As this guide has shown, installing and configuring a Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with SQL Server 2014 powered by the Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases is a straightforward procedure. A key benefit from implementing DAAD 2.0 into your infrastructure is the ability to accelerate workloads without a complete storage area network redesign. This can be ideal for businesses that have snapshot and deduplication features within their software stack or are looking to improve database performance without investing in large storage solutions that may contain features they do not need. Consider DAAD 2.0 for your business—a storage acceleration solution that requires only 4U of rack space and can potentially give your database workloads a boost.
Dell PowerEdge M520 server solution: Energy efficiency and database performancePrincipled Technologies
As energy prices continue to rise, building a power-efficient data center that does not sacrifice performance is vital to organizations looking to keep costs down while keeping application performance high. Choosing servers that pair high performance with new power-efficient technologies helps you do so. In our tests, the Dell PowerEdge M520 with Dell EqualLogic PS-M4110 arrays outperformed the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 server with HP StorageWorks D2200sb arrays by 113.5 percent in OPM. Not only did the Dell PowerEdge M520 blade server solution deliver higher overall performance, it also did so more efficiently, delivering 79.9 percent better database performance/watt than the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 solution.
Populating your data center with new, more powerful and energy efficient servers can deliver numerous benefits to your organization. By consolidating multiple older servers onto a new platform, you can save in the areas of data center space and port costs, management costs, and power and cooling costs.
In our tests, we found that the Lenovo ThinkServer RD630 could consolidate the workloads of three HP ProLiant DL385 G5 servers, while increasing overall performance by 82.6 percent and reducing power consumption by 58.8 percent, making the ThinkServer RD630 an excellent choice to reduce the costs associated with running your data center.
Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database: Benefits of upgrading with NVMe ...Principled Technologies
Strong server performance is essential to companies running Oracle Database. The new Dell PowerEdge R920 provides strong performance in its base configuration with 24 SAS hard disks, but this performance gets an enormous boost when running the configuration containing NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs. In our testing, the upgraded configuration of the Dell PowerEdge R920 delivered 14.9 times the database performance of the base configuration. In addition, in testing the raw I/O throughput of the NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs, we saw as much as 192.8 times the IOPS as compared to the base configuration. Given that the storage subsystem is critical in servers and specifically database applications, the performance improvements offered by NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs can lead to great service improvements for your customers, making this upgrade a very wise investment.
Whether you’re looking for the highest possible performance per rack unit or the strongest RAS-enabled server to run your mission-critical databases, Dell has a server to meet your needs. Factors such as performance per rack, expansion capabilities, and flash storage options will also drive your server decision.
In our hands-on tests, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R820 server could handle up to 382,397 database orders per minute and had 73.6 percent greater performance per U of rack space than the R910.
The Dell PowerEdge R910 processed 440,475 OPM. Its high number of logical processors, maximum expansion capabilities, and support for RAS technologies make the Dell PowerEdge R910 an excellent choice for your mission-critical data center applications.
As our tests show, investing in the powerful new Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database 12c pluggable databases achieves cost savings without compromising performance. In our testing, a single Dell PowerEdge R920 was able to do nine times the work of a single HP ProLiant DL385 G6 server while the power and cooling costs dropped by 64 percent when compared to the nine servers it could replace. At 17 percent less, three-year software licensing savings were so dramatic that they paid back the new server costs in just six months, and over three years could save just under $300,000.
Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workst...Principled Technologies
A workstation that runs coolly and uses less power is a great asset to workers and the companies they work for. In our tests, both when idle and when under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 generally ran at lower surface temperatures and used less power than the HP Z440 Workstation. These findings show that the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 could meet the needs of those who want to provide a reliable, comfortable work environment while using less power.
Database server comparison: Dell PowerEdge R630 vs. Lenovo ThinkServer RD550Principled Technologies
We tested the OLTP performance of a 1U Dell PowerEdge R630, powered by Intel Xeon processors E5-2660 v3, running Microsoft Hyper-V and virtual machines running SQL Server 2014, and compared it to that of the Lenovo ThinkServer RD550 running the same software. For each server, we selected the maximum SATA SSD count that was configurable for each model. The Dell PowerEdge R630 outperformed the Lenovo ThinkServer RD550 by 14.9 percent and offered more than one and a half times the storage space for data in our configuration.
By selecting a server that handles more orders per minute and offers significantly more storage capacity potential than the competition, you get a not only faster, efficient experience for your database users, but also have the scaling potential for your storage needs ahead of your business growing.
Maximizing Oracle Database performance with Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SS...Principled Technologies
If your organization runs critical, high-demand databases in environments such as Oracle Database, strong performance is not an option: it’s a must-have. Additionally, getting that necessary strong performance out of a single server can be essential for running a space and cost-efficient datacenter. In the Principled Technologies labs, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R930 offered strong performance for such transactional databases when configured with SATA SSDs. When we upgraded the servers to Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs, performance doubled, increasing by 2.17 times, or 117 percent. If your datacenter needs a new powerhouse server, purchasing your Dell PowerEdge R930 with Intel NVMe SSDs for a cost increase of only 18 percent can double the performance you get from each server. This increases what your infrastructure can do within the same amount of space and lets you ultimately save money that would otherwise be spent purchasing additional servers and software.
Dell PowerEdge M520 server solution: Energy efficiency and database performancePrincipled Technologies
As energy prices continue to rise, building a power-efficient data center that does not sacrifice performance is vital to organizations looking to keep costs down while keeping application performance high. Choosing servers that pair high performance with new power-efficient technologies helps you do so. In our tests, the Dell PowerEdge M520 with Dell EqualLogic PS-M4110 arrays outperformed the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 server with HP StorageWorks D2200sb arrays by 113.5 percent in OPM. Not only did the Dell PowerEdge M520 blade server solution deliver higher overall performance, it also did so more efficiently, delivering 79.9 percent better database performance/watt than the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 solution.
Populating your data center with new, more powerful and energy efficient servers can deliver numerous benefits to your organization. By consolidating multiple older servers onto a new platform, you can save in the areas of data center space and port costs, management costs, and power and cooling costs.
In our tests, we found that the Lenovo ThinkServer RD630 could consolidate the workloads of three HP ProLiant DL385 G5 servers, while increasing overall performance by 82.6 percent and reducing power consumption by 58.8 percent, making the ThinkServer RD630 an excellent choice to reduce the costs associated with running your data center.
Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database: Benefits of upgrading with NVMe ...Principled Technologies
Strong server performance is essential to companies running Oracle Database. The new Dell PowerEdge R920 provides strong performance in its base configuration with 24 SAS hard disks, but this performance gets an enormous boost when running the configuration containing NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs. In our testing, the upgraded configuration of the Dell PowerEdge R920 delivered 14.9 times the database performance of the base configuration. In addition, in testing the raw I/O throughput of the NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs, we saw as much as 192.8 times the IOPS as compared to the base configuration. Given that the storage subsystem is critical in servers and specifically database applications, the performance improvements offered by NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs can lead to great service improvements for your customers, making this upgrade a very wise investment.
Whether you’re looking for the highest possible performance per rack unit or the strongest RAS-enabled server to run your mission-critical databases, Dell has a server to meet your needs. Factors such as performance per rack, expansion capabilities, and flash storage options will also drive your server decision.
In our hands-on tests, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R820 server could handle up to 382,397 database orders per minute and had 73.6 percent greater performance per U of rack space than the R910.
The Dell PowerEdge R910 processed 440,475 OPM. Its high number of logical processors, maximum expansion capabilities, and support for RAS technologies make the Dell PowerEdge R910 an excellent choice for your mission-critical data center applications.
As our tests show, investing in the powerful new Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database 12c pluggable databases achieves cost savings without compromising performance. In our testing, a single Dell PowerEdge R920 was able to do nine times the work of a single HP ProLiant DL385 G6 server while the power and cooling costs dropped by 64 percent when compared to the nine servers it could replace. At 17 percent less, three-year software licensing savings were so dramatic that they paid back the new server costs in just six months, and over three years could save just under $300,000.
Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workst...Principled Technologies
A workstation that runs coolly and uses less power is a great asset to workers and the companies they work for. In our tests, both when idle and when under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 generally ran at lower surface temperatures and used less power than the HP Z440 Workstation. These findings show that the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 could meet the needs of those who want to provide a reliable, comfortable work environment while using less power.
Database server comparison: Dell PowerEdge R630 vs. Lenovo ThinkServer RD550Principled Technologies
We tested the OLTP performance of a 1U Dell PowerEdge R630, powered by Intel Xeon processors E5-2660 v3, running Microsoft Hyper-V and virtual machines running SQL Server 2014, and compared it to that of the Lenovo ThinkServer RD550 running the same software. For each server, we selected the maximum SATA SSD count that was configurable for each model. The Dell PowerEdge R630 outperformed the Lenovo ThinkServer RD550 by 14.9 percent and offered more than one and a half times the storage space for data in our configuration.
By selecting a server that handles more orders per minute and offers significantly more storage capacity potential than the competition, you get a not only faster, efficient experience for your database users, but also have the scaling potential for your storage needs ahead of your business growing.
Maximizing Oracle Database performance with Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SS...Principled Technologies
If your organization runs critical, high-demand databases in environments such as Oracle Database, strong performance is not an option: it’s a must-have. Additionally, getting that necessary strong performance out of a single server can be essential for running a space and cost-efficient datacenter. In the Principled Technologies labs, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R930 offered strong performance for such transactional databases when configured with SATA SSDs. When we upgraded the servers to Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs, performance doubled, increasing by 2.17 times, or 117 percent. If your datacenter needs a new powerhouse server, purchasing your Dell PowerEdge R930 with Intel NVMe SSDs for a cost increase of only 18 percent can double the performance you get from each server. This increases what your infrastructure can do within the same amount of space and lets you ultimately save money that would otherwise be spent purchasing additional servers and software.
As our tests show, investing in the powerful new Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle VM Server 3.2.8 with Oracle Database 12c VMs achieves cost savings without compromising performance. In our testing, a single Dell PowerEdge R920 could perform five times the work of a single HP ProLiant DL385 G6 server; the costs to power and cool the Dell PowerEdge would be 43 percent less than the five servers it could replace. The three-year software licensing costs of the Dell PowerEdge R920 server would be 22 percent lower than the licensing costs for the five-server solution. These dramatic savings—which come out to $212,091 for our single test environment — could grow to millions of dollars in a larger consolidation effort.
Resource balancing comparison: VMware vSphere 6 vs. Red Hat Enterprise Virtua...Principled Technologies
Having ample resources to handle user requests is a necessity of modern virtualization solutions. Allocating and distributing those resources evenly, however, is imperative to the success of your business’s virtualized environment. In our tests, after powering on the other two servers in our three-node cluster and adding resource management features, VMware vSphere 6 improved performance by 183 percent over its baseline configuration of one active server and no resource management features. RHEV 3.5, in contrast, delivered only a 79 percent increase over its baseline. As you design your business’s infrastructure and applications, improvements such as those offered by VMware vSphere 6 DRS and Storage DRS can play a critical role by offering your users better application experiences. Optimized and modern resource management provided by VMware DRS can also help to lower your IT purchase and maintenance costs by reducing the number of servers necessary to run your applications.
Dell PowerEdge R920 and Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Migration and Benefits GuidePrincipled Technologies
The latest Dell PowerEdge R920 server is designed to provide highly scalable performance for large enterprises, with greater memory capacity, improved and expanded attached storage options, and processor architectures designed for high availability. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 is the perfect companion software to take advantage of the Dell PowerEdge R920’s impressive specifications. Upgrading has never looked more attractive, and with hardware/software upgrades must come data migration.
