This document summarizes a presentation given by Joey D'Antoni on how database administrators should pick their battles when working with server, storage, and virtualization teams. Some of the key points made include: avoiding fights over issues like RAID levels, virtual vs physical servers, and storage layouts; ensuring databases are on the latest versions of Windows; using features like Group Managed Service Accounts; working with storage administrators on space allocation and backups; and understanding virtualization best practices when databases are virtualized. The overall message is that relationships with other teams are important, and DBAs should focus on collaborating rather than arguing over issues that don't significantly impact databases.

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The Right Fights for the DBA to
Pick with the Server Team
Joey D’Antoni
August 17, 2015

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Joey D’Antoni
• Joey has over 15 years of experience with a wide variety of data platforms, in
both Fortune 50 companies as well as smaller organizations
• He is a frequent speaker on database administration, big data, and career
management
• He is the co-president of the Philadelphia SQL Server User’s Group
• MSCE, Business Intelligence, Data Platform
• He wants you to make sure you can restore your data
Joeydantoni.com

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Survey
How is your team structured?
• Do you report through—
• Infrastructure
• Applications
• Development
• Other

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Agenda
Why does this matter to your databases?
What Fights You Shouldn’t Pick
Servers
Windows
Storage
Virtualization

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Why Does All of This Matter?

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What Fights Not to Pick

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Battles to Avoid
RAID 5—it doesn’t matter with
modern storage
Whether or not your database
servers are virtual or physical
Likewise with the cloud—it’s just a
VM in someone else’s data center
Storage layouts—more on this later,
it CAN matter, but not always

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Servers

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Servers
You may or may not have much say in this—depends on the size of
your org
If you are buying a few servers:
• Minimize the amount of cores to what you need
• Faster, fewer cores (E7-8893 v3, E5-2637 v3)
• ALL THE RAM
• OS Drives/Install
• Consider requesting local SSD if you are using physical server—TempDB

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Servers Cont’d
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery servers
should have the same hardware as primary

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Windows

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Poll: Versions of Windows
The Oldest OS in
Your Environment

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Always Run SQL Server on the Latest Version of
Windows
Cluster Aware
Updating
Dynamic Quorum
SQL Server will run
the same on any
supported version
of Windows

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Group Managed Service Accounts
Never have to
change a
password again
Active Directory
manages
passwords for
accounts
Permissions are
granted for
accounts to be
used on servers
Introduced in
Windows 2012,
fully supported
in SQL 2016
(HA/DR)

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Windows and AD Permissions
Instant File Initialization
Servers in a Database OU
Same File Systems Everywhere

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Storage

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Your SAN Admin

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Modern SANs

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Modern SANs Cont’d
Your SAN admin can’t tell you where the data is
This is good—the array is optimizing performance and minimizing hotspots
TempDB—should be pinned if it needs performance
Transaction Logs should avoid flash tier for optimal storage performance

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All Flash Arrays
Talk to your vendor for best practices
Things like compression may be different
Arrays typically do their own compression
Randomize sequential operations to make them faster
Spreads workload across the array similar to tiered storage

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Fighting for Space
• Be honest
• Work with SAN admin to
reclaim space where you
don’t need it
• Try to define standards
for space allocations, and
standard upgrade units
• Don’t waste space

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Backups
• Always use compression (SQL Backup Compression)
• Deduplication is awesome, unless you want to
restore your data

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Virtualization

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Virtualized Database Servers
Virtual servers are here to stay
Get used to them—most things stay the same
Once again—buy the VM team a beer(s)

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VMs—What to Ask For
Memory Reservations—only for production, but insist on it
Read-only access to vCenter/SCVMM—you need to see host activity
A clear understanding of storage subsystem and config
No overprovisioned CPUs
Snapshots are not backups—you still need database backups
Paravirtual SCSI storage drivers
Minimize your vCPU count

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Summary
This is all about relationships
It helps to be able to speak the language of the other teams
Understanding storage is good for your career
All of this stuff matters in the cloud, too

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Thank you for attending!
Connect with us
29
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com/r/RightFights