server backup help

[nongv]

i have a server that i am hosting a site on it. it has sql server on it that gets updated by me and the customer using the site i created. i have two server right now. one has the stuff that i am hosting and the other server would be a backup of the original server. how would i set it up to have the other server copy everything on the original server to it everytime i or the customer update the original server. i also wanted it to be a backup if the original server go down that this one would come and take its place. how would i go on setting this up?

 

[montag451]

Could you get your ftp software to do this automatically by making a schedule.
I think this can be done with IPswitch

 

[nongv]

yeah that can be done but i need it where if someone update it then it automatically copy the stuff that is added to that server so everything is always updated.

 

[nweaver]

(didn't see an OS listed) Windows clustering service would do this. I know that it's on 2K Advanced server, and 2k3 enterprise (maybe standard, never looked).

 

[nongv]

windows 2000 server on both of the machine. how would i set up for the other machine to come online once the original one goes offline?

 

[nongv]

will windows cluster automatically copy data that is change or added to sql from the original server to the failover server? i have a wesite where the customer can add or remove data from their database.

 

[nweaver]

yes......it makes "SERVERB" just like "SERVERA". and when people query data, its from "VIRTUALAB" so when A goes down, B will step in within several seconds (iirc) and start fielding the requests, and the transition is seamless from A to B and back to A. Normally, this is setup with an external disk array.

 

[avey]

I wouldn?t call myself an SQL expert but I've seen how its often setup in an enterprise environment.

Windows clustering will only run on 2k advanced, and 2k3 ent.

This is the way ive always seen a cluster setup. In a true cluster both machines need to be online at the same time. Usually when you setup a cluster you have the database sitting on some sort of SAN or ISCSI array that supports two hosts. Basically both SQL servers attach to the same DB file on the shared storage. And then to have an automatic failover you will need to be running behind a load balancer. That way one virtual IP will load to the two systems.


This would probly be the easiest way to provide a fail over. Setup your secondary identical to the primary. Export the DB from the primary server to a flat file weekly and import it to the secondary. Or you could do a restore from tape to the secondary. You are taking backups right? In case the primary failed you could just change the IP on the secondary to match the primary and start the DB. That way at most you would be out of date is one week but at least the site would be up and you could update any missing content.