Migrating legacy database applications to the latest database technologies on newer Dell server platforms is a common task for businesses upgrading their hardware/software stack. As this guide shows, the process is straightforward and the cost benefits can be enormous. We calculated the savings attainable from multiple consolidation ratios, as well as how long it would take to pay off the replacement server. We found that a consolidation ratio of 13 to 1 could yield $531,725 in software savings, many times the cost of the replacement hardware itself. So not only will the business benefit from the massively-scalable current-generation Dell server technology paired with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 running SQL Server 2014, but you can save money in the process.
VMmark virtualization performance of Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SANPrincipled Technologies
The storage you use for your virtualization solution can be a significant factor in its performance and effectiveness. Two Dell PowerEdge R720 servers, paired with Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SAN, ran 10 VMmark tiles for a total of 80 running VMs and achieved a score of 12.05@10 tiles, making it the top score running VMware ESXi 5.5 of the 32-core server configurations. For enterprises that need excellent virtualization performance, this makes Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SAN a wise investment.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2670 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a five-year-old legacy server and traditional SAN by offering twice as many VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $167.89 per user in hardware costs.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
Database performance and memory capacity with the Intel Xeon processor E5-266...Principled Technologies
The Dell PowerEdge M620 offers 24 memory slots, 50 percent more than the 16 slots offered by the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8, which enables the Dell solution to provide greater performance while delivering memory error protection. We found that the Dell PowerEdge M620 solution, built on the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600v2 Series, delivered 182.2 percent more database performance and 92.0 percent faster response times than the previous version Intel Xeon E5-2640 processor-based HP ProLiant BL460c Gen 8 solution, while providing 12.5 percent more available memory and error protection. The additional memory capacity of the Dell solution allowed us to engage FRM technologies and still have more overall RAM capacity compared to the 16-slot HP server. The Dell PowerEdge M620 offered maximum memory capacity and protection with Fault Resilient Memory to keep your database workloads running strong and available for your business needs.
Consolidate and upgrade: Dell PowerEdge VRTX and Microsoft SQL Server 2014Principled Technologies
Your growing business shouldn’t run on aging hardware and software until it fails. Adding memory and upgrading processors will not provide the same benefits to your infrastructure as a consolidation and upgrade can. Upgrading and consolidating your IT infrastructure to the Dell PowerEdge VRTX running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014 can improve performance while adding features such as high availability.
Based on our findings, a single Dell PowerEdge VRTX can replace four four-year-old dual-socket servers with VMs running heavy SQL database workloads. We found that consolidating four older servers onto a Dell PowerEdge VRTX and upgrading to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V and SQL Server 2014 could save up to $16,390 over three years, compared to keeping the four-year-old dual-socket servers and upgrading existing storage infrastructure. If your business runs older versions of Microsoft SQL Server on end-of-life dual-socket servers, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V and SQL Server 2014 could save your company these costs while delivering better performance than the aging hardware and software.
Hardware upgrades to improve database, SharePoint, Exchange, and file server ...Principled Technologies
Legacy tower servers that cannot meet workload demands can restrict business growth. By upgrading to the Dell PowerEdge T630, you can obtain immediate benefits for current IT performance needs and implement upgrades that will expand server capabilities to help meet future demands. We found that replacing a legacy server with the new Dell PowerEdge T630 tower server offered up to 97.9 percent lower workload latency, 131.9 percent more IOPS, and 421.9 percent more OPM when running the same workload. With component upgrades, the PowerEdge T630 supported more Exchange, SharePoint, and file server users, and more database VM instances. Help ensure that your applications have sufficient hardware resources to keep up with the needs of today and the future by choosing to upgrade to the new Dell PowerEdge T630 tower server.
Boosting virtualization performance with Intel SSD DC Series P3600 NVMe SSDs ...Principled Technologies
When it comes time to make your server purchase or if you’re looking for an easy way to boost performance of existing infrastructure, consider upgrading your server’s internal storage. As our hands-on tests with a Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 environment running VMware Virtual SAN proved, Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs could increase virtualized mixed-workload performance by as much as 59.9 percent compared to SATA SSDs while allowing you to run a large additional number of VMs. When you improve performance for your virtualized workloads, your employees and customers will benefit. By increasing performance with Intel NVMe SSDs on your Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 servers, you can potentially slash wait times and do more work on your servers without having to expand your infrastructure with additional storage arrays, which can translate to happier users and a more efficient infrastructure.
Setting up a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series servers, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. By setting up a failover cluster on your compact Dell PowerEdge VRTX, you can maximize server uptime to keep your business moving.
Moving your legacy database workloads to the Dell PowerEdge R930 can help you realize the benefits of consolidation, which can include savings in management costs, power usage, and cable management costs. More importantly, the licensing costs of the database application itself may be reduced by the consolidation effort. In addition to these benefits, greater database transactions per minute can keep your orders flowing smoothly.
We found that the Dell PowerEdge R930, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E7 v3 series, could consolidate three legacy servers running four Oracle Database 12c VMs each. The Dell PowerEdge R930 outperformed the legacy server with 4.4 times the overall database performance, delivering an average of 47.1 percent more performance per VM. By consolidating that many legacy servers, you can save up to 67 percent in rack space, 25 percent in database licenses, and even reduce other operating costs to improve your bottom line.
Comparing performance and cost: Dell PowerEdge VRTX with one Dell PowerEdge M...Principled Technologies
Keeping a legacy disparate hardware solution composed of nine older servers instead of choosing the new Dell PowerEdge VRTX powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3 family may cost more than one would expect. We found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with an Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge M830 server could do the work of nine legacy servers running email, database, and file/print server workloads. The VRTX ran all nine workloads in VMs, achieving a slight performance boost on the database and file/print workloads while using much less datacenter space and reducing power consumption by 38.4 percent.
The VRTX achieved these savings using 88.6 percent less rack-equivalent space than the legacy disparate hardware solution and with one-third as many cables, to reduce complexity and reduce the burden of space in small offices.
Despite a larger initial investment, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with an Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge M830 server could actually lower the total cost of ownership over five years by as much as 48.5 percent, delivering a solid return on investment in less than two years.
As our test results show, investing in the Dell PowerEdge VRTX solution powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 v3 family could provide a compact solution to optimize application performance and reduce complexity at a lower lifetime cost than a legacy solution composed of nine older servers.
Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. ...Principled Technologies
Based on our testing with heavy SQL Server 2014 database workloads, the converged architecture solution of a Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers delivered 3.8 times the performance of our legacy HP solution. We also found the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution offered 72 lower cost per new order compared to the legacy HP ProLiant DL580 G7 solution. In addition, the PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution does not sacrifice traditional hardware redundancy while providing the same highly available database solution in a smaller rack space. If your business runs Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the converged architecture approach with Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers powered by Intel could bring a harmonious balance of performance, reliability, and cost efficiency to your data center.
A single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 solution delivered better value on a...Principled Technologies
If your company is running important business applications in VMware vSAN clusters of servers that are several years old, chances are good that you’re considering upgrading to newer hardware. Our testing demonstrated that our clusters of single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 servers and clusters of dual-socket HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers could both improve upon the database performance of a legacy cluster with five-year-old servers by more than 50 percent, with the Dell EMC cluster achieving 93.4 percent of the performance of the HPE cluster.
In the Principled Technologies labs, the space-efficient FX2 solution enabled with SanDisk DAS Cache supported over four times as many VMs than the Dell PowerEdge R820 with CacheCade supported. Because each VM delivered greater performance, this FX2 solution delivered up to 43 times the total performance of a Dell PowerEdge R820 server.
Consolidating your Dell PowerEdge R820 servers onto with a new Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure with an FC830 server, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 v3, and FD332 storage blocks using SanDisk DAS Cache can give you a significant performance boost while saving precious data center space. A company can optimize precious data center space by replacing older servers with the Dell PowerEdge FX2 converged architecture, which takes up just 2U, and simultaneously achieve greater VM performance.
As this guide has shown, if your business could benefit from using a hyperconverged computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could be the right way to go. Able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 340,000 OPM, 200 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, as well as file/print and web server disk workloads, the powerful Dell appliances with the help of Intel processors can keep up with your current business, with room to grow in the future. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the small form factor of the Dell XC630 appliances can help keep your business moving.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: High available and scalable performance ...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations consisting of Dell PowerEdge R720 servers, Dell Force10 S4810P switches, and Dell EqualLogic PS6110XV storage provide a range of configuration options so that you can select the one that is right for your business needs. Additionally, each configuration is easily scalable to accommodate for business growth.
The 3-2-1 base configuration provides a robust solution for any business needing to support up to 500 users on multiple business applications. Our tests demonstrate this solution supporting 500 users per VM for four VMs including two database VMs, one email VM, and one collaboration application VM.
If the number of users you need to support exceeds the user count the base configuration provides, adding another Dell PowerEdge R720 server to make a 4-2-1 configuration can support up to 1,000 users on multiple business applications while maintaining high availability. Our tests demonstrate this solution supporting 1,000 users per VM in the same four VMs as the 3-2-1 solution. Additionally, these configurations are so easy to scale upward that you can complete the process of adding a server in a matter of two hours or less from start to finish.
If you require support for an even higher number of users, adding a server and storage array to the base configuration, to make a 4-2-2 configuration allows for up to 1,500 users on multiple business applications. Our tests demonstrated this when we ran 1,500 users against each of the four VMs. Better yet, adding a Dell EqualLogic PS6110XV storage array to an existing 4-2-1 configuration is a cinch, taking under 30 minutes start to finish.
All of these Dell Reference Configurations give your business the reliability of highly available hardware configurations, greatly reducing downtime resulting from any hardware malfunctions.
By choosing proven Dell architecture, you avoid the hassles of putting your infrastructure together piece by piece, reducing the potential for error and providing you with a sturdy solution that is easily scalable to fit your present and future needs.
Dell PowerEdge M420 and Oracle Database 11g R2: A Reference ArchitecturePrincipled Technologies
The compute density of your data center is critical to your bottom line – packing more compute power into a smaller space has the potential to greatly reduce data center costs. The ultra-dense, quarter-height Dell PowerEdge M420 blade server combines with Dell PowerConnect and Force10 switches, Dell PowerEdge M1000e blade enclosure, and Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS arrays to maximize the compute density of your data center.
Boosting performance with the Dell Acceleration Appliance for DatabasesPrincipled Technologies
If your business is expanding and you need to support more users accessing your databases, it’s time to act. Upgrading your database infrastructure with a flash storage-based solution is a smart way to improve performance without adding more servers or taking up very much rack space, which comes at a premium. The Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases addresses this by providing strong performance when combined with your existing infrastructure or on its own.
We found that adding a highly available DAAD solution to our database application provided up to 3.01 times the Oracle Database 12c performance, which can make a big difference to your bottom line. Additionally, the DAAD delivered 3.14 times the database performance when replacing traditional storage completely, which could enable your infrastructure to keep up with your growing business’ needs.
By upgrading from the legacy solution we tested to the new Intel processor-based Dell and VMware solution, you could do 18 times the work in the same amount of space. Imagine what that performance could mean to your business: Consolidate workloads from across your company, lower your power and cooling bills, and limit datacenter expansion in the future, all while maintaining a consistent user experience—the list of potential benefits is huge.
Try running DPACK, which can help you identify bottlenecks in your environment and inform you about your current performance needs. Then consider how the consolidation ratio we proved could be helpful for your company. The Intel processor-powered Dell PowerEdge R730 solution with VMware vSphere and Dell Storage SC4020, also powered by Intel, could be the right destination for your upgrade journey.
