OLTP with Dell EqualLogic hybrid arrays: A comparative study with an industry-leading SAN solution

DELL EQUALLOGIC PS6110XS ENTERPRISE OLTP
OLTP WITH DELL EQUALLOGIC HYBRID ARRAYS: A COMPARATIVE
PERFORMANCE AND POWER USAGE
STUDY WITH AN INDUSTRY-LEADING SAN SOLUTION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Online transaction processing, or OLTP, is a class of information systems that
facilitate and manage transaction-oriented applications. An essential component of any
OLTP system is storage. Storage for OLTP should also deliver the performance necessary
for handling utilization spikes of short duration—I/O storms—such as those generated
when large numbers of transactions occur at once.
Dell EqualLogic PS Series iSCSI hybrid SAN arrays are well suited for OLTP
environments. These hybrid arrays combine solid-state drives (SSDs) and traditional
hard disk drives (HDDs) in the same chassis.
Additionally, EqualLogic’s scale-out architecture enables organizations to grow
their OLTP environments optimally for both capacity and performance by adding
additional arrays. This is a unique advantage for EqualLogic, as traditional scale-up
architectures add more disk trays to the same storage controllers, addressing capacity
growth requirements while ignoring the performance needs.
How does EqualLogic hybrid SAN array compare with other OLTP storage
solutions in the market? To answer this question, we evaluated two storage solutions—
NOVEMBER 2012
NOVEMBER 2013

A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES REPORT
A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES TEST REPORT

Commissioned by Dell, Inc.
Commissioned by Dell, Inc.

one from EqualLogic and another from a leading SAN storage solution provider in the
industry—in a realistic OLTP scenario.
We used a Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS hybrid array for one configuration and an
industry-leading SAN storage solution for the other configuration. All other elements of
the two configurations were identical. To make a fair comparison, the industry-leading
SAN storage solution contained a similar number of SSDs and HDDs with approximately
the same usable storage capacity, as well as a software-based caching solution that tiers
data for OLTP workloads similar to the EqualLogic automatic data tiering.
We tested both configurations using the DVD Store Version 2 tool, which
simulates an online ordering system; it measures database performance in orders per
minute (OPM). We also compared response time, cost, and power consumption for both
solutions.
In our testing, the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS solution showed considerable
advantages over the competing industry-leading SAN storage solution in all three of the
following areas:


Performance. The Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS solution delivered 160.0 percent
more orders per minute than the competing industry-leading, similarly
configured SAN.



Response time. The Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS delivered a response time 49.3
percent faster than that of the industry-leading, similarly configured SAN
solution.



Energy consumption. The Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS solution consumed 72.6
percent less energy than the competing industry-leading, similarly configured
SAN solution.
These findings make the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS solution an extremely

attractive option for OLTP deployments.
As Figure 1 shows, the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS solution could perform 54,979
orders per minute whereas the competing industry-leading, similarly configured SAN
solution performed 21,142, fewer than half as many.
This means that the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage more than doubled the
amount of work the servers could do. In any real-world OLTP environment, this boost
would be very dramatic.

OLTP with Dell EqualLogic hybrid arrays: A comparative study with an
industry-leading SAN solution

A Principled Technologies test report 2

Orders per minute
60,000

54,979

50,000

Figure 1: The Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS
solution delivered 160.0 percent more
orders per minute than the competing
industry-leading, similarly configured
SAN solution.

40,000
30,000

21,142

20,000
10,000
0
Industry-leading
SAN storage solution

Dell EqualLogic 6210XS

Response time is a measure of how long the database server takes to respond
to inquiries; the greater the response time, the longer users must wait. As Figure 2
shows, with Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage, the server was able to deliver a much
quicker response time—212 milliseconds, which is 49.3 percent faster than the 418millisecond response time of the competing industry-leading, similarly configured SAN
solution.
This means that the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage cut the wait time for
users almost in half. Any business that has database users can benefit substantially
from the increased responsiveness of the EqualLogic PS6210XS.

500

Application response time (ms)
(lower numbers are better)
418

400

delivered a response time 49.3 percent
faster than that of the industry-leading,
similarly configured SAN solution.

