Provisioning a SQL Server VDB
Delphix Administration / SQL Server Environments and Data Sources / Virtualizing Databases Using Delphix with SQL Server / Managing SQL Server VDBs / Provisioning a SQL Server VDB

This topic describes how to provision a virtual database (VDB) from a SQL Server dSource.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Login to the Delphix Management application.
  2. Click Manage.
  3. Select Datasets.
  4. Select a dSource.
  5. Click TimeFlow tab.
  6. Next to a snapshot select theProvision VDB icon.
    The Provision VDB panel will open, and the Database Name and Recovery Model will auto-populate with information from the dSource.
  7. Select a target environment.
  8. Select an Instance to use.

  9. If the selected target environment is a Windows Failover Cluster environment, select a drive letter from Available Drives. This drive will contain volume mount points to Delphix storage.

    Windows Cluster Volume Management Software Requirements

    Only cluster volumes managed by the native Windows Volume Manager are supported. For example, cluster volumes managed by Veritas VxVM are not supported.

    If you use third-party volume management software, create a new LU (recommended to be 10GB in size) and add this LU as a clustered resource to the SQL Server instance using native Windows volume management tools. Assign a drive letter for this LU. You can then use this LU as the volume mount point location for Delphix VDB provisioning.

  10. Enter a VDB Name and select a Target Group for the VDB.
  11. Enable Auto VDB Restart to allow the Delphix Engine to automatically restart the VDB when it detects target host reboot.
  12. Click Next.
  13. Select a Snapshot Policy for the VDB. Click Next.
  14. Specify any Pre- or Post-Scripts that should be used during the provisioning process.
  15. For more information, see Customizing SQL Server VDB Management with Hook Operations.
  16. Click Next.
  17. The final summary tab will enable you to review your configurations.
  18. Click Submit.

When provisioning starts, the VDB will appear in the Datasets panel. Select the VDB and navigate to the Status tab to see the progress of the job. When provisioning is complete, you can see more information on the Configuration tab.

You can select a SQL Server instance that has a higher version than the source database and the VDB will be automatically upgraded. For more information about compatibility between different versions of SQL Server, see SQL Server Operating System Compatibility Matrices.

Provisioning by Snapshot or LogSync

When provisioning by snapshot, you can provision to the start of any particular snapshot, either by time or LSN.

You can take a new snapshot of the dSource and provision from it by clicking the Camera icon.

Provisioning By SnapshotDescription
Provision by Time

You can provision to the start of any snapshot by selecting that snapshot card from the TimeFlow tab, or by selecting and entering a value in the time entry fields. The values you enter will snap to the beginning of the nearest snapshot.

Provision by LSNYou can use Provision by LSN control to open the LSN entry field. Here, you can type or paste in the LSN to which you want to provision. After entering a value, it will "snap" to the start of the closest appropriate snapshot.

Automatic VDB Restart on Target Server After Reboot

The Delphix Engine now automatically detects whether a target server has been rebooted, and proactively restarts any VBD on that server that was previously up and running. This is independent of data platform. It is done as if you realized a target server was restarted and issued a start command from the Delphix Engine. This feature is compatible with Delphix Self-Service (Jet Stream) ordering dependencies and is limited to non-clustered VDBs.

This feature is not supported for the following data source types:

  • Oracle RAC VDBs
  • Oracle 12c vPDBs that are provisioned into a non-virtual CDB.
  • MSSQL cluster VDBs.

Automatic VDB Restart is supported for Oracle 12c vPDBs that are provisioned into a virtual CDB. User can choose to enable or disable automatic restart at the virtual CDB level. There is not individual vPDB automatic restart setting.


To enable automatic restart, complete the following steps:

  1. When provisioning a new VDB in the VDB Provisioning wizard, check the Auto VDB Restart box. 
  2. Once the VDB has been provisioned, you will be able to turn Automatic VDB Restart on.

    1. In the Datasets panel, select the VDB.

    2. Select the Configuration tab.

    3. Select the Source sub-tab.

    4. Select Database edit.

Related Links