1
SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERSHighlights
• Expansive 95TB capacity for your largest database needs
• Up to 56 percent greater performance with the latest Intel® Xeon™
E7-8890 v3 processors1
• New DDR4 memory for higher performance and lower power requirements for large memory configurations
• Improve time to value for your data warehouse with a new, scalable reference architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Enterprise Edition on System x3850 X6
• Reduce costs, save time and minimize risk with reliable, pretested hardware and best practices for data warehousing
• For ordering convenience, Lenovo offers all the hardware required for DWFT: servers, storage and networking
• Build, tune and deploy with confidence using established data warehouse best practices
• Eliminate bottlenecks with optimized rapid data reads and query aggregations
The rapid growth of technology has meant that both the amount of data available and the ability to collect that data have increased to a level unthinkable as little as five years ago. As the quantity and quality of data have increased, however, extracting meaningful insight in a timely manner has only become more complex. This means opportunities are being missed and time and effort are being wasted. In order to compete, today’s businesses need the tools to derive true value from their data.
Microsoft Data Warehouse Fast Track (DWFT) for SQL Server 2014 on System x3850 X6 improves time to value for your data warehouse with a new, scalable reference architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Enterprise Edition. Reduce costs, save time and minimize risk with reliable, pretested hardware and best practices for data warehousing.
Maximum performance, minimal
risk for data warehousing
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SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERSReference configurations for DWFT for SQL Server bring together the right mix of technology and software, integrating the latest powerful System x rack servers, robust system storage and the data warehouse capabilities of SQL Server 2014 Enterprise Edition. Each offering, from Basic (4 TB DW) to Standard (10–40 TB DW) to Advanced (>40 TB DW), consists of:
• Pretested server and in-server flash storage configuration, specifically balanced and optimized for data warehousing
• Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Enterprise Edition for a scalable enterprise data warehouse platform
Enterprise data warehouse with faster time to value
DWFT for SQL Server 2014 on System x offerings are methodically tested and tuned to save you months of configuration, setup, testing and tuning. You can now: • Buy all the hardware you need from just one vendor—servers, storageand networking
• Build, tune and deploy with confidence using established data warehouse best practices
• Select from different levels of performance, scalability and price to suit your business needs
• Choose from 4 to 144 Intel Xeon processor cores
• Run targeted query workloads patterned for large sequential data sets rather than small random data transactions
• Eliminate bottlenecks with optimized rapid data reads and query aggregations
Flexibility and
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SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERSBetter data compression and query time
The clustered column store index (CCI) in SQL Server 2014 has been designed for use with data warehouses to deliver better data compression and sub-second query response time, enabling interactive analytics on the data. There is no need to pre-aggregate the data for the anticipated queries or reports.
• Leverage CCI optimized for query performance, offering 10 times better query response time and 7 times higher compression ratio
• Support two types of concurrent insertions of new data while query workloads are running with updateable CCI, reducing data latency from the time data is born to when it is available for querying
• Deliver performance—using CCI, SQL Server 2014 has delivered industry-leading TPC-H benchmark numbers for data warehouse workloads2
Lenovo X6 servers continue to lead the way as the shift toward mission-critical scalable databases, business analytics, virtualization, enterprise
applications and cloud-computing applications accelerates.
Fast: x3850 X6 (95TB) features
outstanding compute performance and sophisticated memory technologies, providing lower latencies, faster response times and smarter data management in real time (see Figure 1).
Agile: Modular design for multiple
generations of processors, providing a unique “pay-as-you-grow” capability and “fit-for-purpose” design for the lowest total cost of ownership.
Resilient: X6 platforms maximize
application uptime, provide fault tolerance and promote easy integration in virtual environments.
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SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERSRated Row Store Column Store Maximum User Data Relative Relative User Data Capacity1 Throughput2 Throughput3 Capacity1
(TB) (TB)
95 363 526 107
Relative Measured Measured Measured Measured I/O Measured Throughput2 Throughput Scan Rate Scan Rate Throughput CPU (Avg.)
