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SQL Server HADR Checklist

Always On Availability Groups and Windows Server Failover Clustering deployment checklist from planning through failover tests.

Treat Always On as a sequenced build — infrastructure, cluster, endpoints, AG, listener, then failover proof.

Open interactive HADR Checklist

Deployment phases

  1. Infrastructure planning
  2. Domain controller configuration
  3. Service accounts
  4. DNS configuration
  5. Network configuration
  6. Join SQL servers to the domain
  7. Install SQL Server
  8. Enable Always On
  9. Install WSFC feature
  10. Validate cluster
  11. Create WSFC cluster
  12. Configure cluster quorum
  13. Configure SQL endpoints
  14. Firewall configuration
  15. Create test database
  16. Backup and restore to secondaries
  17. Create Availability Group
  18. Join secondary replica
  19. Create listener
  20. Test failover
  21. Monitoring & alerts
  22. Documentation & handoff

Smoke checks after the AG is online

SELECT ag.name AS ag_name, ar.replica_server_name, ars.role_desc,
       ars.operational_state_desc, ars.connected_state_desc,
       ars.synchronization_health_desc
FROM sys.availability_groups ag
JOIN sys.availability_replicas ar ON ar.group_id = ag.group_id
JOIN sys.dm_hadr_availability_replica_states ars
  ON ars.replica_id = ar.replica_id;

SELECT db_name(database_id) AS database_name, synchronization_state_desc,
       synchronization_health_desc, is_suspended, suspend_reason_desc
FROM sys.dm_hadr_database_replica_states;

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