Database Mirroring Overview

Rajib Kundu
Definition
• A software solution for increasing the probability that a
database is available.
• An easy-to-manage alternative or supplement to failover
clustering or log shipping.
• Involves two copies of a single database that typically
reside on different computers.
• Only one copy of the database is currently available to
clients known as the principal database
• Updates made by clients to the principal database are
mirrored on the other copy of the database, known as
the mirror database
• For automatic failover a 3rd server is installed called the
witness
Possible configurations

• Without witness With witness

Database mirroring sessions
• As soon as mirroring starts, each partner begins to
maintain state information in its database about
that database and about the other partner and the
witness, if any
• This state information permits the server instances
to maintain an ongoing relationship known as a
database mirroring session.
• Throughout a database mirroring session, the
server instances monitor each other by regularly
exchanging PING messages with each other
• The state information is maintained until the
database owner stops the session
Concurrent sessions
• A given server instance may participate in multiple, concurrent database mirroring
sessions (one per mirrored database) as either a partner or a witness server instance.

• Every session (and its database) is independent of the other sessions.

Operating Modes
• Synchronous: If transaction safety is set to FULL,
operation is synchronous. Ensures that a committed
transaction is committed on both partners, but at the
risk of increased transaction latency.
– High availability: If a witness is present
– High protection: If a witness is absent
• Asynchronous: If transaction safety is set to OFF,
operation is asynchronous. The transactions commit
without waiting for the mirror server to harden the log,
which minimizes transaction latency. This is also called
high performance mode
Database states
Database state Description
SYNCHRONIZING The contents of the mirror database are
lagging behind the contents of the principal
database
SYNCHRONIZED The mirror database contains the same
data as the principal database if the
principal database is shipping the active
log.
SUSPENDED The mirror copy of the database is not
available

PENDING_FAILOVER This state is found only on the principal

server when a manual failover has been
issued but not yet accepted by the mirror
DISCONNECTED The partner has lost communication with
the other partner and the witness, if one
exists.
Role Switching
• Within the context of a database mirroring session, the
principal and mirror roles are typically interchangeable in
a process known as role switching.
• In role switching, the mirror server acts as the failover
partner for the principal server, taking over the principal
role and bringing its copy of the database online as the
new principal database
• The former principal server, when available, assumes the
mirror role, and its database becomes the new mirror
database
• Potentially, the roles can switch back and forth
repeatedly.
Synchronous Mode: Quorum in DB
Mirroring
• A relationship that exists among server instances that are currently in communication with each

other (in the CONNECTED state).

Synchronous mode: The role of the
witness
Synchronous mode: Failover types

• Automatic: Witness detects this and issues

a failover
• Manual: The database administrator can
use manual failover for upgrading
hardware or software without sacrificing
high availability
– ALTER DATABASE <database_name> SET
PARTNER FAILOVER
High performance mode
(Asynchronous)

• When the principal fails, the database owner has several

choices, as follows:
– Leave the database unavailable until the principal becomes
available again. If the principal database and its transaction
log are intact, this choice preserves all of the committed
transactions at the expense of availability.
– Stop the database mirroring session, manually update the
database, and then begin a new database mirroring session.

• Force service (with possible data loss) on the mirror

server.
Forced Service (with Possible Data
Loss)
• Forcing service reassigns the principal role to the mirror
server, which becomes the principal server and makes
the database available.
• The database runs exposed (that is, unmirrored) until
the other partner reconnects and assumes the mirror
role
• Force service only if you must restore service to the
database immediately and are willing to risk losing some
data.
ALTER DATABASE <database_name> SET PARTNER
FORCE_SERVICE_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS
• Available in high protection and high performance modes
Client Connections to a Mirrored
Database
• To connect to a database mirroring session, a client can
use either SQL Native Client or .NET Data Provider for
Microsoft SQL Server as the data-access provider.
• The data-access provider, whether SQL Native Client or
ADO.NET Data Provider, stores both an initial partner
name and a failover partner name (when it is available).
– In general, to establish a connection for a mirrored database,
the data-access provider first tries the initial partner name.
– If that connection fails, then the data-access provider tries to
connect using the failover partner name, if available.
– If that fails, then the initial partner name is retried. The data-
access provider continues to alternate between the servers until
it times out.
Client Connections to a Mirrored
Database
Possible Failures During Database
Mirroring
• Hard errors: A communications failure due to a
network error that a server instance can directly
detect is known as a hard error.
• Soft errors:A failure that a server instance cannot
directly detect, such as an unresponsive remote
host or router or a remote database going down,
is known as a soft error.
– Soft Errors That Might Cause Mirroring Timeouts: A
slow disk system; a hanging operating system, server,
or database state; disk or disk controller errors;
memory errors, or an offline or suspect database
– Undetectable Soft Errors: Data disk failure
Using Database Snapshots with
Database Mirroring
• You can take advantage of a mirror database that you
are maintaining for availability purposes to offload
reporting
• If failover occurs, the database snapshots remain on the
new principal database (on the server instance where
they were created). Users can continue to use these
snapshots during and after the failover
• When the former principal database is available as the
new mirror database, you should create a new database
snapshot on the new mirror database and redirect
clients to the new snapshot.
Metadata for Database Mirroring
• sys.database_mirroring
This view displays the database mirroring metadata for each mirrored database in a server
instance.

• sys.database_mirroring_endpoints
The sys.database_mirroring_endpoints catalog view displays information about the database
mirroring endpoint of the server instance.

• sys.database_mirroring_witnesses
This catalog view displays the database mirroring metadata for each session in which a server
instance is the witness.

• sys.dm_db_mirroring_connections
This a dynamic management view returns a row for each database mirroring network connection.
• There are also peformance counters that can be used

• Also Notifications and events for database mirroring sessions are available in the SQL Server
Profiler.
.