Physical Logical
(Queries/Hr/TB) (MB/Sec) (MB/Sec) (MB/Sec) (%)
363 433 9,104 12,306 10,705 73
Relative Measured Measured Measured Measured I/O Measured Throughput2 Throughput Scan Rate Scan Rate Throughput CPU (Avg.)
Physical Logical
(Queries/Hr/TB) (MB/Sec) (MB/Sec) (MB/Sec) (%)
526 3,417 2,944 N/A N/A 92 DWFT Certification #2014-028 DWFT Rev. 5.4 Report Date 05/05/2015
Storage Provider Storage Information
Memory 1536 GB Processor Type
Intel Xeon E7-8890 v3 2.5 GHz (4/72/144) System Provider System Name
System x3850 X6
Windows Server 2012 R2 SQL Server 2014 Enterprise Edition
System x3850 X6 (95TB)
DWFT Reference Architecture
* Reported metrics are based on the qualification configuration which specifies database size and SQL Server memory.
Column Store
2 Percent ratio of the throughput to the row store throughput of the reference configuration.
Primary Metrics
Row Store
3 Percent ratio of the throughput to the column store throughput of the reference configuration.
Operating System SQL Server Edition
6x 5200 GB Enterprise io3 PCIe Flash adapters for data and tempdb 2x 300 GB SAS HDDs for OS (RAID 1)
4 x 960 GB SSDs for log (RAID 1)
The reference configuration is a two-socket system rated for 25 TB using the DWFT V4 methodology. 1 Assumes a data compression ratio of 5:1.
Figure 2. Microsoft certification file
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SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERSPowered by System x3850 X6 and Enterprise io3 PCIe
Flash adapters
The X6 server features Intel Xeon processors. With more cores and more
memory, the X6 family is designed to be fast from the ground up. Every subsystem is tuned to maximize performance:
• Harness greatly increased processing power, thanks to the latest Intel Xeon E7-8890 v3 processors
• Get three times the memory capacity of previous-generation processors, with 96 DIMM sockets in the x3850 X6 and 192 DIMM sockets in the x3950 X6—and with support for 64 GB LRDIMMs, get up to 6 TB of memory in the x3850 X6 or 12 TB in the x3950 X6
DWFT for SQL Server 2014 with System x3850 X6 (95TB) features 5,200 GB Enterprise io3 Adapter flash storage designed to improve productivity through data consolidation, availability, performance and scalability. These simplify DWFT storage configuration and maintenance versus the use of a SAN, which has more parts to maintain and manage.
Configuration tested and certified
As shown in Figure 2, System x3850 X6 server is configured with: • Four Intel Xeon processor E7-8890 v3 2.5 GHz 18-core • Ninety-six 16 GB DDR4 DIMMs for a total 1,536 GB memory • Two 300 GB SAS HDDs for OS
• Four 960 GB SSDs for log
• Six 5,200 GB Enterprise io3 PCIe Flash adapters for data and tempdb
Why System x?
SOLUTION BRIEF
SYSTEM X SERVERS1 Based on Intel SPECint estimates
2 TPC-H - Top Ten Performance Results Version 2 Results. As of 11-Aug-2014 6:15 p.m. http://www.tpc.org/tpch/results/tpch_perf_results.asp
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Availability: Offers, prices, specifications and availability may change without notice. Lenovo is not responsible for photographic or typographic errors. Warranty: For a copy of applicable warranties, write to: Warranty Information, 500 Park Offices Drive, RTP, NC, 27709, Attn: Dept. ZPYA/B600. Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services. Trademarks: Lenovo, the Lenovo logo, For Those Who Do, and System x are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo. Microsoft, SQL Server, and Windows Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. Visit http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/us/en/safecomp.html periodically for the latest information on safe and effective computing.
LYS03172-USEN-00 SRN#: DBSSQLX8052
For more information
To learn more about DWFT for SQL Server 2014 in a System x environment, contact your Lenovo representative or visit: www.lenovo.com/servers
