November 10, 2008 at 11:04 am
Hi all,
I'm a 9 year veteran of Windows Server Administration and have recently been tasked with setting up a SQL Server 2005 machine on my network. The only thing is that I have no experience setting up SQL Servers. I have a HP DL380 G5 with 8GB of RAM and 6x72GB HHDs. What I have been asked to do specifically is setup the raid configuration and the backup scheme for the Databases and Transaction Logs.
For the Raid Configuration, I was thinking of Raid 5 with three partitions (1-OS/SQL Server Application, 2-DBs, 3-Logs). However I am totally lost on the Backups. Please Help!!!
November 10, 2008 at 11:42 am
RAID 5 is pretty slow, I would try to avoid it.
Disk setup can be a bit complex as you want to do your best to provide SQL different physical drives for conflicting operations. I would recommend doing some research on Google for some configuration ideas.
Backups are fairly simple in most cases. You have to determine how quickly you need to be able to recover, how much disk space you can use, how much data loss is acceptable, and how much money you are willing to spend.
It sounds like you are not doing any clustering for hardware failover, so the money is probably spent already as far as hardware.
You need to do some regular full database backups. You can do differential backups as necessary and log file backups to reduce your data loss in the event of a failure. Look up backups in books online and it will give you complete descriptions. You can then use the maintenance plan wizard to configure the option you select.
November 10, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I have done a lot of research on Google and other SQL Server sites, but it seems that every person on every site has a different opinion when it comes to raid configuration. What I'm looking for is a best practice on setting up the disk configuration on a SQL Server and a good solid maintenance plan.
November 10, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Unfortunately, every situation differs.
November 16, 2008 at 4:42 am
I'm not an expert on RAID configurations, but RAID 5 is the bare minimum and should be avoided if you can help it.
Here is my 0.2 c on the file allocation:
- separate drive for data
- separate drive for logs (RAID 10 if possible)
- separate drive for tempdb data file(s) (RAID 10)
- separate drive for backups
By "drive" above I really mean "phys. device".
Create multiple tempdb data files (one for each CPU core), all with same size and auto-growth characteristics.
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November 16, 2008 at 6:24 am
samuel.tillman (11/10/2008)
6x72GB HHDs. What I have been asked to do specifically is setup the raid configuration and the backup scheme for the Databases and Transaction Logs.
RAID 5 is ideal for the data drive as it offers fault tolerance and good read performance. RAID 1 would be more suitable for the OS and the SQL logs. (remember the SQL logs are written to serially, the data files are randomly accessed)
you only have 6 x 72 diks available so you're pretty limited. You also don't mention how big the databases are or what the backup sizes are likely to be. Consider a backup solution such as Redgate SQLBackup or Quest Litespeed they'll compress your backups by upto 90% and encrypt too.
for the disk config you stated i would consider using the following
OS and SQL Logs 2 x 72 GB in RAID1 (70+ GB usable)
SQL Data 4 x 72GB in RAID5 (200+ GB usable)
You could always get a couple more disks at a later datae and RAID1 them for the Logs.
There are configurations that are much more suited but you need more disks available for these
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November 17, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hi Perry,
I have similar situation at work. My IT guys build a Test Server for SQL 2005 and he said that we have 2 400GB x RAID 5 drives to use for my SQL Server.
As far as I know, Transaction Log should be on RAID 1 and Data file on RAID 5. If that is correct, how do I change one of my drive to RAID 1 from RAID 5?
How can I check my [Drives] RAID information on server?
Thanks.
November 17, 2008 at 4:29 pm
... If that is correct, how do I change one of my drive to RAID 1 from RAID 5?
How can I check my [Drives] RAID information on server?
Thanks.
You have to ask your IT guy to help you get the configuration you want.
November 17, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Typically there's a utility with the hardware vendor that can check this, but it's an OS level task, not something you can see from SQL.
As mentioned, contact your Windows admin.
November 18, 2008 at 5:45 am
Leo (11/17/2008)
Hi Perry,I have similar situation at work. My IT guys build a Test Server for SQL 2005 and he said that we have 2 400GB x RAID 5 drives to use for my SQL Server.
As far as I know, Transaction Log should be on RAID 1 and Data file on RAID 5. If that is correct, how do I change one of my drive to RAID 1 from RAID 5?
How can I check my [Drives] RAID information on server?
Thanks.
you need to find out from the server admin what disk config these 2 400GB RAID 5 arrays have. Each will have a minimum of 3 disks. It may be possible to break one of the arrays and re configure the disks for RAID 1, find out the current config first though. You'll need downtime on the server to change this too!!
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November 18, 2008 at 6:51 am
Anywhere can I find the software to check the Disk Config [eg. Raid 1, Raid 5, etc..] on the internet? So that I will know what config of HDD I got before speak to IT.
Thanks.
Leo
November 18, 2008 at 9:00 am
Software comes with the server, you have to ask your IT ppl to get you that software, but still I guess best bet would be to ask them about all the info.
As Perry has written RAID 5 needs minimum of 3 drives, it's not possible with 2 drives.
November 18, 2008 at 9:42 am
Why RAID 5 need minimum of 3 drives?
I have checked my drive -
Disk 0 - Normal HDD with Win Server installed
Disk 1 -Promise Tech I20 RAID D SCSI DISK (690GB FREE) [ according from Disk Management ]
Disk 2 -Promise 1+0 Stripe/RAID 0 SCSI DISK (400GB FREE)
Leo
November 18, 2008 at 9:55 am
check out this link will give you good idea about all RAID configurations.
November 18, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Leo (11/18/2008)
Why RAID 5 need minimum of 3 drives?
Leo (11/18/2008)
Disk 2 -Promise 1+0 Stripe/RAID 0 SCSI DISK (400GB FREE)
RAID 1+0, this requires even more disks than RAID 5. It would be advisable for you to read and digest RAID arrays so you understand them a little more
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