1. Avoid the Top 10 SQL Server Configuration Mistakes for Performance Success

2. What We’ll Cover Today Introductions Poll SQL Performance Goals
Best Practice vs. Real World
Top OS Misconfigurations
Summary
Q&A

3. Let’s Meet. Ted Theodoropoulos Ben DeBow Founder & President
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Ben DeBow
Founder & CEO
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3 |

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5. Let’s Poll. What is your current role? DBA Developer Infrastructure
Other

6. SQL Performance Goals When you install SQL Server, what is the goal?
Scalability
Stability
Reliability
What SQL Server configurations will enable you meet your goals?
What operating system (OS) configurations are important for SQL Server installations?

7. Best Practice versus Real World
Reviewed thousands of SQL Servers instances
What did we find?
DBAs only manage 80% of their universe
20% hidden under desktops and managed by shadow IT
Multiple base OS and SQL configurations
The hardware and OS is not customized to support SQL Server
New servers not configured the same
Identified OS and SQL configurations that can increase the stability, reliability and performance of SQL Server
What are best practices? So many sources of information today, it is hard to tell but at the end of the day, what works for you.
What are your configuration today?
Need to communicate with the server teams, SAN and networking to help create the base SQL Server infrastructure.
SQL needs a different configuration than Exchange or file servers.
Take disk for example, the block size, response times and usually the capacity requirements are vastly different that other applications.

8. Top OS Misconfigurations
Windows 2008 R2 default Power Plan is “Balanced Power”
Impact:
Turns OFF server cores when not being used
Cores conserve energy by the CPU frequency
Recommendation:
Change to High Performance plan
**Verify the system BIOS is configured to support the High Performance plan
The OS is important because there are several configuration and hardware choices that impact SQL and your goals.

9. Top OS Misconfigurations
Policies not set or set for the wrong service account
“SQL instant file initialization”
“Lock Pages in Memory”
Impact:
SQL Server file growths take longer while the files are zeroed out
SQL Server memory can be Paged out by the OS
Recommendation:
Grant the SQL Server service account the following policies:
“Perform volume maintenance tasks”
Some simple settings that benefit sql server.
We will show later in the presenation the impact these can have on the growth operations.

10. Top Installation Misconfigurations
Only using SQL Server Database engine but SQL Reporting and Analysis Services is installed and running
What other 3rd party applications or windows features are installed?
Impact:
Use additional server resources, I/O, memory and CPU
Increase security attack vector
Need to patch and support
Recommendation:
Only install required features and applications
Know what is installed, running and how it is configured.
Many times the windows or server teams install many other applications including virus protection onto the server. Understand what is installed and how many resources it is using.
Make sure virus protection is excluding the sql dirs.
If there are multiple instances, what is the max memory set to? Are they both CPU intensive?

11. Top Installation Misconfigurations
Uninstall if the feature is not required
OR Disable if the services are not used

12. Top SQL Misconfigurations
SQL system and user databases located on the C drive or other lower performing drives
Impact:
The I/O responses times are slower and impact the performance of SQL Server
Recommendation:
Place the SQL system and user databases on faster disk
Master, model, msdb place with other data files (~<20ms)
Transaction log drive needs the faster response times (~< 10ms)
TempDB should be isolated due to the higher resource requirements (~<20ms)
Big topic so lets start with the high level rule. Do not put DBs on the system partition.
Cannot easily grow the DBs
bring down the whole server if you run out of space on the system partition
Slow disks
Talk about disk performance and place
Compare today’s SANs and DASD

13. Top SQL Misconfigurations
Default Growth Properties
1MB for data files
10% for transaction log files
Impact:
Bigger the file, bigger the growth, longer users waits
INSERTS, UPDATES and DELETES wait until the file growth is done
Recommendation:
Benchmark growth operations on your disk
Adjust the growth method and size for all data and log files
Apply the default settings to the MODEL database
Make sure the growth amount is not small or large
Still not sure WHY sql still has these setting since data is ever growing and even the base DB size is a lot larger. But that is besides the point.
10% of a small number is small and 10% of a big number can be large
Model DB – base DB
Larger DBs most likely receive more data per second and therefore need larger growth increments – maybe 1GB versus 512mb
Have the same settings for all files in a DB
Proportional fill algorithm

