SQL Server Performance Forum – Threads Archive

changing the virtual server IP address

Is there a safe way to change the IP address associated with the virtual server name after the cluster has been set up? In other words, I’d like to change the IP address without having to re-install the cluster. Since posting this topic I have found this link titled "How to change the network IP addresses of SQL Server virtual servers" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244980 The reason I want to do this is because we are migrating a production server from a non-clustered installation to a clustered installation. Many applications are currently pointing at the non-clustered server (some of them referencing it by IP address) and they will need to continue to point at it until we migrate the database to the clustered servers. It seems to me that the migration would be more seemless for the applications if we could take down the non-clustered server at the time of migration and assign it’s old IP address to become the new IP address of the virtual (clustered) SQL Server. I’m just a little leary of messing up the cluster in some way by making this IP address change just before putting it in production. Has anybody done this type of operation? Any pitfalls that I should be aware of?

This can be done without any problems. Using cluster admin take SQL Server/Agent/FT, SQL Network Name & SQL IP Address Offline. Then go into the properties of the SQL IP Address and change the IP address. Then bring them back online in this order: IP Address
Network Name
SQL Server
Agent
FT Then test your confirguration by pinging the SQL network name – you should get a response from new IP address. Be very careful with your DNS – client may cache the old IP from set number of hours (usually 24). If you find they try to connect to the old ip run ipconfig /flushdns from command line. You could always test this before you go live using another IP address. One other thing to remember – the new IP must be on the same subnet as the previous IP address. If not you need move all the cluster IP’s onto the same subnet – this is more complicated. If you’re not sure what I’m on about here – speak to your LAN administrator. Simon

Simon, Thanks for the response. Do you think then that there is no need to actually go into the SQL Server 2000 Setup program as the Micorsoft Support document instructs? Have you actually done it using the procedure which you’ve outlined and not involved the setup program? tudbya

I have followed as per the KBA previously without any issues. Satya SKJ
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I changed the IP address successfully by following the steps in the KBA. The only slight hitch was that afterwards I could not ping the new IP address until I took the SQL cluster resources offline and online again. There was no mention of needing to do that in the KBA.

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