As our tests show, investing in the powerful new Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle VM Server 3.2.8 with Oracle Database 12c VMs achieves cost savings without compromising performance. In our testing, a single Dell PowerEdge R920 could perform five times the work of a single HP ProLiant DL385 G6 server; the costs to power and cool the Dell PowerEdge would be 43 percent less than the five servers it could replace. The three-year software licensing costs of the Dell PowerEdge R920 server would be 22 percent lower than the licensing costs for the five-server solution. These dramatic savings—which come out to $212,091 for our single test environment — could grow to millions of dollars in a larger consolidation effort.
Resource balancing comparison: VMware vSphere 6 vs. Red Hat Enterprise Virtua...Principled Technologies
Having ample resources to handle user requests is a necessity of modern virtualization solutions. Allocating and distributing those resources evenly, however, is imperative to the success of your business’s virtualized environment. In our tests, after powering on the other two servers in our three-node cluster and adding resource management features, VMware vSphere 6 improved performance by 183 percent over its baseline configuration of one active server and no resource management features. RHEV 3.5, in contrast, delivered only a 79 percent increase over its baseline. As you design your business’s infrastructure and applications, improvements such as those offered by VMware vSphere 6 DRS and Storage DRS can play a critical role by offering your users better application experiences. Optimized and modern resource management provided by VMware DRS can also help to lower your IT purchase and maintenance costs by reducing the number of servers necessary to run your applications.
Dell PowerEdge R920 and Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Migration and Benefits GuidePrincipled Technologies
The latest Dell PowerEdge R920 server is designed to provide highly scalable performance for large enterprises, with greater memory capacity, improved and expanded attached storage options, and processor architectures designed for high availability. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 is the perfect companion software to take advantage of the Dell PowerEdge R920’s impressive specifications. Upgrading has never looked more attractive, and with hardware/software upgrades must come data migration.
Migrating legacy database applications to the latest database technologies on newer Dell server platforms is a common task for businesses upgrading their hardware/software stack. As this guide shows, the process is straightforward and the cost benefits can be enormous. We calculated the savings attainable from multiple consolidation ratios, as well as how long it would take to pay off the replacement server. We found that a consolidation ratio of 13 to 1 could yield $531,725 in software savings, many times the cost of the replacement hardware itself. So not only will the business benefit from the massively-scalable current-generation Dell server technology paired with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 running SQL Server 2014, but you can save money in the process.
VMmark virtualization performance of Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SANPrincipled Technologies
The storage you use for your virtualization solution can be a significant factor in its performance and effectiveness. Two Dell PowerEdge R720 servers, paired with Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SAN, ran 10 VMmark tiles for a total of 80 running VMs and achieved a score of 12.05@10 tiles, making it the top score running VMware ESXi 5.5 of the 32-core server configurations. For enterprises that need excellent virtualization performance, this makes Micron Enterprise PCIe SSD-based SAN a wise investment.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2670 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a five-year-old legacy server and traditional SAN by offering twice as many VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $167.89 per user in hardware costs.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
Database performance and memory capacity with the Intel Xeon processor E5-266...Principled Technologies
The Dell PowerEdge M620 offers 24 memory slots, 50 percent more than the 16 slots offered by the HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8, which enables the Dell solution to provide greater performance while delivering memory error protection. We found that the Dell PowerEdge M620 solution, built on the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600v2 Series, delivered 182.2 percent more database performance and 92.0 percent faster response times than the previous version Intel Xeon E5-2640 processor-based HP ProLiant BL460c Gen 8 solution, while providing 12.5 percent more available memory and error protection. The additional memory capacity of the Dell solution allowed us to engage FRM technologies and still have more overall RAM capacity compared to the 16-slot HP server. The Dell PowerEdge M620 offered maximum memory capacity and protection with Fault Resilient Memory to keep your database workloads running strong and available for your business needs.
Consolidate and upgrade: Dell PowerEdge VRTX and Microsoft SQL Server 2014Principled Technologies
Your growing business shouldn’t run on aging hardware and software until it fails. Adding memory and upgrading processors will not provide the same benefits to your infrastructure as a consolidation and upgrade can. Upgrading and consolidating your IT infrastructure to the Dell PowerEdge VRTX running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014 can improve performance while adding features such as high availability.
Based on our findings, a single Dell PowerEdge VRTX can replace four four-year-old dual-socket servers with VMs running heavy SQL database workloads. We found that consolidating four older servers onto a Dell PowerEdge VRTX and upgrading to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V and SQL Server 2014 could save up to $16,390 over three years, compared to keeping the four-year-old dual-socket servers and upgrading existing storage infrastructure. If your business runs older versions of Microsoft SQL Server on end-of-life dual-socket servers, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V and SQL Server 2014 could save your company these costs while delivering better performance than the aging hardware and software.
Hardware upgrades to improve database, SharePoint, Exchange, and file server ...Principled Technologies
Legacy tower servers that cannot meet workload demands can restrict business growth. By upgrading to the Dell PowerEdge T630, you can obtain immediate benefits for current IT performance needs and implement upgrades that will expand server capabilities to help meet future demands. We found that replacing a legacy server with the new Dell PowerEdge T630 tower server offered up to 97.9 percent lower workload latency, 131.9 percent more IOPS, and 421.9 percent more OPM when running the same workload. With component upgrades, the PowerEdge T630 supported more Exchange, SharePoint, and file server users, and more database VM instances. Help ensure that your applications have sufficient hardware resources to keep up with the needs of today and the future by choosing to upgrade to the new Dell PowerEdge T630 tower server.
Boosting virtualization performance with Intel SSD DC Series P3600 NVMe SSDs ...Principled Technologies
When it comes time to make your server purchase or if you’re looking for an easy way to boost performance of existing infrastructure, consider upgrading your server’s internal storage. As our hands-on tests with a Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 environment running VMware Virtual SAN proved, Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs could increase virtualized mixed-workload performance by as much as 59.9 percent compared to SATA SSDs while allowing you to run a large additional number of VMs. When you improve performance for your virtualized workloads, your employees and customers will benefit. By increasing performance with Intel NVMe SSDs on your Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 servers, you can potentially slash wait times and do more work on your servers without having to expand your infrastructure with additional storage arrays, which can translate to happier users and a more efficient infrastructure.
Setting up a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series servers, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. By setting up a failover cluster on your compact Dell PowerEdge VRTX, you can maximize server uptime to keep your business moving.
Moving your legacy database workloads to the Dell PowerEdge R930 can help you realize the benefits of consolidation, which can include savings in management costs, power usage, and cable management costs. More importantly, the licensing costs of the database application itself may be reduced by the consolidation effort. In addition to these benefits, greater database transactions per minute can keep your orders flowing smoothly.
We found that the Dell PowerEdge R930, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E7 v3 series, could consolidate three legacy servers running four Oracle Database 12c VMs each. The Dell PowerEdge R930 outperformed the legacy server with 4.4 times the overall database performance, delivering an average of 47.1 percent more performance per VM. By consolidating that many legacy servers, you can save up to 67 percent in rack space, 25 percent in database licenses, and even reduce other operating costs to improve your bottom line.
Comparing performance and cost: Dell PowerEdge VRTX with one Dell PowerEdge M...Principled Technologies
Keeping a legacy disparate hardware solution composed of nine older servers instead of choosing the new Dell PowerEdge VRTX powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3 family may cost more than one would expect. We found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with an Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge M830 server could do the work of nine legacy servers running email, database, and file/print server workloads. The VRTX ran all nine workloads in VMs, achieving a slight performance boost on the database and file/print workloads while using much less datacenter space and reducing power consumption by 38.4 percent.
The VRTX achieved these savings using 88.6 percent less rack-equivalent space than the legacy disparate hardware solution and with one-third as many cables, to reduce complexity and reduce the burden of space in small offices.
Despite a larger initial investment, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with an Intel Xeon processor E5-4650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge M830 server could actually lower the total cost of ownership over five years by as much as 48.5 percent, delivering a solid return on investment in less than two years.
As our test results show, investing in the Dell PowerEdge VRTX solution powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 v3 family could provide a compact solution to optimize application performance and reduce complexity at a lower lifetime cost than a legacy solution composed of nine older servers.
Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. ...Principled Technologies
Based on our testing with heavy SQL Server 2014 database workloads, the converged architecture solution of a Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers delivered 3.8 times the performance of our legacy HP solution. We also found the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution offered 72 lower cost per new order compared to the legacy HP ProLiant DL580 G7 solution. In addition, the PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution does not sacrifice traditional hardware redundancy while providing the same highly available database solution in a smaller rack space. If your business runs Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the converged architecture approach with Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers powered by Intel could bring a harmonious balance of performance, reliability, and cost efficiency to your data center.
A single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 solution delivered better value on a...Principled Technologies
If your company is running important business applications in VMware vSAN clusters of servers that are several years old, chances are good that you’re considering upgrading to newer hardware. Our testing demonstrated that our clusters of single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 servers and clusters of dual-socket HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers could both improve upon the database performance of a legacy cluster with five-year-old servers by more than 50 percent, with the Dell EMC cluster achieving 93.4 percent of the performance of the HPE cluster.
In the Principled Technologies labs, the space-efficient FX2 solution enabled with SanDisk DAS Cache supported over four times as many VMs than the Dell PowerEdge R820 with CacheCade supported. Because each VM delivered greater performance, this FX2 solution delivered up to 43 times the total performance of a Dell PowerEdge R820 server.
Consolidating your Dell PowerEdge R820 servers onto with a new Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure with an FC830 server, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 v3, and FD332 storage blocks using SanDisk DAS Cache can give you a significant performance boost while saving precious data center space. A company can optimize precious data center space by replacing older servers with the Dell PowerEdge FX2 converged architecture, which takes up just 2U, and simultaneously achieve greater VM performance.
As this guide has shown, if your business could benefit from using a hyperconverged computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could be the right way to go. Able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 340,000 OPM, 200 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, as well as file/print and web server disk workloads, the powerful Dell appliances with the help of Intel processors can keep up with your current business, with room to grow in the future. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the small form factor of the Dell XC630 appliances can help keep your business moving.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: High available and scalable performance ...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations consisting of Dell PowerEdge R720 servers, Dell Force10 S4810P switches, and Dell EqualLogic PS6110XV storage provide a range of configuration options so that you can select the one that is right for your business needs. Additionally, each configuration is easily scalable to accommodate for business growth.
The 3-2-1 base configuration provides a robust solution for any business needing to support up to 500 users on multiple business applications. Our tests demonstrate this solution supporting 500 users per VM for four VMs including two database VMs, one email VM, and one collaboration application VM.
If the number of users you need to support exceeds the user count the base configuration provides, adding another Dell PowerEdge R720 server to make a 4-2-1 configuration can support up to 1,000 users on multiple business applications while maintaining high availability. Our tests demonstrate this solution supporting 1,000 users per VM in the same four VMs as the 3-2-1 solution. Additionally, these configurations are so easy to scale upward that you can complete the process of adding a server in a matter of two hours or less from start to finish.
If you require support for an even higher number of users, adding a server and storage array to the base configuration, to make a 4-2-2 configuration allows for up to 1,500 users on multiple business applications. Our tests demonstrated this when we ran 1,500 users against each of the four VMs. Better yet, adding a Dell EqualLogic PS6110XV storage array to an existing 4-2-1 configuration is a cinch, taking under 30 minutes start to finish.
All of these Dell Reference Configurations give your business the reliability of highly available hardware configurations, greatly reducing downtime resulting from any hardware malfunctions.
By choosing proven Dell architecture, you avoid the hassles of putting your infrastructure together piece by piece, reducing the potential for error and providing you with a sturdy solution that is easily scalable to fit your present and future needs.
