Checking DB Mirroring Status

Often I see a question in community on how to quickly check the status of the database mirroring, sometime in busy environment and busy server launching database mirroring keep us waiting for a while, so is there a way we can check database mirroring status ?


Yes, of course we do have; execute below statement and you will have a status of the database mirroring for all the database you have configured mirroring on :

SELECT DB_NAME(database_id),   
mirroring_role_desc,    
mirroring_state_desc    
FROM sys.database_mirroring    
WHERE mirroring_guid IS NOT NULL; 

Let me know if you are looking some specific code, and I will try to post it here!!


- Hemantgiri S. Goswami (http://www.sql-server-citation)

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Winner of the contest

Dear Readers,

I am very please to announce winner of the contest about describing best HA & DR solution. The contest was successful, there are about  5 entries I have get from various  sources like linkedin and email, I would like to thank all the participant and readers. The winner is Dave Thomas.

My apologies, I suppose to declare winner on 25th April but could not able to make it.

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Describe HA and DR strategy and win

Dear Readers,

I am very please to made an announcement about the contest.  As you aware that I have wrote a book on SQL Server 2008 High Availability which was published on 24th January 2008 2011 by Packt Publication. Now you have a chance to win a subscription worth £150 of digital library at Packt Publication and a Paper book of SQL Server 2008 HA, here is the information.

Who this book is for?

This book is written for the System Administrator, experienced SQL Developers who want to learn about the topic – SQL Server High Availability, Aspiring DBAs. That means, this book is having a step-by-step instructions, pre-requisite with plenty snapshots to get you through the installation of SQL Server High Availability options like Cluster, Replications ( Snapshot, Transactional, Peer-2-Pee and Merge), Log Shipping and Database Mirroring.

I have tried to include external reference for further study on that particular topic if you wish to read some advance information, I have also include few common issues and how to resolve them for every topic i.e. How to troubleshoot common issues for Clustering, Replication, Log Shipping and Database Mirroring.

Here is the detailed index for every chapter of this book at - http://www.sql-server-citation.com/2011/01/sql-server-2008-high-availability-book.html

Where to buy?
One can purchase my book SQL Server 2008 High Availability from Packt Publication in Paper and eBook format at https://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-sql-server-2008-high-availability/book or one can purchase this from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Server-2008-High-Availability/dp/1849681228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299390127&sr=8-1



Contest Information:

Describe the best HA and DR solution you have designed or worked upon, especially in case of physically dispersed location, and the reason why?

The best answer will win a  subscription of digital library worth £150 at Packt Library for 1 year and 2nd best answer will win Paper book of SQL Server 2008 HA.

The best answer will be judged by me and Satya Shyam K Jayanty (whom I admired as Guru.), we will announced the winner by 25th April 2011.

Rules:
1. Their will be two winners - 1 Subscription and 1 Paper book of SQL Server 2008 HA
2. The contest will remain open until 5th of April 2011
3. The Packt Pub Subscription will be free for 1 year

Update:
By mistake I have mentioned that my book was published on 24th January 2008, I did not noticed it until Ashish Sharma draw my attention, I have corrected it now. Thank you Ashish :)

What are you waiting for, start participating and be a lucky winner!!!



Regards
-- Hemantgiri S. Goswami | www.sql-server-citation.com

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SQL Server 2008 High Availability – A Book

I have no words to explain my excitement and happiness to share news with you all - my book on SQL Server 2008 High Availability is published!!
I have started authoring this book in May 2010 and as the time passes and gradually I move to the final chapter of the book, I was feeling like aha finally it is done!!! – Do you think so, it was this easy?
No, every publication house has their own set of rules to be followed while authoring a book and a process to be followed before the chapter or entire book is ready to be published i.e. 1^st edit, 2^nd edit of the chapter until final edit and the Packt Publication is no exception.
Since this is the first time I was authoring book I was having little or no idea about authoring a book. The editors from Packt Publication helped me a lot by helping me time to time with proper answers to my queries. I must admit that I could not be able to complete this book without support and encouragement from my family including my 2 year old daughter Dhruti.
I hope that you all will enjoy reading and learning from this book as I did while authoring and contributed my little part for the growth of my beloved SQL Server J
Let me tell you about this book:
The term High Availability means that the servers or systems that host or run the business-critical applications should be highly available 24 X 7. As the word it-self defines how important it is to make these applications and data available for end-users as well as business users, if this data is not available for a short time, it will be a big problem for both sets of users. Imagine a bank spread across the country and having a huge customer base. One fine day, their server crashes! If the bank relies only on backups, then it might end up losing approximately 15 to 30 minutes of data, depending on the backup strategy. Now the HA options related to SQL Server such as clustering, replication, log shipping, and database mirroring will help overcome this situation.
In this book I have tried to cover every single piece of information that might requires for installing and configuring SQL Server HA option like Clustering, Replication, Log Shipping and Database Mirroring, below are the chapters:
Chapter 1: Understanding Windows Domains, Domain Users, and SQL Server Security
Chapter 2: Implementing Clustering
Chapter 3: Snapshot Replication
Chapter 4: Transactional Replication
Chapter 5: Merge Replication
Chapter 6: Peer-to-Peer Replication
Chapter 7: Log Shipping
Chapter 8: Database Mirroring
Appendix A: Troubleshooting
Appendix B: External References
If you are interested to read more about the detailed / contents of each chapter you may find them here https://www.packtpub.com/toc/microsoft-sql-server-2008-high-availability-table-contents
And, here is the link for the sample chapter https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/1223-chapter-1-understanding-windows-domains-domain.pdf

Regards
Hemantgiri S. Goswami

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