New Server configuration

Question

New Server configuration

SQL Guy 1

SSCoach

Points: 15979
More actions
December 21, 2011 at 9:29 am

#265334

I was interviewed today, and one of the questions was : What configuration setting should you setup for new installation of SQL Server 2008?
I could answer only Min and Max server memory. But by her reaction I felt that my answer was incomplete.
What other necessary settings did I miss ?
Thanks

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply

Cadavre SSC-Forever Points: 41690 More actions · Answer 1

SQL Guy 1 (12/21/2011)
I was interviewed today, and one of the questions was : What configuration setting should you setup for new installation of SQL Server 2008?
I could answer only Min and Max server memory. But by her reaction I felt that my answer was incomplete.
What other necessary settings did I miss ?
Thanks

I suspect they were probably after a "it depends" answer. You need to know what it's doing before you can set it up.

Forever trying to learn
My blog - http://www.cadavre.co.uk/
For better, quicker answers on T-SQL questions, click on the following...http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/
For better, quicker answers on SQL Server performance related questions, click on the following...http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/SQLServerCentral/66909/

SQL Guy 1 SSCoach Points: 15979 More actions · Answer 2

In the beginning, before asking any questions, she said that this is high-volume OLTP environmrnt. So I guess she expected something related to this condition.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736252 More actions · Answer 3

That's very open ended. I think you'd also be looking at setting up storage differently for logs/data/tempdb. Without knowing more, you might setup Resource Governor for different groups/classes of users, affinity for CPUs if there were other processors.

Hard to know what someone might be looking for there.

Bru Medishetty SSC-Insane Points: 23606 More actions · Answer 4

I second Steve's thoughts on separate storage for Tempdb/Data/Log.

Backup compression setting (by default is not set to compress the backups)

Though these are not server level configurations, considering that it is a high volume OLTP System, some of these might be helpful..

Multiple file groups spread across multiple disks

Database Partitioning

Plan for High Availability (Clustering, DB Mirroring)

Bru Medishetty

Blog -- LearnSQLWithBru

Join on Facebook Page Facebook.comLearnSQLWithBru

Twitter -- BruMedishetty

SQL Guy 1 SSCoach Points: 15979 More actions · Answer 5

She meant sp_configure configurations.

About file allocations, etc, I answered in another questions.

Bru Medishetty SSC-Insane Points: 23606 More actions · Answer 6

SQL Guy 1 (12/21/2011)
She meant sp_configure configurations.
About file allocations, etc, I answered in another questions.

OK, since that was not know. I'd thought in the lines of overall server / database configurations etc

apart from affinity mask settings mentioned earlier.. I have these on top of my mind right now..

optimize for ad hoc workloads

remote admin connections

Bru Medishetty

Blog -- LearnSQLWithBru

Join on Facebook Page Facebook.comLearnSQLWithBru

Twitter -- BruMedishetty

Devendrakumar SSC-Forever Points: 42493 More actions · Answer 7

SQL Guy 1 (12/21/2011)
I was interviewed today, and one of the questions was : What configuration setting should you setup for new installation of SQL Server 2008?
I could answer only Min and Max server memory. But by her reaction I felt that my answer was incomplete.
What other necessary settings did I miss ?
Thanks

It’s my favourite question as an interviewer and as an interviewee.

As an interviewee, it gives you opportunity to cross question the interviewer.

For Example:

Is it an OLTP System?

How many concurrent users we should expect on this database? etc.

I would like a candidate who will probe for requirements than assuming (& configuring on his own assumption).