This section applies to the SQL Server used to host the EMC SourceOne databases.
For information about the SQL Server used to host EMC SourceOne reports, refer to “Installing EMC SourceOne Reporting” on page 273. Review the important considerations provided in this section.
◆ Enterprise Edition vs. Standard Edition... 76 ◆ SQL Server disk configuration... 76 ◆ Database partitioning... 77
◆ EMC SourceOne database installation methods ... 79 ◆ Alias configuration for SQL Server host computer ... 79 ◆ Recovery model considerations... 80 ◆ SQL Server collation settings ... 80 ◆ Storage best practices ... 81
Enterprise Edition vs. Standard Edition
SQL Server Enterprise Edition is recommended, as it supports database partitioning, online index maintenance, and provides data management and performance benefits for the Native Archive and Activity databases.
You should review considerations with your EMC representative to determine the advantages or disadvantages of selecting Enterprise or Standard Edition for your deployment.
For additional information about comparing Standard and Enterprise edition features, refer to the following resource:
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/editions.aspx For information on configuring partitioning using the EMC SourceOne console, refer to the EMC SourceOne Administration Guide.
SQL Server disk configuration
Review the recommendations provided in this section. SQL Server host computer:
◆ Because of the critical nature of the processing performed by
EMC SourceOne, you should use a dedicated SQL Server host.
◆ Do not use the same EMC SourceOne SQL Server host for other
• If this is not feasible, the Archive database should be on a dedicated drive, the Activity and Search databases can be co-located on the same drive.
• The Archive database logs should be on a dedicated drive (separate from the database drives).
SQL Server system databases and logs:
◆ The SQL Server TempDB database should be on a dedicated drive
in accordance with Microsoft’s best practices. Refer to the following resource:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc966534.aspx
◆ SQL Server logs should be on a dedicated drive
Database partitioning Review the recommendations provided in this section.
The EMC SourceOne Administration Guide provides information and
recommendations for configuring and managing database partitioning.
Note: EMC SourceOne versions prior to version 6.6 SP1 allowed you to
specify the number of files a partition can host equal to one half the number of CPUs on the SQL Server host. When you upgrade to version 6.6 SP1, the number of files per partition is reset to a default of 1. The EMC SourceOne Administration Guide provides information on changing this option. Disk partition alignment best practices
Observe the following best practices related to disk partition alignment:
◆ Align sectors and tracks on the disk. This can result in significant
performance gains for IO intensive system such as EMC SourceOne.
◆ Consult your storage hardware vendor and ask for proof of
successful disk partition alignment.
◆ Microsoft recommends stripe size of 128K/256K for SQL Server
2008.
Memory allocation in 64-bit SQL Server
To prevent performance issues with 64-bit versions of SQL Server, lock the memory that is allocated for the buffer pool in physical memory.
Note: This practice applies to physical environments and may not be true in
virtualized environments. Consult with your virtualization vendor.
Refer to the following resource for details: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918483 Note the following:
◆ This option off by default
◆ For 64-bit SQL Server Standard Edition, this setting may be
ignored
Page file size
Microsoft recommends the page file to be 1.5 times physical RAM but not more than 3 times. For details:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889654/en-us Note the following:
◆ Data and log files are created on default SQL data and log
directory
◆ Data and log files should be moved to appropriate drives
General SQL Server information
This section provides general information to describe how EMC SourceOne uses Microsoft SQL Server:
◆ Has SQL sysadmin server role privileges
By default in SQL Server the sysadmin role contains all members of
the Windows BUILTIN\Administrators group and the local administrator's group. If the default configuration exists, and the installation account is a member of either of these groups, it already has the sysadmin role. In customer scenarios where this is not the
case, you must temporarily establish the permissions described above.
The sysadmin role for the installation account is specifically needed
to add system-level error codes in the sys.messages table and is not
used for any other purpose.
This permissions requirement is temporary, and is only needed until you complete all database installations or updates and verified success by reviewing the database installation log files. For security purposes, you can remove this installation account from the local administrators group and revoke the sysadmin role once installation
or update of the databases is complete.
Note: Procedures for updating existing EMC SourceOne databases is
provided in the product release notes. EMC SourceOne database installation methods
You can install the EMC SourceOne databases using either a MSI installation program or scripts:
◆ Using the installation scripts allows you to inspect the database
installation process before running. Installation errors are presented "in stream" during installation
◆ The MSI program installs the three EMC SourceOne databases at
once. You must manually review the installation log to check for errors indicating installation success or failure.
Alias configuration for SQL Server host computer
To provide the flexibility to move EMC SourceOne databases from one physical SQL Server host computer to another to support disaster recovery, you should configure a CNAME alias for your SQL Server
◆ This is the required configuration to support re-directing EMC
SourceOne servers to an alternate database server at the disaster recovery site during failover. For details about this configuration, refer to the EMC SourceOne Disaster Recovery Solution Guide. Recovery model considerations
SQL Server recovery models are designed to control transaction log maintenance and prepare your environment for disaster recovery. Three recovery models exist: simple, full, and bulk-logged. Each of these models represents a different approach to balance the tradeoff of conserving disk space against providing for more granular disaster recovery options.
Typically a database uses the full or simple recovery model. By default, EMC SourceOne databases are installed in the simple recovery model to conserve log space. This model may not be suitable for all environments depending on the database backup
methodology and tools used. If necessary, you can change to a full recovery model if this better suits your environment.
For details on recovery models and their use, refer to the following resource:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189275.aspx
SQL Server collation settings
EMC SourceOne databases are case insensitive, and can be installed in a case insensitive or case sensitive SQL Server environment. EMC SourceOne requires the default SQL Server collation settings as described in Table 16.
Storage best practices
Review the following resource for SQL Server storage best practices: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc966534.aspx
Note: Best practice number 8 in the above link generally applies to the TempDB only, and not necessarily user databases such as SourceOne databases.