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Help Needed: Setting Up a Distributed Availability Group with Manual Seeding in SQL Server

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Hello SQL Server Experts, I'm in the process of configuring a Distributed Availability Group (DAG) in SQL Server and am looking for guidance on implementing it with manual seeding (back up restore) instead of the automatic seeding. The DAG I plan to set up involves two normal Availability Groups (AGs) named ag1 and ag2, each serving as a replica within the DAG. My aim is to replicate the following topology:
+--------------------+         +------------------------+
|  WSFC1             |         |   WSFC2                |
|  +--------------+  |         |  +------------------+  |
|  | AG1 (P)      |  |         |  |  AG2 (S)         |  |
|  | +---------+  |  |         |  |  +-------------+ |  |
|  | |node1 (P)|  |======DAG=====>|  |node3 (P)(F) | |  |
|  | +----+----+  |  |         |  |  +-----+-------+ |  |
|  |      |       |  |         |  |        |         |  |
|  | +----v----+  |  |         |  |  +-----v-------+ |  |
|  | |node2 (S)|  |  |         |  |  |node4 (S)    | |  |
|  | +---------+  |  |         |  |  +-------------+ |  |
|  +--------------+  |         |  +------------------+  |
+--------------------+         +------------------------+
In this topology, we have:
- 4 nodes: node1, node2, node3, node4
- 2 WSFC clusters: WSFC1 and WSFC2
- 2 AGs: AG1 and AG2
- 1 DAG, from AG1 to AG2
- (P) = primary replica
- (S) = secondary replica
- (F) = forwarder
The official Microsoft documentation (Configure Distributed Availability Groups) primarily covers the setup using automatic seeding. However, I want to utilize the traditional backup and restore method. Unfortunately, I am uncertain about the correct sequence of operations regarding when and where to take backups and where to restore them within this topology. Could anyone provide a step-by-step guide or clarify the process in plain English on how to create a DAG using manual seeding? Below is what I have pieced together so far, but I'm stuck on the ordering and appropriate steps: * Enable the Always On Availability Groups feature on all instances. * Create an endpoint on all instances. * If ag1 and ag2 span across different domains, configure the endpoints to authenticate via certificate. * Take a full and log backup on node1, then restore them to node2, node3, and node4 using the NORECOVERY option??? * Create ag1 on node1. * Create ag2 on node3??? * On node1, create the DAG that includes ag1 and ag2. I'd greatly appreciate any help or resources that could point me in the right direction. Thank you for your time and assistance!
Asked by Just a learner (2082 rep)
Jan 29, 2024, 06:54 PM
Last activity: Jan 30, 2024, 09:41 AM