Using a common database for the Administration Service
If you select the Existing Active Roles database option on the Database Options page, the Configure Administration Service wizard causes the new Administration Service instance to connect to the database of an existing Administration Service instance. The new instance automatically becomes a replica of the existing one.
This option allows you to centralize the Active Roles configuration storage. You can deploy multiple Administration Service instances of the same configuration without having to synchronize them via replication. Rather, you have the option for multiple Administration Service instances to share configuration data held in a single database on centrally deployed SQL Server.
This option also ensures that the newly-deployed Administration Service instance can immediately be used as a replacement for the existing one. Switching between Administration Service instances is transparent to Active Roles users as both instances of the Administration Service have the same configuration.
To configure the Administration Service to share a database
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On the Database Options page in the Configure Administration Service wizard, select the Existing Active Roles database option, and then click Next.
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On the Connection to Database page, specify Database type, Database Server name, and Database fields. Specify the SQL Server instance and the name of the database being used by an existing instance of the Administration Service version Active Roles.
Specify the SQL Server instance in the form <computer>\<instance> (for named instance) or <computer> (for default instance). In these formats, <computer> stands for the FQDN of the computer running SQL Server.
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On the Connection to Database page, under Connect using, select the appropriate authentication option:
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To have the Administration Service connect to the database using the service account, click Windows authentication.
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To have the Administration Service connect to the database using an SQL Server login, click SQL Server authentication and enter the login name and password.
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On the Connection to MH Database page, specify the database type, database server name, and the name of the database, and select the desired authentication option for the Administration Service connection to the Management History database.
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If you want to configure advanced database properties, click on the link displayed, and select one or both of the following options, based on the requirement, and then click Apply.:
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On the Advanced Database Properties dialog box, in the Connection Timeout text box, enter the time in seconds. This value indicates the amount of time trying to establish a connection before terminating the attempt and generating an error.
NOTE:
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Default connection time out is as per the SQL OLEDB connection timeout.
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A value of 0 indicates no limit as attempt to connect will wait indefinitely and hence input value is permitted starting from 1 second.
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If any value populated in the field cannot be made null or empty once settings are saved and another valid value must be entered.
If you enter a value less outside the specified range, an error is displayed.
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To enable MultiSubnetFailOver, select the Enable faster failover for all Availability Groups and Failover Cluster instances check box.
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The settings available on Advanced Database properties are not applicable for Azure databases.
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Click Next, and follow the instructions in the wizard to complete the configuration.
Using the database of an earlier Administration Service installation
When you deploy the Administration Service, you may need to configure it to use the database of an earlier installation of the Administration Service instead of creating a new database. You may need to do so in the following scenarios:
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Restoring the Active Roles database from a backup, and then configuring the Administration Service to use the restored database.
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Repairing the Active Roles installation by using Programs and Features in Control Panel.
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Installing a maintenance release of Active Roles to update the existing Administration Service instance.
NOTE: All these scenarios assume that the database has the same version as the Administration Service you are configuring. If the Administration Service version is greater than the database version, choose the option to create a new database and import data from the existing database. For more information, see Importing configuration data in the Active Roles Upgrade Guide.
Provided that the database is of the same Active Roles version as the Administration Service you are configuring, you can use the following steps to make the Administration Service use that database.
To use the database of an earlier Administration Service installation
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On the Database Options page in the Configure Administration Service wizard, select the Existing Active Roles database option, and then click Next.
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On the Connection to Database page, specify the Database type, Database Server name, and the name of the database. Select the desired authentication option for the Administration Service connection to the configuration database.
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On the Connection to MH Database page, specify the Database type, Database Server name, and the name of the database. Select the desired authentication option for the Administration Service connection to the management history database.
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If you want to configure advanced database properties, click on the link displayed, and select one or both of the following options, based on the requirement, and then click Apply:
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On the Advanced Database Properties dialog box, in the Connection Timeout text box, enter the time in seconds for the database connection to get timed out.
If you enter a value less outside the specified range, an error is displayed.
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Select the check box Enable faster failover for all Availability Groups and Failover Cluster instances to enable MultiSubnetFailOver.
NOTE:
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Default connection time out is as per the SQL OLEDB connection timeout.
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A value of 0 indicates no limit as attempt to connect will wait indefinitely and hence input value is permitted starting from 1 second.
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If any value populated in the field cannot be made null or empty once settings are saved and another valid value must be entered.
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Click Next, and follow the instructions in the wizard to complete the configuration.
Using a pre-created blank database
When you choose the option to create a new Active Roles database, the Configure Administration Service wizard uses default values for database properties, such as the location and other parameters of the database files and transaction log files. If you need specific database properties, then you can use SQL Server tools to create a blank database with the properties that meet your requirements, and have the wizard create the new Active Roles database by adding the Active Roles tables and data to that blank database. The following steps assume that you have a blank database already created.
To use a pre-created blank database
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On the Database Options page in the Configure Administration Service wizard, select the New Active Roles database option, select the Use a pre-created blank database check box, and then click Next.
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On the Connection to Database page, specify the Database type, Database Server name and the name of the database. Select the desired authentication option for the Administration Service connection to the configuration database.
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If you want to configure advanced database properties, click on the link displayed, and select one or both of the following options, based on the requirement, and then click Apply.
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On the Advanced Database Properties dialog box, in the Connection Timeout text box, enter the time in seconds. This value indicates the time to wait while trying to establish a connection before terminating the attempt and generating an error.
NOTE: Consider the following when you are specifying the connection timeout
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The default connection will time out as per the SQL OLEDB connection timeout.
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A value of 0 indicates no limit as attempt to connect will wait indefinitely and hence input value is permitted starting from 1 second.
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If any value populated in the field cannot be made null or empty once settings are saved and another valid value must be entered.
If you enter a value outside the specified range, an error appears.
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Select the check box Enable faster failover for all Availability Groups and Failover Cluster instances to enable MultiSubnetFailOver.
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On the MH Database Options page, select the New Active Roles database option, and select the Use a pre-created blank database check box, then click Next.
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On the Connection to MH Database page, specify the Database type, Database Server name and the name of the database. Select the desired authentication option for the Administration Service connection to the management history database.
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Click Next, and follow the instructions in the wizard to complete the configuration.
Deploying user interfaces
Deploying user interfaces
Active Roles provides user interfaces for the Windows system and the Web, allowing users with appropriate rights to perform administrative activities. The user interfaces include:
By default, the Active Roles setup wizard installs all core Active Roles components, including the Console (MMC Interface) and the Web Interface. You can choose to install individual components, if needed.
