Home > Storage > Unity XT > Virtualization, Cloud & Applications > Dell Unity XT: Microsoft SQL Server Best Practices > Validating the storage design
Once the I/O requirements have been defined, it is easy to determine whether the hardware can provide the wanted performance by running some simple tests. Diskspd is a free Microsoft Windows based utility that can simulate I/O patterns generated by SQL Server, FIO is a tool that performs similar functions on Linux. There are several other utilities available as well. When selecting a utility to simulate I/O, verify that it meets the following requirements:
The first item to test on a new configuration is the path between the server and the array. Running a large block sequential read test using small files should saturate the path between the server and the array. This test verifies that all paths are fully functional and can be used for I/O traffic. Run this test on a dedicated server and array; a live system could cause significant performance issues.
To validate the I/O path, run a large block sequential read test using the following guidelines:
If the displayed throughput matches the expected throughput for the number of HBA ports in the server, the paths between the server and Dell Unity XT array are set up correctly.
The first item to test on a new configuration is the path between the server and the array. Running a large block sequential read test using small files should saturate the path between the server and the array. This test verifies that all paths are fully functional and can be used for I/O traffic. Run this test on a dedicated server and array; a live system could cause significant performance issues.
To validate the I/O path, run a large block sequential read test using the following guidelines:
If the displayed throughput matches the expected throughput for the number of HBA ports in the server, the paths between the server and Dell Unity XT array are set up correctly.