300
212
200

100
0

Industry-leading


Power usage has become a significant cost factor in datacenters. Server
solutions that use less power save a company month after month. We measured the
power each of the server solutions used during testing. As Figure 3 shows, with Dell



EqualLogic PS6210XS storage, the server consumed less than one-third the power that
the competing industry-leading, similarly configured SAN solution used.
This means that the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage reduced power usage by
more than two-thirds. This reduction can translate to dramatically lower electric bills.

Peak power usage (watts)
1,400

solution consumed 72.6 percent less
energy than the competing industryleading, similarly configured SAN
solution.

1,253

1,200

1,000
800
600

343

400
200
0
Industry-leading


Because both performance and power usage are so important to businesses,
companies often consider the performance per watt that various solutions can deliver.
For the database testing we performed in our labs, this metric is a simple calculation:

As Figure 4 shows, because it doubled performance while using roughly half the
power, the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage solution delivered a whopping 9.5 times
the performance per watt than the competing industry-leading, similarly configured
SAN solution did.

solution delivered 850.0 percent more
orders per minute per watt than the
competing industry-leading, similarly
configured SAN solution.

Performance per watt

200

Orders per minute per watt
(higher numbers are better)
160.3

150
100
50

16.9

0

Industry-leading




Figure 5 summarizes our findings.
Industry-leading SAN storage solution
12x 200GB SSD
24x 600GB 10k SAS
16.8 TB
5.8 TB
21,142
418

343

16.9

Raw Capacity
Usable capacity
Orders per minute
Application response time (ms)
Peak power usage (watts)
Orders per minute per watt
(higher numbers are better)

212

1,253

Configuration

Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS
7x 400GB SSD
17x 600GB 10k SAS
13 TB
9.3 TB
54,979

160.3

Figure 5: Summary of OLTP solution test setup and results.

WHAT WE TESTED
Features of the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS 10GbE iSCSI array
The EqualLogic PS6210XS 10GbE iSCSI array combines the low-latency and highIOPS strength of solid-state storage with the raw capacity of traditional hard disk drives
in a single-chassis solution. Features include:


Agility. Use storage that fits the demands of your server or application. EqualLogic
dynamically tiers data on SSD or HDD, depending on the performance requirements
for a specific situation.



Upgradable. Start out using your existing 10GbE SFP+ modules, and build out to
cost-effective 10GBASE-T as your budget allows. Move volumes between storage
pools without downtime, and change hardware without disruption.



Robust. Vertical port sharing keeps your bandwidth at full speed, even if a network
port fails. Automatic load-balancing keeps data moving reliably to and from your
physical or virtual server farm.



Management. EqualLogic Host Software, Host Integration Tools, and EqualLogic SAN
Headquarters (SAN HQ) provide the tools administrators need to keep a high-level
view of the storage system, while EqualLogic Group Manger providing the flexibility
to make granular changes as needed.



Features of the Dell PowerEdge R710 rack server
The Dell PowerEdge R710 is a high-performance server that offers many
features for maximizing performance and for minimizing operational expenses, including
the following:


64-bit computing with large RAM capacities. The Dell PowerEdge R710
allows for up to 144 GB of RAM via its 18 DIMM slots, which accept any of
the following sizes of DDR3 RAM: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB. These amounts of
memory, along with the 64-bit Windows software platform, allow you to
virtualize multiple servers in a single machine.



Power. The Dell PowerEdge R710 includes enhancements that let it use less
energy than many older servers do.



Processors. The Dell PowerEdge R710 uses the Intel Xeon Processor 5500
series. These processors automatically adjust their speed and energy usage
to meet the requirements of your applications, improving performance and
saving power.



Management. The Dell PowerEdge R710, like all late-model Dell servers,
comes with the Dell Lifecycle Controller. This tool simplifies management by
providing a single interface for management functions and by storing critical
information in the system itself. There are no CDs or USB keys to keep track
of for drivers or firmware. In addition, you can use the Lifecycle Controller in
conjunction with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to
streamline remote operating system deployments.

