Article: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189134(v=sql.110).aspx
QUOTE
As part of the SQL Server AlwaysOn offering, AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instances leverages Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) functionality to provide local high availability through redundancy at the server-instance level—a failover cluster instance (FCI).
An FCI is a single instance of SQL Server that is installed across Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) nodes and, possibly, across multiple subnets. On the network, an FCI appears to be an instance of SQL Server running on a single computer, but the FCI provides failover from one WSFC node to another if the current node becomes unavailable.
UNQUOTE
When the instance is move to another node, the SQL Server Service will restart and even Microsoft states later in the article that FCI reduces downtime. How can there be downtime if the FCI is always on?
They are creating confusion when they include AlwaysOn in the name for FCI 2012 and later.
We all know that AlwaysOn (Availability Groups) uses the cluster service but that is a totally diffenrent solution, which works on database level as opposed to FCI which works on a instance level.
/Tonny
QUOTE
As part of the SQL Server AlwaysOn offering, AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instances leverages Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) functionality to provide local high availability through redundancy at the server-instance level—a failover cluster instance (FCI).
An FCI is a single instance of SQL Server that is installed across Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) nodes and, possibly, across multiple subnets. On the network, an FCI appears to be an instance of SQL Server running on a single computer, but the FCI provides failover from one WSFC node to another if the current node becomes unavailable.
UNQUOTE
When the instance is move to another node, the SQL Server Service will restart and even Microsoft states later in the article that FCI reduces downtime. How can there be downtime if the FCI is always on?
They are creating confusion when they include AlwaysOn in the name for FCI 2012 and later.
We all know that AlwaysOn (Availability Groups) uses the cluster service but that is a totally diffenrent solution, which works on database level as opposed to FCI which works on a instance level.
/Tonny
/torpo