MICROSOFT SQL SERVER CONSOLIDATION SOLUTION FOR DELL EMC UNITY September 2016 ABSTRACT This paper describes the Microsoft SQL Server database consolidation solution with Dell EMC Unity storage platform. The solution focuses on the consolidated environment, high performance databases, copy management, disaster recovery, and data backup. H15142 DELL EMC SOLUTIONS WHITE PAPER
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MICROSOFT SQL SERVER CONSOLIDATION SOLUTION FOR DELL EMC UNITY September 2016
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the Microsoft SQL Server database consolidation
solution with Dell EMC Unity storage platform. The solution focuses on the
consolidated environment, high performance databases, copy management,
disaster recovery, and data backup.
H15142
DELL EMC SOLUTIONS
WHITE PAPER
Copyright
2 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
EMC2, EMC, the EMC logo, Connectrix, Data Domain, FAST, FAST Cache, NetWorker, PowerPath, RecoverPoint,
Unisphere, Unity, UnityVSA, VPLEX, are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and
other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
16x SQL server virtual machines (2 vCPUs/32 GB RAM)
Active Directory: local drive
Two domain controllers (2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM)
Storage configuration
Unity 300F All-Flash
10x 3.2 TB SSD
21.97 TB usable
8-port FC (4-ports per SP) with Dell EMC PowerPath®
The storage array in this solution is configured according to the following layout:
1 Pool configured for 21.9 TB
Overview
Initial
configuration
Solution configuration
10 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
32 LUNs at 250 GB thin (used for testing)
1 LUN at 500 GB thin (used for management)
1 LUN at 1 TB thin (used for cloning management)
1 LUN at 250 GB thin (used for management)
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the system view and storage array.
Figure 3. System view
Storage provisioning best practices
11 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 4. Storage array
Storage provisioning best practices
Storage design is one of the most important elements of a successful SQL Server
deployment. Follow the storage guidelines described in this white paper to achieve a
storage design for optimal reliability, performance, and ease of use.
This section provides general best practices for deploying SQL Server on Unity storage
systems. Because virtualization of a SQL Server environment requires its own set of
considerations, this section also includes guidance on best practices for SQL on VMware.
For the SQL Server configuration, begin by considering the following basic requirements:
OS/SQL Server binaries
In a typical SQL Server implementation, the server is dedicated for SQL Server and
binaries are on the same LUN as the operating system. Follow Microsoft’s
recommendation for the operating system type and SQL Server version and
consider the overhead for applications that you need to install on that server.
Typical LUN sizes for the operating system, SQL Server binaries, and system
databases are 60 GB to 120 GB.
System databases
Overview
General SQL
Server storage
best practices
Storage provisioning best practices
12 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
In most environments, system databases are not frequently changed or modified
and they can be on the same LUN as the operating system. System databases
available in SQL Server 2005 and later versions include Master, Resource, MSDB,
MODEL, TempDB, Distribution, ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB.
Logs for user databases
Logs for user databases typically need low IOPs (mostly sequential writes) and are
typically not very demanding.
Tempdb
Tempdb is a global resource that is shared by all databases within an SQL Server
instance. There are many processes that use tempdb, including:
Temporary objects such as global or local temporary tables, temporary stored procedures, table variables, or cursors.
Internal objects created by the SQL Server Database Engine, for example, work tables to store intermediate results for spools or sorting.
Row versions generated by data modification transactions that use read-committed using row versioning isolation or snapshot isolation transactions.
Row versions generated by data modification transactions for features, such as online index operations, Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS), and AFTER triggers.
Because of the wide range of uses for tempdb, it is not possible to know how
transactional or I/O intensive workloads will affect performance without
performance data collection. When the tempdb database is heavily used, SQL
Server may experience contention when it tries to allocate pages. Depending
on the degree of contention, this may cause queries and requests that involve
tempdb to be unresponsive for short periods of time. Having multiple data files
adds scalability advantages especially for tempdb where activities tend to be
allocation-heavy.
