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Joefuss2k
Starting Member
4 Posts |
 Posted - 2012-04-10 : 17:01:38
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| Okay I am an IT mgr with very little SQL experience. I will try to give as much info as possible. My company has a SQL server that houses the data for our ERP/EDI system and our online store. The person that has always managed the SQL server is no longer with us and it seems I have been thrust into the role of DBA. It seems when large orders are being processed that things slow to a crawl. The SQL server is SQL 2008 Standard running on a Hyper-V virtual machine with Windows Server 2008 Standard as the OS. There are 10 Gigs of memory, one virtual processor, and a 100 gig virtual HD. Here are some of my questions:1. Should I keep SQL on a virtual machine or move it to a stand alone server? 2. We are in the process of purchasing new servers (infrastructure upgrade) should I stay with SQL 2008 or go to 2012. 3. Should I have the data stored on my SAN device or on the local disks?One more thing, my current SQL server is just about out of space, less than one gig free. I have shrank the log files but not the database. Everything non essential has been stripped off the server, the only way left that I can see to gain more space would be to shrink the database but I hear bad things about that. Any advice?Joefuss |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
Posted - 2012-04-10 : 17:06:22
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| 1. Virtual machines are fine, assuming it's been configured properly. For our critical databases, we always use physical servers and always use clustering.2. 2012 if you can.3. Depends. We almost entirely use storage arrays.You can shrink it to divert a problem here, however do you have any free space inside the mdf file to even do the shrink? If not, then you'll have to delete data first or maybe rebuild the indexes (if you have the space to do it).Tara KizerMicrosoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Serverhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/Subscribe to my blog |
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jackv
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2179 Posts |
Posted - 2012-04-11 : 01:46:20
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| 1.Virtual machine decision is based on few factors including DR requirements. Is it shared ? is it 1: 1? Check this post for some rule of thumb guidelines - http://www.sqlserver-dba.com/2011/07/database-virtual-server-candidacy-criteria.html2. 2012 - this will depend also on your licensing agreements , upgrade etc. 3. Depends on a) performance b) cost c) Disaster Recovery e.g are you using SAN mirroring? I usually leave paging file on local - and all else on SAN. This is more complicated in the Blade world - where you may purchase new hardware with no local diskJack Vamvas--------------------http://www.sqlserver-dba.com |
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Thrown into DBA Role