MSDTC Troubles, Do I Even Need It?

I am running a two node cluster. The failover node had a hardware
failure and I had to re-install Windows. I have been trying to add the
node back into the cluster for 3 days and it continually fails with
MSDTC. Mostly it's been complaining that a DCPromo occured but it
can't handle it correctly-- and msdtc -resetlog doesnt seem to do
anything.
Finally I manually failed MSDTC then failed the cluster over to the new
node...and since MSDTC didnt need to be started it looked like
everything started fine.
So the question is, why exactly do I even need MSDTC in my simple 2
node SQL Server cluster?
Furthermore, can I un-install and re-install MSDTC in an exsisting SQL
Cluster without royally messing things up?
Finally, a bonus question. There seems to be a lot of confusion about
how to upgrade a new node to SQL Server SP3 when the other node already
has it applied. What is the process?
Running the two-node SQL Server 2000 cluster on Windows 2003 SP1
Enterprise Edition.
Answers below...
Cheers,
Rod
MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering Website
http://www.msmvps.com/clustering - Blog
http://www.clusterhelp.com - Cluster Training
"Hexteque" <hexteque80-demo@.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1133252905.313630.34360@.o13g2000cwo.googlegro ups.com...
>I am running a two node cluster. The failover node had a hardware
> failure and I had to re-install Windows. I have been trying to add the
> node back into the cluster for 3 days and it continually fails with
> MSDTC. Mostly it's been complaining that a DCPromo occured but it
> can't handle it correctly-- and msdtc -resetlog doesnt seem to do
> anything.
So your node(s) are also domain controllers? This is a very, very bad idea -
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=281662

> Finally I manually failed MSDTC then failed the cluster over to the new
> node...and since MSDTC didnt need to be started it looked like
> everything started fine.
> So the question is, why exactly do I even need MSDTC in my simple 2
> node SQL Server cluster?
>
Neither SQL or Clustering requires it. If you don't have an application that
uses it, don't install it.

> Furthermore, can I un-install and re-install MSDTC in an exsisting SQL
> Cluster without royally messing things up?
>
Test your applications with it offline, if they fully work, you don't need
it.

> Finally, a bonus question. There seems to be a lot of confusion about
> how to upgrade a new node to SQL Server SP3 when the other node already
> has it applied. What is the process?
>
1) dcpromo to remove the domain controller component of each machine. 2)
remove DNS 3) follow this http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811168

> Running the two-node SQL Server 2000 cluster on Windows 2003 SP1
> Enterprise Edition.
>
|||All qs have been answered by Rodney. I wanted to shed some light on the last qs

> Finally, a bonus question. There seems to be a lot of confusion about
> how to upgrade a new node to SQL Server SP3 when the other node already
> has it applied. What is the process?
I am assuming that you are adding a new node to the cluster and the old node has SQL Server 200 0 + SP3 install. The process is as follows:
1) Install the operating system on the new node.
2) Join the existing cluster. After joining the cluster, as a test moving the Cluster group (assuming it only has the Quorum, Cluster IP address and Cluster networ name resources) to the new node. If this step succeeds,
go to next steps. Do not test failing SQL Server to the new node yet.
3) Run the Setup program on old node and add new node to the failover cluster. For more information, see How to add nodes to an existing virtual server (Setup).
4) Make sure both nodes are up and running. Do not failover SQL Server from old node to new node. Run SP3a setup on old node and the setup will automatically install it on the new node.
5) After setup is complete, reboot any/all node as required
6) Test failover
How to add nodes to an existing virtual server (Setup)
-----
1 )On the Welcome screen of the Microsoft SQL Server Installation Wizard, click Next.
2) On the Computer Name screen, click Virtual Server and specify the virtual server to which you want to add a node. Click Next.
3) On the Installation Selection screen, click Advanced options. Click Next.
4) On the Advanced Options screen, click Maintain a virtual server for failover clustering. Click Next.
5) On the Failover Clustering screen, click Next.
You do not need to enter an IP address.
6) On the Cluster Management screen, select the node and click Add.
7)If the node is listed as unavailable, you must modify the disk resources in the cluster group of the virtual server so the disk is available for the node you want to add to the Microsoft SQL Server configuration. Click
Next.
8)On the Remote Information screen, enter login credentials for the remote cluster node that has administrator privileges on the remote node of the cluster. Click Next.
9)On the Setup Complete screen, click Finish.
HTH,
Best Regards,
Uttam Parui
Microsoft Corporation
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Are you secure? For information about the Strategic Technology Protection Program and to order your FREE Security Tool Kit, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security.
Microsoft highly recommends that users with Internet access update their Microsoft software to better protect against viruses and security vulnerabilities. The easiest way to do this is to visit the following websites:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
http://www.microsoft.com/security/guidance/default.mspx
|||If your old node had MS03-031, you will need to run MS03-031 setup on the old node and setup will automatically install MS03-031 on new node.
If your node did not have MS03-031 (critical security patch for SQL Server 2000) then it is highly recommended that all SQL Server 2000 whether it is clustered or standalone have MS03-031 installed. This requires
SP3/3a to be installed first).
Best Regards,
Uttam Parui
Microsoft Corporation
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Are you secure? For information about the Strategic Technology Protection Program and to order your FREE Security Tool Kit, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security.
Microsoft highly recommends that users with Internet access update their Microsoft software to better protect against viruses and security vulnerabilities. The easiest way to do this is to visit the following websites:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
http://www.microsoft.com/security/guidance/default.mspx
|||FYI, Security patch MS03-031 brings SQL up to build 818.
Also, you may have to run the setup program twice, depending on how you
removed the old node. If you only evicted the node from the cluster and did
not run the SQL setup, you will have to re-run the setup to remove the old
node from the SQL configuration information. Once the old node information
is gone from both SQL and the cluster configuration, you can follow the
steps Uttam described.
Geoff N. Hiten
Senior Database Administrator
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
"Uttam Parui[MS]" <uttamkp@.online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D1xb0yf9FHA.4028@.TK2MSFTNGXA02.phx.gbl...
> If your old node had MS03-031, you will need to run MS03-031 setup on the
> old node and setup will automatically install MS03-031 on new node.
> If your node did not have MS03-031 (critical security patch for SQL Server
> 2000) then it is highly recommended that all SQL Server 2000 whether it is
> clustered or standalone have MS03-031 installed. This requires
> SP3/3a to be installed first).
> Best Regards,
> Uttam Parui
> Microsoft Corporation
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> rights.
> Are you secure? For information about the Strategic Technology Protection
> Program and to order your FREE Security Tool Kit, please visit
> http://www.microsoft.com/security.
> Microsoft highly recommends that users with Internet access update their
> Microsoft software to better protect against viruses and security
> vulnerabilities. The easiest way to do this is to visit the following
> websites:
> http://www.microsoft.com/protect
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/guidance/default.mspx
>