Virtualisation Scenarios for Business Critical Applications

Vipul ShahSr. Product ManagerMicrosoftSession Code: MGT312

What We Will Cover

Why Microsoft Virtualization for Microsoft Server Applications?SQL Server Virtualization Scenarios

Consolidation, BI and HA ScenariosScalability Tests, Best Practices, Sizing Guidelines

SharePoint Virtualization Best PracticesExchange Virtualization Best PracticesLinks to Reference Material

Virtualization Trends

Production Middleware Systems

End-User Desktops

Production Web Servers

Data/Storage Mgmt Systems

Production Databases

Disaster Recovery Systems

Production Application Servers

Test and Development

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

26%

5%

47%

21%

30%

29%

64%

74%

41%

45%

47%

47%

50%

51%

74%

79%

2008 2006

Source: Virtualization and Management: Trends, Forecasts, and Recommendations; Enterprise Management Associates (EMA); April 2008

“What types of workloads have you deployed virtualization technology for 2006 vs. 2008”

Customers are Reaping the Benefits• Reduce server sprawl, save space• Save on power and cooling costs• Optimize usage of current hardware resources

• Increase availability of business applications• Delivers cost effective high availability• Improve service levels, less downtime

• Rapidly provision business applications• Quickly test applications• Increase administrative flexibility

Save Costs: Improve Resource Utilization

Enhanced Business Continuity

Agile and Efficient Management “Building a physical server took almost four hours before virtualization. Hyper-V™ has helped decrease this time to 20 minutes.”

Vito Forte, Chief Information OfficerWorleyParsons

“We can no longer tolerate service interruptions. With virtualization, we are creating a redundant data center in Normandy to ensure business continuity”

Amaury Pitrou, Projects Architecture, Desktops and Mobility Director Bouygues Constructions

“By the time we hit our fifth virtual machine on a host, we’ve usually paid for the host. Long term, we will be able to reduce our total data center holdings by 75 percent.”

Robert McSkinsky, Senior Systems Administrator, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Microsoft Virtualization for Server Applications

Virtualization Platform

Business Critical Applications Management Platform

Enterprise ApplicationsLine Of Business (LOB) Custom Applications

Database Communication

Business Applications

MicrosoftServer

Applications

Collaboration

Hyper-V™

Microsoft Virtualization = Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V + System Center

Microsoft Virtualization: The Best Choice for Microsoft Server Applications

Microsoft Server Applications Built for

Windows

Low Cost Complete Solution

Complete Management Solution

*Physical & Virtual Management

*Cross Platform and Hypervisor Support

*Deep Application Knowledge

*Built-in Virtualization with One-stop Support

IncreasedDeployment Options

*Large Partner Ecosystem

*A comparable solution can cost up to six

times more†

*Lower Ongoing Costs

Virtualization-friendlyLicensing

*Only available with Microsoft Virtualization †Based on a comparison of Microsoft® System Center Server Management Suite Datacenter with VMware® vSphere Enterprise Plus with VMware vCenter Server.. Assumes a five host configuration, 2 processors on each host, 2 years support costs for both products, and no operating system costs included.. The Microsoft solution can use either the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 hypervisor or an existing Windows Server 2008 R2 hypervisor. Based on Microsoft estimated retail prices and published VMware prices available at https://www.vmware.com/vmwarestore as of 08/04/2009 for purchases in the United States. Actual reseller prices may vary.

Virtualization Deployment Scenarios for

Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server Consolidation H

ighe

r Iso

latio

n, H

ighe

r Cos

ts Higher D

ensity, Lower Costs

MyServer

Databases InstancesIT ManagedEnvironment

VirtualMachines

Schemas

Microsoft Confidential

Sales_1

Marketing_1

Online_Sales

ERP_10

ERP_10

DB_1

DB_3DB_2

Consolidate_1

Currently a variety of consolidation strategies exist and are utilized.

Typically, as isolation goes up, density goes down and operation cost goes up.

