SQL Server Modernization: 7X Performance Gains, 5.25X Faster Rebuilds
Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:51:41 -0000
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Upgrading to the latest server generation significantly improves performance and data protection
When it comes time to modernize with Microsoft® SQL Server 2019® to take advantage of its significant advancements for extracting real-time insights from data-intensive workloads, it makes sense to consider an upgrade to the underlying hardware as well.
The latest generation of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers can help SQL Server transform raw data into actionable insights with better performance and data protection. These servers are highly adaptable for seamless scaling and equipped to meet the demands of real-time analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
To help you put some numbers around your infrastructure decision, Dell Technologies recently asked a third-party consulting firm, Prowess Consulting, to test SQL Server performance on the latest generation of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, compared to the previous generation.
The testing demonstrates that the latest server generation with RAID storage based on the latest NVMe™ drives can significantly improve SQL Server 2019 performance, capable of processing more than 7X more new orders per minute (NOPM).[1] In addition, RAID array rebuild times were up to 5.25X faster on the newer platform, enabling significantly faster recovery and less downtime.1
These remarkable improvements in performance and data protection are driven by a variety of new technologies incorporated in PowerEdge servers:
- Latest processors with higher core counts: Compared to the previous generation, 3rd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors are built on a more efficient architecture that increases core performance, memory, and I/O bandwidth and provides additional memory channels to accelerate workloads. In addition, it supports more cores and sockets to further enhance performance and throughput.
- More and faster memory: The 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors offer more cores and supports more memory modules (DIMMs) at the same price, for up to 1.60X higher memory bandwidth1 and up to 2.66X higher memory capacity.1
- NVMe™ drives with PCIe® Gen4: Compared to the SATA RAID drives with PCIe Gen3 used previously, the latest generation of NVMe solid-state drives paired with PCIe Gen4 interfaces doubles server throughput.1
- Revolutionary RAID controller technology: The new Dell PERC H755N front NVMe adapter is based on the Broadcom® SAS3916 PCIe to SAS/SATA/PCIe RAID on Chip (RoC) controller. These are the first RAID controllers from Dell Technologies to offer both PCIe Gen4 host and PCIe Gen4 storage interfaces, which deliver double the bandwidth and 75% more IOPS compared to previous generations.1
- Ethernet controllers: The Broadcom NetXtreme® E-Series P425G 4x 25G PCIe NIC combines a high-bandwidth Ethernet controller with a unique set of highly optimized hardware-acceleration engines to enhance network performance and improve server efficiency for enterprise and cloud-scale networking and storage applications, including AI, ML, and data analytics.
Taken together, these modern features deliver a significant SQL Server performance boost with higher-capacity storage and faster database rebuild times. They also greatly increase IT efficiency, a topic we’ll look at in more detail in the next blog.
Learn more
Read the report: Can Newer Dell EMC Servers Offer Significantly Better Performance for Microsoft SQL Server?
Visit: DellTechnologies.com/Microsoft-Data-Platform
Visit: DellTechnologies.com/PowerEdge
[1] Dell EMC R750 server compared with similarly-configured Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd server. Source: Prowess white paper, sponsored by Dell Technologies, “Can Newer Dell EMC Servers Offer Significantly Better Performance for Microsoft SQL Server?” August 2021. Actual results may vary.