14. Top SQL Misconfigurations
File Growth for 10MB – DASD
Event
Logical File Name
Start Time
Duration (ms.)
Change In Size (MB)
Log File Auto Growth
Database
9/30/ :19:04 PM
2910
500.00
9/30/ :18:55 PM
3093
9/30/ :18:47 PM
2463
9/30/ :18:36 PM
3863
File Growth for 500MB – DASD
3 unique systems with different growth times
Event
Logical File Name
Start Time
Duration (ms.)
Change In Size (MB)
Log File Auto Growth
Database
5/7/ :49:03 PM 23
10.00
5/7/ :48:17 PM
Data File Auto Growth
5/7/ :48:02 PM
5/7/ :47:20 PM 43
Review the duration and compare the results
Ask the server guy what type of disk exists behind the server
Test yourself by creating a new, blank DB
How busy is your system? Very important to PREGROW.
File Growth for 500MB – SAN
Event
Logical File Name
Start Time
Duration (ms.)
Change In Size (MB)
Data File Auto Growth
Database
2/2/2013 1:36:59 AM 56
1,024.00
2/2/2013 1:36:14 AM 46
2/2/2013 1:35:33 AM 96

15. Top SQL Misconfigurations
AutoShrink is “Enabled” or an automatic job shrinks specific files on a scheduled basis
“Auto Update” or “Auto Create Statistics” is “Disabled”
Impact:
Increases fragmentation
Costly operation both I/O and CPU
Recommendation:
Disable “AutoShrink” setting or processes
Pre-grow the files and allow for 6 months of growth
Monitor the % used and review the growth metrics
Updated statistics yields better execution plans
I understand the thought process behind the WHY people may have this set but lets talk about it.
Costly operation
Fragments the objects while moving the data pages around, uses server resources, uses resources when you have to grow again
Sql server uses statistics to determine the best access path or execution plan
How statistics work.
Parse
Normalize
Review statistics and creates a exec plan

16. Top SQL Misconfigurations
Databases with multiple transaction log files on separate drives
Impact:
SQL Server does not stripe the I/O to multiple transaction log files concurrently like data files
Additional space is allocated that can be used for other databases
Recommendation:
Each database should only have 1 transaction log file
Size appropriately and pre-grow the file
Sql only writes to a single tlog file
Most likely larger files and if you have a DR scenario, will have to zereo the log files
Higher VLFs – what they are and how they affect performance
To remove the log file, run DBCC loginfo and wait until the STATUS = 2 in only the first file, then alter the DB
Ongoing, Monitor the % tlog space used in perfmon

17. Top SQL Misconfigurations
SQL dynamic memory is set or SQL Server “Max Server Memory” is set to high
Impact:
OS and 3rd party processes memory may be paged out because the free physical memory is near 0
Recommendation:
Set “Max Server Memory (MB)”
Review the OS and 3rd party applications memory usage
Review SQL Servers external memory requirements
Setting SQL Server memory -
Very important to know the systems total memory and how much memory the other processes are using.
Do not set to high
Look in perfmon or task mgr – free memory under physical memory
SSIS and replication server, many extra processes are running – be conservative

18. Top SQL Misconfigurations
Untrusted constraints
Constraints added without checking the existing data
Impact:
Performance impact because SQL has to validate the constraint
Needs to validate the data as part of the transaction
Recommendation:
When adding or re-enabling constraints
ALTER TABLE TableName WITH CHECK CHECK CONSTRAINT ConstraintName
Verify existing CONSTRAINTs are TRUSTED

19. Summary Collect and analyze your existing SQL Server configurations
Create a base configuration for your environment
Customize based on environment, workload and other critical factors
Apply the base database configurations to MODEL
Validate the servers OS configuration before you start to install SQL Server

20. Now You’re An Expert.
You can optimize performance by avoiding these top 10 SQL Server configuration mistakes. Our goal is to supply you with relevant knowledge to help make this happen.

21. But, We're Still Here to Help.
Learn about SQL MD today and how our team of project experts and this defined process can ensure success for your next project.

22. Questions and Answers