Consolidation ConsiderationsMultiple SQL Instances Multiple Virtual Machines (VM)

Isolation Shared Windows instance Dedicated Windows instance

CPU Resources Number of CPUs visible to Windows instance

Up to 4 virtual CPUsCPU over-commit is supported

Memory Server LimitDynamic(max server memory)

Statically allocated to VM (Offline changes only)64GB limit per VM2 TB Limit per Host

Storage SQL Data Files with standard storage options

SQL Data Files using Passthrough or Virtual Hard Disks exposed to VM

Resource Management Windows System Resource Manager(process level)SQL Server Resource Governor

Hyper-V guest VM SQL Server Resource Governor

Number of instances 50 Practical limit determined by physical resources

High Availability Clustering, Database Mirroring, Log Shipping, Replication

Live Migration, Guest Clustering, Database Mirroring, Log Shipping, Replication

Performance Good Comparable with multiple instances, acceptable overhead

Virtual Memory & Second-Level TranslationWith Virtualization an additional level of mapping is required Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) provides the extra translation into Virtual Machine address spacesPerformance advantage over non-enabled CPUs

Physical Memory Pages

The Virtual / Process view The Physical / real view

Virtual Machine 1

Hyper Visor

Virtual Machine 1

Virtual Machine 3

Operating System

SQL Server Consolidation Scalability

)

1VM 2VM 3VM 4VM 5VM 6VM 7VM 8VM0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Batch req/sec %CPU Relative Throughput

Virtual Instances ScalabilityVirtual Instances Scalability% CPU

Throughput(Batch requests/sec)

Relative Throughput for Windows Server 2008

HeavyLoad

ModerateLoad

LowLoad

CPU over-commitAlmost Linear ScaleNo CPU over-commit

Results:• Increased throughput with consolidation• Near linear scale in throughput with no CPU over-

commit• Improved performance with Windows Server 2008

R2 and SLAT processor architecture

Configuration:• OS: Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper-V™• Hardware:

HP DL585 (16 core) with SLAT HP EVA 8000 storage

• Virtual Machines: 4 virtual processors and 7 GB RAM per virtual machine; Fixed size VHD

SQL Server Consolidation ScalabilityResults:• Drop-in compatibility of Istanbul processors with existing

infrastructure • ~50% performance improvement with AMD

HyperTransport Assist (Intel snoop filter) feature• Keep cache coherency traffic between the two

sockets from appearing on the external bus

Configuration:• OS: Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper-V™• Hardware:

HP DL785 (32 core, and 48 cores) with SLATHitachi Data Systems AMS2500 Storage

• Virtual Machines: 4 virtual processors and 7 GB RAM per virtual machine; Fixed size VHD

VM1 VM2 VM4 VM6 VM80

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

82.1290.28

93.12 91.70

94.05

57.8460.15

57.8459.79 60.67

Batches/sec_Istanbul

Batches/sec_Shanghai

%Processor Time_Istanbul

%Processor Time_Shanghai

Relative Through-put_Istanbul

Relative Throughput_Shanghai

Comparing Istanbul vs. Shanghai

42%

55%

Virtualization for SQL Server Business IntelligenceVirtualization Benefits: • Increase agility by rapidly provisioning and scaling-

out BI components on demand

• Reduce the number of physical servers, save on power and space

Scenario Description:• Business Intelligence (BI) components with lower

resource requirements such as Data Mart (DM), OLAP Cube, Reporting Servers are good candidates for scale out and ideal for virtualization

• Operational Data Store (ODS), Data Warehouse (DW), SQL Server® Integration Services could be physical or virtual depending on scale up requirements

• If virtual, put SSIS and Data Warehouse on the same Virtual Machine (VM)

ERPExternal

1

2

Operational Data Store

Web Legacy

Click Here For More Information

Reporting Server

Data Mart & OLAP Cube

Reporting Server

Data Mart & OLAP Cube

VM

SQL Server® Integration

Services (SSIS)

Data Warehouse

(DW)

Remote Site Consolidation with DB MirroringScenario Description:• Help protect from data loss with SQL Server®

Database Mirroring. Automatically, failover from primary to standby using witness.

