Today I was setting up a new SQL Server 2008 Server in a cluster and I discovered that the Integration Services service is not cluster aware. I also discovered that Microsoft advises AGAINST installing the service as a clustered resource. Why on earth would Microsoft neglect to make the Integration Services service cluster aware? That doesn’t seem very good as it leaves a single point of failure, right? Well after careful consideration and researching the following two articles from Microsoft I decided that it wasn’t going to be as big of a deal as I thought.
Both of these Microsoft articles give you the information you need to decide for yourself
Definition of the Integration Services Service and some alternatives to use when used in clustered Environments - The recommended ways.
To configure Integration Services as a cluster resource - The not so recommended way
Hey John, I understand your frustration with the SSIS windows service. Although, it being a gateway to utilize SSMS for operations on SSIS package state and a few other simply tasks I don’t think qualifies it as a point of failure. Now that is argumentative in the terms and relations of a true DR or HA setup but given the fact the operations can be handled by other tools provided and also by the means it technically does not stop SSIS from functioning correctly, I can see the reasoning for not pushing as hard to get it in by the SSIS team.
I don’t disagree with you but think it may be harsh to say it is a failure by the team. I’m a big DR/HA guy and ‘everything’ should be considered but at the same time, the act of a disaster can have functions performed differently given that state of the systems.
Good post and I look forward to more from you.
Thanks for the comments Ted. I agree there are other ways of doing it so it’s not that bad. It’s just not what you would have expected. It’s kind of like when you have an ACTIVE/ACTIVE cluster….it’s not REALLY active/active per say, it’s multi-instance. You know what I’m saying?
>>it’s not REALLY active/active
Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying and agree. This might be a good connect suggestion to submit.