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Is virtualization a good choice for SQL Server? Denny Cherry http://www.mrdenny.com [email protected] twitter.com/mrdenny
Is virtualization a good choice for SQL Server?
Denny Cherryhttp://[email protected]
twitter.com/mrdenny
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About MeIndependent ConsultantFounder of SQL ExcursionsAuthor or Coauthor of 5 books8+ SQL Mag articlesDozens of other articlesMicrosoft MVPMicrosoft Certified Master
AgendaMajor Platform ChoicesBenefitsPitfallsDeciding FactorsLimits of VirtualizationManagement ToolsLicensing
Major Platform ChoicesVMware
ESX 1-3.5vSphere 4.0 – 4.1
VMware announced 4.1 will be the last version with a host console 7/30/2010
vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 4.0+Hyper-V
V1 and v2 (v3 will be in Windows 8)
BenefitsHardware CostsInstant Server DeploymentFree Server Redundancy
Live Migration – Hyper-VvMotion - VMware
Easy System Upgrades
Balloon Memory DriversUsed by host OS to request memory back
from the guest OSPrevents host of from paging physical
memory to the hosts swap fileShould be enabledLock pages in memory should be disabled,
unless enabled for a specific reason
Memory Deduplication OptionsGreat for OS memoryDoesn’t work at all for SQL Server
Unless… multiple SQL Servers have the same pages in cache
Storage Configuration OptionsIO is the same if the disks are physical or
virtualUse automatic tier adjusting technology if
possibleOn EMC Arrays – FASTDell Compellent Arrays
Keep OS, data, logs, tempdb on separate disks if possible
Storage DeduplicationCan greatly improve overall performanceBy deduplicating OS virtual disks, we save
much less data to the arrayAs less data is written to the array, less OS
data is loaded into cache on the array
PitfallsShared CPUShared MemorySlow Disk Access timesAnother layer of ManagementStorage Path Flooding
Deciding FactorsDisk IO
IO Per SecondsCPU Load
CPU UsageCore CountsProcessor Queuing
Memory Usage
Virtualization LimitsBy default vMotion or Instant Failover
requires hosts have like CPUs models and matching instruction sets
Hyper-V doesn’t include memory de-duplicationIt does now, introduced in Windows 2008 R2
SP1
Management ToolsVMware requires vCenter to manage a clusterHyper-V has basic management tools included, including
integration with Windows Failover Cluster ManagerSystem Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) is
strongly recommended for managing Production EnvironmentsSCVMM can also manage ESX 3.5 or vSphere 4.0 Servers
(requires vCenter server)SCVMM integrates with System Center Operations
Manager (SCOM) to drive SCVMM Performance Resource Optimization (PRO Tips)
SCVMM is required for Hyper-V Physical to Virtual (P2V) migrations.
vCenter Client
LicensingCAL based licensing doesn’t change
1 Server license per guest + CALs for usersCPU licensing
1 license for physical CPU used1 2008 R2 DCE CPU license for each CPU in
hostIf you have SQL 2008 R1 with SA for hosts you
are grandfathered into SQL 2008 R2. http://bit.ly/cGiatM
Each guest needs a Windows license
Monitoring Hosts
Monitoring Hosts
Monitoring the GuestGuest CPU Load requires double checking
against the hostDisk IO rates are accurateDisk IO throughput should be confirmed with
the hostDisk Latency should be confirmed with the
host
Monitoring the Guest
Monitoring the Guest