About DVD Store Version 2.1
To create our real-world ecommerce workload, we used the DVD Store Version
2.1 benchmarking tool. DS2 models an online DVD store, where customers log in, search
for movies, and make purchases. DS2 reports these actions in orders per minute that
the system could handle, to show what kind of performance you could expect for your
customers. The DS2 workload also performs other actions, such as adding new
customers, to exercise the wide range of database functions you would need to run your
ecommerce environment.



CONCLUSIONS
The effectiveness of your OLTP database environment can depend to an
enormous degree on the storage system you select. We compared a database server
solution using the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS with a one using competing industryleading SAN storage.
The EqualLogic PS6210XS solution was overwhelmingly superior in all areas we
tested. It delivered twice the performance with half the response time, and used a
fraction of the power.
These factors make it clear that any business that relies on its database servers
and wants to get the greatest return on its storage investment must consider the Dell
EqualLogic PS6210XS.



APPENDIX A – SYSTEM CONFIGURATION INFORMATION
Figure 6 provides detailed configuration information about the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS array, and Figure 7
details the configuration of an industry-leading SAN storage solution.
Storage array
Number of storage arrays
Number of storage controllers per array
RAID level
10 Gbps interfaces per controller
Firmware version
Number of drives, type 1
Model number
Drive size (GB)
Drive buffer size (MB)
Drive RPM
Drive type
Model number
Drive size (GB)
Drive type

Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS array
1
2
6 (accelerated)
2
7.0.0
7
LB400M
400
N/A
N/A
SSD
17
ST9600205SS
600
16
6Gb SAS

Figure 6: Detailed configuration information for the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS array.

Storage array
Number of storage arrays
Number of storage controllers per array
RAID level
10 Gbps interfaces per controller
Numbers of 3.5 disk enclosures
Numbers of 2.5 disk enclosures
Drive size (GB)
Drive RPM
Drive type
Number of drives type 2
Drive size (GB)
Drive type

Industry-leading SAN solution
1
2
Dual Parity
2
1
1
200
12
N/A
N/A
SATA SSD
24
600
16
6Gb SAS

Figure 7: Detailed configuration information for the industry-leading SAN storage solution we tested.



System
Power supplies
Total number
Maximum wattage of each (W)
Cooling fans
Total number
Dimensions (h x w) of each
General
Number of processor packages
Number of cores per processor
Number of hardware threads per core
CPU
Vendor
Name
Model number
Stepping
Socket type
Core frequency (GHz)
Bus frequency (GT/s)
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache (MB)
Platform
Vendor and model number
Motherboard model number
BIOS name and version
BIOS settings
Memory module(s)
Total RAM in system (GB)
Type
Speed (MHz)
Speed running in the system (MHz)
Size (GB)
Number of RAM module(s)
Rank
Chip organization
Hard disk
Number of disks in system
Size (GB)
Buffer size (MB)
RPM
Type

Dell PowerEdge R710
2
870
5
2.5" x 2.5"
2
6
2
Intel®
Xeon®
X5670
B1
FCLGA1366
2.93
6.4 GT/s
32 KB + 32 KB (per core)
256 KB (per core)
12
Dell PowerEdge™ R710
0N0H4P
Dell 6.3.0
Default
288 GB
Hynix HMT42GR7MFR4C-PB
PC3-12800R
1,600
1,600
16
18
Dual
Double-sided
Dell Enterprise Savvio 15k.2
2
147
16
15K
SAS



System
Controller
Network adapter
Type

Dell PowerEdge R710
Dell PERC 6/i Integrated RAID Controller
Intel Ethernet Controller 10 Gigabit X520-AT2
PCI-E

Figure 8: Detailed configuration information for the test servers.



APPENDIX B: DETAILED CONFIGURATION INFORMATION
Figures 9 and 10 show the test bed setup we used for the two solutions.

Figure 9: Test bed setup for the Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS storage solution.

Figure 10: Test bed setup for the industry-leading SAN storage solution.



SETTING UP THE STORAGE
To host the data for our testing, we first created an EqualLogic storage group called EQL. In the EQL group, we
added a Dell EqualLogic PS6210XS array to the group and created an accelerated RAID 6 pool called EQL. We configured
the industry-leading SAN array as per vendor-specified best practices and we updated the array to current supported
software and firmware levels. We used all available SAS disks and added all available SSDs as cache.