Dell PowerEdge M420 and Oracle Database 11g R2: A Reference ArchitecturePrincipled Technologies
The compute density of your data center is critical to your bottom line – packing more compute power into a smaller space has the potential to greatly reduce data center costs. The ultra-dense, quarter-height Dell PowerEdge M420 blade server combines with Dell PowerConnect and Force10 switches, Dell PowerEdge M1000e blade enclosure, and Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS arrays to maximize the compute density of your data center.
Boosting performance with the Dell Acceleration Appliance for DatabasesPrincipled Technologies
If your business is expanding and you need to support more users accessing your databases, it’s time to act. Upgrading your database infrastructure with a flash storage-based solution is a smart way to improve performance without adding more servers or taking up very much rack space, which comes at a premium. The Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases addresses this by providing strong performance when combined with your existing infrastructure or on its own.
We found that adding a highly available DAAD solution to our database application provided up to 3.01 times the Oracle Database 12c performance, which can make a big difference to your bottom line. Additionally, the DAAD delivered 3.14 times the database performance when replacing traditional storage completely, which could enable your infrastructure to keep up with your growing business’ needs.
By upgrading from the legacy solution we tested to the new Intel processor-based Dell and VMware solution, you could do 18 times the work in the same amount of space. Imagine what that performance could mean to your business: Consolidate workloads from across your company, lower your power and cooling bills, and limit datacenter expansion in the future, all while maintaining a consistent user experience—the list of potential benefits is huge.
Try running DPACK, which can help you identify bottlenecks in your environment and inform you about your current performance needs. Then consider how the consolidation ratio we proved could be helpful for your company. The Intel processor-powered Dell PowerEdge R730 solution with VMware vSphere and Dell Storage SC4020, also powered by Intel, could be the right destination for your upgrade journey.
If your business is considering using a hyperconverged
computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could bring many benefits. Thanks to its powerful Dell servers with Intel processors, this space-efficient solution was able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 420,000 OPM, 160 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, and file/print and web server disk workloads; that’s enough to meet your present demands and still have room for future growth. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the hyperconverged solution based on Dell XC630 appliances can help your business get the job done.
Introduction to microsoft sql server 2008 r2Eduardo Castro
In this presentation we review the new features in SQL 2008 R2.
Regards,
Ing. Eduardo Castro Martinez, PhD
http://comunidadwindows.org
http://ecastrom.blogspot.com
VMmark 2.5.2 virtualization performance of the Dell Storage SC4020 arrayPrincipled Technologies
The Dell Storage SC4020 array, paired with a cluster of Dell PowerEdge M620 servers, ran 30 VMmark tiles totaling 240 running VMs, and achieved a score of 31.35@30 tiles. This performance, along with its value and ease of management, make the Dell Storage SC4020 array an excellent investment.
Move your private cloud to Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes and boost Ap...Principled Technologies
Powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes handled 2X the operations per second of older HPE ProLiant XL170r Gen9 nodes
Migrating to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on D...Principled Technologies
Migrating your legacy servers running Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to a new Dell PowerEdge R720 running Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 can streamline your infrastructure and deliver savings to your business.
With careful planning, and by following the straightforward process that this guide presents, you can realize the benefits of switching to your new server-and-software solution in no time.
Apache Cassandra performance advantages of the new Dell PowerEdge C6620 with ...Principled Technologies
The PowerEdge C6620 with PERC 12 delivered lower latency and higher throughput than an HPE ProLiant XL170r Gen9 server with an HPE Smart Array P440ar controller
Conclusion
Data proliferation today is rapid, and its growth shows no signs of stopping. For businesses that can take advantage of that data, there is tremendous potential value. One recent McKinsey study notes that “companies that are using data-driven B2B sales-growth engines report above-market growth and EBITDA increases in the range of 15 to 25 percent.” With data flooding in so quickly and in so many different forms, however, companies need high-performing big data solutions to have a chance at utilizing that data effectively.
We tested the performance of two platforms with a read-intensive Apache Cassandra database system bigdata workload to assess which might be better suited to speedily deliver the insights decision makers need. Compared to an older HPE ProLiant XL170r Gen9 server with an HPE Smart Array P440ar controller, the new Dell PowerEdge C6620 with Broadcom-based PERC 12 RAID controller delivered faster read and update latencies and more than twice the throughput. This improvement in performance can help you glean more value from your unstructured data more quickly. If you’re watching your stores of unstructured data grow but are still leaning on older servers for your critical Cassandra workloads, it may be time for an upgrade.
Speeding time to insight: The Dell PowerEdge C6620 with Dell PERC 12 RAID con...Principled Technologies
The new PowerEdge C6620 delivered better performance—both higher throughput and lower latency—than a previous-generation PowerEdge C6520 with PERC 11
Conclusion
The vast amounts of unstructured data that people and organizations generate daily have the potential to bring incredible value to companies that can utilize it quickly and correctly. Buried in the data are insights about consumer preferences, product performance, environmental trends, and more—but to access those insights at the speed of business, you need high-performing NoSQL databases. Aging servers may be holding you back from the full value of your data.
We found that the new Dell PowerEdge C6620 with Broadcom-based PERC 12 RAID controller can speed read-intensive Apache Cassandra database workloads compared to an older server solution. Faster read and update latencies and higher throughput, as we saw the PowerEdge C6620 deliver, can speed the retrieval, processing, and analysis of your unstructured data, enabling you to more effectively extract its value. To more fully utilize your data to inform your everyday business operations, consider the Dell PowerEdge C6620 with Broadcom-based PERC 12 RAID controller.
Whitepaper: Running Oracle e-Business Suite Database on Oracle Database Appli...Maris Elsins
This is the whitepaper for my Collaborate 13 presentation with the same title. It describes how Pythian completed a migration project of eBS R12 database top ODA (Oracle Appliance Kit v2.2).
Configuring a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on ...Principled Technologies
Setting up a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series nodes, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, and setup your Exchange Server infrastructure. By setting up a highly available Exchange Server 2013 environment on your compact PowerEdge VRTX, you can ensure your Exchange workloads stay running to keep your business moving.
Analyze data from Cassandra databases more quickly: Select Dell PowerEdge C66...Principled Technologies
This new Dell PERC 12 solution delivered stronger Apache Cassandra distributed database performance than a legacy solution.
When speedy, in-depth analysis is crucial in a NoSQL environment, relying on legacy hardware can hurt your company. We found that a Dell PowerEdge C6620 server with a Dell PERC 12 RAID controller handled more OPS for a Cassandra data analysis workload than a previous-generation Dell PowerEdge C6520 server with a
PERC 11 RAID controller. This superior performance could help business units in your organization reap in-depth actionable intelligence from unstructured data more quickly.
Windows Server 2022 represents a milestone in server operating systems, offering a cutting-edge platform designed to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern businesses. With an unwavering commitment to security, scalability, and hybrid cloud integration, this iteration introduces Secured-Core Server technology, fortifying the system against advanced threats and firmware vulnerabilities. Boasting improvements in containerization, virtualization, and storage management, Windows Server 2022 provides a robust foundation for organizations embracing digital transformation. The integration of Azure services, enhanced management tools like Windows Admin Center, and support for the latest application frameworks underline its status as a comprehensive solution, empowering enterprises to efficiently manage diverse workloads across on-premises, cloud, and edge environments.
At its core, Windows Server 2022 prioritizes performance, responding to the demands of modern hardware configurations with optimizations that ensure heightened responsiveness and reliability. With features such as Storage Migration Service, Active Directory updates, and advancements in GPU virtualization, Windows Server 2022 stands as a versatile and forward-looking server operating system, empowering businesses to navigate the complexities of today's IT landscape with confidence and efficiency.
Similar to Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture (20)
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
Enable security features with no impact to OLTP performance with Dell PowerEd...Principled Technologies
Get comparable online transaction processing (OLTP) performance with or without enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Encrypted State
Conclusion
You’ve likely already implemented many security measures for your servers, which may include physical security for the data center, hardware-level security, and software-level security. With the cost of data breaches high and still growing, however, wise IT teams will consider what additional security measures they may be able to implement.
AMD SME and SEV-ES are technologies that are already available within your AMD processor-powered 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers—and in our testing, we saw that they can offer extra layers of security without affecting performance. We compared the online transaction processing performance of a Dell PowerEdge R7625 server, powered by AMD EPYC 9274F processors, with and without these two security features enabled. We found that enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State did not impact performance at all.
If your team is assessing areas where you might be able to enhance security—without paying a large performance cost—consider enabling AME SME and AMD SEV-ES in your Dell PowerEdge servers.
Improving energy efficiency in the data center: Endure higher temperatures wi...Principled Technologies
In high-temperature test scenarios, a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server continued running an intensive workload without component warnings or failures, while a Supermicro SYS‑621C-TN12R server failed
Conclusion: Remain resilient in high temperatures with the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 to help increase efficiency
Increasing your data center’s temperature can help your organization make strides in energy efficiency and cooling cost savings. With servers that can hold up to these higher everyday temperatures—as well as high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances—your business can continue to deliver the performance your apps and clients require.
When we ran an intensive floating-point workload on a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 and a Supermicro SYS-621CTN12R in three scenario types simulating typical operations at 25°C, a fan failure, and an HVAC malfunction, the Dell server experienced no component warnings or failures. In contrast, the Supermicro server experienced warnings in all three scenario types and experienced component failures in the latter two tests, rendering the system unusable. When we inspected and analyzed each system, we found that the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server’s motherboard layout, fans, and chassis offered cooling design advantages.
For businesses aiming to meet sustainability goals by running hotter data centers, as well as those concerned with server cooling design, the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 is a strong contender to take on higher temperatures during day-to-day operations and unexpected malfunctions.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a Kubernetes container-based generative AI workload effectively
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a generative AI workload effectively
Conclusion
The appeal of incorporating GenAI into your organization’s operations is likely great. Getting started with an efficient solution for your next LLM workload or application can seem daunting because of the changing hardware and software landscape, but Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors could provide the solution you need. We started with a Dell Validated Design as a reference, and then went on to modify the deployment as necessary for our Llama 2 workload. The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
For organizations running clusters of moderately configured, older Dell PowerEdge servers with a previous version of VCF, upgrading to better-configured modern servers can provide a significant performance boost and more.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Realize 2.1X the performance with 20% less power with AMD EPYC processor-back...Principled Technologies
Three AMD EPYC processor-based two-processor solutions outshined comparable Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based solutions by handling more Redis workload transactions and requests while consuming less power
Conclusion
Performance and energy efficiency are significant factors in processor selection for servers running data-intensive workloads, such as Redis. We compared the Redis performance and energy consumption of a server cluster in three AMD EPYC two-processor configurations against that of a server cluster in two Intel Xeon Scalable two-processor configurations. In each of our three test scenarios, the server cluster backed by AMD EPYC processors outperformed the server cluster backed by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. In addition, one of the AMD EPYC processor-based clusters consumed 20 percent less power than its Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based counterpart. Combining these measurements gave us power efficiency metrics that demonstrate how valuable AMD EPYC processor-based servers could be—you could see better performance per watt with these AMD EPYC processor-based server clusters and potentially get more from your Redis or other data intensive applications and workloads while reducing data center power costs.
Improve performance and gain room to grow by easily migrating to a modern Ope...Principled Technologies
We deployed this modern environment, then migrated database VMs from legacy servers and saw performance improvements that support consolidation
Conclusion
If your organization’s transactional databases are running on gear that is several years old, you have much to gain by upgrading to modern servers with new processors and networking components and an OpenShift environment. In our testing, a modern OpenShift environment with a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7615 servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors and high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs outperformed a legacy environment with MySQL VMs running on a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7515 servers with 3rd Generation AMD EPYC processors and 25Gb Broadcom NICs. We also easily migrated a VM from the legacy environment to the modern environment, with only a few steps required to set up and less than ten minutes of hands-on time. The performance advantage of the modern servers would allow a company to reduce the number of servers necessary to perform a given amount of database work, thus lowering operational expenditures such as power and cooling and IT staff time for maintenance. The high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs in this solution also give companies better network performance and networking capacity to grow as they embrace emerging technologies such as AI that put great demands on networks.
