Multiple "Default" instances in SQL Server cluster? (AKA multiple clustered instances without requiring an instance name to connect)

sql-server database-cluster
SqlRyan picture SqlRyan · May 1, 2009 · Viewed 9.5k times · Source

I'm setting up multiple SQL instances on an active/active cluster, and on our existing SQL Cluster, the cluster name is SQLCLUSTER, but we access the instances as SQLCLUSTERINST1\Instance1, SQLCLUSTERINST2\Instance2, etc. Since each instance has its own IP and network name anyway, can I install SQL as the "Default" instance on each network name? I'd really like to access my instances without having to give the instance name (ie, instead of the above, just SQLCLUSTERINST1, SQLCLUSTERINST2, etc), but my understanding of SQL is that, even in a cluster, the instance name is required, even though the IP already uniquely identifies an instance.

Does anybody know if I can do this? I'm about to install the first instance, and I wanted to get an answer to this before I start installing them as named instances if I don't need to. It just seems reduntant, and potentially unnecessary, to have to give the instance cluster name and the instance name to connect to a server when just the instance cluster name would uniquely identify a sql instance as-is. I would expect one default instance per cluster group (as they'd share an IP), but not per cluster.

Answer

user95144 picture user95144 · May 1, 2009

You can only use default instances in an active/passive cluster. The reason for this is because you cannot have multiple default instances installed on the same server, clustering requires an instance to be installed on each node of the cluster to support fail over.

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