High availability (SQL cluster)

MFSQL Connector can be used in a high availability SQL Server cluster. To install and upgrade MFSQL Connector the following additional steps and considerations should be taken into account when using a SQL cluster.

Prerequisites

  • Same M‑Files Desktop version on all cluster members

  • Disable auto-upgrades of M‑Files on all members

Steps

  1. Install MFSQL on the primary node. Alternatively, the manual-installation-using-scripts method can be used.

  2. Copy c:MFSQLAssemblies from primary to each member node after first installation and after each upgrade

  3. After installation, run: exec spMFUpdateAssemblies @MfilesVersion = ‘x.y.z.w’

Notes

  • SQL installation replicates automatically across nodes; you don’t re-run installer on every member

  • Schedule quarterly upgrades for M‑Files and MFSQL Connector and do not configure M-Files for auto-upgrade

  • M-Files Desktop must be installed on all the cluster member servers. It is imperative to maintain the same M-Files version on all members.

  • Disable automatic upgrades for M-Files on every member server

  • The standard SQL Server installation is performed on the main cluster server. Note that it is not necessary to perform the installation on every member server as SQL will automatically replicate the installation and any updates / customisations to the other members

  • The MFSQL assemblies must be copied from the main cluster server to each member server. For instance, copy the folder c:MFSQLAssemblies to each member server

Schedule quarterly upgrades for both M-Files and MFSQL Connector to ensure that the versions of both will be maintained on the cluster. For an upgrade, the M-Files upgrades will have to be triggered manually on each member server. MFSQL Connector upgrade is only installed on the main server. Only if the assemblies have changed, it is necessary to copy the assemblies over to the other members.