We in the process of migrating one of our SQL physical boxes to virtual (with at least one of similar "bulk" coming soon) and I'd like to verify that my end result sounds feasible. Some backgound first:
Current physical environment:
DL585 G5 w/4-E7330 procs (16 cores total)
64 GB ram
Windows 2008
SQL 2008
SQL data (logs, databases, etc) SAN attached to a VMAX
Performance metrics (pulled hourly for a few weeks):
SQL User connections: vary between 250 and 400, averaging probably around 325-350
Total transactions/second: vary between 250 and 400 (brief spikes up to 2000 which, my guess, is being caused by full backups or db maintenance), average is similar to user connections
CPU Utilization: vary between 10 and 25%, average is in the 20% area
Memory % Committed bytes in use: 30%
Network MBytes received/sent per sec: spikes anywhere from 30-50 only during backups, else it's very little
I/O on the local C drive: spikes anywhere from 300-500 only during backups, else, again, it's very little
My plan to virtualize:
Two node VMware cluster (specifically for SQL role VM's)
2 - DL380 G7 w/2-X5660 procs (24 cores total)
2 - VM's with the following specs utilizing MSCS (each VM would sit on a different host in the cluster)
VM specs:
4 vCPU
48 GB ram
PVSCSI for local C drive (sitting on VMware datastore)
RDM connected log, database, quorum LUNs (LUN's on the physical box would be attached to VM's)
(we already have VM's utilizing MSCS so I purposely won't discuss the bus sharing set to physical, clustering heartbeat requirement, etc.)
So now come my questions:
- should I go to vSphere 5 or stick with our current environment (vSphere 4.1 U1)...I'm leaning towards 5 and understand vCenter would require an upgrade
- would I really see a benefit in PVSCSI for the C drive of the VM's or should I stick with the LSI Logic SAS (currently our standard)
- are 4 vCPU's enough? (the benchmarking I've done seems to think so, but I want your opinion)
Any thoughts we be greatly appreciated!
Travis
That beginning piece should've come out as:
