SQL Server Performance Fundamentals

Building and Maintaining a Solid Foundation

Justin Randall
Senior Consultant, SentryOne
jrandall@sentryone.com
http://blogs.sentryone.com/author/JustinRandall
@jh_randall

Professional Services
Agenda
• Windows Server
• SQL Server Instance
• SQL Server Database
• Virtualization
Windows Server
OS Configuration Options
• Partition disk volumes hosting database files with
64 KB allocation unit size
• Exclude SQL Server files from AntiVirus scans
• Lock Pages in Memory
• Set Power Savings setting to High Performance
• Instant File Initialization
Hardware Power Management
Server BIOS Processor Specs & More

www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
Power Management
Windows Power Plans

VMware Power Management

Instant File Initialization
• Improves performance of database data file creation,
restores, and growth
• Causes file allocation requests to skip zero initialization
• Data files (*.mdf/.ndf) only. Not applied to tlog files
• Does not work with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
• Does not work on sparse file (i.e.– database snapshots).
Enable Instant File Initialization
Grant the SQL Server service Grant permission during SQL
account "perform volume Server install process – SQL Server
maintenance tasks" permission in 2016+
Windows Security Policy
(secpol.msc),
Storage
Storage Performance
• Slowest compute resource, even high performance
storage appliances
• Traditional rules of thumb
• place data files and tlog files on separate disk volumes
• raid 10 for data files, raid 1 or 5 for tlog files
• do not exceed disk max iops
• SANS, SSDs and virtualization change the rules
• managed performance
• consolidation of mixed workloads
• access paths (network) may become a bottleneck
Storage Performance
• There is no one "best practice" here!
• Follow storage vendor guidance, until it proves wrong for
your workload
• Configure for Performance, not Capacity
• Benchmark!
• Storage Benchmarking with DiskSpd (David Klee) : http://bit.ly/2UZG6GA
• Using Microsoft DiskSpd to Test Your Storage Subsystem (Glenn Berry) :
http://bit.ly/2U0YUJh
• Getting Started with DiskSpd (Brent Ozar): http://bit.ly/2HXauh5
• On github : http://bit.ly/2OsXP6P
SQL Server Instance
SQL Server Instances
• Multiple Instances per Windows Server
• TempDB
• CPU Impacting Settings
• Memory Impacting Settings
• Other Settings
Multi-Instance Installations
• CPU & Memory are shared resources
• SQL Server instances are not "aware" of each other and will
compete for resources.
• Significant manual effort to manage more than a few
instances.
• Complicates troubleshooting performance issues.
• Some amount of resource isolation is possible
TempDB
• A system database that functions as a work space for a
wide variety of user and system processes
• One per SQL Server instance: a shared resource, like CPU &
Memory
• Objects created in TempDB
o User objects
o Internal objects
o Row Versions
Important TempDB Facts
• TempDB does not persist between SQL Server restarts
• Operations with TempDB are minimally logged
• Uses the same collation as the SQL Server instance
• Always uses Simple Recovery model
• Always in MULTI_USER mode
• Cannot be backed up or restored
• Restart after property and file configuration changes
• File size and Max File Size
• Autogrow
• Number of data files and file locations
TempDB Configuration
• Use fastest storage available with least likely contention
• File Size
• Pre-size to accommodate the workload on that instance
• Account for user objects, internal objects, and version store

• Multiple Data File Guidelines

• < 8 cores : same number of files as number of cpu cores
• 8 or more cores : start with 8 files plus one file per four cores
• Ensure File Properties are identical for all data files
• Size
• Max Size
• Autogrow
CPU Impacting Settings: Parallelism
• cost threshold for parallelism
• default setting = 5

• max degree of parallelism

• default setting = 0 (unlimited)

• parallelism related wait types:

• CXPACKET
• CXCONSUMER
- SQL Server 2016 sp2
- SQL Server 2017 CU3
CPU Impacting Settings: Parallelism
Why does parallelism affect CPU?
• Spreads workload across multiple cores – this can be good, or bad
• The processes of splitting and combining the workload requires CPU
• Skewed Parallelism

Adjust the settings:

• max degree of parallelism
• same as number of cores, up to 8, or
• ¼ to ½ of available cores when more than 8
• cost threshold for parallelism
• Easy button: change from default setting to something like 50
• Better: analyze the workload, set a balance between resource intensive queries
and low cost queries
CPU Impacting Settings
Processor Affinity
• normally left at default (ALL)

Use cases:
• # of cores exceeds SQL Server limits
• Multiple instances on a server

How to:
• SSMS GUI
Server Properties: Processors
• T-SQL
ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION
SET PROCESS AFFINITY CPU = 0 TO 7,16 TO 25
Memory Impacting Settings
min server memory
max server memory
ALWAYS change from default setting

optimize for ad hoc workloads

always* enable
Max Server Memory Factors
• Total Physical Memory Available
• Memory set aside for the OS
• What SQL Server components are installed &
running (SSRS, SSIS, Full Text Search, etc.)
• SQL Server version & edition differences
• SQL Server Failover Cluster or multiple instances
• Other applications
Calculate Max Server Memory
Non-clustered, single instance
Basic: reserve 2 GB for OS + memory for non-SQL Server apps
Alternative (J. Kehayias): reserve at least 1 GB (usually 2 GB) for OS
+ 1 GB for every additional 4 GB of RAM up to 16 GB
+ 1 GB for every additional 8 GB of RAM over 16 GB
Examples: Physical RAM = 8 GB, max server memory = 5 GB
Physical RAM = 24 GB, max server memory = 18 GB

