sql server tips from the field

SQL Server Tips From The FieldThree Things IT Leaders Need to Know…

Web: www.sqlwatchmen.comEmail: [email protected]: @SQLMurph

Jim MurphyCEOSQLWatchmen, LLC.

1. Database Performance and Speed Matter

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2. Backups and Disaster RecoveryPlans are not all created equal[ ]

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2. Backups and Disaster RecoveryPlans are not all created equal[

3. High Availability / Disaster Recovery (HA/DR) is a set of tools used for Proactive Disaster Protection

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Who is SQLWatchmen?

● DBA Services – tuning, disaster recovery

planning, maintenance

● SQL Programming - views, SPs, triggers

● Integration Services - SSIS for trying

systems together

● Reporting - SSRS for custom analytics to

fill business needs

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● Local to Austin

● Can serve as Remote / Fractional DBAs

● SQL Server Specialists (We work alongside

general tech consulting firms)

● Compliance (HIPPA, SOX, SOC2)

How can we assist you?

Database Performance and Speed Matter66

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1. Identifying the problem & why you should care

Problem: • The database is the foundation of the entire

application or corporate stack. If the database is slow…

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• … Customers frustrated. Hurts reputation• … Employees frustrated. Hourglasses waste time

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2. There are many reasons for databases toget slower over time (i.e. bottlenecks)

Cause: • Bottleneck is usually:• CPU• Memory• Disk IO• Network

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3. Slow-downs happen when queriesare inefficient

●More users●More data volume●More complex queries

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4. Which solution is faster & cheaper?

Solution:

A. Upgrade hardware and migrate.

B. Figure out which queries are the biggest resource hogs and make adjustments.

That doesn’t sound cheap!

So offending queries use far fewer resources.

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5. Performance Tuning gets to the root cause of slowdowns

●Benefit = Lower Cost●Benefit = Tuning is more effective at improving

speed & performance

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● SQL Server processes query; makes Execution Plan● Execution Plan cached; remembered next time● Ad hoc (one-time, on-demand) queries can fill up the cache with lots of these (inefficient)

● Stored Procedures reuse pre-cached Execution Plans (more efficient)

6. Understanding how Queries are processed

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DemoMeasuring results with Perfmon:

MSSQL:SQL Statistics -> Batch Requests/sec

Backups and Disaster Recovery Plans are not all created equal

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●What’s the difference between a backup and a disaster recovery plan?

●Backup Plan = Backups work●Disaster Recovery Plan = Data recovered

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2. There are lots of different technologies youmight consider using:

●VM Snapshots●SAN Replication●Volume Shadow Copy●VEEAM●SQL Dump Files – Microsoft recommended

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3. Transaction Log explained

• Diary of data changes• Diary won’t ‘clear’ (Truncate) and be reused until it is

backed up (if database in FULL mode)• T-Log (.LDF file) will grow and grow until drive fills up• DANGER! Full drive = corrupt database (and also bring it

offline)!

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4. Transaction Log explained (continued)

• FULL backup hurts performance• Saves off all data pages with valid data on it• Locks tables and indexes to access up-to-date data• T-Log backup DOES NOT hurt performance• T-Log is circular in usage. Segments (VLF)• T-Log backup backs up each VLF & “truncates” T-Log• Doesn’t lock tables

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5. There are also 2 different recovery modes to consider:

SIMPLE• Only non-production• Uses Transaction Log for current

transactions only.• T-Log only grows if a long

transaction with lots of data changes runs.

• No point-in-time recovery (can only recover to most recent FULL or Differential backup).

FULL• Use for all Production databases.• Keeps T-Log as diary for all data

changes until T-Log is backed up (and also ‘replicated’ if an HA/DR technology is configured).

• T-Log will grow until drive is filled if not backed up.

• Can perform point-in-time recovery (restore to an exact millisecond before a disaster so no data is lost).

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6. An example of Point in Time Recovery

Image Source: https://sqlbak.com/blog/sql-server-backup-and-restore/

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PRO TIP

If T-Log backup is getting too big, and you can’t backup or shrink

- Switch your Recovery Mode to Simple*[ ]

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Demo

High Availability / Disaster Recovery (HA/DR)

is a set of procedures and methods used for proactive disaster protection

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Reasons why you might want to consider HA/DR for your company●What does High Availability mean?●What is Disaster Recovery in this context?●What is AlwaysOn?●What are Availability Groups?

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2. Solutions involve removing the single point of failure

●Clustering - redundant hardware●RAID - redundant individual disks● “Replication” - redundant databases

○ What are the limitations?

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3. Problems that arise with “Replication”methods

Transactional Replication

MirroringLog Shipping

• No automatic failover.

• Secondary DB is not really Online*.

• Single DB solution.

• Secondary offline while restoring T-Logs.

• Secondary database is not Online.

• Single Mirror/ Secondary only.

• SNAC/Failover Partner in connection string.

What will AlwaysOn Solve?

• No automatic failover.• Major headache.

o Higher administration.

o Republish articles, etc.

o Complicated troubleshooting

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4. AlwaysOn Solves World Hunger!

…and peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

● Automatic Failover● Multiple Replicas (secondaries) – and readable!

● “Replication” - redundant databases

○ Offload Backups, Reporting, etc.● Availability Groups - assists with using multiple DBs

● Lower administrative costs● Plus more!

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5. There are a few requirements to consider

●Enterprise Edition●AD for WSFC●Nodes must be in the same domain

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6. HA, DR, or Both?● Synchronous● Asynchronous

Sync Async

Legend

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7. Listener (Virtual Network Name)

Node 1 Node 2

DENALI02 DENALI03

VNN

Node 1 Node 2

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Demo

What’s New in SQL Server 2016?

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What’s new in 2016?• Columnstore indexes for big data

○ 30x in-memory OLTP speed○ 100x in-memory Columnstore speed

• Query Store – better diagnostics for a DBA• Stretch databases (Auto-archiving)• Always Encrypted (at rest, in motion, cloud)• Temporal DB – track historical changes• Row-level security.• …and a lot more.

SQL Server is beautiful…but it can be a beast[ ]

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You don’t need new hardware - Tune for Performance[ ]

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Keep your backups secure.Disaster recovery methods

should be tested![ ]

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Next Steps

● For another slide deck that delves deeper on SQL backups -

visit http://www.sqlwatchmen.com/contact-us

● To check out if a Database Diagnostic Exam is right for you -

visit http://www.sqlwatchmen.com/services/database-diagnostic-analysis

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Treated properly, MS SQL Server can contribute a solid foundation to the

efforts of your business ][40

Let us help you, Protect Your Data ][

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SQL Server Tips From The FieldThree Things IT Leaders Need to Know…

Web: www.sqlwatchmen.comEmail: [email protected]: @SQLMurph

Jim MurphyCEOSQLWatchmen, LLC.

http://www.sqlwatchmen.com/services/database-diagnostic-analysis

sql server tips from the field

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