4.1.0 HP PolyServe Software for Microsoft SQL Server administration guide (T5392-96074, October 2010)

10 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 envir-
onment 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 ma-
chine 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.
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