• Consolidate mirrored database servers on standby site with virtualization

• Use mirrored databases with database snapshots for reporting

• Ensure there is enough CPU capacity at the standby site to provide acceptable SLA upon failover

Virtualization Benefits: • Better server utilization on standby site due to

consolidation• Cost effective disaster recovery solution without

using costly specialized hardware• Management efficiency based on SQL Server and

System Center management tools

2

1

SQL Server Database Mirroring

2SQL Server Database

Mirroring

3

Click Here For More Information

VM

Reporting Server(DB Snapshot)

Hyper-V Live MigrationTechnology in Windows Server 2008 R2 that allows you to move running VMs from one physical server to another physical server without disruption of service or perceived downtimeLive Migration Process

1. Initiated via in-box cluster UI, SCVMM, PowerShell2. VM State/Memory Transfer

a) Create VM on the targetb) Move memory pages from the source to the target via Ethernet

3. Final state transfer and virtual machine restorea) Pause virtual machineb) Move storage connectivity from source host to target host via Ethernet

4. Un-pause & Run

Host 1 Host 2

Blue = Shared Storage (FC, iSCSI)Yellow = NetworkingGreen = Live migration networking (1Gb or better)

SQL Server with Live Migration

Shared StorageiSCSI, SAS, Fibre

LiveMigration

1 2

Host cluster

1 2

Scenario Description:• Manage high availability with multipathing and live

migration for planned downtime situations, such as hardware and software maintenance

• Failover individual virtual machines (VMs) to other hosts within a cluster by using Cluster Shared Volume (in Windows Server® 2008 R2)

• Use Microsoft ® System Center Virtual Machine Manager for migrations. System Center VMM can perform host compatibility checks before migrations and manage multiple Live Migrations with queues.

• Nodes in cluster can be active-active• Ensure there is enough CPU capacity for the failover

nodes in cluster

Virtualization Benefits: • No loss of service during failover with live

migration. Migration is completely transparent to the user

• Improve availability with less complexity• Better server utilization due to consolidation

• Easier set up and management through System Center VMM

Click Here For More Information

VM

Performance & Resource Optimization

PRO Pack Technologies

Partner PRO Technology

Brocade Monitor IO performance from the server to the data in the SAN

Dell The “PRO-enabled” Dell Management Pack ensures that host machines operate under normal power and temperature thresholds. Other PRO alerts include memory, storage controller, and disk remediation.

Citrix Workflows can be initiated to automatically start or provision VMs based on an entity’s health and automatically update NetScaler load balancing rules

Emulex Monitor I/O rates across the HBA relative to maximum available bandwidth

HP Monitor the following attributes of their servers: hard drive, array controller, power, temperature, processor, memory, fans, and alert on degradation or critical errors providing the appropriate recommended resolution

Quest Software For non-Windows Operating Systems and non-Microsoft application technologies, the solution enables intelligent virtual machine tuning

Secure Vantage Extends the native capabilities of Security Management providing users the ability to mitigate risk and remediate policy violations across virtual environments

Virtual Machine Manager PRO Packs

For complete list, visit http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/virtualmachinemanager/en/us/pro-partners.aspx

Hyper-V Configuration GuidelinesHyper-V Root Configuration

Plan for 1GB+ memory reserve for the management OS in the root partitionPlan for one dedicated NIC for management purposesPlan (ideally) for one dedicated NIC for live migrationSeparate LUNs/Arrays for management OS, guest OS VHDs and VM storageManagement OS and VHD LUNs should employ RAID to provide data protection and performanceChallenge for blades with 2 physical disks

Hyper-V Guest ConfigurationFixed-sized VHDs for Virtual OS

Need to account for page file consumption in addition to OS requirementsOS VHD Size (minimum 15GB) + VM Memory Size = Minimum VHD size

Account for space needed by additional files by VMExample for SQL: OS VHD Size + (VM Memory Size) + Data Files + Log Files

SQL Server Best PracticesGuest virtual machines are limited to 4 CPU coresBest performance if VMs are not over-committed for CPUTest Network intensive applications for acceptable SLAsUse multi-pathing on host or within the VM to ensure maximum throughput and high availability for VM workloads Utilize either pass-through disk or fixed-size VHD for guest virtual machinesAvoid using emulated devices. Instead, ensure integration components are installed and synthetic devices are being used.