Configuring the EqualLogic PS6210XS
We configured the EqualLogic PS6210XS array with 2 x 3TB LUNS.
1. Using the command-line console, via serial cable, reset the EqualLogic PS6210XS by using the reset command.
2. Supply a group name, group IP address, and IP address for eth0.
3. After group creation, using a computer connected to the same subnet as the storage, use the Dell EqualLogic
Web interface to do the following:
a. Click the array, and choose Yes when prompted to configure the member. Choose RAID 6 (accelerated).
b. Create two LUNs.
c. Enable shared access to the iSCSI target from multiple initiators on the volume.
d. Create an access control record for the volume.

Configuring the industry-leading SAN array
Using vendor-supported tools we configured the industry-leading SAN array to use all available disk space on
each controller to present 2 x 2.8TB, cache-enabled LUNS. We set all network interfaces to MTU 9000.

SETTING UP AND CONFIGURING DELL R710 SERVERS, LOCAL STORAGE,
AND BIOS SETTINGS
We installed and configured three Dell PowerEdge R710 servers with system defaults and enabled the
Performance power profile. We configured each server’s PERC RAID controller for RAID 1, and installed the server OS on
the local RAID 1 storage. We installed vSphere 5.5 on all three servers.

Installing vSphere 5.5 on a Dell PowerEdge R710
1. Insert the ESXi 5.5 disk, and select Boot from disk.
2. On the Welcome screen, press Enter.
3. On the End User License Agreement (EULA) screen, press F11.
4. On the Select a Disk to install or Upgrade screen, select the relevant volume to install ESXi on, and press Enter.
5. On the Please Select a Keyboard Layout screen, press Enter.
6. On the Enter a Root Password screen, assign a root password, and confirm it by entering it again. Press Enter to
continue.
7. On the Confirm Install screen, press F11 to install.
8. On the Installation Complete screen, press Enter to reboot.



Configuring ESXi after installation (data network)
1. On the ESXi 5.5 screen, press F2, enter the root password, and press Enter.
2. On the System Customization screen, select Troubleshooting Options, and press Enter.
3. On the Troubleshooting Mode Options screen, select Enable ESXi Shell, and press Enter.
4. Select Enable SSH, press Enter, and press Esc.
5. On the System Customization screen, select Configure Management Network.
6. On the Configure Management Network screen, select IP Configuration.
7. On the IP Configuration screen, select Set static IP; enter an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway; and
press Enter.
8. On the Configure Management Network screen, press Esc. When asked if you want to apply the changes, press
Y.
9. Log into the host as root with the vSphere client.
10. Select the Configuration tab, and click Networking.
11. Configure vSwitch0 by clicking Add Networking…
12. Click the Network Adapters tab.
13. Click Add…
14. Select vmnic0, and click Next.
15. In the vSwitch0 properties, click Add…
16. Create a virtual machine network, click Next, and click Finish.

Configuring ESXi after installation (storage network)
1. Select the Configuration tab, and click Networking.
2. Click Add networking.
3. Select VMkernel, and click Next.
4. Select Create a vSphere standard switch, and click Next.
5. Type iSCSI, and click Next.
6. Enter the appropriate IP address and subnet mask, and click Next.
7. Click Finish.
8. On vSwitch1, click Properties.
9. Click vSwitch, and then click Edit.
10. Type MTU 9000, click OK.
11. Click iSCSI and Edit.
12. Type MTU 9000, click OK.

Creating the vSphere data stores on iSCSI targets
Note: All data stores are created once on the first vSphere host. Additional vSphere nodes do not require
datastore re-creation.
1. Log into the host as root with the vSphere client.
2. Click Configuration tabStorageAdd Storage.
3. Select the first EqualLogic volume, and click Next.


4. Select VMFS-5, and click Next.
5. Review the disk layout, and click Next.
6. For Datastore name, type EQL1 and click Next.
7. For Capacity, select Maximum Available Space, and click Next.
8. Click Finish to create the data store.
9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 to create the second data store on iSCSI storage.

