The first decision that many system administrators are faced with is whether or not to virtualize their database server. Personify supports running the databases on either virtual or physical infrastructure (for database information, please see Microsoft SQL Server Sizing Criteria). The key factors in determining whether your Personify databases are candidates for running in a virtual server are as follows:
1. Hypervisor software: Personify has been validated running on VMware enterprise-class hypervisors. We recommend using either the ESX or ESXi hypervisors to deploy any virtualized SQL Server instances, even for development and test environments. It is not recommended that you use of hosted hypervisors (open cloud servers). Depending on configurations and guest operating system support, the disk I/O caching performed by the host operating system on hosted infrastructure can provide unpredictable performance and application availability in some cases. We suggest using a private cloud if you plan on hosting or considering Personify hosted services.
2. Use the latest hardware technology: It is recommended that you use modern x64-based servers and storage systems that have been designed for delivery of virtual infrastructure. Virtual hosts should have a minimum of 64 GB of RAM and four socket quad core processors. The storage systems used to contain the virtual machines should provide high IOPS suitable for database performance. Storage systems should be connected to the hypervisors with a minimum of 4 Gbps of throughput (fiber channel highly recommended over iSCSI) Network infrastructure should be capable of a minimum of 1 Gbps. We recommend the use of fiber channel.
3. Storage configuration is critical: The storage configuration is critical to any successful Personify database deployment, especially in virtual environments in which you may consolidate many different SQL Server workloads on a single ESX host. Your storage subsystem should provide sufficient I/O throughput as well as storage capacity to accommodate the cumulative needs of all virtual servers. It is recommended that you use the fastest RAID technologies with separate LUNS for the database data files, transaction logs, tempdb data and backups. The storage subsystem must be either a local system with a minimum of RAID 5 consisting of 15K RPM SCSI drives with no less than 5 spindles or a SAN that is fiber channel connected at a minimum of 4 Gbps and IOPS capabilities that are designed for heavy workloads. In general, databases require SAN storage to meet performance requirements and it is recommended that you use a SAN environment.
4. Follow Microsoft SQL Server best practices: Microsoft offers extensive best practices for deploying SQL Server on the “SQL Server Best Practices” page on Microsoft TechNet. These best practices papers provide real-world guidelines and expert tips, and you should follow them for SQL Server deployments in a virtual environment.
5. Size your ESX hosts and virtual machines with adequate capacity: Make sure you follow the Personify sizing guidelines located within this section. The ESX host and virtual machine must be capable of scaling performance based upon your forecasted expectations. For more information, please see Sizing the Server for the Personify Database and Sizing the Server for the Data Warehouse Database.