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title Upgrade a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date 10/01/2017
ms.prod failover-clusters
ms.prod_service sql-non-specified
ms.service database-engine
ms.component
ms.reviewer
ms.suite sql
ms.technology
dbe-high-availability
ms.tgt_pltfrm
ms.topic article
helpviewer_keywords
upgrading failover clusters
clusters [SQL Server], upgrading
failover clustering [SQL Server], upgrading
ms.assetid daac41fe-7d0b-4f14-84c2-62952ad8cbfa
caps.latest.revision 47
author MikeRayMSFT
ms.author mikeray
manager jhubbard
ms.workload On Demand

Upgrade a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance

[!INCLUDEappliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md] [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] supports upgrading a [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] failover cluster to a new version of [!INCLUDEssNoVersion], to a new [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] service pack or cumulative update, or when installing to a new Windows service pack or cumulative update separately on all failover cluster nodes, with downtime limited to a single manual failover (or two manual failovers if failing back to the original primary).

Upgrading the Windows operating system of a failover cluster is not supported for operating systems before [!INCLUDEwinblue-server-2-md]. To upgrade a cluster node running on [!INCLUDEwinblue-server-2-md] or above, see Perform a rolling upgrade or update.

Support details are as follows:

  • [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] upgrade is supported both through the user interface and from the command prompt. You can run upgrade from the command prompt on each failover cluster node, or by using the [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] setup UI to upgrade each cluster node. For more information, see Upgrade a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance (Setup) and Install SQL Server from the Command Prompt.

  • The following scenarios are not supported as part of a [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] upgrade:

    • You cannot upgrade from a stand-alone instance of [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] to a failover cluster.

    • You cannot add features to a failover cluster. For example, you cannot add the [!INCLUDEssDE] to an existing [!INCLUDEssASnoversion]-only failover cluster.

    • You cannot downgrade a failover cluster node to a stand-alone instance.

    • Changing the edition of the failover cluster is limited to certain scenarios. For more information, see Supported Version and Edition Upgrades.

  • During the failover cluster upgrade, downtime is limited to failover time and the time that is required for upgrade scripts to run. If you follow the failover cluster rolling upgrade process below and meet all prerequisites on all nodes before you begin the upgrade process, your downtime is minimal. Upgrading [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] when memory-optimized tables are in use will take some extra time. For more information, see Plan and Test the Database Engine Upgrade Plan.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, review the following important information:

Perform a rolling upgrade or update

To upgrade a [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] failover cluster to [!INCLUDEssCurrent], use [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] setup to upgrade each failover cluster node, one at a time, starting with the passive nodes. As you upgrade each node, it is left out of the possible owners of the failover cluster. If there is an unexpected failover, the upgraded nodes do not participate in the failover until cluster resource group ownership is moved to an upgraded node by [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] setup.

By default, [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] setup automatically determines when to fail over to an upgraded node. This depends on the total number of nodes in the failover cluster instance and the number of nodes that have already been upgraded. When half of the nodes or more have already been upgraded, [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] setup causes a failover to an upgraded node when you perform upgrade on the next node. Upon failover to an upgraded node, the cluster group is moved to an upgraded node. All the upgraded nodes are put in the possible owners list and all the nodes that are not yet upgraded are removed from the possible owners list. As you upgrade each remaining node, it is added to the possible owners of the failover cluster.

This process results in downtime limited to one failover time and database upgrade script execution time during the whole failover cluster upgrade.

To control the failover behavior of cluster nodes during the upgrade process, run the upgrade operation at the command prompt and use the /FAILOVERCLUSTERROLLOWNERSHIP parameter. For more information, see Install SQL Server from the Command Prompt.

Next steps

Upgrade SQL Server Using the Installation Wizard (Setup)
Install SQL Server from the Command Prompt
Upgrade a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance (Setup)