The Case For Hosting a ConfigMgr SQL Database on a Dedicated SQL Instance
Summary: Piotr Gardy , a Microsoft Premier Field Engineer based in Poland, provides us with recommendations on why (and how) a ConfigMgr database should be hosted on its own dedicated SQL Server instance. For more useful tidbits, please check out Piotr’s Polish language TechNet blog .
When you perform following operations with System Center Configuration Manager (a.k.a. ConfigMgr):
- Fresh installation
- Service Pack upgrade
- Database movement from one SQL server instance to another
it may require a restart of the SQL Server service that hosts (or will host) the Configuration Manager database. The setup won’t ask you to restart the service, but you can note that a restart is required in the following log file: C:\ConfigMgrSetup.log.
A problem with this is that a restart of the SQL service can result in downtime for other services which host their databases on the same SQL Server instance.
What would I recommend in such a case?
- Use a dedicated SQL Server instance. In many situations, the license for the System Center Suite includes a SQL Server license. Check with your Microsoft licensing representative for specific details on your environment.
- Plan the installation. By implementing or changing an installation you may impact to your production environment. Please read more about planning as part of the Microsoft Operations Framework. Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
- Test the implementation / upgrade / maintenance in a test environment before you do it in production
- Do the implementation / upgrade / maintenance in a proper service window.
Hope this helps!
Written by Piotr Gardy; Posted by Frank Battiston , MSPFE Editor