A Real World Guide to Building High AvailabilitySharePoint FarmsEric ShuppsSharePoint Server MVP

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Eric ShuppsSharePoint Server MVP

• Introduction• Fundamentals•Architecture• Implementation

Agenda

Fundamentals

What is High Availability?

Elimination of single points of failureFully redundant systemsSeamless continuityAutomated failoverOperational Stability

Why Do We Need High Availability?Risk mitigationComplianceCustomer SatisfactionRevenue ProtectionSafetyPerformanceSecurityPublic Relations

Requirements

InfrastructureDevicesServersBandwidthStorageSoftwareWindows Server 2012/2012 R2Failover ClusteringFile Shares

SQL Server 2012/2014Always On Availability Groups

Considerations

ResourcesCostComplexityLicensingTroubleshootingPatching & Updates

Architecture

Basic (Non-HA) SharePoint 2013 Farm Architecture

WFE

SharePoint Server 2013Front-end Server

SQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) PowerPivot Add-In

SQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) Reporting Services Add-In

APP

SharePoint Server 2013Application Server

Excel Services Service Application

SQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) PowerPivot Service ApplicationSQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) PowerPivot Add-In

SQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) Reporting Services Service ApplicationSQL Server 2012 SP2 (2014) Reporting Services Add-In

WAC

Office Web Apps 2013 Server

SQL

SQL Server 2012 SP2+ (2014)

Database EngineAll Databases and Roles

SQL Server Analysis Services for SharePoint (PowerPivot)

WFM

Workflow Manager Server

Basic SharePoint 2013 HA Farm

JUST SharePointIs everything on this diagram ‘highly available’?What about environment?AD DS, AD CS/CA, ISPs, etc.WSFC witness (file share) not clearly shown

Virtual Host A Virtual Host B

SQL Server installed and configured to support SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

WFE01SharePoint 2013Front-end Server

APP01SharePoint 2013

Application Server

SQL01SQL Server 2012 SP1+

All Databases and Roles

WFE02SharePoint 2013Front-end Server

APP02SharePoint 2013

Application Server

SQL02SQL Server 2012 SP1+

All Databases and Roles

F5 BigIPNetwork Load Balancer

WFM01Workflow Manager

Server

WFM03Workflow Manager

Server

WFM02Workflow Manager

Server

wfm.<domain>.com

WSFC01SQLAGL01

WAC01Office Web Apps 2013

Server

WAC02Office Web Apps 2013

Server

wac.<domain>.com

Architecture

Environment

NetworkFirewallsRoutersLoad BalancersSwitchesVirtual HostsNetwork InterfacesStorage

Storage

Dedicated vs. Shared StorageQuorum TypesNode MajorityNode and File Share MajorityNode and Disk MajorityDisk OnlyWitnessesDiskFile Share

Active Directory

LoginsService AccountsSQL AccountsComputer ObjectsFile sharesCluster permissionsRead all propertiesCreate computer objects

DNS

ConfigurationLocationAvailabilityReplicationEntriesMachinesClusterListenersPermissions

SSL

EncryptionCommunication (SSL)Data (TDE)Certificate TypesSANWildcardChallengesCostComplexityConfiguration

Clustering

Windows Server Failover ClusteringRequiredProvides base cluster capabilitiesServer levelSQL Failover Cluster InstanceOptionalInstance levelNo automatic failover w/ Availability Groups

Building a Failover Cluster

DEMO

Service Applications

SharePoint DatabasesDatabase Name Sync AsyncUser Profile Application

Yes Yes

User Profile Sync Yes NoUser Profile Social Yes YesWord Automation Yes YesManaged Metadata Yes YesTranslation Yes YesBDC Yes YesProject Server Yes YesPowerPivot Yes YesPerformancePoint Yes Yes

Database Name Sync AsyncConfig Yes NoCentral Admin Yes NoContent Yes YesApp Management

Yes Yes

Search Admin Yes NoSearch Analytics Yes NoSearch Crawl Yes NoState Service Yes NoSecure Store Yes YesUsage and Health

Yes* No

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj841106(v=office.15).aspx* Remove prior to running PSCONFIG

Search

Async replication NOT supportedRisk of deltas between on-disk indexes and databases is HIGHSync Replication ChallengesAdministrationSite-level configuration

AnalyticsDatabase sizeCrawl/Re-Indexing time

User Profiles

Full database replication possible but can be problematicSynchronization is best done “live”OptionsBackup and restoreReprovision

User Profile Service Application

ProfileDB

SyncDB

User Profile Synchronization Service

ActiveDirecto

ryProfile

DB

SyncDB

Forefront Identity Manager

FIM FIM Sync

Distributed Cache

Independent cache with no DB persistenceConfigurable memory allocationMax 16GB per serverMax 32GB per farmDedicated mode recommended for High AvailabilityHA possible in collocated mode with sufficient hardware resources

Cache Dependencies

Feeds

Content Search Web Part

Login Tokens

Access Cache

Security

Trimming

App Tokens

View State

OneNote

Throttling

Request Management

Integrated Dedicated

Access Services

Leverages “Contained Databases” feature of SQL 2012Requires changes to SQL Server protocols, settings and authentication modeHA requires Contained Database AuthenticationAccess DB’s are NOT automatically added to availability groups

Business Intelligence

SSASCan be configured for read-only replicasSSRSRequires .NET 3.5 hotfix KB2654347No automatic failoverPowerPivot Not yet tested for Sync or Async commit operations

Implementation

Availability GroupsGroup of databases organized into PRIMARY (1) and SECONDARY (4 – 2012, 8 – 2014)Automatic data synchronizationSynchronous and Asynchronous modesOptional read-only replicasDatabase-only redundancyListeners (Virtual Network Names)

Aliases

Provide flexibility and abstractionBest practiceHA aliases target AG Listeners NOT servers or instancesUse multiple listeners for scalability

Storage

Windows Server Failover ClusterFile Share QuoromDisk Witness QuoromFailover Cluster InstancesShared storage between cluster membersStorage “owned” by active memberAvailability GroupsDiscrete storage for each replica

Storage

Windows Server Failover ClusterFile Share quorum Disk witness quorumFailover Cluster InstancesShared storage between cluster membersStorage “owned” by active memberAvailability GroupsDiscrete storage for each replica

Performance

SQL overhead ALWAYS impacts performanceEnsure adequate bandwidth for database replicationSecondary infrastructure does not have to match primaryBeware reduced performancePlan for rapid scale-out Async faster than syncPossible data loss

Implementing Availability Groups

DEMO

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