SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring - basics and related resources
To provide High Availability feature within your database environment you could take advantage of Database Mirroring when using SQL Server 2005. As with all critical databases, minimizing data loss and downtime are of the highest importance. Having "AlwaysOn" configuration within the SQL Server 2005 that allows a database to be highly available by automatically failing over to a “mirror” image of the database in the event of a disaster to the “principal” server.
This feature is called Database Mirroring and is only available for production use in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1, also the Database Mirroring allows a critical database (the Principal Database) to send changes – via synchronous or asynchronous transaction log writes – to a secondary database copy (the Mirror Database). If a third server is available (the Witness) to form a consensus (quorum) in the event of a disaster, SQL Server can detect and automatically failover to the Mirror copy of the database. To help the client’s connect to the appropriate server, Database Mirroring also supports client connectivity options that allow your client applications to be redirected to the currently processing database in the event of a failover.
The following list consists the additional resources on Database Mirroring for your better understanding:
· TechNet Whitepaper: Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005 by Ron Talmage
· TechNet Whitepaper: Database Mirroring Best Practices and Performance Considerations by Sanjay Mishra
· TechNet Webcast: How to Increase Availability Using Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
· TechNet Webcast: Implementing Database Mirroring, Part 1 of 2 (Level 200) which was shown as Part 8 in an 11 part series for ITProfessionals, presented by Mark Wistrom, Program Manager for Database Mirroring at Microsoft Corp., April 2006
· TechNet Webcast: Implementing Database Mirroring, Part 2 of 2 (Level 200) which was shown as Part 9 in an 11 part series for ITProfessionals, presented by Kimberly L. Tripp, SQLskills.com, May 2006