User databases
User database LUNs are typically the main focus for storage design. Thin LUNs are
recommended for effective storage capacity use. The pool is configured with RAID 5 for
balanced performance and protection.
General SQL Server best practices:
Select the Lock pages in memory policy for the SQL Server start account to prevent SQL Server from swapping memory.
Set Autoshrink to Off for data and log files.
Make data files of equal size in the same file group. SQL Server uses a proportional fill algorithm that favors allocations in files with more free space.
Schedule index fragmentation checks and only reorganize or rebuild indexes that will significantly improve performance.
File group and file considerations
File group considerations in SQL Server:
File groups can be accessed in parallel.
SQL Server
basic best
practices
Performance validation
13 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Organize SQL Server data files with similar performance and protection needs into a file group when designing a database.
Create one log file in a typical environment. More log files will not improve performance.
For more information, refer to Using Files and Filegroups.
Basic best practices for storage
The following are high-level basic best practices for storage design:
Plan for performance, capacity, and protection.
When creating a volume in Windows, set the Windows allocation unit to 64 K for SQL Server database and log LUNs.
Use up-to-date manufacturer-recommended host bus adapter (HBA) drivers.
Ensure that storage array software is up-to-date.
Dell EMC strongly recommends using multipathing for availability/redundancy and
throughput optimization.
SQL Server performance characteristics can vary substantially from one environment to
another, depending on the application. These characteristics fall into two general
categories: OLTP generates mostly random read workloads, and data warehouse
generates mostly sequential read workloads. In an OLTP environment, use read/write
IOPs for storage sizing. For a data warehouse environment, use bandwidth (MBs) for
storage sizing.
For accurate performance estimates, work with Dell EMC presales to perform a workload
performance assessment using Mitrend. Mitrend is a pre-assessment tool that helps you
make informed infrastructure decisions using detailed storage utilization, configuration,
and performance information. Run tests in conditions as close to “real world” as possible.
During these tests, use performance monitor logs to capture the characteristics (such as
IOs in reads/second and writes/second and bandwidth in MB/seconds) of the volumes
used to store database files.
Performance validation
The performance and scalability of the array was measured to serve as the baseline.
This test used DiskSpd, which is available from Microsoft
(https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/DiskSpd-a-robust-storage-6cd2f223). This tool
supersedes SQLIO and is recommended for storage testing and validation.
Test results are highly dependent on workload, specific application requirements, and system design and implementation. Relative system performance will vary because of these and other factors. Therefore, you should not use the solution workloads as a substitute for a specific customer application benchmark for critical capacity-planning and product-evaluation decisions.
All performance data contained in this white paper were obtained in a rigorously controlled environment. Results obtained in other operating environments might vary significantly. Dell EMC does not warranty or represent that a user can or will achieve similar performance.
The success criteria for this baseline test are:
The test demonstrated that Unity is capable of showing steady, high performance under a consolidated workload.
The test demonstrated that the solution can perform at <1 ms latency with the defined workload.
The test demonstrated that Unity scales well under the defined workload.
Unity demonstrated steady and high performance under a consolidated workload. Figure
5 shows the baseline workload profile with different read/write ratios.
Requirements
Notes on
performance
results
Results
Performance validation
15 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 5. Baseline workload profiles of 10 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent writes
Figure 5 shows the three different workloads used in the baseline performance test. All
workloads are random at 8K block size with different read/write ratios. We created three
workloads at 10 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent writes to reflect common
transactional workloads.
As shown in Figure 6, the test results indicate that we achieved a sub-millisecond
response time goal with the baseline performance test. The goal was achieved in the 10
and 20 percent writes tests. The 30 percent writes test did not meet the goal, but are still
close to the 1 ms mark, which is considered excellent. The test results also indicate that
the high performance can be sustained over a period of 6 hours. At higher write levels, the
response time may pass the 1 ms mark.