Setting up the first virtual machine
1. Connect to the first ESX server via the VMware vSphere Web client.
2. Log in as root to the ESX server.
3. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
4. Right-click, and choose New Virtual Machine.
5. Choose Custom, and click Next.
6. Assign the name to the virtual machine, and click Next.
7. Select the first host, and click Next.
8. Select the first LUN for the storage, and click Next.
9. Choose Virtual Machine Version 9, and click Next.
10. Choose Windows, choose Microsoft Windows Server® 2012 (64-bit), and click Next.
11. For CPUs, select one virtual processor socket, with four cores per virtual socket, and click Next.
12. Choose 64GB RAM, and click Next.
13. Click 1 for the number of NICs, select VMXNET3, connect to the vSwitch0 network, and click Next.
14. Leave the default virtual storage controller, and click Next.
15. Choose to Create a new virtual disk, and click Next.
16. Set the OS virtual disk size to 85GB, choose thick-provisioned lazy-zeroed, specify the OS datastore on the
external storage, and click Next.
17. Keep the default virtual device node (0:0), and click Next.
18. Click Finish.
19. Right-click the VM, and choose Edit Settings.
20. Click the Resources tab, and click Memory.
21. Select reserve all guest memory, and click OK.
22. Connect the VM virtual CD-ROM to the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 installation disk.
23. Start the VM.

Installing the VM operating system on the first VM
1. At the Language Selection Screen, click Next.
2. Click Install Now.
3. Select Windows Server 2012 Enterprise (Full Installation), and click Next.
4. Click the I accept the license terms checkbox, and click Next.
5. Click Custom.



6. Click Next.
7. At the User’s password must be changed before logging on warning screen, click OK.
8. Enter the desired password for the administrator in both fields, and click the arrow to continue.
9. At the Your password has been changed screen, click OK.
10. Install the latest Host Integration Tools package on the VM. Restart as necessary.
11. Connect the machine to the Internet, and install all available Windows updates. Restart as necessary.
12. Enable remote desktop access.
13. Change the hostname, and reboot when prompted.
14. Create a shared folder to store test script files. Set permissions as needed.
15. Set up networking:
a. Click StartControl Panel, right-click Network Connections, and choose Open.
b. Right-click the VM traffic NIC, and choose Properties.
c. Select TCP/IP (v4), and choose Properties.
d. Assign the VM a static IP address.
16. Shut down the VM.
17. Clone the VM, hosting three VMs on each Dell PowerEdge R710 host.

Installing and configuring Microsoft SQL Server 2012
We installed Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on the VMs residing on the systems under test.

Configuring the SQL Server VM
After cloning, modify the SQL VM to contain two additional virtual disks:
 400GB virtual disks for SQL database (Thick provisioned, eager-zeroed)


140GB virtual disks for SQL log data (Thick provisioned, eager-zeroed)

In the VM, configure the VM storage:
1. In the taskbar, click the Server Manager icon.
2. In the left pane, expand Storage, and click Disk Management.
3. Right-click the first volume, and choose Initialize Disk.
4. In the right pane, right-click the volume, and choose New Simple Volume…
5. At the welcome window, click Next.
6. At the Specify Volume Size window, leave the default selection, and click Next.
7. At the Assign Drive Letter or Path window, choose a drive letter, and click Next.
8. At the Format Partition window, choose NTFS, and click Next.
9. At the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard window, click Finish.

Installing SQL Server 2012
1. Open the console for the VM or connect to the VM with RDP.
2. Mount the installation ISO to the VM.
3. Click Run SETUP.EXE. If Autoplay does not begin the installation, navigate to the SQL Server 2012 DVD, and
double-click.



