SQL Server has become mission critical to most environments. Like anything else that is mission critical, SQL Server needs the proper planning, deployment, and administration to ensure that SQL Server instances and databases are up and running when you need them. This one day seminar is designed to help DBAs understand the world of SQL Server availability: the foundation that is needed; what options and features are available to them, including demonstrations and discussions of best practices for deploying and administering those features; as well as provide practical advice on architectures and scenarios to use the various technologies at your disposal.

The agenda for the day is as follows:

9:00        Welcome and Introduction

9:30        The Basics of Availability – Before delving into the technology aspects of deploying highly available SQL Server instances and databases, you need a solid foundation to build upon. This session will discuss all of the factors that influence the availability a SQL Server deployment, and how skipping some of these factors can hurt you long term.

10:15     Demystifying Failover Clustering Part 1 – Failover clustering is one of the most popular options for SQL Server availability, yet it confuses many. These next two sessions will cover how to plan for a clustered implementation of SQL Server, the deployment options, and the most common administrative techniques. Both parts will be focused on deploying SQL Server (with a strong emphasis on SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2) on a version of Windows Server 2008, which is vastly different from its predecessor Windows Server 2003.

11:00     Break

11:15     Demystifying Failover Clustering Part 2

12:30     Lunch

13:30     Mirroring, Log Shipping, and Replication – Oh My! – Failover clustering is not the only availability option in SQL Server. This session will focus on the  best practices for database mirroring, log shipping, and replication as they relate to using those features for availability or disaster recovery.

14:45     Break

15:00     Putting It All Together – Since SQL Server has quite a few availability choices, which one is right for you? Will you need to combine them to get the availability you want? And where do other technologies such as virtualization fit in with SQL Server availability? Can any other features in SQL Server be used to assist with availability? How should I approach SQL Server features that are not designed for availability such as SSIS? Are third party options viable or are they a waste of money? This session will answer these questions and show you how to put the theory and best practices to good use.

16:00     Sneak Peak at Availability in SQL Server Denali – If you haven’t heard by now, there are some major changes to SQL Server availability coming in the next major version of SQL Server. This final session of the day will give you a preview of what is coming, how it may impact you, and how you need to start thinking ahead even if you do not plan on implementing Denali immediately.

17:00     Close

Allan Hirt has been using SQL Server in various guises since 1992 and is currently a Clustering MVP. For the past ten years, he has traveled all over the world to train, mentor, and work with clients. He has also authored or contributed to publications about SQL Server for Microsoft, SQL Server Magazine, and others via whitepapers, webcasts, training courses, and books. He is a frequent speaker at conferences like TechEd and SQL PASS. His most recent book, Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering, was published by Apress in July, 2009, and he is currently working on a new mission critical book for the upcoming SQL Server release Denali. His blog and contact information can be found at http://www.sqlha.com.