Sql-server – Do I need a separate server for Quorum

availability-groupsazure-vmsql serversql server 2014

We are working on setting up AlwaysOn Availability Group for SQL Server 2014.

There will be 2 nodes: Primary Replica and Secondary Replica.

The question is, do we need a separate server for Quorum?

  • All the Windows Servers are in Azure.
  • As of now nothing is in place.
  • The vendor stated that they will add a server for maintaining quorums.
  • All servers for the complete system will be in same domain.

Best Answer

Couple of points of clarification. Nodes and replicas are not the same thing. Nodes refer to the Windows Failover cluster and replicas to AvailabilityGroup instances. So assuming you are running a 2 node WSFC, each hosting a SQL instance in an AvailabilityGroup, then yes, you will need another server to achieve quorum and avoid split brain behavior. The easiest way to achieve this is simply set up a quorum file on another server outside of the cluster, known as Node and File Share majority. Read more on WSFC Quorum Modes.

You don't necessarily need to commission a new server for this. Any server outside of the server will work.