SharePoint Admins: The Reluctant DBAs - Todd Klindt for... · 2013-04-16 · SQL is hard, let’s go shopping •Used by every version of SharePoint since WSS v2 •Entire Farm configuration

SharePoint Admins:The Reluctant DBAs

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Who is this Todd guy?

• SharePoint MVP since 2006

• Speaker, writer, consultant, Aquarius

• Personal Blogwww.toddklindt.com/blog

• Company web sitewww.sharepoint911.com

• [email protected]

• Twitter me! @toddklindt

• Netcast

• http://www.toddklindt.com/netcast

http://www.toddklindt.com/blog

http://www.sharepoint911.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.toddklindt.com/netcast


My next book

http://www.toddklindt.com/prosp20

13admin

http://www.toddklindt.com/prosp2013admin


Agenda

• Why is SQL so important to SharePoint?

• SQL versions

• SQL terminology

• Proper care and feeding of your SQL server and database

• Slides at http://www.toddklindt.com/slospug

http://www.toddklindt.com/slospug


SQL is hard, let’s go shopping

• Used by every version of SharePoint since WSS v2

• Entire Farm configuration is stored in SQL

• All content is stored or is referenced to in SQL

• Central Admin is a web application rendered out of SQL

• Most service applications have databases as well• Search has at least 4

• User Profile has 3

• Managed Metadata

• Secure Store

• BCS

• If SQL ain’t happy, nobody’s happy


A Few Words about Content Databases

• Each Web Application has at least one content database

• Most will have multiple content databases

• A Site Collection must exist entirely in one content database*

• However, a content database can, and usually does, contain multiple site collections

• A content database should not be larger than 200 GB• Can go larger for specialized databases

• Be very, very careful


Worlds Greatest Slide

ItemsFiles, Calendar items, Contacts, Customers, Images, Custom

ListsDoc Libs, Pages, Events, Discussions, Surveys, Etc

Webs – SPWebPortal, Wikis, Blogs, Team, Doc, Workspaces, Search Center

Site Collections – SPSiteThe Bag

Databases – SPContentDatabaseContent Database

Web Applications – SPWebApplicationCentral Admin, Content

Servers - SPServerWeb Front End, APP

Farm – SPFarm


Which version of SQL?

• SQL 2008 R2 SP1

• SQL 2012

• Must be 64 bit

• Can use SQL Express for no cost option• 10 GB database limit

• 1 GB of RAM

• 1 CPU up to 4 cores

• Hardware and software requirements

• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485(v=office.15).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485(v=office.15).aspx


SQL 2012 Edition ComparisonStandard Enterprise

CPUs (sockets) 4 (or 16 cores) OS Max

Memory 64 GB OS Max

Max Database Size 524 PB 524 PB

Mirroring Single threaded, Full Safety Full

Clustering 2 nodes OS Max

Database Snapshots X

PowerPivot X

AlwaysOn Availability Groups X

Reporting Services X X

Walks your dog X

Bucks $ $$$$$


SQL Terminology

• Server – Physical box. Something you can kick. Also often erroneously used in place of Instance

• Instance – SQL process on a server. Has its own settings, databases and security. A server can have many Instances

• Database – An MDF file and one or more NDF files. Where the data is actually stored.

• Transaction Log - An LDF file. Used to store transactions before they’re written to a database

• File – MDF, NDF or LDF files that store information.

• Filegroup – A file or group of files that store a partition of a database.

• Role – SQL security boundary. Roles have permissions, users and logins go into Roles to get permissions.


Let’s talk about Transaction Logs

User’s Desktop SharePoint Server SQL Server RAM Transaction log Database File

•

•


Care and feeding of SQL

• Maintenance Plans are key• Can be easily created manually or with a wizard

• Easily modified after they’re created

• Can include a variety of operations, including backups

• http://www.toddklindt.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=248

• Can email you

• Must create yourself as an operator

• What should you use them for?

http://www.toddklindt.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=248


Check Database Integrity

• Corrupt data backs up every bit as well as uncorrupt data

• Uses T-SQL command DBCC checkdb

• Can be very disk and CPU intensive

• Can use PHYSICAL_ONLY switch to shorten time and impact

• Can run against non-live copies of your databases

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms176064.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms176064.aspx


Backups

• Three types

• Full

• Partial

• Differential

• Can back up database and transaction logs

• Regular transaction log backups keep your hard drives happy

• Use backup compression to save space and time

• Don’t forget third party solutions

• RBS complicates this

• A lot!

• Really!


File System Fragmentation

• Fragmented MDF, NDF and LDF files slow SQL down

• Using the built-in tool may lock databases

• 3rd party tools are a better option

• Pregrow databases to minimize fragmentation


Size your databases wisely

• Databases get larger over time, it’s their job

• SQL grow operations are slow and will likely result in fragmented databases

• Your database should always have white space. Always

• Monitor your databases and pregrow them to maintain whitespace

• Change autogrow settings to something more reasonable

• Autogrow is a last resort

• Consider setting a maximum database size


Don’t shrink databases, dummy

• Database size is reduced by dropping unused space.

• Do not shrink databases unless something drastic has happened

• Massive web, site collection, or content deletions

• Abandoning databases

• You lost a bet

• Forces databases to grow again later

• Has a heavy impact on the server

• Fragments database indexes, which results in slower performance


What about RBS?

• Storage of blobs outside of SQL

• Bolts in to SharePoint 2013

• Increase scale

• Increase performance

• Complicates disaster recovery

• Repeat after me, “I will not use the SQL Filestream provider in Production.”


Some SQL Best Practices

• Create multiple TempDB files

• Put databases and transaction logs on separate spindles

• Arrange databases according to speed of drives

• Change Autogrow

• Increase the growth rate

• For databases and logs

• Consider setting a maximum size

• Keep your databases under 200 GB, realistically 50 GB

• Use multiple content databases


More good ideas

• Do not access your databases in SQL

• pretend they don’t exist

• Here’s what’s supported

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841057

• Farm backups in SharePoint also do database backups

• Backup your System databases too

• Install SQL Server Management Studio on one of your SharePoint servers

• Or use Query Express

• http://www.albahari.com/queryexpress.aspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841057

http://www.albahari.com/queryexpress.aspx


SQL Instance settings

• Set Max RAM


• Compression

• File Location


• Set MaxDOP = 1


Shenanigans


More Shenanigans


SQL Alias

• Like a HOSTS file for SQL connections

• Allows us to move SharePoint to a different SQL without SharePoint knowing

• Use CLICONFG.EXE to config

• Must configure for 64 and 32 bit

• Definitive work on the subject, http://www.toddklindt.com/sqlalias

http://www.toddklindt.com/sqlalias


Fun links

• SharePoint 2013 Hardware and Software requirements• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485.aspx

• Tips for database maintenance• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-

us/magazine/2008.08.database.aspx

• Plan for RBS in SharePoint 2013• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff628583.aspx

• Storage and SQL Server capacity planning • Not updated yet for SharePoint 2013

• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc298801.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.08.database.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff628583.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc298801.aspx

Questions?


http://www.Rackspace.com/sharepoint

Free 45 day trial of SharePoint 2013

http://www.Rackspace.com/hosting-solution/Rackspace-sharepoint.php

http://www.rackspace.com.au/hosting-solution/Rackspace-sharepoint.php

The End!

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

SharePoint Admins: The Reluctant DBAs - Todd Klindt for... · 2013-04-16 · SQL is hard, let’s go shopping •Used by every version of SharePoint since WSS v2 •Entire Farm configuration