SQL Server High Availability for Developers and DBAs

Master the skills to keep SQL Server available for users

Course Summary

Are you ready to work with SQL Server high availability options?

Our comprehensive course is your gateway to mastering the skills needed to keep SQL Server available for users.

Ask Yourself:

Do you want to eliminate downtime and keep your SQL Server running 24/7?
Would you like to confidently design and implement failover solutions that work when it counts?
Do you want to understand how Always On, clustering, and log shipping actually work — and when to use each?
Would you like to troubleshoot high availability issues without relying solely on infrastructure teams?
Do you want to protect your organization from data loss during system failures or disasters?
Would you like to be the person that everyone turns to when uptime is on the line?

If any of these sound like you, then this course is designed to give you practical, real-world skills — fast.

You’ll get hands-on experience with configuring and managing SQL Server high availability solutions, including failover clustering, Always On availability groups, log shipping, database mirroring, and more.

Whether you’re a developer wanting to understand HA from the inside out, or a DBA looking to strengthen your uptime strategy, this course delivers deep technical instruction, guided labs, real-world scenarios, and knowledge checks to reinforce your learning.

Don’t miss this opportunity to future-proof your SQL Server environments, minimize downtime, and gain the confidence to keep your systems online — even under pressure. This is one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date courses available today.

Enroll now for $295 USD !

Modules and Lessons

Module 0: Getting started

Who is this course for?
Who is Greg?
What will I learn in this course?
Configuring your lab environment
Administration course discount for high availability course students

Module 1: High availability overview

Module introduction
What is high availability ?
What is disaster recovery ?
Defining RTO
Defining RPO
Defining 9s of availability
Partial availability
HA and DR options in SQL Server
Feature interactions
SQL Server editions and HA features
Choosing the best solution
Quiz 1

Module 2: Infrastructure foundations

Module introduction
Infrastructure basics for HA
Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC)
Shared vs non-shared storage models
Networking and DNS considerations
AD dependencies and permissions
Demo: Hyper-V Lab Setup (Exercises 1 and 2)
Lab 2: Exercises 1 and 2
Quiz 2

Module 3: Failover clustering concepts

Module introduction
What is an FCI ?
Core concepts
FCI architecture diagram
When to use an FCI
Multi-node configuration
Multi-node vs multi-instance
Demo: Domain Controller and Prerequisites (Exercises 3, 4, 5)
Maintaining quorum
Cluster failover process
Resource DLL
Failover policy
Windows clustering support
Mount points and drive letters
Demo: Add 2 SQL VMs (Exercises 6, 7)
iSCSI and SMB
Demo: Create WSFC and add shared disk (Exercises 8, 9)
Planning a cluster
Virtualization support
Client and application design
Lab 3: Exercises 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Quiz 3

Module 4: FCI implementation and monitoring

Module introduction
Demo: Install SSMS Offline (Exercise 10)
Heartbeat configuration
Cluster validation
Demo: SQL Server FCIs on WSFC (Exercise 11)
Troubleshooting configuration
Post-installation tasks
Cluster-related DMVs
Adding a node
Removing a node
Repairing clusters
Lab 4: Exercises 10, 11
Quiz 4

Module 5: FCI advanced concepts

Module introduction
Node failure detection
Managing failover and health
Multi-site clustering
Geo-located clusters
Windows Core support
DNS/WINS configuration
Interactions with DTC
Clustering Analysis Services
Demo: Reset VMs and Install SQL Server (Exercise 12)
Lab 5: Exercise 12
Quiz 5

Module 6: Database snapshots

Module introduction
What are database snapshots ?
Implementing database snapshots
Database snapshot structure
Demo: Database Snapshots (Exercise 13)
Typical usage scenarios
Revert from a snapshot
Demo: Revert from a snapshot (Exercise 14)
Performance implications
Limitations
Refreshing a snapshot
Lab 6: Exercises 13, 14
Quiz 6

Module 7: Transaction log concepts

Module introduction
Transaction log core concepts
Virtual log files
What is in the transaction log ?
Demo: Transaction Log (Exercise 15)
Lab 7: Exercise 15
Quiz 7

Module 8: Log shipping

Module introduction
What is log shipping ?
How log shipping works
Log shipping components
Log shipping configuration
Dependent objects
Delayed log restore
Standby option
Setup using SSMS
Demo: Log Shipping (Exercise 16)
Monitoring and alerts
Log shipping failover
Rolling upgrades
Agent security for log shipping
Common pitfalls
Lab 8: Exercise 16
Quiz 8

Module 9: Database mirroring for legacy systems

Module introduction
What is database mirroring ?
Core process
Roles - Principal, mirror, witness
HA modes for mirroring
Sync vs async
Setup prerequisites
Setup
Witness configuration
Client partner caching
Server dependencies
Cross-domain implementation
DNS/WINS configuration
Reporting on mirrors
Manual failover
Automated failover
Forcing service
Monitoring and miroring states
Demo: Database Mirroring (Exercises 17)
Automatic page repair
Upgrade considerations
Interactions with backup
Limitations
Lab 9: Exercise 17
Quiz 9

Module 10: Availability Groups concepts

Module introduction
Always On branding
What are availability groups ?
AGs vs mirroring
AGs vs transactional replication
Common AG topologies
Active secondaries
Application failover
Configuring an AG
Readable secondaries
Readable secondary impacts
Demo: Availability Groups (Exercise 18)
AG node configuration
Routing URLs
Routing secondaries
Query statistics on secondaries
Licensing and editions
Interactions with backup
Backup role preferences
Demo: Destroy the WSFC and Exit the Domain (Exercise 19)
Lab 10: Exercise 18, 19
Quiz 10

Module 11: Domain independent AGs

Module introduction
What are domain independent AGs ?
WSFC dependency
Mirroring to AG upgrade issues
AD-detached clusters
Workgroup clusters
Shared DNS
Demo: Configure Workgroup DNS (Exercise 20)
Node topology examples
Configuration steps
Demo: Domain Independent AG (Exercise 21)
Limitations
Lab 11: Exercises 20, 21
Quiz 11

Module 12: AGs in Azure and hybrid scenarios

Module introduction
AGs in Azure virtual machines
Hybrid availability groups
Networking and DNS in Azure
SQL MI and high availability
Quiz 12

Module 13: Security and compliance

Module introduction
HA security concepts
Certificates and endpoints
Authentication challenges
Compliance and auditing
Quiz 13

Module 14: Next steps

Summary and further steps

Enroll now for $295 USD !