Boost PC performance: How more available memory can improve productivityPrincipled Technologies
With more memory available, system performance of three Dell devices increased, which can translate to a better user experience
Conclusion
When your system has plenty of RAM to meet your needs, you can efficiently access the applications and data you need to finish projects and to-do lists without sacrificing time and focus. Our test results show that with more memory available, three Dell PCs delivered better performance and took less time to complete the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark. These advantages translate to users being able to complete workflows more quickly and multitask more easily. Whether you need the mobility of the Latitude 5440, the creative capabilities of the Precision 3470, or the high performance of the OptiPlex Tower Plus 7010, configuring your system with more RAM can help keep processes running smoothly, enabling you to do more without compromising performance.
Deploy with confidence: VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdg...Principled Technologies
A Principled Technologies deployment guide
Conclusion
Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdge servers brings together critical virtualization capabilities and high-performing hardware infrastructure. Relying on our hands-on experience, this deployment guide offers a comprehensive roadmap that can guide your organization through the seamless integration of advanced VMware cloud solutions with the performance and reliability of Dell PowerEdge servers. In addition to the deployment efficiency, the Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge solution delivered strong performance while running a MySQL database workload. By leveraging VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge servers, you could help your organization embrace cloud computing with confidence, potentially unlocking a new level of agility, scalability, and efficiency in your data center operations.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
Conclusion
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R760 server cluster running VCF 5.1 processed over 78 percent more TPM and 79 percent more NOPM than a Dell PowerEdge R750 server cluster running VCF 4.5. It’s also worth noting that the PowerEdge R750 cluster bottlenecked on vSAN storage, with max write latency at 8.9ms. For reference, the PowerEdge R760 cluster clocked in at 3.8ms max write latency. This higher latency is due in part to the single disk group per host on the moderately configured PowerEdge R750 cluster, while the better-configured PowerEdge R760 cluster supported four disk groups per host. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Based on our research using publicly available materials, it appears that Dell supports nine of the ten PC security features we investigated, HP supports six of them, and Lenovo supports three features.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS ...Principled Technologies
In our tests, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS outperformed similarly configured solutions from Vendor A, achieving more IOPS, better throughput, and more consistent performance on both NVMe-supported configurations and configurations backed by Elastic Block Store (EBS) alone.
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS supports a full NVMe backed configuration, but Vendor A doesn’t—its solution uses EBS for storage capacity and NVMe as an extended read cache—which means APEX Block Storage for AWS can deliver faster storage performance.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWSPrincipled Technologies
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger and more consistent storage performance for better business agility than a Vendor A solution
Conclusion
Enterprises desiring the flexibility and convenience of the cloud for their block storage workloads can find fast-performing solutions with the enterprise storage features they’re used to in on-premises infrastructure by selecting Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS.
Our hands-on tests showed that compared to the Vendor A solution, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger, more consistent storage performance in both NVMe-supported and EBS-backed configurations. Using NVMe-supported configurations, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS achieved 4.7x the random read IOPS and 5.1x the throughput on sequential read operations per node vs. Vendor A. In our EBS-backed comparison, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered 2.2x the throughput per node on sequential read operations vs. Vendor A.
Plus, the ability to scale beyond three nodes—up to 512 storage nodes with capacity of up to 8 PBs—enables Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS to help ensure performance and capacity as your team plans for the future.
Get in and stay in the productivity zone with the HP Z2 G9 Tower WorkstationPrincipled Technologies
We compared CPU performance and noise output of an HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation in High Performance Mode to Dell Precision 3660 and 5860 tower workstations in optimized performance modes
Conclusion
HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users can change the BIOS settings to dial in the performance mode that best suits their needs: High Performance Mode, Performance Mode, or Quiet Mode. In good
news for both creative and technical professionals, we found that an Intel Core i9-13900 processor-powered HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation set to High Performance mode received higher CPU-based benchmark scores than both a similarly configured Dell Precision 3660 and a Dell Precision 5860 equipped with an Intel Xeon w5-2455x processor. Plus, the HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation was quieter while running CPU-intensive Cinebench 2024 and SPECapc for Solidworks 2022 workloads than both Dell Precision tower workstations. This means HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users who prize performance over everything else can do so without sacrificing a quiet workspace.
Open up new possibilities with higher transactional database performance from...Principled Technologies
In our PostgreSQL tests, R7i instances boosted performance over R6i instances with previous-gen processors
If you use the open-source PostgreSQL database to run your critical business operations, you have many cloud options from which to choose. While many of these instances can do the job, some can deliver stronger performance, which can mean getting a greater return on your cloud investment.
We conducted hands-on testing with the HammerDB TPROC-C benchmark to see how the PostgreSQL performance of Amazon EC2 R7i instances, enabled by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, stacked up to that of R6i instances with previous-generation processors. We learned that small, medium-sized, and large R7i instances with the newer processors delivered better OLTP performance, with improvements as high as 13.8 percent. By choosing the R7i instances, your organization has the potential to support more users, deliver a better experience to those users, and even lower your cloud operating expenditures by requiring fewer instances to get the job done.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
A tale of scale & speed: How the US Navy is enabling software delivery from l...sonjaschweigert1
Rapid and secure feature delivery is a goal across every application team and every branch of the DoD. The Navy’s DevSecOps platform, Party Barge, has achieved:
- Reduction in onboarding time from 5 weeks to 1 day
- Improved developer experience and productivity through actionable findings and reduction of false positives
- Maintenance of superior security standards and inherent policy enforcement with Authorization to Operate (ATO)
Development teams can ship efficiently and ensure applications are cyber ready for Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs). In this webinar, Sigma Defense and Anchore will give attendees a look behind the scenes and demo secure pipeline automation and security artifacts that speed up application ATO and time to production.
We will cover:
- How to remove silos in DevSecOps
- How to build efficient development pipeline roles and component templates
- How to deliver security artifacts that matter for ATO’s (SBOMs, vulnerability reports, and policy evidence)
- How to streamline operations with automated policy checks on container images
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................3
Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 ..........................................4
DAAD 2.0 hardware ............................................................................4
DAAD software ...................................................................................4
Our solution overview..............................................................................7
Prerequisites for this guide.................................................................7
Hardware configuration......................................................................8
SAN and Ethernet network architecture ............................................9
Database server............................................................................... 10
Consolidation, upgrade, and migration considerations............................10
Considering the benefits of consolidation, upgrade, or migration . 11
Considering your prior environment............................................... 11
Considering VMware vSphere storage features.............................. 12
Configuring the DAAD 2.0 solution .........................................................12
Cabling DAAD 2.0 and PowerEdge R730.......................................... 12
Storage configuration ...................................................................... 13
Installing and configuring the VMware vSphere hosts and VMs...............14
Hypervisor installation and configuration ....................................... 14
Installing Microsoft SQL Server 2014............................................... 15
Summary...............................................................................................16
Appendix A – About the components .....................................................17
About the Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 hardware
......................................................................................................... 17
About Microsoft SQL Server 2014 .................................................. 17
About Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2.................................... 17
Appendix B – Detailed system configuration...........................................18
Appendix C – Specifics of our setup ........................................................20
Creating volumes and LUNs on the DAAD 2.0................................. 20
Installing VMware vSphere 5.5....................................................... 20
Configuring your VMware vSphere hosts in VMware vCenter
Server............................................................................................... 21
Installing Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition on
the VM ............................................................................................. 24
Configuring Windows Update.......................................................... 25
Installing .NET Framework 3.5......................................................... 25
Configuring volumes in Windows Server 2012 R2........................... 25
Installing and configuring SQL Server 2014..................................... 26
About Principled Technologies ...............................................................30
3. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 3Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
INTRODUCTION
The Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases (DAAD) is a storage solution that
enables enterprises to boost database performance with minimal implementation time
and IT labor. DAAD 2.0 was designed to help businesses that need to decrease database
latencies, increase throughput, and improve overall performance without rebuilding or
heavily modifying existing infrastructure.
Many of today’s databases are stored on conventional spinning-disk storage
arrays connected with Fibre Channel SANs. These solutions use slower storage
technology, and they can often produce performance bottlenecks. As disk I/O
operations queue up, compute resources on the database server become idle, which
minimizes the potential improvements available with expanded compute capacity. In
addition, expanding compute resources could lead to increased costs, as database
licensing is calculated per CPU.
Increasing storage performance is a viable alternative to expanding the number
of database nodes. Stronger storage performance can improve the utilization of
available compute resources, reducing the need for additional hardware and potentially
saving on software licensing costs.
Your business can use DAAD 2.0 to address database performance without
rebuilding your existing infrastructure. DAAD 2.0 adds performance to application
environments that may already deliver snapshots, compression, encryption, and other
helpful storage features at the software level, such as those offered by database
vendors. Rather than duplicating these functions at the storage level, the database-
agnostic DAAD 2.0 provides straightforward block storage as a simple, high-performance
alternative to complex storage solutions and appliances. This solution can offer
improved database performance without requiring infrastructure build-outs, storage
“rip and replace”, or high-cost compute resources.
4. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 4Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
DELL ACCELERATION APPLIANCE FOR DATABASES 2.0
Figure 1: The DAAD 2.0 we used in our datacenter.
DAAD 2.0 hardware
DAAD 2.0 supports Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, and iSCSI for its storage network
protocol. The solution we used for this guide, however, used only the Fibre Channel-
enabled model. The DAAD 2.0 appliance is based on the 2U, high-performance Dell
PowerEdge R730™ as a platform. Our highly-available model of the DAAD 2.0 included
two Dell PowerEdge R730 servers, each of which included the following components:
Two Intel® Xeon® processors E5-2667 v3 (8-core)
384GB DDR4 Memory
Four Fusion-io® 6.4 TB MLC PCIe® SSDs
One QLogic® 2662 Dual-port 16Gb Fibre Channel HBA
One Mellanox® ConnectX®-3 InfiniBand Dual Port 40GbE
Fusion-io ION Accelerator® software version 2.5.1
DAAD software
The backbone of DAAD 2.0 is the Fusion-io ION Accelerator software. This
software, installed on the appliance itself, enables features such as the high-availability
option, the three SAN connectivity options (16Gb Fibre Channel, 56Gb InfiniBand, and
40Gb iSCSI), and both command-line interface (CLI) and graphic user interface (GUI)
management portals. The DAAD we used featured Fusion-io ION Accelerator version
2.5.1. Using the CLI or GUI enables IT staff to manage storage similarly to how they
5. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 5Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
would manage a traditional SAN—users can create LUNS, control the disk-allocation unit
size, and use other options specific to SAN connectivity.
Figures 2 through 5 show the DAAD 2.0 GUI in use. For more information on
Fusion-io ION Accelerator, see www.fusionio.com/products/ion-accelerator/.
Figure 2: A sample of the DAAD 2.0 web GUI overview tab, with at-a-glance volume information, port
connectivity, and live read/write performance monitoring.
6. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 6Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
Figure 3: A sample volumes page, showing detailed information about the DAAD volumes, including capacity, initiator/target
connections, and preferred cluster node.
Figure 4: A sample initiators page, which can show automatically-discovered initiators in your SAN and which allows initiator
group management, showing WWPN and volume information.
7. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 7Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
Figure 5: A sample of the targets page, showing fiber link speeds, WWPNs, and volume counts.
OUR SOLUTION OVERVIEW
This reference architecture is intended for a business with a VMware® vSphere®
environment powering their database applications – specifically, a business whose
current server and storage hardware might not be powerful enough to handle larger
workloads. If your business wants to improve performance in Microsoft SQL Server 2014
without drastically revamping infrastructure, deploying the DAAD 2.0 to host database
resources can be a simple solution. Specifically, we address the implementation of
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 installed on virtualized Microsoft Windows Server® 2012 R2,
using the High Availability Fibre Channel version of the DAAD 2.0 as persistent storage.
Some parts of this architecture may apply to similar SANs based on the DAAD-
compatible iSCSI and InfiniBand® protocols.
Prerequisites for this guide
This document assumes your business already has a local network and a
VMware vSphere environment, including VMware vCenter Server™ (or VMware vCenter
Server Appliance) installed for VMware ESXi management. In this guide, we add two
new servers to that vCenter Server, create a vSphere cluster using them, and present
them with the DAAD appliance’s LUNs for use as VMFS datastores. This guide assumes
you have a working knowledge of VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter Server and
familiarity with essential concepts such as networking and Fibre Channel-based storage.
Each environment’s requirements are different, so rather than walk through every
possible configuration for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 on Windows Server 2012 R2, we
leave choices up to the administrator performing these setup tasks. Before proceeding
8. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 8Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
with this guide, ensure that you have racked the hardware and have the appropriate
power sources available.
Hardware configuration
Our solution used a single DAAD 2.0 appliance in a highly available
configuration, two Dell PowerEdge R730 servers in a VMware vSphere 5.5 cluster to
host virtual machines (VMs), and assumed a pre-existing local network. The sample
database VM we demonstrate used Windows Server 2012 R2 as the operating system
and Microsoft SQL Server 2014 as the database management system. Figure 6 presents
a configuration summary for the solution we configured and validated.
Solution Dell PowerEdge R730 solution
Server 2 × Dell PowerEdge R730
Operating systems
VMware vSphere 5.5, Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
Edition
Database Microsoft SQL Server 2014
Switches 1 × Brocade® 6505 24-port 16Gb Fibre Channel switch
Storage appliance 1 × HA 25.6 TB FC Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases
Figure 6: Configuration summary for the solution we validated.
Figure 7 depicts a logical diagram of the solution. The DAAD had access to the
local network for management purposes. We recommend using Dell iDRAC8 for the
DAAD and for the Dell PowerEdge R730 database servers in order to make Out-of-Band
(OOB) management possible. For more information on iDRAC, see
www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/solutions/integrated-dell-remote-access-controller-
idrac .
9. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 9Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
Figure 7: Our virtualized SQL Server 2014 environment, with storage powered by DAAD 2.0, for this reference architecture.
SAN and Ethernet network architecture
We connected our database servers to the local network using a standard 1GbE
switch and used VMware vSphere virtual switch technology to connect our SQL VM to
the local network. Depending on the requirements of your environment, your network
architect may recommend additional physical connections, more appropriate
bandwidth, or redundancy.
For our SAN configuration, the DAAD came pre-configured with Fibre Channel
HBAs. We connected the Dell PowerEdge R730s’ HBAs to the DAAD 2.0 storage via a
16Gb Brocade 6505 Fibre Channel switch. Your business can retain the capability to use
the DAAD appliances in high-availability mode without reworking the SAN architecture,
or you can expand the SAN to include additional DAADs, traditional spinning disks, or
SSD storage.
The use of a Brocade 6505 16Gb Fibre Channel switch can make the SAN easily
expandable so future storage and compute resources can attach to the switch. For this
reference architecture, the database server contained the Dell-branded QLogic 2662
dual-port 16Gb Fibre Channel HBA. Any solution following this reference architecture
10. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 10Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
must contain at least one Fibre Channel HBA, and all components must be compatible
with 16Gb Fibre Channel.
Database server
Figure 8: The model of Dell PowerEdge R730 we used for our hypervisor hosts.
We used two Dell PowerEdge R730 servers in a VMware vSphere cluster to host
a database server VM. The latest generation of Dell servers feature numerous
improvements, such as the transition to DDR4 memory, the Intel Xeon processor E5 v3
family, and more, which altogether can increase performance and make administration
easier. The Dell PowerEdge R730 rack servers we tested had the following configuration
(for a full list of hardware specifications, see Appendix B):
Dual Intel Xeon processors E5-2650 v3 (10-core)
256GB of DDR4 ECC RAM
iDRAC8 Enterprise for OOB remote management
CONSOLIDATION, UPGRADE, AND MIGRATION CONSIDERATIONS
Changes to database infrastructure are sometimes precipitated by the goal of
improving database performance. This often involves a combination of database
consolidation, software upgrades, and migration. Migrating legacy database applications
to the latest software offerings and DAAD 2.0 technology while consolidating resources
can provide performance benefits and potential long-term savings.
For example, in separate studies, we found that using DAAD 2.0 helped boost
storage performance in our datacenter in several scenarios. In fact, we used the
configuration outlined in this guide, featuring a Dell PowerEdge R730 VMware vSphere
cluster, and found that virtualized SQL instances in the cluster powered by DAAD could
handle over 80 times the database workload of a baremetal legacy HP server using
11. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 11Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
direct-attached storage.1
For more details about the configuration we used, see
Appendix A.
Considering the benefits of consolidation, upgrade, or migration
Specific server consolidation and database migration steps are outside the
scope of this reference architecture. That said, the following considerations can benefit
your organization in addition to improving database performance:
Consolidating and upgrading the hardware stack of your organization can
save money through lower licensing, power, and management costs, mostly
due to simply having fewer servers. This can provide the potential for a
quick return on investment for DAAD 2.0, as we show in a separate study.2
Upgrading to new hardware can provide better power management,
systems management resources, and BIOS features.
Upgrading to new software can provide new ancillary benefits and features.
For example, Microsoft SQL Server 2014 can provide databases with better
data redundancy, protection, and availability than previous versions; enable
cutting-edge in-memory data processing and analysis; and expand database
reach to the public, private, and hybrid cloud with a number of hybrid cloud
opportunities, including backup, high availability, and disaster recovery.
Considering your prior environment
If you are incorporating a database migration, physical server migration, or
consolidation effort into your storage redesign efforts with DAAD 2.0, planning is key.
This is especially true when transitioning into a virtualized environment. There are
specific details related to each server or database, including the maintenance window
for migrating the server or database to its new environment, the number of affected
users, and the configuration tasks necessary to assimilate the databases into the
consolidated environment. Information to gather prior to consolidation may include the
following:
Server OS version and patch level
SQL Server version and patch level
Number of logins on this SQL Server instance and their type (Windows or
SQL Server authenticated logins)
Current backup strategy and schedule for the databases on this server
Replication, mirroring, or AlwaysON details for this SQL instance, if any
Detailed information regarding permissions and roles
1
www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/DAAD_SQL_Server_2014_performance_0915.pdf
2
Ibid.
12. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 12Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
SQL Server Agent jobs on this SQL Server
In addition, after the databases have migrated to their new SQL Server instance,
you must ensure that any system or application using the database has updated
connection information. Addressing this concern can include modifying logins,
permissions, applications, SQL Server Agent jobs, and third-party backup products to
establish connections to the database within its new environment.
Considering VMware vSphere storage features
Because you are using vSphere for your hypervisor infrastructure and
management, it may be useful to understand a few storage-related features that
VMware offers. These features can help you enhance DAAD 2.0’s utility and integration
into your environment.
Storage I/O Control is a VMware vSphere feature that allows you to use
priorities to configure rules that control I/O resources allocated to virtual machines. It
also gives you the ability to monitor storage resource shares and limits. This means your
VMware vSphere Storage I/O Control can work together with the high-performance
DAAD and other slower storage hardware to properly allocate I/O as you see fit.
Storage vMotion® is a feature that makes it possible for virtual machines’ disk
files to migrate across storage arrays without downtime. This feature, used in
conjunction with VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) also proactively deals
with storage bottlenecks by moving disk files to alternative LUNs when it can yield
higher performance. This means when working with the high-performance DAAD
coupled with VMware vSphere, the environment and you have plenty of options in the
areas of performance and mobility.
CONFIGURING THE DAAD 2.0 SOLUTION
Cabling DAAD 2.0 and PowerEdge R730
To achieve redundancy for the power supplies of our DAAD 2.0 and R730s, we
connected one PSU from each physical server to one circuit, and the other PSU from
each server to another circuit. We configured the R730 server nodes of the DAAD with
their 40Gb Mellanox PCIe cards in the topmost PCIe slot and the Fibre Channel HBA in
the slot beneath. We used one-meter 40Gb QSFP cables for the Mellanox ports, with the
first slot on the first node connecting to the first slot on the second node, and the
second slot on the first node connecting to the second slot on the second node (see
Figure 9). We connected Fibre Channel cables to both ports in each R730’s Fibre
Channel HBA and attached them to our Brocade 6505 switch.
13. A Principled Technologies reference architecture 13Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 and
Microsoft SQL Server 2014: A reference architecture
Figure 9: The back of the DAAD 2.0 connected to the other solution components.
Storage configuration
The optimal configuration of volumes on the DAAD 2.0 involves mirroring each
volume across one PCIe SSD in each node of the DAAD 2.0 cluster. Using the command-
line interface, we created eight equally sized volumes for the database files and logs,
with each volume residing primarily on one node’s PCIe SSD and redundantly on the
other node’s equivalent PCIe SSD, and alternated which node’s cards were primary or
redundant. We allocated four volumes for the SQL database files and four volumes for
the log files, all of which we presented for use as datastores in vSphere. You may need
to adjust the number and size of your volumes to fit your specific database
requirements. For detailed steps, see Appendix C.
Note that as in prior versions, Microsoft SQL Server 2014 allows the user to
configure the default storage location for databases and choose the location for
individual databases. In this reference architecture, we stored all SQL Server 2014
database and log files on the DAAD 2.0 storage.
Setting up the DAAD volumes, initiator group, and LUNs
With storage resources from your DAAD 2.0, virtualizing your database servers
can create a level of scalability unmatched by bare-metal database instances. However,
your DAAD 2.0 must know which servers to present these resources to, and initiator
groups handle this granting of access. If your business needs to add more nodes to your
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vSphere cluster, you would need to add their initiators to the initiator group on the
DAAD.
To set up the volumes, initiator group, and LUNs on DAAD 2.0 storage, follow
the general steps below. For a specific walkthrough for each of these steps, see the
Creating volumes and LUNs on the DAAD section in Appendix C.
1. Connect to the DAAD 2.0 nodes via SSH.
2. Create a direct access storage profile.
3. Create the required number of volumes—we used eight, each using half of a
storage pool’s available space.
4. Create an initiator group, providing the WWPNs of the hypervisor servers’
Fibre Channel HBAs.
5. Create one LUN per volume, provide them to the new initiator group, and
give each LUN all the space of their respective volumes.
INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE VMWARE VSPHERE HOSTS
AND VMS
Hypervisor installation and configuration
There are many options for creating a virtual database server. If your business
has a component or vendor preference different from what we used in our solution,
consult the available documentation or best practices before setting up your database
server, and then use the following sections of this document as a suggested guide.
The following steps describe how we configured our VMware vSphere servers,
two Dell PowerEdge R730s, in a VMware vSphere 5.5 cluster. We then created a
Windows Server 2012 R2 VM on which we installed and configured SQL Server 2014. In
your case, you may instead have VMs that you are migrating or other applications to
install.
Before beginning, we ensured that the Dell PowerEdge R730s were physically
connected to the same SAN as the DAAD. For detailed instructions, see Appendix C.
1. Deploy the hypervisor
a. Configure the RAID volumes on the server as needed.
b. Deploy VMware ESXi via automated method, USB, or other media.
c. Choose installation options that fit your environment’s needs.
