SharePoint and the Involuntary DBA

COM715

Thomas Vochten

Thomas Vochten

@thomasvochten thomasvochten.com mail@thomasvochten.com

SharePoint consultant. Platform architect. Speaker. Trainer. Accidental DBA.

Agenda

SharePoint & SQL Server SQL Server Fundamentals Preparing the platform Performing a deliberate installation Real world configuration tips Operational guidance Useful tools & resources

I’m not a professionally trained DBA

Meet the involuntary DBA

Someone who is made to assume a DBA role or take on DBA responsibilities, usually

against their will (*)

(*) Paul Randal

The Dynamic Duo

SharePoint & SQL Server

Importance to SharePoint

SharePoint performance impact Almost everything is stored in SQL Support for your HA/DR strategy

SharePoint 2013

Many schema optimizations Reduced IO operations Distributed Cache Shredded Storage

Shredded Storage

Evolution from SharePoint 2010 Document is stored as separate BLOB’s

in SQL Server Only changed BLOB’s will be sent back to

SQL Server Reduced IO & Storage needs

Database, anyone?

A lot of SharePoint databases Each with different needs

Limits & boundaries

Content database sizing

200 GB still the sweet spot 4 TB if you know what you’re doing … or even unlimited

Limits & boundaries

Content database limits

500 content databases per farm 60 million items in a content database 10.000 site collections in a content

database*

* 5000 is recommended

Supported Versions of SQL

SQL Server 2012 x64 SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 x64

Editions supported:Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter

SharePoint makes DBA’s cry

Unconventional practices Support policy GUIDS all over the place

Get rid of the GUID

Grey wizard

GOOD

White wizard

BAD

PowerShell to the rescue

New-SPConfigurationDatabase AutoSPInstaller Naming convention matters!

http://autospinstaller.codeplex.com

SQL Server Fundamentals

SQL Server Storage Primer

Use of 8K pages in data files Use of 64K as basic unit of space Database files (.mdf) & Log files (.ldf) Indexes

SQL Server databases

System databases

master, model, msdb, tempdb

User databases (SharePoint)

config, content, search, …

TempDB

Give it proper care Initial sizing Number of data files Dedicated drive Tune autogrowth

Recovery Models

Essential reading:

Understanding Logging & Recovery

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.02.logging.aspx

Simple recovery model - last full backup Full recovery model - up to the minute

Simple or full

“Why does this log file grow forever?”

Demo

CONTROL LOG FILE GROWTHLearning about the full recovery mode

Simple or full

“Why does this log file grow forever?”

Full recovery model requires log backups

Preparing the platform

General considerations

SQL is all about mem/disk IO/cpu Dedicate a SQL instance to SharePoint Virtualizing SQL Server?

Plan your disks

Differentiate & prioritize based on IO needs

1. tempdb

2. logs

3. search

4. other databases

Prepare your disks

Check/modify:

Up to 50% io performance gains measured!

Partition alignment 1024K everywhere

Allocation unit size 64K for SQL data & logs

diskpart

list disk

select disk <DiskNumber>

create partition primary align=1024

assign letter=<DriveLetter>

format fs=ntfs unit=64K label="<label>" nowait

Prepare your disks

Prepare your disks

Test the disks you get offered Sqlio to the rescue (or even

CrystalDiskMark)

Demo

PREPARE YOUR DISKSPartition alignment & allocation unit size

Deliberate Installation

Running Setup

Only install the features you need Use domain user as service account Don’t lock out other admins Configure data & log file placement Set the right collation:

Latin1_General_CI_AS_KS_WS

Patching SQL Server

Service Pack Cumulative Updates

Post setup

Enable instant file initialization

Speeds up data file creation enormously Disables zeroing out data files Does not work for log files Set “Perform volume maintenance tasks”

Demo

INSTANT FILE INITIALIZATIONSpeeding up your data file operations

Configuration Tips

Don’t forget

Start SQL Server Agent Set up alerting for specific events Don’t forget about Windows Firewall

(open port 1433)

Instance level settings

Determine maximum memory Set fill factor to 80 Turn on backup compression Set MAXDOP to 1

Setting MAXDOP is now mandatory in SharePoint 2013

Database level settings

Consider multiple data files Tune autogrowth settings Presize databases Recovery model (simple or full) Read-only databases

Connecting SharePoint to SQL

Use SQL aliases for added flexibility Test your connection beforehand Grant the correct rights to the setup

account (dbcreator, securityadmin)

Demo

CONFIGURATION TIPSSQL Agent, Instance & Database level settings, Aliases

Operational Guidance

Required Reading

KB841057 supported & unsupported actions to databases

Database Maintenance for SharePoint 2010 Products

* Still relevant for SharePoint 2013

Regular maintenance

Check database integrity (dbcc checkdb) Check index fragmentation Learn about maintenance plans

Index fragmentation

Check “sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats”Illustration by Paul Randal

* Illustration by Paul Randal

Reducing fragmentation

SharePoint Health Analyzer Perform index rebuild manually Set the fill factor to 80

Consider rebuilding indexes when fragmented over 30% (for content

databases)

Watch out for the shrink

Just because you can,

doesn’t mean you should

Causes massive fragmentation Rebuild indexes & keep free space Autoshrink is the root of all evil!

Demo

OPERATIONAL GUIDANCEDatabase maintenance and the danger of shrinking

Tools & Resources

Database Maintenance

Invaluable scripts for backup & consistency checks

http://ola.hallengren.com/

Counter Intelligence

Blitz! scripts by Brent Ozar

http://brentozar.com/blitz

Diagnostic scripts by Glenn Berry

http://sqlserverperformance.wordpress.com/

PAL Tool

http://pal.codeplex.com

Demo

COUNTER INTELLIGENCEUsing scripts to quickly assess the health of a SQL Server

Tuning SQL Server 2012 for SharePoint 2013 Jump Start

4 hours of video by Bill Baer & Brian Alderman

https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/tuning-sql-server-2012-for-sharepoint-2013-jump-start

ResourcesWhere do I go for SQL help?

Paul Randal (blog | twitter)

Kimberly Tripp (blog| twitter)

Brent Ozar (blog| twitter)

Glenn Berry (blog| twitter)

Fancy some blogs?

http://thomaslarock.com/rankings

Get help – fast!

#sqlhelp on Twitter

Key Takeaways

Know limits & boundaries Understand logging & recovery Plan disk layout & configuration Enable instant file initialization Use PowerShell for more control Tune instance & database settings Use SQL aliases Check for consistency (weekly)

Thank you for attending!

@thomasvochten