[dba-SQLServer] Running two copies of the same database

I have two servers Stonehenge and Azul, so called for the desktop wallpaper
they run so that I can tell them apart when on my KVM.  Each is running
Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2005.  These machines are essentially
identical and have a large raid array.  Stonehenge has been the main machine
and I have been backing up the databases from Stonehenge to Azul in case of
corruption or other problems that Raid 6 doesn't cover.  With the advent of
WHS and the possibility of using it as a backup tool, I am wanting to do
something to get actual use out of the second server.  I actually have done
some "research" kind of stuff such as the previously mentioned "vertical vs
horizontal vs cover index" on Azul but the main server is Stonehenge.

The problem as you might imagine is that due to the size of these databases
(several over 100 gb and one over 200 gb) and the fact that I can and do
mount the copies on Azul and use them in the research, it becomes tough to
figure out which is "the latest".

What I am wondering is whether there is a way to "mirror" the databases on
two different machines such that they actually can be run on either machine
and any changes made to one get written to the other in the background.

Probably this weekend I am also about to try to bring up a Windows 2003 x64
and SQL Server 64 machine (as yet unnamed since I haven't picked the
wallpaper).  If I succeed then it may very well become the main workhorse
since it will be able to access a full 8 gigs of ram, and I will move the
quad core processor over there.  Due to the expanded ram and quad processors
I may also start doing virtual machines on that new server as well.

So, any thoughts on organization matters here?


John W. Colby
Colby Consulting
www.ColbyConsulting.com