4. If the installer prompts you with a .NET installation prompt, click Yes to enable the .NET Framework Core role.
5. In the left pane, click Installation.
6. Click New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.
7. At the Setup Support Rules screen, wait for the rule check to complete. If there are no failures or relevant
warnings, click OK.
8. Select the Specify a free edition and from the drop-down menu, and select Evaluation. Click Next.
9. Click the checkbox to accept the license terms, and click Next.
10. If no failures are displayed after the setup support files are installed, click Next.
11. At the Setup Role screen, choose SQL Server Feature Installation.
12. At the Feature Selection screen, select Database Engine Services, Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for Search,
Client Tools Connectivity, Client Tools Backwards Compatibility, Management Tools – Basic, and Management
Tools – Complete. Click Next.
13. At the Installation Rules screen, click Next after the check completes.
14. At the Instance configuration screen, leave the default selection of default instance, and click Next.
15. At the Disk Space Requirements screen, click Next.
16. At the Server Configuration screen, check that NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM is selected for SQL Server Agent and SQL
Server Database Engine. Click Next.
17. Assuming there are no failures, click Next.
18. At the Database Engine Configuration screen, select Mixed Mode.
19. Enter and confirm a password for the system administrator account.
20. Click Add Current user. This may take several seconds.
21. Click the Data Directories tab, and enter the appropriate drive and folders for database and logs.
22. Click Next.
23. At the Error and usage reporting screen, click Next.
24. At the Installation Configuration Rules screen, check that there are no failures or relevant warnings, and click
Next.
25. At the Ready to Install screen, click Install.
26. After installation completes, click Close.
27. Create a SQL Server login for the ds2user (see the Configuring the database (Data generation overview) section
for the specific script to use).
28. Copy the pre-created DVD Store backup to the specified backup volume.
29. Download and install any available updates for Microsoft SQL Server 2012. We installed SQL Server 2012 SP1
and CU5.

Configuring the database workload client
For our testing, we used a virtual client for the Microsoft SQL Server client. To create this client, we installed
Windows Server 2008 R2, assigned a static IP address, and installed .NET 3.5.



Configuring the database
Data generation overview
We generated the data using the Install.pl script included with DVD Store version 2.1 (DS2), providing the
parameters for our 400GB database size and the database platform on which we ran: Microsoft SQL Server. We ran the
Install.pl script on a utility system running Linux. The database schema was also generated by the Install.pl script.
After processing the data generation, we transferred the data files and schema creation files to a Windowsbased system running SQL Server 2012. We built the 400GB database in SQL Server 2012, and then performed a full
backup, storing the backup file on the C: drive for quick access. We used that backup file to restore the server between
test runs.
The only modification we made to the schema creation scripts were the specified file sizes for our database. We
explicitly set the file sizes higher than necessary to ensure that no file-growth activity would affect the outputs of the
test. Besides this file size modification, the database schema was created and loaded according to the DVD Store
documentation. Specifically, we followed the steps below:
1. We generated the data and created the database and file structure using database creation scripts in the DS2
download. We made size modifications specific to our 400GB database and the appropriate changes to drive
letters.
2. We transferred the files from our Linux data generation system to a Windows system running SQL Server.
3. We created database tables, stored procedures, and objects using the provided DVD Store scripts.
4. We set the database recovery model to bulk-logged to prevent excess logging.
5. We loaded the data we generated into the database. For data loading, we used the import wizard in SQL Server
Management Studio. Where necessary, we retained options from the original scripts, such as Enable Identity
Insert.
6. We created indices, full-text catalogs, primary keys, and foreign keys using the database-creation scripts.
7. We updated statistics on each table according to database-creation scripts, which sample 18 percent of the
table data.
8. On the SQL Server instance, we created a ds2user SQL Server login using the following Transact SQL (TSQL)
script:
USE [master]
GO
CREATE LOGIN [ds2user] WITH PASSWORD=N’’,
DEFAULT_DATABASE=[master],
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE=[us_english],
CHECK_EXPIRATION=OFF,
CHECK_POLICY=OFF
GO
9. We set the database recovery model back to full.
10. We created the necessary full text index using SQL Server Management Studio.



11. We created a database user and mapped this user to the SQL Server login.
12. We then performed a full backup of the database. This backup allowed us to restore the databases to a pristine
state relatively quickly between tests.
Figure 11 shows our initial file size modifications.
Logical name
Database files
primary
cust1
cust2
cust3
cust4
ind1
ind2
ind3
ind4
ds_misc
orders1
orders2
orders3
orders4
Log files
ds_log

Filegroup

Initial size (MB)

PRIMARY
DS_CUST_FG
DS_CUST_FG
DS_CUST_FG
DS_CUST_FG
DS_IND_FG
DS_IND_FG
DS_IND_FG
DS_IND_FG
DS_MISC_FG
DS_ORDERS
DS_ORDERS
DS_ORDERS
DS_ORDERS

5
46,589
46,589
46,589
46,589
28,607
28,607
28,607
28,607
470
22,540
22,540
22,540
22,540

Not applicable

102,400

Figure 11: Our initial file size modifications.

