Copyright © 2007 Quest Software

SQL Server Consolidation:SQL Server Consolidation:Perfect Planning Prevents Poor PerformancePerfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Today’s Speaker

Brent Ozar is a SQL Server Domain Expert based in the Houston

area with Quest Software. Brent has a decade of broad IT

experience, performing systems administration and project

management before moving into database administration.

In his current role, Brent specializes in performance tuning,

disaster recovery and automating SQL Server management.

Previously, Brent spent 2 years at Southern Wine & Spirits, a

Miami-based wine & spirits distributor.

Brent has experience conducting training sessions, has written

several technical articles, and blogs at www.BrentOzar.com.

Consolidation Phases

1. Problems

2. Possibilities

3. Performance

4. Planning & Priorities

5. Post-Consolidation

6. Payoff

Phase 1: The Problems

Phase 1: The Problems

Phase 1: The Problems

• Datacenter space• Datacenter cooling• Datacenter power• Budget cutbacks• Maintenance & licensing

Phase 2: The Possibilities

• One Instance, One OS• Separate Instances, One OS• Separate Instances, Separate OS’s (Virtualization)• HP PolyServe

Factors in the Decision

• Security• Memory• Storage• Extreme performance needs• Maintenance windows• Disaster recovery planning• SQL Server versions• Time

Phase 2: The Possibilities

• One Instance, One OS• Separate Instances, One OS• Separate Instances, Separate OS’s (Virtualization)• HP PolyServe

Phase 3: Performance

• Can’t oversubscribe servers• Need to know loads• Can’t just use average numbers

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Phase 3: Performance Monitor

• Counter list at http://SQLServerPedia.com

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The Manual Way: Analyzing Data with Excel

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The Manual Way: Analyzing Data with Excel

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The Manual Way: Analyzing Data with Excel

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The Manual Way: Analyzing Data with Excel

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Phase 4: Planning & Priorities

• Baby steps: one server at a time• Biggest loads go first• Detach/reattach versus backup/restore• Plan B: Backout• Back up right away and take measurements• AFTER backups, watch the jobs

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Phase 5: Post-Consolidation

• Ongoing performance monitoring• Be ready for complaints• Know your loads before adding more• Watch out for rogue users & apps• Plan for service packs & new versions

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Post-Consolidation Chargebacks

• Track storage growth by application

Phase 6: The Payoff

• Lots of work• Lots of manual paperwork• Lots of risk• So who gains the reward?

The Payoff: How One DBA Got Paid

The Payoff: How One DBA Got Paid

The Payoff: How One DBA Got Paid

• Covered what consolidation is• Covered who needed to put in work• Covered the risks• Covered the mitigation (new software needed)

The Payoff: How One DBA Got Paid

The Payoff: How One DBA Got Paid

Real-World Use Case

• DBA tasked with environment wide consolidation project.– Where do I start?– What data do I collect?– How do I create different scenarios?– How long can I expect the target machine(s) to handle the

consolidated load?– How do I balance space requirements vs. performance

requirements?– Once I execute the consolidation project how do I confirm the

target server(s) are performing as expected?– How do I communicate this to the executive level?

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Got Questions? Here’s Where To Go Next:

Quest Product Resources:

http://sqlserver.quest.com

Blogs, Tips and Resources:

http://sqlserverpedia.com

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How We Can Help

1. Collecting Dataa. Capacity Manager for SQL Server

b. Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise

2. Indentifying the destinationa. Benchmark Factory

b. Capacity Manager for SQL Server

3. Creating the Projecta. Capacity Manger for SQL Server

b. Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise

4. Consolidate!a. LiteSpeed for SQL Server

b. Toad for SQL Server / Change Director for SQL Server

Consolidation, Quest and You…

• Discovery Wizard for SQL Server (Beta)– What’s out there? Stop the sprawl!

• Benchmark Factory– How much can that machine handle? Replay real workloads at higher virtual

user loads. • Capacity Manager

– Collect, Forecast and Plan• Spotlight on SQL Server

– Performance monitoring and historical collection• LiteSpeed for SQL Server

– Migrate faster (and don’t forget to revamp your backup strategy based on the disk savings).

• Change Director for SQL Server– Compare and sync

• Toad for SQL Server– Develop, Manage and Tune

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