Virtualization Deployment Scenarios for

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

What is a SharePoint Farm?What is a SharePoint® Farm?A collection of one or more SharePoint Servers and SQL Servers® providing a set of basic SharePoint services bound together by a single configuration database in SQL Server

Key Components:

• Web Front End (WFE) Servers:o Windows® SharePoint Services o Web Application Service

• Application Servers:o Office SharePoint Server Search Service

(Index or Query)o Document Conversion Launcher Serviceo Document Conversion Load Balancer Serviceo Excel Calculation Services

• SQL Server

SharePoint Roles & Virtualization Considerations

Role VirtualizationDecision Considerations and Requirements

Web RoleRender Content Ideal • Easily provision additional servers for load balancing and fault

tolerance

Query RoleProcess Search Queries Ideal

• For large indexes, use physical volume over dynamic expanding VHD• Requires propagated copy of local index

Application RoleExcel Forms Services Ideal • Provision more servers as resource requirements for individual

applications increase

Index RoleCrawl Index Consider • Environments where significant amount of content is not crawled

• Requires enough drive space to store the index corpus

Database Role Consider• Environments with lower resource usage requirements• Implement SQL Server® alias for the farm required

For details, see SharePoint Virtualization whitepaper athttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/solutions/business-critical-applications

Production Farm – Physical & Virtual Mix

Scenario Description:• Optimized scenario for high-end

production is mixed physical and virtual• Index and database roles on dedicated

physical servers to provide very high scalability

• Virtual web, query, and application roles• All servers managed by System Center

Suite

Virtualization Benefits:• Unified management: physical and

virtual• Dynamic data center: scale dynamically

and on-demand provisioning

TEST

DEV

PRODUCTION

Shared StorageiSCSI, SAS, Fibre

Click Here for More Information

Failover Server

VM

Index

Partner Evidence: SharePoint Virtualization

Source: EMC Virtual Architecture for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enabled by Hyper-V (whitepaper)Click here for more information

VIRTUAL MACHINE SPECIFICATIONS• 1 Index server dedicated for crawling: 4 CPUs, 6 GB RAM per VM• 10 Web Front End & Query servers: 4 CPUs, 4 GB RAM per VM• 2 Application servers: 2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM per VM• 2 Domain controllers: 2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM per VM

DESCRIPTIONDeployment with mix of physical & virtual serversWeb, Query and Application roles are deployed virtual; database role is deployed physicalMaintains resource optimization with PRO

RESULTSAverage response time of under 3-5 seconds with 1% concurrency with a heavy user load profile of over 300K user capacity

SharePoint Virtualization Best PracticesBest Practices and Recommendations

CPU • Configure a 1-to-1 mapping of virtual processor to logical processors for best performance • Be aware of “CPU bound” issues

Memory • Ensure enough memory is allocated to each virtual machine

Disk• Be aware of underlying disk read write contention between different virtual machines to their virtual hard

disks • Ensure SAN is configured correctly

Network • Use VLAN tagging for security • Associate SharePoint® virtual machines to the same virtual switch

Others• Ensure that integration components are installed on the virtual machine • Do not use other host roles (use server core)• Avoid single point of failure: load balance your virtual machines across hosts and cluster virtual machines

Virtualization Deployment Scenarios for

Microsoft Exchange Server

Deployment Recommendations• Exchange application is not ‘virtualization aware’

Core Exchange Design Principles Still ApplyDesign for Performance, Reliability and CapacityDesign for Usage Profiles (CAS/MBX)Design for Message Profiles (Hub/Edge)

• Virtualization Design Principles Now Apply• Design for Performance, Reliability and Capacity• Virtual machines should be sized specific to the Exchange role

(EDGE, HUB, CAS, MBX, multi-role)• Hosts should be sized to accommodate the guests that they will

support

Exchange 2010 Sizing GuidanceRole Physical Deployment Virtual Deployment Notes

Maximum Processor Cores

Memory Sizing

Processor Core : MBX Ratio

Maximum Virtual Processors

Memory Sizing

Standard VM

Standard VM Ratio

Edge/Hub

12 processor cores

1 GB per processor core

• 1:5 with Anti-Virus• 1:7 with no AV

4 virtual processors

1 GB per processor core

4 VPs + 4GB

1 HUB VM : 5 MBX VMs

To accommodate peak I/O (e.g. processing queue) locate Transport DB + Logs on separate spindles