Clustered instances
Same numbers as above divided by the number of nodes in the cluster
SQL Server Database
Database settings
• auto close : off
• auto create incremental statistics : depends
• auto create statistics : on
• auto shrink : off
• auto update statistics : on
• auto update statistics asynchronously : depends
Database settings
• compatibility level: match to instance compatibility when possible
• file autogrowth: use MB/GB, not Percent
pre-size files to minimize autogrow events

• max size: sum for all db files not to exceed drive size

• parameterization: Simple or Forced

• delayed durability
commit data changes before they are written to the transaction log
ALTER DATABASE dbname
SET DELAYED_DURABILITY = DISABLED | ALLOWED | FORCED;
Database Scoped Configuration
• Manage optional configuration values to control performance and
behavior at database level
• Available in SQL Server 2016 and later (and Azure SQL DB)
• Benefits:
• Define configuration options at the database level
• Isolate database level behaviors within an instance
• Grant database level permissions to manage configurations
• Set configuration options separately for primary and secondary
replicas in an availability group
Database Scoped Configuration
• MAXDOP
• LEGACY_CARDINALITY_ESTIMATION (TF 9841)
• PARAMETER_SNIFFING (TF 4136)
• QUERY_OPTIMIZER_HOTFIXES
• CLEAR PROCEDURE_CACHE
• IDENTITY_CACHE (SQL Server 2017)
• ELEVATE_RESUMABLE (SQL Server 2019)
• DISABLE_INTERLEAVED_EXECUTION_TVF (SQL Server 2017)
• DISABLE_BATCH_MODE_ADAPTIVE_JOINS (SQL Server 2017
Database Scoped Configuration
Examples:
GRANT ALTER ANY DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION TO [Joe];
ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION
SET BATCH_MODE_ON_ROWSTORE = ON;
ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION
SET QUERY_OPTIMIZER_HOTFIXES = PRIMARY;
ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION FOR SECONDARY
SET MAXDOP = 8;
ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION
SET ELEVATE_RESUMABLE = WHEN SUPPORTED;
Database Maintenace & Performance
• Backup and Restore Operations
• Minimize Recovery Time
• Index Rebuild and Reorganization
• Update Statistics
Virtualization
Virtualization
• Right-sizing
• Power Management
• CPU Configurations
• Memory Options
• Storage Considerations
Virtualization Considerations (1)
• Don't over allocate CPUs
• Do not enable CPU Hot Add
• Memory
• Hyper-V: disable dynamic memory
• VMware: do not disable the ballon driver - monitor

• Use Virtual Disks

Virtualization Considerations (2)
Key: Properly Distributed Workload
• Do not share resources with other applications
• Separate SQL Server disks from other workloads
• Benchmark SQL Server Workload
Checklist
❑ Set Power Management settings
❑ Enable Instant File Initialization
❑ Set and monitor SQL Server CPU and memory related
settings
❑ Set and monitor database settings
❑ Test before deploying upgrades, SPs or CUs
Checklist
❑ Adjust SQL Server Memory related settings
❑ Optimize TempDB configuration
❑ VM Configuration
avoid memory ballooning and cpu over-allocation

❑ Check Database Configuration

file size and location, autogrow in mb, autoclose off

❑ Automate Database Maintenance

Resources
1. View or Change Server Properties
https://bit.ly/2SuMnrS

2. Alter Server Configuration (Transact-SQL)

https://bit.ly/2T6oDiR

3. Operating System Best Practice Configurations for SQL Server

https://bit.ly/2XwAaH2

4. Instant File Initialization

How and Why to Enable IFI (SQL Server Premier Field Engineer Blog) : https://bit.ly/2GRjtkw
What, Why and How? (Kimberly Tripp): https://bit.ly/2EFFMY5

5. Database Scoped Configuration

Microsoft Docs: https://bit.ly/2T3yk1H (updated for SQL Server 2019 preview)
Niko Neugebauer Blog: https://bit.ly/2SBccqh
Resources
6. How to Document & Configure SQL Server Instance Settings
https://bit.ly/2EE19bW

7. TempDB Capacity Planning & Concurrency Considerations for Index Create and
Rebuild http://bit.ly/2CEgyaO
8. TempDB Database: SQL Docs
http://bit.ly/2FCvyrO

9. How to Make SQL Server Backups Go Faster

https://bit.ly/2BVhBTC

10. Recommended Updates & Configuration Options for SQL Server 2012 &
SQL Server 2014 with high-performance workloads https://bit.ly/2tJ9swX
**many trace flags mentioned in this article are default behavior for SQL Server 2016 and later
Resources
11. Proactive SQL Server Health Checks, Part 3: Instance and Database Settings
https://bit.ly/1KQE6E3

12. SQL Server on VMware

SQL Server and VMware Virtual Infrastructure: https://bit.ly/2tLuE5D
Architecting SQL Server on VMware Vsphere: https://bit.ly/2mXT32R

13. Virtual Machine vCPU and vNUMA Rightsizing – Rules of Thumb

https://bit.ly/2ncvSlV

14. Decoupling of Cores per Socket from Virtual NUMA Topology in vSphere 6.5
https://bit.ly/2ELMgo8

15. Does Core Per Socket Affect Performance?

http://bit.ly/2EKnN2r
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Thank You!