Running the test
Test start and run times
We ran all workloads concurrently in order to start and record all performance counters for this report. The
specific testing parameters we used for the benchmark are included in the setup sections, and specifics for launching
these tests are described below.

About running the DVD Store tests
We created a series of batch files, SQL scripts, and shell scripts to automate the complete test cycle. DVD Store
outputs an orders-per-minute metric, which is a running average calculated through the test. In this report, we report
the last OPM reported by each client/target pair. To ensure all threads successfully connected during the test run, we
performed a very light run with a single thread, prior to the actual run.
Each complete test cycle consisted of the following general steps:
1. Clean up prior outputs from the target systems and the client driver systems.
2. Drop the database from the targets.
3. Restore the database on the targets.
4. Shut down the targets.
5. Reboot the host and client systems.



6. Wait for a ping response from the servers under test (the hypervisor systems), the client systems, and the
targets.
7. Let the test servers idle for 10 minutes.
8. Start the DVD Store driver on the clients.
We used the following DVD Store parameters for the initial warm-up period.
ds2sqlserverdriver.exe --target=<target_IP> --ramp_rate=10 --run_time=30 -n_threads=1 --db_size=400GB --think_time=0.5 --detailed_view=Y -warmup_time=0 --report_rate=1 --csv_output=<drive path>
9. Clean up outputs from the target systems and the client driver systems for the warm-up period.
10. Let the test servers idle for another 10 minutes.
11. Start the DVD Store driver on the clients.
We used the following DVD Store parameters for testing:
ds2sqlserverdriver.exe --target=<target_IP> --ramp_rate=10 --run_time=30 -n_threads=16 --db_size=400GB --think_time=0 --detailed_view=Y -warmup_time=5 --report_rate=1 --csv_output=<drive path>



ABOUT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES

Principled Technologies, Inc.
1007 Slater Road, Suite 300
Durham, NC, 27703
www.principledtechnologies.com

We provide industry-leading technology assessment and fact-based
marketing services. We bring to every assignment extensive experience
with and expertise in all aspects of technology testing and analysis, from
researching new technologies, to developing new methodologies, to
testing with existing and new tools.
When the assessment is complete, we know how to present the results to
a broad range of target audiences. We provide our clients with the
materials they need, from market-focused data to use in their own
collateral to custom sales aids, such as test reports, performance
assessments, and white papers. Every document reflects the results of
our trusted independent analysis.
We provide customized services that focus on our clients’ individual
requirements. Whether the technology involves hardware, software, Web
sites, or services, we offer the experience, expertise, and tools to help our
clients assess how it will fare against its competition, its performance, its
market readiness, and its quality and reliability.
Our founders, Mark L. Van Name and Bill Catchings, have worked
together in technology assessment for over 20 years. As journalists, they
published over a thousand articles on a wide array of technology subjects.
They created and led the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation, which
developed such industry-standard benchmarks as Ziff Davis Media’s
Winstone and WebBench. They founded and led eTesting Labs, and after
the acquisition of that company by Lionbridge Technologies were the
head and CTO of VeriTest.

Principled Technologies is a registered trademark of Principled Technologies, Inc.
All other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability:
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF ITS TESTING, HOWEVER,
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THE TEST RESULTS AND
ANALYSIS, THEIR ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR QUALITY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES RELYING ON THE RESULTS OF ANY TESTING DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK, AND AGREE THAT PRINCIPLED
TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ITS EMPLOYEES AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FROM ANY CLAIM OF LOSS OR
DAMAGE ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ALLEGED ERROR OR DEFECT IN ANY TESTING PROCEDURE OR RESULT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN
CONNECTION WITH ITS TESTING, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.’S LIABILITY, INCLUDING FOR DIRECT DAMAGES, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID IN CONNECTION WITH PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S
TESTING. CUSTOMER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES ARE AS SET FORTH HEREIN.



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