Got this setup under 5.0.1 with SQL 2005 Sp3. Failed over to the mirror and failed back without issue... however:

The RIM docs on mirroring state that the Dispatcher service updates the registry of the BES servers to modify the DatabaseServerMachineName value to the value of the mirror after failover. No such thing happened.

Supposedly you need to modify the FailoverServerMachineName value manually on each BES back to the original principal that failed, in order to cause that to be recognized as the mirror for failback.

None of this is needed apparently (which is awesome as failover/failback is seamless). I am using the Native SQL client and it appears all this magic is handled at that level.

Anybody else played with this? Is this just bad docs from RIM which refer to the older SQL replication, and does not apply to mirroring?

I had the same experience as you with BES 5.0.0 - no issues. I've thought about using CNAME entries for the database mirroring piece in order to avoid any sort of backend server name issues, but I haven't looked at it too much (this is what we do for some of our mirroring configurations). FWIW, as of 5.0.1, they also mention that you must have SQL 2005 Enterprise, although Standard works just fine. I think they have a lot of issues with their documentation (although it's gotten better, which is the scary thing). At least they finally corrected the 'SQL 2003' mistakes from the 5.0 documentation

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The views expressed by me on Port3101.org are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

After further testing, I can conclusively say that...

...I have reached the promised land!

Seamless failover/failback of BES active/standby pair as well as to SQL mirror! Woot!

How long have I waited for this day...

SQL Enterprise edition provides for asynchronous mirroring, whereas Standard does not. Docs should state support for both and any limitations/benefits which each version. Asynchronous provides for better SQL performance.

So what do you change?

All,

Sorry but I've followed the instructions I have found for setting up a SQL 2005 mirror but

I belive I keep doing the restore wrong. I have gotten the the mirror to work but only when the mirrored database is still in a (Restoring..) state.

Any one have any ideas?

I do noticed that FailoverServerMachineName never get updated during a SQL failover. Did not know about DatabaseServerMachineName; now I know. Thanks mahoward.

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Question for mahoward:

During your SQL failover, what is displayed as the SQL SeverName field when you check the BlackBerry Server Configuration panel under the Database Server tab? If it still pointing to old SQL server? Or has it changed to the newly prmoted principal SQL server?

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【noname】- Native but 3rd class citizen of a nation governed by idiots who import congestions and contention.
BlackBerry® Certified Solution Designer + System Administrator
IBM Certified Advanced Application Developer + Associate System Administrator - Lotus Notes and Domino