Best Practices for SAP on Hyper-V

(Microsoft Collaboration Brief )

(April 2009)

Best Practices for SAP on Hyper-V

Authors

Josef Stelzel, Sr. Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporationjstelzel@microsoft.com

Summary

This paper describes the best practices for implementing a Hyper-V virtualized solution for SAP applications on a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 platform. It introduces the technologies and architecture used, describes the available options for Hyper-V infrastructure planning, and discusses possible performance optimizations. This paper also contains information about lifecycle management and using the System Center Virtual Machine Manager to manage the Hyper-V infrastructure. It is written for developers, technical consultants, and solution architects. Readers are expected to have administrator level SAP knowledge, and a basic knowledge of Hyper-V and SQL Server.

Note: Access to a few link references in the paper might be restricted such as the SAP notes available at the SAP Service Marketplace https://service.sap.com. Access to this URL is limited to registered SAP customers and partners and requires proper login credentials.

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ContentsExecutive Summary5SAP Server Virtualization6Virtualization Benefits6Hyper-V Virtualization6Hyper-V Targeted Scenarios6Server Sprawl Reduction6High Availability for SAP7SAP Application Lifecycle Management7Dynamic Data Center8Hyper-V Overview9Architecture9Windows Hypervisor10Virtualization Service Provider, Virtualization Service Client, and VMBUS10Virtual CPU Assignments11Virtual Machine Storage Input/Output11Synthetic and Emulated Devices11SAP Support for Hyper-V12Hyper-V Best Practices13SCSI and Disk Performance Optimization13Virtual Hard Disk Choices14Hyper-V Integration Services Implementation14Memory Usage Maximization14Operating System Overhead Minimization15Network Capacity Improvement15Network Adapter Configuration15Global Configuration Considerations15Windows Server 2003 Advice16Additional Hyper-V Configuration Information16SAP on Hyper-V Infrastructure Design17Hyper-V Network Infrastructure17Alternative Configuration Options19Network Configuration with iSCSI22Correct Network Adapter Selection24Hyper-V Storage Infrastructure25Internal Virtual Machine Storage Options25IDE and SCSI Controller Distinctions27Parent Partition Storage Infrastructure30Optimal Hyper-V Storage31SAP Application Storage Considerations32Quick Migration for Hyper-V33Quick Migration Cluster Requirements34Hardware Requirements and Guidelines34Network Requirements and Guidelines35Storage Requirements and Guidelines35Additional Considerations35Cluster Setup and Virtual Machine Configurations35Outlook for Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V36Live Virtual Machine Migration36Networking Enhancements36Power Management Enhancements36Enhanced Hardware Virtualization Capabilities37Virtualization Licensing and Support38Windows Server Operating System Virtualization Licensing38SQL Server 2005/2008 Virtualization Licensing39SAP Virtualization Database Support Statements40Manageability and Operation41SCVMM Administrator Console41Host Management41Virtual Machine Hardware Profiles41Virtual Machine Guest Operating System Profiles42Virtual Machine Templates42Virtual Machine Manager Library42VMware ESX Server Management43Physical to Virtual43Physical to Virtual Candidate Identification43Virtualization Candidate Prioritization45SAP System Physical to Virtual Application46Virtual to Virtual Conversion47Virtual Machine Cloning47Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool48Conclusion50Additional Resources51

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Executive Summary

Server virtualization, also known as hardware virtualization, is a hot topic in the information technology (IT) world because of the potential for serious economic benefits. Server virtualization enables multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine as virtual machines. With server virtualization, you can consolidate workloads across multiple underutilized server machines onto a smaller number of machines. Fewer physical machines can lead to reduced costs through lower hardware, energy, and management overhead, plus the creation of a more dynamic IT infrastructure.

Enterprises are adopting server virtualization technologies to optimize and streamline the deployment of their enterprise applications such as SAP. For those deploying SAP into a Windows environment, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 provides virtualization technology out-of-the-box with Hyper-V. Some benefits that a company installing SAP into a Hyper-V environment will receive include:

Improved server utilization

Higher availability

Simplified scaling as the demand dictates

Easier recovery from failed updates or customizations

This paper describes the best practices for implementing a Hyper-V virtualized solution for SAP applications on a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 platform. It introduces the technologies and architecture used, describes the available options for Hyper-V infrastructure planning, and discusses possible performance optimizations. This paper also contains information about lifecycle management and information about using the System Center Virtual Machine Manager to manage the Hyper-V infrastructure. It is written for developers, technical consultants, and solution architects. Readers are expected to have administrator level SAP knowledge, and a basic knowledge of Hyper-V and SQL Server.

SAP Server Virtualization

Virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources or a computing environment. Virtualization provides a platform to present a logical view of physical computing resources to an operating system so that multiple operating systems can share a single computer, unaware that they do not have complete control of the underlying hardware. Virtualization can also refer to making several physical resources with different characteristics appear to be one logical resource. The term virtualization has been widely used for many years to refer to many different aspects and scopes of computing from entire networks to individual capabilities or components. The common function of all virtualization technologies is to conceal underlying technical characteristics by creating a logical interface that is indistinguishable from its physical counterpart.

Virtualization Benefits

System virtualization enables you to consolidate systems, workloads, and operating environments, optimize resource use, and increase server flexibility and responsiveness. It can be implemented using hardware partitioning or hypervisor technology. Hardware partitioning subdivides a physical server into fractions, each of which can run an operating system. These fractions are typically created with coarse units of allocation, such as whole processors or physical boards. This type of virtualization enables hardware consolidation, but does not have the full benefit of resource sharing and emulation provided by hypervisors. Hypervisors use a thin layer of code in software or firmware to achieve fine-grained, dynamic resource sharing. Because hypervisors provide the greatest level of flexibility in how virtual resources are defined and managed, they are the primary technology choice for system virtualization.

Hyper-V Virtualization

With Windows Server 2008, the platform required to support SAP server virtualization is available as an integral feature of the operating system. This feature is Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

With Hyper-V, Microsofts next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization technology, it is now easier than ever to benefit from the potential virtualization cost savings. Hyper-V enables enterprises to make the best use of SAP server hardware investments by consolidating multiple servers as separate virtual machines running on fewer physical machines dynamically configured for higher availability.