4.0.0 HP PolyServe Software for Microsoft SQL Server Administration Guide (T5392-96056, March 2010)

11 Upgrade production SQL Servers
This chapter describes how to upgrade production SQL servers and components of the underlying
environment that can affect SQL server availability. The procedures include upgrades to SQL instances
and general machine upgrades such as Microsoft Windows service packs, firmware, and third-party
software.
The upgrade procedures minimize interruptions to SQL server availability by leveraging the clustering
capabilities of Matrix Server. Also, if an error occurs, the DBA can restore the original machine state.
General upgrade process
The major steps involved in an upgrade are as follows.
1. Plan the upgrade
It is important to plan upgrades to highly available production SQL servers. You should define the
following:
• Who will perform the upgrade? This person must be experienced with your environment and with
Matrix Server.
• Which applications and users will be affected? An application will be affected if it has a database
residing on a virtual SQL server. Plan to notify affected users before and after the upgrade.
• When to upgrade? Query users for the best time to perform the upgrade, and consider a time
window in which availability requirements are less strict.
• What if something goes wrong? You will need to determine what is a valid machine state, and
how to back it up and restore it in the minimum amount of time. Also ensure that all support
agreements are in place and that contact information is updated.
• Will other components in the machine be affected? For example, a SQL service pack upgrade to
one instance affects all other instances on the same machine.
2. Test the upgrade
It is important to run the upgrade in a test environment to ensure that the upgrade will function
successfully on the production server. Testing also ensures that there will be no surprises during or
after the upgrade.
For example, to test a SQL server upgrade, you should create a typical workload mix of your
application’s user transactions and then measure different machine parameters such as CPU or I/O
load. When the test environment is ready, complete these steps:
1. Test the current configuration and create a baseline of the results.
2. Record the start time and then perform the upgrade on the test machine.
3. After the upgrade, check the event log and setup files for errors.
4. Record the end time to get an estimate of total down time.
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