Microsoft WSFC and SQL Server AlwaysOn Quick Start Reference Deployment

This new Quick Start Reference Deployment includes a guide covering architectural considerations and configuration steps for running Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) clusters in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. We discuss how to launch the necessary AWS services, such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) and Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC), and how to run a WSFC cluster across different subnets and Availability Zones. Then we provide instructions for installing, configuring, and testing the WSFC cluster and a SQL Server 2012 or 2014 AlwaysOn Availability Group.

We also provide a sample AWS CloudFormation template designed to help you deploy the necessary and correctly configured infrastructure predictably and repeatedly. This automated template deploys an Active Directory Domain Services infrastructure along with SQL Server 2012 or 2014 instances configured in a Windows Server Failover Cluster in multiple Availability Zones into an Amazon VPC. The entire deployment takes about three hours.

This Quick Start is the fourth in a series of new Reference Deployments that describe in words and diagrams the architectures for implementing popular enterprise solutions on AWS. They also include the AWS CloudFormation templates that automate the deployments.

To get started with Microsoft WSFC and SQL Server AlwaysOn on AWS, use the following resources:

• View the architecture and details
• View the deployment guide
• Browse other AWS Quick Start reference deployments