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Reference Architecture Guide—Consolidate and Simplify Mixed SQL Server and Oracle 18c Database Workloads
Validation Test Goals, Configuration, and Use Cases
Test goals and configuration Use case 1: OLTP workload using TPC-C–like benchmark Validated infrastructure configuration Use case 2: DSS workload using TPC-H–like benchmark NVMe Use case 3: Snapshot OLTP workload using TPC-C–like benchmark VMware vSphere Test performance metrics PowerMaxOS service levels Dell EMC Live Optics for data collection

Validation Test Goals, Configuration, and Use Cases

Validated infrastructure configuration

  • The MX7000 modular chassis hosts disaggregated blocks of server and storage, making it ideal for consolidating databases. In the test configuration, we used two PowerEdge MX840c servers in the MX7000 modular chassis. We dedicated one MX840c server to the SQL Server 2017 Enterprise Evaluation Edition RTM-CU13 database and the other to the Oracle 18c Enterprise Edition database. Dedicating an MX840c server to each database optimizes licensing by limiting costs and enables us to test database consolidation. In our tests, we identically configured each MX840c with 4 CPUs and 1.5 TB of memory. Each CPU had 20 cores, so 80 cores were available to each database.

    We deployed both SQL Server and Oracle database VMs with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 as the guest operating system. Microsoft enables SQL Server customers to move their database licenses from Windows to Linux for free. We standardized the operating system, using Linux on both databases, to simplify management. In terms of the mixed database tests, using the same operating system streamlined execution and enabled faster analysis of the performance findings.

    We configured the PowerMax 2000 storage array with 24 NVMe flash drives, which represents an entry-level storage configuration. Using an entry-level configuration for our tests demonstrates that customers can start with a minimal investment and scale-up to match growing demands. The following table shows the size of the storage configuration that we used and the maximum sizes for the PowerMax 2000 array as detailed in the PowerMax Family Specification Sheet:

    Table 1.           PowerMax 2000 maximum supported configuration versus tested configuration

    PowerMax 2000 components

    Maximum supported configuration

    Tested configuration

    Number of bricks or engines

    2

    1

    Cache-system (raw)

    4 TB (with 2 TB engine)

    1 TB

    Number of front-end I/O modules per array

    16

    4

    16 Gb/s FC host ports per array

    64

    16

    Number of NVMe flash drives

    96

    24

    While testing the storage performance of the PowerMax 2000 array, we had the following goals:

    • Generate a significant mixed database workload to challenge the PowerMax 2000.
    • Drive a combination of IOPS and submillisecond latency that is representative of the demand on a mixed workload ecosystem.
    • Capture test findings and transform our analysis into best practices for customers.

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Use case 2: DSS workload using TPC-H–like benchmark