I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from Dell.
I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State technology
for SQL data or log files

On Sep 6, 1:15am, MikeVS <Mik...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
> installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from Dell.
> I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State technology
> for SQL data or log files

Hi Mike,

Typically, the main problem with SSD's is poor write performance
compared to traditional disks so make sure you compare the listed
access times and factor that into your decision. Read performance
should be phenomenal though so if your app is mostly reads then it
could give you a good boost; especially if you buy a few and configure
them as a RAID volume.

The core I/O requirements for SQL Server are all met with solid state
disks so they'll be supported. The only decision is whether or not
the poor write times affect you enough to justify the extra cost of
the drives.

Cheers,

Christian


Christian Bolton - MCAatabase, MCM:SQL Server 2008
Database Architect - Coeo Ltd
http://coeo.com
http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/christian

I would ask exactly what kind of problems are you trying to solve? What is
the reason you have I/O issues now?

--
Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
Solid Quality Mentors


"MikeVS" <MikeVS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:24E8827C-BE81-4D2B-99DD-86B7B8C0A0B8@microsoft.com...
> I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
> installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from
> Dell.
> I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State
> technology
> for SQL data or log files

If your situation is like EVERY other client I have EVER had, you can
improve your performance far more by adjusting server settings, IO
configuration, rewriting queries and applying appropriate indexing. The
latter two are usually not that difficult to implement either. 2-4 orders
of magnitude improvement are typical.

I would expect rather poor performance for LOG files on current SSD
technology due to their rather slow (comparative-to-read) performance.


--
Kevin G. Boles
Indicium Resources, Inc.
SQL Server MVP
kgboles a earthlink dt net


"MikeVS" <MikeVS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:24E8827C-BE81-4D2B-99DD-86B7B8C0A0B8@microsoft.com...
> I'd like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
> installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from
> Dell.
> I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State
> technology
> for SQL data or log files

In a real prod enviornment, you also need to consider support/stability
issues with SSD. People have had rather varied experience with SSD, and some
got burned with firmware issues. The point here is that I'd advise against
rushing into a SSD solution in a serious prod environment.

Linchi

"MikeVS" wrote:

> I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
> installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from Dell.
> I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State technology
> for SQL data or log files

I'm with Linchi on this. I am recommending to my clients to wait for
generation 2.5 at least before implementing SSDs in a critical production
environment. Basic IO is NOT a place where you want to be bleeding edge!!!

--
Kevin G. Boles
Indicium Resources, Inc.
SQL Server MVP
kgboles a earthlink dt net


"Linchi Shea" <LinchiShea@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:5AD97DEF-3F2B-4E48-A46A-031A4E90D850@microsoft.com...
> In a real prod enviornment, you also need to consider support/stability
> issues with SSD. People have had rather varied experience with SSD, and
> some
> got burned with firmware issues. The point here is that I'd advise against
> rushing into a SSD solution in a serious prod environment.
>
> Linchi
>
> "MikeVS" wrote:
>
>> I'd like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
>> installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from
>> Dell.
>> I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State
>> technology
>> for SQL data or log files

Thank you, Andrew.
Currently we are not experiencing I/O bottleneck, but we are planning to
consolidate several stand-along servers to one environment. It was proposed
that the usage of the Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive will boost the
performance.
However I could not find any references of usage use Solid State Parallel
ATA for SQL Server enviranments.

Mike V.

"Andrew J. Kelly" wrote:

> I would ask exactly what kind of problems are you trying to solve? What is
> the reason you have I/O issues now?
>
> --
> Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
> Solid Quality Mentors
>
>
> "MikeVS" <MikeVS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:24E8827C-BE81-4D2B-99DD-86B7B8C0A0B8@microsoft.com...
> > I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005 is
> > installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from
> > Dell.
> > I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State
> > technology
> > for SQL data or log files
>
>

It will only boost performance if there is a bottleneck to begin with. With
a properly designed storage subsystem you should not have a bottleneck in
the first place.

--
Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
Solid Quality Mentors


"MikeVS" <MikeVS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:582BBF37-D804-407E-944A-AA9D97BB9F24@microsoft.com...
> Thank you, Andrew.
> Currently we are not experiencing I/O bottleneck, but we are planning to
> consolidate several stand-along servers to one environment. It was
> proposed
> that the usage of the Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive will boost the
> performance.
> However I could not find any references of usage use Solid State Parallel
> ATA for SQL Server enviranments.
>
> Mike V.
>
> "Andrew J. Kelly" wrote:
>
>> I would ask exactly what kind of problems are you trying to solve? What
>> is
>> the reason you have I/O issues now?
>>
>> --
>> Andrew J. Kelly SQL MVP
>> Solid Quality Mentors
>>
>>
>> "MikeVS" <MikeVS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:24E8827C-BE81-4D2B-99DD-86B7B8C0A0B8@microsoft.com...
>> > I’d like to increase the IO performance on the server (SQL Server 2005
>> > is
>> > installed), by using the 32 GB Solid State Parallel ATA Hard Drive from
>> > Dell.
>> > I wonder if there are any recommendations for using Solid State
>> > technology
>> > for SQL data or log files
>>
>>