Citrix Provisioning

Database mirroring

If you mirror a Microsoft SQL database and the primary version becomes unavailable, Citrix Provisioning supports the mirrored version, resulting in improved overall availability.

Database mirroring can be implemented in a new or existing farm and requires the following high-level tasks:

  • Creating the Citrix Provisioning MS SQL primary database (created when running the Installation Wizard on the server)

    Note:

    For database mirroring to function, the recovery model must be set to Full.

  • Identifying the primary database server and instance (identified when running the Configuration Wizard)
  • Identifying an existing MS SQL failover database server (identified, not created, when running the Configuration Wizard)
  • Configuring mirroring between the primary and failover database servers (configured using MS SQL database server tools)

Citrix recommends that you start the failover server before enabling database mirroring in the farm. For information, see Windows Server Failover Clustering with SQL Server.

Tip:

Use the information in this article configure database mirroring using the configuration wizard.

Run the Configuration Wizard to specify the new failover server so that the status of the Citrix Provisioning farm correctly reports the new settings. After rerunning the wizard, some services, including the stream service, restart so that the farm has the new failover server settings.

Enabling mirroring when configuring a New Farm

  1. Start the Configuration Wizard on a server that resides in the new farm.
  2. While running the wizard, when the Farm Configuration screen displays, select the Create Farm radio button to create a farm, then click Next.
  3. On the Database Server screen:
    1. Type or use the Browse button to identify the primary database server and instance names.
    2. Select Active Directory Integrated authentication if you want to use the services’ user account. Enter the database credentials that the Stream and SOAP services will use.
    3. Click Connections Options…
  4. On the Database Connection Options screen:
    1. Select Specify database mirror failover partner check box.
    2. Type or use the Browse button to identify the failover database server and instance names. Optionally, enter a TCP port number for communication with this server.
  5. Click OK. If the failover database was previously configured and is running, Citrix Provisioning connects to it. If the failover database server has not been created or is not running, an error message displays, indicating a failure to connect. In this case, when prompted, click Yes to continue (the failover database can be created and configured after the new farm is created).
  6. On the Database Server screen, click Next.
  7. Enter database administrator credentials in the pop-up dialog. Select Active Directory Integrated authentication if you want to use the current login. Click OK.
  8. On the New Farm page, enter a name for the new database on the primary database server, then complete any additional requested information.
  9. Click Next.
  10. Complete the remaining wizard pages.

Enabling mirroring within an existing Farm

To enable mirroring within an existing farm:

  1. Confirm that the primary and failover database servers are up and running.
  2. Using MS SQL server tools, mirror the Citrix Provisioning database to a database on the failover database server.
  3. Run the Configuration Wizard on each server.
  4. Identify the farm by choosing either the Farm is already configured or the Join existing farm option on the Farm Configuration page.
  5. On the Database Server screen:
    1. Type or use the Browse button to identify the primary database server and instance names.
    2. Select Active Directory Integrated authentication if you want to use the services’ user account. Enter the database credentials that the Stream and SOAP services will use.
    3. Click Connections Options…
  6. On the Database Connection Options screen:
    1. Select Specify database mirror failover partner check box.
    2. Type or use the Browse button to identify the failover database server and instance names. Optionally, enter a TCP port number for communication with this server.
  7. On the Database Server screen, click Next.
  8. Enter database administrator credentials in the pop-up dialog. Select Active Directory Integrated authentication if you want to use the current login. Click OK.
  9. Complete the remaining wizard pages.
Database mirroring