Can you offer any tips/best practices for running SQL Server on an Amazon EC2 Instance?

Question

Setting up a Windows based web application on Amazon's cloud has definitely been a learning experience. Lots of unexpected hoops to jump through, especially to get around the limitations associated with ephemeral local drives.

I was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of those who have walked this road ahead of me and get some insight into best practices and/or tips for running SQL server on an Amazon EC2 Instance.

Answer 1

Storing web-directory and SQL Server files in EBS is an easy way to get around the flimsyness of local storage.

I've made a script for backing up SQL-Server to S3:

http://friism.com/ec2-sql-server-backup-strategies-and-tactics

Here are some more general thoughts on running ASP.Net websites off EC2:

http://friism.com/rent-vs-buy-or-ec2-vs-building-your-own-iron

Answer 2

Brent Ozar is very much into cloud computing and I beleive he has a number of articles on his blog pertaining to this.

Have a search through http://www.brentozar.com/ look for the word cloud.

For example, I came across his tutorial on how to setup hosting on Amazon EC2.

http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2008/10/running-sql-server-2005-on-amazon-ec2/

Hope this helps. Cheers.