SQL Server Techical Article
Published: May 2009
Authors: Jimmy May (MS IT Assessment, Consulting, & Engineering (ACE) | bio), Denny Lee
Contributors: Mike Ruthruff, Robert Smith, Bruce Worthington, Jeff Goldner, Mark Licata, Deborah Jones, Michael Thomassy, Michael Epprecht, Frank McBath, Joseph Sack, Matt Landers, Jason McKittrick, Linchi Shea, Juergen Thomas, Emily Wilson, John Otto, Brent Dowling
Technical Reviewers: Mike Ruthruff, Robert Smith, Bruce Worthington, Emily Wilson, Lindsey Allen, Stuart Ozer, Thomas Kejser, Kun Cheng, Nicholas Dritsas, Paul Mestemaker, Alexei Khalyako, Mike Anderson, Bong Kang
Disk partition alignment is a powerful tool for improving SQL Server performance. Configuring optimal disk performance is often viewed as much art as science. A best practice that is essential yet often overlooked is disk partition alignment. Windows Server 2008 attempts to align new partitions out-of-the-box, yet disk partition alignment remains a relevant technology for partitions created on prior versions of Windows.
This paper documents performance for aligned and nonaligned storage and why nonaligned partitions can negatively impact I/O performance; it explains disk partition alignment for storage configured on Windows Server 2003, including analysis, diagnosis, and remediation; and it describes how Windows Server 2008 attempts to remedy challenges related to partition alignment for new partitions yet does not correct the configuration of preexisting partitions.
The following topics are also included: background information, implementation, vendor considerations, two essential correlations, valid starting partition offsets, and the simple protocol to align partitions, define file allocation unit size, and assign drive letters. It includes results from tests that show how partition alignment can affect performance for SQL Server 2008.
For more information, please refer to the Disk Partition Alignment Best Practices for SQL Server whitepaper.
You can also download a Microsoft Word version of this article.
About denny.lee
Denny Lee is a Senior Program Manager based out of Redmond, WA in the SQL Customer Advisory Team (SQLCAT) - DW/BI Group. He has more than 13 years experience as a developer and consultant implementing software solutions to complex OLTP and data warehousing problems. His industry experience includes accounting, human resources, automotive, retail, web analytics, telecommunications, and healthcare. He had helped create the first OLAP Services reporting application in production at Microsoft and is a co-author of "Professional Microsoft PowerPivot for Excel and SharePoint", “Professional Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2008 with MDX”, “Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Data Warehousing with Analysis Services” and “Transforming Healthcare through Information [Ed. Joan Ash] (2009)”. In addition to contributing to the SQLCAT Blog, SQL Server Best Practices, and SQLCAT.com, you can also review Denny's Blog (http://dennyglee.com). Denny specializes in developing solutions for Enterprise Data Warehousing, Analysis Services, and Data Mining; he also has focuses in the areas of Privacy and Healthcare.
|
sql, server, best practices, whitepapers, analysis services, data mining, olap, datawarehouse, datawarehousing, availability, clustering, capacity, collation, data types, data warehouse, database, design, index, mirroring, optimization, partitions, performance, precision, processing, querying, scalability, security, reporting services, integration services
|
|