Performance validation
16 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 6. Baseline performance of 10 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent writes
The next test demonstrated the impact of a larger block size to overall performance. Using
the same 16 hosts and 30 percent writes, testing with a larger block size showed an
increase in response time. A larger block size impacted overall performance, as shown in
Figure 7.
Figure 7. Impact of I/O sizes to performance
Table 4 is a summary of scaling impact to performance. Adding hosts to the total workload
in the array increased the overall response time. Table 4 shows that the response time
changed at a slower pace compared to the increase of the workload size. In the range
Copy data management with AppSync
17 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
between 8 to 24 hosts, incrementing the number of hosts by 100 percent causes the
response time to increase by only 33 percent.
Table 4. Response times
Number of Hosts Scale Average Response
Time (ms)
% Response Time
Increase
8 1x 0.68 0%
16 2x 0.90 33%
24 3x 1.09 60%
The test results show that the Unity platform is a great fit for consolidating workloads. It is
a perfect choice for IT organizations looking for affordable and high-performance storage.
Unity 300F, the entry level of Unity All-Flash array, can achieve a steady, sub-millisecond
performance under a sustained workload from multiple hosts. It also scales very well,
which makes Unity the perfect platform for consolidating multiple hosts without
compromising performance.
Copy data management with AppSync
AppSync, integrated with Unity snapshots, simplifies and automates the process of
generating and consuming copies of production data. This solution uses AppSync to
address copy management use cases in a consolidated database environment. AppSync
automatically discovers application databases, learns the database structure, and maps it
through the virtualization layer to the underlying storage LUN. It then orchestrates all the
activities required from copy creation and validation through mounting at the target host
and launching or recovering the application. Supported workflows include refreshing,
expiring, and restoring the production database.
For more information about using AppSync to create and managing copies of SQL Server
databases, refer to Dell EMC AppSync User and Administration Guide.
This section addresses the two main use cases in copy data management with AppSync:
database recovery from copy and copy management for database repurposing. These are
the two most common use cases found in a consolidated database environment. Admins
are required to perform a point-in-time recovery, which requires the admin to create a
copy and recover from the created copy. Admins are also required to create a copy and
mount the created copy for development, testing, or other purposes.
The main objective of this test was to show a simple copy data management operation in
a consolidated database environment.
The operational workflow test was done using the HammerDB tool to simulate SQL
Server activity during copy management work. The test parameter was configured at 5
users per server with 1 million transactions per user to reflect a common database
18 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Unisphere, the Unity management software, provided a single, configurable panel to
observe the performance metrics during the copy data management workflow. This
allowed all tests be observed in Unisphere.
Figure 8 shows the Unisphere user interface.
Figure 8. Unisphere user interface
The main success scenario was achieved when the operational test workflow was
completed. Impact to performance is expected, but should not cause any significant
performance degradation.
The two use cases used the following test workflow:
1. Create database copies for backup acceleration:
a. Create SQL service plan: Schedule or select on demand the type of service plan: Gold, Silver, or Bronze.
b. Select Create Copy options: Server backup type Full, Copy, Non VDI – Set Expiration – Choose Storage Preference Snapshot.
c. Run service plan.
2. Restore a database back to production:
a. Select copy.
b. Back up the transaction logs.
c. Restore options.
d. Configure storage.
3. Mount copies.
Figure 9 shows that the backup process required a very short time because AppSync
uses Unity snapshots to create copies. Impact to performance is also observed after copy
creation. Unity performance remained high and still met the requirements of the
Operational test
workflow
Results
Data protection and recovery
19 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
consolidated database environment. Restoring and mounting from the copy are all made
simpler with AppSync integration with Unity snapshots. Administrators can restore and
mount databases from AppSync copies while maintaining steady performance.
Figure 9. Backup process with AppSync using Unity snapshots to create copies
Data protection and recovery
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines was chosen to address data protection and recovery
because it provides a simple and automated solution, which helps admins easily manage
their consolidated database environment. RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines allows
replication of virtual machines with virtual machine level granularity. RecoverPoint for
Virtual Machines uses a write-splitter embedded in the ESXi hypervisor, which enables
replication.
This section covers the data protection and recovery use case with two sites: the
production site and the secondary site. With RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines integration
into Unity, the data protection and recovery scenario can be achieved by replicating the
SQL Server instances at the production site and failing over to the replicas at the
secondary site.
For more information about using RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines to create replica and
failover scenarios, refer to Dell EMC RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Product Guide.
We confirmed the following before starting this use case:
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines was licensed and registered.
All ESXi clusters that host protected virtual machines or their copies were registered.
All datastores used for copy and production journals were registered.
Virtual machines in the same consistency group did not have the same name.
Overview
Data protection and recovery
20 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
The main objective of this test was to show a simple data protection and recovery operation in a consolidated database environment.
The operational workflow test was done with the HammerDB tool to simulate SQL Server activity during copy management work. The test parameter was configured at 5 users per server with 1 million transactions per user to reflect a common database consolidation scenario.
The test aimed to demonstrate that the solution is capable of performing a complete data protection and failover scenario.
This use case used the following workflow:
1. To protect:
a. Select the virtual machine protection method. Create a consistency group for this virtual machine. Note that adding a virtual machine to an existing consistency group results in journal loss for that group. The best practice is to protect each virtual machine in its own consistency group. Refer to the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines administration guide for more information.
b. Define the production journal and set the advanced production settings.
c. Run protection and observe the status from the Unisphere user interface.
Figure 10 shows the storage activity at production site activity during data
protection process.
Figure 10. Storage activity at production site during data protection process
The consistency group begins an initialization process. The initialization can take
a long time. After initialization, the consistency group becomes active.
Requirements
Operational test
workflow
Data protection and recovery
21 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 11. Failover Wizard
2. To fail over:
a. Define the scope. Select whether you want to test the consistency group or the group set. If there are no group sets, the option is unavailable.
Note: A group set is a collection of consistency groups. In this test, we used the
consistency group and did not create any group sets.
b. Select the image. Select the image to access. You may want to start with the last known valid image.
c. Define the testing environment. The best practice is to avoid IP address conflicts between the production virtual machine and the copy virtual machine by using a dedicated testing network.
d. Complete. Run fail over and observe the status from the Unisphere user interface. Figure 12 shows the storage activity at the secondary site when the failover process is completed and the workload is picked up by the replica.
Data protection and recovery
22 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 12. Storage activity at the secondary site
After failover, the production and copy virtual machine change roles, but the names do not
change. Therefore, after failover, the old production virtual machine should be
<YourVMName>, and the old copy should remain <YourVMName>.copy.
The marking information in the production journal is deleted, the copy journal is deleted,
and the consistency group undergoes a full-sweep synchronization.
Before failing back to the production, the Recovery wizard is displayed, which enables you
to select an image at the production site that predates your failover. You should verify the
image before permanently selecting it as the image you want to fail back to.
The test showed that a complete data protection and recovery use case can be performed
with this solution. The operational steps are simplified with RecoverPoint for Virtual
Machines automation.
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines integration with Unity creates a simple data protection
and recovery system in a consolidated database environment. In this scenario, multiple
database server virtual machines are protected on the secondary site with RecoverPoint
for Virtual Machines. Both protection and failover workflows are automated. Figure 13
shows the performance impact during each data protection process and failover process.
Results
Fast integrated backup
23 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 13. Performance impact during each data protection process and failover process
Fast integrated backup
Data Domain (DD) Boost aggregates multiple links into dynamic interface groups between
the application and Data Domain system. DD Boost is a perfect choice for a fast
integrated backup solution. With DD Boost, the server only sends unique data segments
to a Data Domain system.