2. Configure the hosts in VMware vCenter Server
a. Connect to your VMware vCenter Server using the vSphere web client,
and connect to the new R730 hosts to the vCenter.
b. Create a cluster consisting of the two new R730 hosts.
c. Scan the hosts’ storage adapters, and add the DAAD’s eight LUNs to the
cluster as datastores.
3. Create the first VM
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a. Using vSphere vCenter, create a new VM with your desired settings, and
allocate virtual hard disks residing on the DAAD 2.0 datastores for
database storage.
b. For this VM, begin the installation of Windows®. When prompted,
choose to install Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition with GUI
from the installation media.
c. Reboot this VM as necessary. Then, using Windows Update, apply all
available updates.
d. Assign an appropriate host name to the VM.
e. Assign an appropriate IP address to the network adapter.
f. Proceed with application installation.
One of the key components for scalability in your solution is the number of VMs
supported by your DAAD 2.0. When creating multiple VMS, keep in mind their
anticipated resource use, uptime, and peak loads so as not to oversubscribe their hosts’
compute resources or overburden the DAAD 2.0’s storage capabilities.
Installing Microsoft SQL Server 2014
The following is a brief summary of the requirements for installing Microsoft
SQL Server 2014. If you plan to use a different version of Microsoft SQL Server,
requirements may differ slightly. Ensure that your solution meets the basic
requirements before attempting any part of the installation and configuration process
for SQL Server 2014 or your chosen DBMS.
For a complete list of hardware and software requirements and a list of
supported operating systems for each SQL Server edition, see msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/ms143506.aspx.
Basic requirements that apply to all SQL Server installations:
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and 4.0
Windows PowerShell® 2.0
Network Software (Shared memory, Named Pipes, TCP/IP, or VIA)
o Shared memory and VIA are not supported on failover clusters,
and VIA will be diminished in future versions of SQL Server.
6 GB of hard-disk space
Processor, memory, and OS requirements:
Minimum 1 GB (512 MB for Express Editions); recommended 4 GB or
more depending on database size (1 GB for Express Editions)
Minimum 1.0 GHz for x86 processors or 1.4 GHz for x64 processors;
recommended 2.0 GHz or faster
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Microsoft SQL Server 2014 can be installed on most Microsoft Windows Server
Core versions of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2012. Some features
cannot be installed on Microsoft Windows Server Core versions and must be installed on
a different machine. For a list of which features are supported, see
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231669.aspx.
It is possible to install distinct versions of SQL Server on the same machine, but
certain considerations apply. For a detailed list of these considerations, see
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143694.aspx.
Other versions of Microsoft SQL Server may follow similar steps, but you should
consult available documentation for differences if you choose to use a different version.
Provide the database server VMs with the installation media for SQL Server 2014 before
beginning.
1. Launch the Microsoft SQL Server 2014 installer.
2. Install features appropriate to your datacenter’s needs, which typically
include Database Engine Services, Client Tools Connectivity, Client Tools
Backwards Compatibility, Management Tools – Basic, and Management
Tools – Complete. Other SQL Server components, such as SQL Server
Reporting Services and SQL Server Analysis Services, may apply but are
outside the scope of this guide.
3. Configure the authentication for the system, using either Windows
Authentication or Mixed; Mixed uses native SQL Server authentication.
4. Install SQL 2014.
5. For each additional database server VM, complete steps 1 through 4.
SUMMARY
As this guide has shown, installing and configuring a Microsoft Windows Server
2012 R2 with SQL Server 2014 powered by the Dell Acceleration Appliance for
Databases is a straightforward procedure. A key benefit from implementing DAAD 2.0
into your infrastructure is the ability to accelerate workloads without a complete
storage area network redesign. This can be ideal for businesses that have snapshot and
deduplication features within their software stack or are looking to improve database
performance without investing in large storage solutions that may contain features they
do not need. Consider DAAD 2.0 for your business—a storage acceleration solution that
requires only 4U of rack space and can potentially give your database workloads a
boost.
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APPENDIX A – ABOUT THE COMPONENTS
About the Dell Acceleration Appliance for Databases 2.0 hardware
The 2U Dell PowerEdge R730 rack servers used in the highly available DAAD configuration are each powered by
two Intel Xeon processors E5-2667 v3, 384 GB of DDR4 RAM, and QLogic QLE2662 16Gb Fibre Channel HBAs, providing
functional flexibility in the datacenter. Each server also includes four 6,400 GB SanDisk® SX300 Fusion ioMemory™ PCIe
SSDs to reduce storage bottlenecks.
With redundant power supply units, hot-swappable hardware, and Dual SD™ card option for Failsafe
Hypervisors, the Dell PowerEdge R730 supports hardware high availability. The PowerEdge R730 comes standard with
iDRAC8 with Lifecycle Controller and Dell OpenManage™, which all work to streamline management. For more details on
the Dell PowerEdge R730, visit www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-r730/pd. For more details on the Intel Xeon
processor E5-2600 v3 series, visit www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/xeon-e5-
brief.pdf.
About Microsoft SQL Server 2014
This latest iteration of the Microsoft SQL Server family is a next-generation data platform that includes many
new features oriented to enterprise users focused on transactional performance and speed, time-to-insight, business
analytics, high availability, and integration of their data streams into public and private cloud environments. Microsoft
highlights the following key features:
Support for in-memory OLTP via a memory and OLTP-optimized database engine integrated into the platform’s
data engine, plus enhancements to the in-memory column store already present in Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
Ease of integration with Microsoft Azure™, making SQL Server 2014 a platform for hybrid cloud, supporting
scenarios such as cloud backup and cloud disaster recovery.
Better redundancy with AlwaysOn Availability Groups, allowing up to eight secondary replicas to be placed in
different locations for high availability, read-access efficiency, and backup and data recovery.
For more information about Microsoft SQL Server 2014, visit www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/default.aspx.
About Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2, the latest release of this server OS from Microsoft, is at the core of the Microsoft
Cloud OS vision, offering vast computing resources at an enterprise scale to provide scale-up for large, mission-critical
databases in both physical and virtual environments. To handle the largest database applications, it supports up to 2,048
logical processors per Hyper-V® host. In a virtual environment, it supports up to 64 virtual CPUs, up to 1 terabyte (TB) of
memory, and up to 64 TB of virtual disk capability per Hyper-V VM. With Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, it is
possible to have up to 64 nodes in a SQL Server cluster and up to 8,000 VMs within a Hyper-V cluster.
For more information, see www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/windows-server-2012-r2/.
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APPENDIX B – DETAILED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
Figure 10 presents the server configuration we used for this guide.
System Dell PowerEdge R730
Dell Acceleration Appliance for
Databases 2.0
Power supplies
Total number 2 2
Vendor and model number Dell 0G6W6KX02 Dell 0G6W6KX02
Wattage of each (W) 750 750
General
Number of processor packages 2 2
Number of cores per processor 10 8
Number of hardware threads per
core
2 2
System power management policy Performance Performance
CPU
Vendor Intel Intel
Name Xeon Xeon
Model number E5-2650 v3 E5-2667 v3
Socket type FCLGA2011-3 FCLGA2011-3
Core frequency (GHz) 2.3 3.2
Bus frequency 9.6 GT/s 9.6 GT/s
L1 cache 32 + 32 KB (per core) 32 + 32 KB (per core)
L2 cache 256 KB (per core) 256 KB (per core)
L3 cache 25 MB 20 MB
Platform
Vendor and model number Dell PowerEdge R730 Dell PowerEdge R730
Motherboard model number 0599V5 0599V5
BIOS name and version 1.2.10 1.1.4
BIOS settings Defaults Defaults
Memory module(s)
Total RAM in system (GB) 256 384
Vendor and model number Samsung® M386A4G40DM0-CPB Hynix HMA42GR7MFR4N-TFT1
Type PC4-17000 PC4-17000
Speed (MHz) 2,133 2,133
Speed running in the system
(MHz)
2,133 2,133
Size (GB) 32 16
Number of RAM module(s) 8 24
Chip organization Double-sided Double-sided
Rank 2Rx4 2Rx4
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System Dell PowerEdge R730
Dell Acceleration Appliance for
Databases 2.0
Operating system
Name VMware vSphere 5.5
ION Accelerator (SUSE® Linux®
Enterprise Server)
Build number 2068190 2.5.1-413
File system VMFS btrfs
Kernel 5.5.0
3.0.101-0.15.1.6651.0.PTF-default
(x86_64)
Language English English
RAID controller
Vendor and model number Dell PERC H730P Mini Dell PERC H730P Mini
Firmware version 25.2.1.0037 25.2.1.0037
Cache size (GB) 2 2
RAID configuration 1 × RAID10 1 × RAID
Hard disk types
Hard disks (OS)
Vendor and model number Dell ST300MM0006 Dell ST300MM0006
Number of disks 8 2
Size (GB) 300 300
RPM 10K 10K
Type SAS SAS
PCIe SSDs
Vendor and model number Fusion ioMemory SX300
Number of disks 4
Size (GB) 6,400
Type PCIe
Ethernet adapters
Vendor and model number
Intel 4-port Gigabit I350-t Network
Daughter Card
Broadcom NetXtreme® BCM5720
Quad-port Gigabit
Firmware 7.10.18 7.10.18
Type PCIe PCIe
Fibre Channel adapters
Vendor and model number
QLogic QLE2672 16Gb Fibre Channel
Adapter
QLogic QLE2672 16Gb Fibre Channel
adapter
Firmware 03.11.09 03.11.09
Type PCIe PCIe
USB ports
Number 4 4
Type USB 2.0 USB 2.0
Figure 10: System configuration information for the test systems.
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APPENDIX C – SPECIFICS OF OUR SETUP
Prior to completing these steps, we assume that you have already racked your DAAD, R730 database servers,
and fiber switch; provided power to the solution; and attached the components to your infrastructure network.
Creating volumes and LUNs on the DAAD 2.0
1. In a terminal, SSH into one of the DAAD 2.0 nodes with the admin credentials.
2. Enter the following commands to create mirrored volumes across the DAAD 2.0 nodes, an initiator
group consisting of the WWPNs of the Fibre Channel ports on the database server, and eight LUNs to
be presented to the database server:
profile:create direct
volume:create -n ion01 -n ion02 fcion_v_a1 50% jbod_pool-1
volume:create -n ion02 -n ion01 fcion_v_a2 100% jbod_pool-1
volume:create -n ion01 -n ion02 fcion_v_b1 50% jbod_pool-2
volume:create -n ion02 -n ion01 fcion_v_b2 100% jbod_pool-2
volume:create -n ion01 -n ion02 fcion_v_c1 50% jbod_pool-3
volume:create -n ion02 -n ion01 fcion_v_c2 100% jbod_pool-3
volume:create -n ion01 -n ion02 fcion_v_d1 50% jbod_pool-4
volume:create -n ion02 -n ion01 fcion_v_d2 100% jbod_pool-4
inigroup:create ig_all 20:01:00:0e:1e:09:d6:1c 20:01:00:0e:1e:09:d6:1d
20:01:00:0e:1e:09:d6:2c 20:01:00:0e:1e:09:d6:2d
lun:create fcion_v_a1 ig_all -b 512 –a
lun:create fcion_v_a2 ig_all -b 512 -a
lun:create fcion_v_b1 ig_all -b 512 -a
lun:create fcion_v_b2 ig_all -b 512 -a
lun:create fcion_v_c1 ig_all -b 512 -a
lun:create fcion_v_c2 ig_all -b 512 -a
lun:create fcion_v_d1 ig_all -b 512 –a
lun:create fcion_v_d2 ig_all -b 512 -a
Installing VMware vSphere 5.5
We installed VMware vSphere 5.5 for each R730 server on local drives in a RAID 10 configuration.
