With the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2019, some changes regarding High-Availability and Disaster Recovery have been introduced. For your SQL server estate, whether consisting Standard or Enterprise edition, this might bring you benefits
TIP #18 - November 2019: What has changed with the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 when it comes to fail-over rights?
For SQL Server with SA (Software Assurance) - both Standard and Enterprise editions - you are now entitled to a total of 3 fail-over OSE’s (Operating System Environments), including:
- 1 fail-over OSE for “any purpose, including High Availability (HA)”
- 2 fail-over OSE for “Disaster Recovery (DR) purposes” divided into:
- 1 OSE on “any server dedicated to Customer’s use”
- 1 OSE on Microsoft Azure
For the Disaster Recovery fail-over instances, Microsoft states these must be configured as both “asynchronous” and “manual” and that any fail-over instance cannot serve SQL data or run active workloads. Only the High Availability fail-over instance can be synchronous and is suitable for replication purposes.
Besides the fact that it is now possible to have 2 fail-over servers covered by an SQL license with SA, it is also possible to fail-over an on-premises server into the Azure cloud and still being covered by SA benefits. This means this specific Azure OSE can be used free of charge.
Be careful!
Despite the fact that some benefits might seem directly applicable for your organisation, it is still necessary to be careful and have a thorough knowledge of the different types of fail-over and how the architecture has been configured.
It is also strongly recommended to pay attention to Microsoft’s Listed Providers as part of your outsourcing terms (Hosted Cloud Services).
Finally, some rights may not apply if your SQL Server environment is using the “License Mobility through SA” right.