Home > Workload Solutions > SQL Server > Best Practices > AMD-Based SQL Server Best Practices on Dell PowerEdge R740 and PowerMax 2000 > Introduction to Best Practices for SQL Server > Software Architecture
Microsoft offers one of the most popular databases in the world. SQL Server is a widely used version of the database that many customers are using and that we chose for our best practices tests. The SQL Server database has a vast array of features and capabilities. In our final validation tests the engineering team will test changes to the database configuration that will optimize performance.
Virtualization of databases has been gaining momentum over the years. There are many advantages to virtualizing the database including consolidation, agility, and ease of management. We choose to virtualize the SQL Server database with VMware vSphere version 7.0. With virtualization there is another layer of configuration that applies to the database. As virtualization impacts every part of the database infrastructure our approach was to integrate VMware best practices with each physical layer rather than having a dedicated section for virtualization. For example, storage best practices include recommendations for VMware latency sensitivity, ESXi round robin, and storage I/O control threshold. This should simplify, reviewing best practices as both physical and virtualization recommendations are presented for each part of the infrastructure.
The Linux operating system has been widely accepted for running SQL Server databases. Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 8.3 was used in for the tests as this Linux flavor provides stability, reliability, and security required for databases. The same best practice approach was taken with Red Hat Linux, as used for VMware. Linux best practices are integrated into each physical layer of recommendations. Thus, it is very easy to review Linux recommendations by reading CPU best practices or another physical layer.
The following table summarizes the software architecture used in validating the best practices:
Table 4: Software architecture
SQL Server | 2019 CU11 |
Operating system | Red Hat Enterprise Edition 8.3 |
VMware vSphere | VMware 7.0.2 with vCenter 7.0 |
There are a multitude of combinations possible for the software architecture. In testing with SQL Server, Red Hat 8.3, and VMware vSphere 7.0 the goal was to have a design that applies to what database customers use today. In future best practices programs the goal will be to address new versions of the database and advances in both the operating system and virtualization.