plenty of documentation, while AlwaysOn Availability Groups is still a relatively new method, but it is becoming the Microsoft preferred method of providing high availability.

Tip

Another benefit of SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn over traditional clustering is the fact that it doesn't require costly shared storage.

Getting ready

For this recipe, you will require the following:

• Two virtual machines with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise pre-installed
• A normal installation of SQL, not a SQL Server FCI installation
• Ensure during the installation...