1. Connect a USB DVD drive with the vSphere 5.5 installation disk or media, and boot the server.
2. On the Welcome screen, press Enter.
3. On the End User License Agreement (EULA) screen, press F11.
4. On the Select a Disk to Install or Upgrade Screen, select the virtual drive to install vSphere on, and press
Enter.
5. On the Please Select a Keyboard Layout screen, press Enter.
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6. On the Enter a Root Password Screen, assign a root password, and confirm it by entering it again. To
continue, press Enter.
7. On the Confirm Install Screen, to install, press F11.
8. On the Installation complete screen, to reboot, press Enter.
Configuring your VMware vSphere hosts in VMware vCenter Server
We used an existing VMware vCenter Server to import our hosts, configure our storage, and create and manage
our test VMs.
Creating a datacenter and cluster
1. In a web browser on a machine on the same subnet as the vCenter server, enter the vCenter server IP
address in the address bar, and press Enter.
2. Enter the administrator credentials, and log into the vSphere Web Client.
3. In the left pane, navigate to the vCenter Server.
4. In the main pane, click to create a Datacenter.
5. Enter a name, and click OK.
6. In the main pane, click Add a host.
7. Enter the management IP address of the first R730, and click Next.
8. Enter the root credentials for the first R730, and click Next.
9. When prompted with a message about trusting the host, click Yes.
10. Click Next.
11. On the Assign License page, use the no license option for Evaluation Mode, and click Next.
12. Click Next.
13. On the VM Location page, select the appropriate datacenter, and click Next.
14. Click Finish.
15. In the left pane, navigate to the datacenter again, and repeat steps 6 through 14 for the second R730.
16. Navigate to the datacenter again, and click Create a cluster.
17. In the Hosts tab, right-click the first R730, and click Move To.
18. Choose the newly created cluster, and click OK.
19. Complete steps 17 and 18 for the second R730.
Configuring the host network adapters
1. In the left pane, navigate to the Hosts menu, and click the first R730 host.
2. In the Manage tab, select Networking.
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3. Select Virtual switches, and click Add host networking.
4. In the menu that appears, select Virtual Machine Port Group for a Standard Switch, and click Next.
5. Select New standard switch, and click Next.
6. Select Active adapters, and click Add.
7. Select the network adapter to be associated with the private network virtual switch, and click OK.
8. Click Next.
9. Enter an appropriate network label, and be sure to use the same one for each host. We used Private
Network.
10. Click Next.
11. At Ready to complete, click Finish.
12. Complete steps 1 through 11 for the second host.
Configuring the virtual storage adapters
1. In the left pane, navigate to the hosts menu, and click the cluster.
2. In the Related Objects tab, click Datastores.
3. Click Add new datastore.
4. When the pop-up appears, click Next.
5. Select VMFS, and click Next.
6. Select one of the R730 hosts, select one of the DAAD 2.0 LUNs, and enter a name for the datastore. We
named our eight datastores Data1, Data2, Data3, Data4, Logs1, Logs2, Logs3, and Logs4.
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Figure 11: Discovering and adding the DAAD 2.0’s LUNs to the vSphere cluster as datastores.
7. Click Next.
8. Select VMFS 5, and click Next.
9. Select Use all available partitions, and click Next.
10. Click Finish.
11. Complete steps 3 through 10 for the seven other DAAD 2.0 LUNs.
Creating VMs
1. Right-click the first R730 host, and choose New Virtual Machine.
2. Choose Create a new virtual machine, and click Next.
3. Enter a name for the virtual machine, and click Next.
4. Select the first R730 host as a compute resource, and click Next.
5. Select the local datastore, and click Next.
6. Select vSphere 5.5 and later, and click Next.
7. Choose the appropriate guest OS, and click Next.
8. Set the number of vCPUs and configure them as appropriate.
9. Expand the Memory section, and set the RAM amount as appropriate.
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10. Select the new virtual hard disk, and make sure its location is the appropriate datastore.
11. Set the appropriate SCSI controller type.
12. Add a new Network Adapter, and provide it with the Private Network.
13. Change the New Network’s Adapter Type to VMXNET3.
14. For additional virtual disks, select New SCSI Controller in the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add.
15. Set the appropriate SCSI controller type. For our testing, we selected VMware Paravirtual.
16. In the New device drop-down menu, select New Hard Disk, and click Add.
17. Configure your virtual drive with the desired size, provisioning type, and location. For our testing, we
set this virtual hard disk to have 250 GB of storage, its provisioning to be thick-provision eager-zeroed,
and its location to be on the Data1 datastore.
18. Set its Virtual Device Node to be SCSI(1:0).
19. If needed, configure an additional virtual drive with the desired size, provisioning type, and location.
For our testing, we set this virtual hard disk to have 100 GB of storage, its provisioning to be thick-
provision eager-zeroed, and its location to be on the Logs1 datastore. We designated this virtual device
node to be SCSI(1:1).
20. After creating the necessary virtual hard disks, click Next.
21. Review the configuration, and click Finish.
22. Start the VM.
23. Attach the OS installation media to the VM, and complete the installation process.
Installing Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition on the VM
1. Insert the installation USB drive into the rear USB 3.0 port, and restart the server.
2. When the option appears, to enter the Boot Manager, press F11.
3. Select BIOS Boot Menu.
4. Select the USB drive, and press Enter.
5. When prompted to boot from DVD, press any key.
6. When the installation screen appears, leave language, time/currency format, and input method as
default, and click Next.
7. Click Install now.
8. When the installation prompts you, enter the product key.
9. Select Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition (Server with a GUI), and click Next.
10. Check I accept the license terms, and click Next.
11. Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
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12. Select Drive 0 Unallocated Space, and click Next. At this point, Windows begins automatically, and
restarts automatically after completing.
13. When the Settings page appears, fill in the Password and Reenter Password fields with the same
password.
14. Log in with the password you set up previously.
Configuring Windows Update
1. In the left pane of the Server Manager window, click Local Server.
2. In the main frame, next to Windows Update, click Not configured.
3. In the Windows Update window, in the main pane, click Let me choose my settings.
4. Under Important updates, select Never check for updates (not recommended), and click OK.
5. In the left pane, click Check for updates, and install all available updates.
6. Close the Windows Update window.
Installing .NET Framework 3.5
1. Click StartServer ManagerManageAdd Roles and Features.
2. Select Role-based or feature-based installation, and click Next.
3. Select the local server under Server Pool, and click Next twice.
4. Under Features, select .NET Framework 3.5 Features, and click Next.
5. Click Install.
6. Click Close upon completion.
7. Reboot the server.
Configuring volumes in Windows Server 2012 R2
1. When the server has rebooted, press Windows + X, and click Disk Management.
2. Right-click the first unallocated disk, and click Online.
3. Right-click the same disk, and click Initialize Disk.
4. Click OK.
5. Right-click the right side of that disk’s row, and click New Simple Volume.
6. Click Next.
7. Click Next.
8. Provide a drive letter, and click Next.
9. Provide a volume label, and click Next.
10. Click Finish.
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11. Repeat steps 1-10 for the other disk.
12. Navigate to each volume, and in the root directory of each volume, create a folder called sql.
Installing and configuring SQL Server 2014
In some cases, you may want to customize your SQL Server 2014 installation to match your environment or
requirements. We include the choices we made in our setup.
1. Log in to the database server VM with administrator credentials.
2. Insert the installation DVD for SQL Server 2014 into the server’s DVD drive.
3. Attach the physical DVD drive to the VM.
4. Click Run SETUP.EXE. If Autoplay does not begin the installation, navigate to the SQL Server 2014 DVD,
and double-click.
Figure 12: Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Installation Center.
5. If the installer prompts you with a .NET installation prompt, to enable the .NET Framework Core role,
click Yes.
6. In the left pane, click Installation.
7. Click New installation or add features to an existing installation.
8. At the Setup Support Rules screen, wait for the check to complete. If there are no failures or relevant
warnings, click OK.
9. Select the Evaluation edition, and click Next.
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10. To accept the license terms, click the checkbox, and click Next.
11. To install the setup support files, click Install.
12. If there are no failures displayed, click Next. You may see a Computer domain controller warning and a
Windows Firewall warning. For now, ignore these.
13. At the Setup Role screen, choose SQL Server Feature Installation.
Figure 13: Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Feature Selection screen.
14. At the Feature Selection screen, select the features required by your organization. For this guide, we
selected Database Engine Services, Full-Text Search, Client Tools Connectivity, Client Tools Backwards
Compatibility, Management Tools – Basic, and Management Tools – Complete. Specify a directory (we
kept defaults), and click Next.
15. At the Installation Rules screen, once the check completes, click Next.
16. At the Instance configuration screen, leave the default selection of default instance, and click Next.
17. At the Disk space requirements screen, click Next.
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Figure 14: Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Server Configuration screen.
18. At the Server Configuration screen, choose the accounts to be used for each SQL Server component.
For this guide, we set NT ServiceSQLSERVERAGENT for SQL Server Agent, set NT
ServiceMSSQLSERVER for SQL Server Database Engine, and set the SQL Server Agent Startup Type to
Automatic. For your environment, you may need to assign specific Active Directory users to these
service accounts. Verify with your Active Directory administrator. Click Next.
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Figure 15: SQL Server 2014 Server Configuration tab.
19. At the Database Engine Configuration screen, there are three tabs that you must address:
a. On the Server Configuration tab, select Windows Authentication mode or Mixed Mode. Add
any necessary users, and if using Mixed Mode, provide a password for the sa account. For this
guide, we selected Mixed Mode and added the current user (Windows Local Administrator).
b. On the Data Directories tab, enter the directories for the SQL data and logs. For this guide, we
used the DAAD 2.0’s DATA and LOGS volumes’ SQL folders created earlier.
c. On the FILESTREAM tab, if appropriate for your organization, enable FILESTREAM. For this
guide, we left FILESTREAM disabled.
20. Click Next.
21. At the Error and usage reporting screen, click Next.
22. At the Installation Configuration rules screen, check that there are no failures or relevant warnings, and
click Next.
23. At the Ready to Install screen, click Install.
24. After installation completes, click Close.
25. Download and install the latest cumulative update packs available. As of the writing of this reference
architecture, the latest available was Cumulative Update 16 for SQL Server 2014, which you can
download at support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3052476.
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Our founders, Mark L. Van Name and Bill Catchings, have worked
together in technology assessment for over 20 years. As journalists,
they published over a thousand articles on a wide array of technology
subjects. They created and led the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation,
which developed such industry-standard benchmarks as Ziff Davis
Media’s Winstone and WebBench. They founded and led eTesting Labs,
and after the acquisition of that company by Lionbridge Technologies
were the head and CTO of VeriTest.
Principled Technologies, Inc.
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Durham, NC, 27703
www.principledtechnologies.com
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Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability:
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF ITS TESTING, HOWEVER,
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THE TEST RESULTS AND
ANALYSIS, THEIR ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR QUALITY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL
PERSONS OR ENTITIES RELYING ON THE RESULTS OF ANY TESTING DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK, AND AGREE THAT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
ITS EMPLOYEES AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FROM ANY CLAIM OF LOSS OR DAMAGE ON ACCOUNT OF
ANY ALLEGED ERROR OR DEFECT IN ANY TESTING PROCEDURE OR RESULT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN
CONNECTION WITH ITS TESTING, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S
LIABILITY, INCLUDING FOR DIRECT DAMAGES, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID IN CONNECTION WITH PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S TESTING.
CUSTOMER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES ARE AS SET FORTH HEREIN.