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Recover from failover cluster instance failure

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Applies to: SQL Server

This topic describes how to recover from cluster failures by using the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in after a failover occurs in SQL Server. The Failover Cluster Manager snap-in is the cluster management application for the Windows Serer Failover Clustering (WSFC) service.

Recover from an irreparable failure

Use the following steps to recover from an irreparable failure. The failure could be caused, for example, by the failure of a disk controller or the operating system. In this case, failure is caused by hardware failure in Node 1 of a two-node cluster.

  1. After Node 1 fails, the SQL Server FCI fails over to Node 2.

  2. Evict Node 1 from the FCI. To do this, from Node 2, open the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in, right-click Node1, click Move Actions, and then click Evict Node.

  3. Verify that Node 1 has been evicted from the cluster definition.

  4. Install new hardware to replace the failed hardware in Node 1.

  5. Using the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in, add Node 1 to the existing cluster. For more information, see Before Installing Failover Clustering.

  6. Ensure that the administrator accounts are the same on all cluster nodes.

  7. Run SQL Server Setup to add Node 1 to the FCI. For more information, see Add or Remove Nodes in a SQL Server Failover Cluster (Setup).

Recover from a reparable failure

Us the following steps to recover from a reparable failure. In this case, failure is caused by Node 1 being down or offline but not irretrievably broken. This could be caused by an operating system failure, hardware failure, or failure in the SQL Server instance itself.

  1. After Node 1 fails, the FCI fails over to Node 2.

  2. Resolve the problem with Node 1.

  3. Ensure that all nodes are online and the WSFC service is working.

  4. Fail over SQL Server to the recovered node.