DD Boost for Enterprise Applications (DDBEA) uses DD Boost technology for client-side
deduplication to deliver faster application backups. It also has an agent that integrates
with SQL Server.
In a consolidated database environment with Unity, DDBEA dramatically improves the
network utilization efficiency by reducing the amount of data transferred over the network.
A full backup traditionally takes a long time, requires as much space as the original data,
and consumes bandwidth as large as the data being transferred. DDBEA eliminates these
pain points from the backup process.
For more information about using DD Boost and DDBEA to optimize backup performance,
refer to Efficient Backup and Long-Term Retention for Microsoft SQL Server White Paper.
The main objective of this test was to show a fast and efficient backup operation in a
consolidated database environment.
The operational workflow test was done using the HammerDB tool to simulate SQL
Server activity during the backup process. The test parameter was configured at 5 users
per server with 1 million transactions per user to reflect a common database consolidation
scenario.
Overview
Requirements
Fast integrated backup
24 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
The test aimed to demonstrate that the solution is capable of performing a complete fast
integrated backup process. It also aimed to demonstrate that the Unity storage platform
combined with DD Boost is a cost-effective backup solution for consolidated database
environments.
This use case used the following workflow:
1. To back up:
a. Start the initial backup for all data.
Figure 14. Data Domain System Manager
b. Update day 1 to 7. Simulate an incremental daily backup for 7 days. See Table 5 for the data reduction comparison.
c. Run a full backup.
2. To restore:
a. Restore from backup.
Unity storage performance during the backup process can be observed directly in the
Unisphere user interface, as shown in Figure 15.
Operational test
workflow
Results
Fast integrated backup
25 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Figure 15. Performance while running the entire backup process
Backup efficiency is gained from the data reduction. Table 5 shows the data reduction
comparison in each backup session. The smaller backup size resulted in the overall
reduced backup duration because it only needed to write a reduced size from the original
dataset. The second full backup duration is also shorter compared to the initial full
backup.
Table 5. Data reduction comparison in each backup session
Backup Round Total Dataset Backup Size Backup Duration
Initial Full Backup 114.0 GiB 61.7 GiB 14m 25s
Incremental Backup –
Day 1
118.8 GiB 64.4 GiB 01m 01s
Incremental Backup –
Day 2
128.5 GiB 67.3 GiB 01m 13s
Incremental Backup –
Day 3
143.0 GiB 69.9 GiB 01m 20s
Incremental Backup –
Day 4
162.3 GiB 72.6 GiB 01m 45s
Incremental Backup –
Day 5
186.5 GiB 75.4 GiB 01m 53s
Incremental Backup –
Day 6
215.5 GiB 78.1 GiB 02m 11s
Incremental Backup –
Day 7
249.3 GiB 80.9 GiB 02m 26s
Full Backup 397.0 GiB 81.7 GiB 07m 06s
References
26 Microsoft SQL Server Consolidation Solution for Dell EMC Unity
Table 6 shows that a full restore requires about the same duration required for the initial
full backup.
Table 6. Full restore
Restore Total Dataset Backup Size Restore Duration
Full Restore 397.0 GiB 81.7 GiB 14m 25s
Figure 16 shows a detailed view from the backup and restore workflow.
Figure 16. Detailed view from the backup and restore workflow
DDBEA improved the backup efficiency from backup data reduction at the application
level. The overall backup size achieved a significant reduction. In this example, it realized
a reduction ratio of 4.86 with seven daily incremental simulated backups and one full
simulated backup. With a reduced amount of backup data, the restore process also
realized the benefit of a shorter, full restore duration.
References
The following documentation provides additional and relevant information. Access to
these documents depends on your login credentials. If you do not have access to a
document, contact your Dell EMC representative.
Dell EMC AppSync User and Administration Guide
Dell EMC Data Domain Operating System Command Reference Guide
Dell EMC Data Domain Operating System Administration Guide
Dell EMC RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Administrator’s Guide