To validate this reference architecture, we created six separate volumes for each VM on the XtremIO X2 storage array to ensure segregation of different I/O patterns on separate volumes. We placed operating system, backup, database data files, database log files, and tempdb files on their own dedicated volumes, as shown in the following table. This segregation not only separates and balances the I/O but also helps in efficiently monitoring, managing, and troubleshooting the volumes. 

Table 6.           Storage layout configuration summary

We configured each Windows and RHEL VM with six volumes in their own consistency group. We then mapped the volumes in vCenter with native mutipathing. We created separate datastores in vCenter for each volume and then created and added virtual disks on those volumes for the VM with the VMware ParaVirtual SCSI controller. After installation of the operating system in the VMs, we used the ReFS and Ext4 file systems, for Windows and RHEL operating systems respectively, with a block size of 64 KB for database data and log file drives.

For configuration procedures, see Appendix C: Creating and mapping storage to the VM.

The following figure shows the storage configuration for Windows and RHEL virtual machines.

Figure 5.         Windows and RHEL VM storage layout