SQL Interview: 89 Multi-server transactions

This is a post in the SQL Interview series. These aren’t trick or gotcha questions, they’re just questions designed to scope out a candidate’s knowledge around SQL Server and Azure SQL Database.

Section: Administration Level: Advanced

Question:

You have two SQL Server instances. Each is on a separate virtual machine. Both virtual machines are on the same physical host.

You want to be able to create a transaction that spans both instances of SQL Server. What else needs to be installed?

Answer:

This is an example of a distributed transaction. That requires the DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator) service to be installed and configured.

2025-10-27