Also, if database clustering on NT is the ultimate goal, companies can look to Oracle Corp.'s Parallel Server or IBM's DB2 Universal Database Enterprise Extended Edition. Most of the cluster configuration and maintenance is done through Microsoft Management Console. Some additional HyperECS monitoring software is also used to monitor the switch, although administrators may need to Telnet to the box occasionally. A strong feature of HyperECS is its built-in fault tolerance. In tests, we set up two switches in parallel, one active and one standby.
More work needs to be done on the product before widespread corporate deployment is attempted.
Administrators interested in multinode SQL Server clusters should have HolonTech officials prove that it works before purchase, however. HolonTech's approach of putting some cluster components into hardware might eventually prove to be the right path, but the concept doesn't fully work yet. Inc. All rights reserved. Inc. Content originally appearing in eWEEK Copyright 2001 Ziff Davis Media. All rights reserved.