CAS 12 processor cores

2GB per processor core

3:4 4 virtual processors

2 GB per processor core

4 VPs + 8GB

3 CAS VMs : 4 MBX VMs

Detailed guidance to be available by early Dec

CAS/ Hub Multi-Role

12 processor cores

2GB per processor core

1:1 4 virtual processors

2 GB per processor core

4 VPs + 8GB

1 CAS/HUB VM : 1 MBX VM

Simplifies core ratio. Better balanced workloads on typical servers which have 8, 16 or 24 core counts.

MBX 12 processor cores

4GB + 3-30MB per MBX

N/A 4 virtual processors

4GB + 3-30MB per MBX

4GB + 3-30MB per MBX

4 VPs + 16-24GB

Adjust for number of mailboxes and database cache for send/receive profile

CAS/HUB

MBX

8 cores

CAS/HUB

CAS/HUB

CAS/HUB

MBX

MBX

MBX

CAS/HUB

MBX

MBX

CAS/HUB

16 cores

24 cores

CAS / HUB Multi-Role Server

Mailbox Server GuidelinesDatabase Cache requirements are the same for physical and virtual deployments

Total Send + Receive(75k message size)

Database CachePer Mailbox (MB)

50 3100 6150 9200 12250 15300 18350 21400 24450 27500 30

Total Send + Receive

(75k message size)

Users Per CorePhysical MBX

Role

Users Per VPVirtual MBX

Role

50 1000 900100 900 810150 800 720200 700 630250 600 540300 500 450350 400 360400 300 270

Virtual Processor ≠ Logical Processor• Hypervisor and the Virtualization Stack consume CPU• Reduce recommended MBX count by ~10%

Mailbox Storage ConfigurationVirtual SCSI (passthrough or fixed disk)

Recommended configuration for database and log volumes

iSCSIStandard best practice for iSCSI connected storage apply (dedicated NIC, jumbo frames, offload, etc.)iSCSI initiator in the guest is supported but need to account for reduced performance

Exchange 2010 High Availability

Database Availability Group (DAG)A group of up to 16 Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox servers that provide automatic database-level recoveryUses continuous log replication and a subset of Windows Failover Clustering technologiesCan extend across multiple datacenters/AD sites

Benefits of Exchange Native Data ProtectionProtection from database, server or network failureAutomatic failover protection and manual switchover control is provided at the mailbox database level instead of at the server level.Support for up to 16 copies, support for lag copies

Host Based Failover Clustering

Host Based Failover Clustering HAUsing Host Based Failover Clustering and automatically failing VMs to an alternate cluster node in the event of a critical hardware issue (virtualization platform independent)

What you need to be aware of:Not an Exchange Aware SolutionOnly protects against server hardware/network failureNo HA in the event of storage failure / data corruptionTrend is larger mailboxes = larger database sizes = longer time to recover from data loss = DAGNot supported for MBX VMs that are members of a DAG

Live Migration and Exchange 2010

Physical Computer MaintenanceOperating System/Application Updates

Hardware MaintenanceRebalancing Workloads

Dynamic Redistribution of VM’s to optimize workload on physical hardware

Green IT‘Off Peak’ Virtual Machine Consolidation

Support Guidelines

TechNet is the single source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794548.aspx

SVVP Support Policy Wizard is a great tool:http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvpwizard.htm

Always confirm SPW results with our TechNet articleCheck back for updatesClarifications published frequently

Supportability Quick ReferenceExchange 2010

SupportedRoot: Hyper-V or any virtualization platform in SVVPGuest:

Exchange 2010Windows 2008 SP2 or R2Mailbox, Client Access, Hub Transport, Edge rolesMeets basic Exchange system requirementsStorage is fixed VHD, SCSI pass through, or iSCSI

Not SupportedCombination of Exchange Mailbox HA (i.e. Mailbox servers in a DAG) and any host/hypervisor-based clustering or migration technologies (e.g. Microsoft Live Migration, VMware V-Motion, etc.)Snapshots, differencing/delta disksUnified Messaging roleVirtual/logical processor ratio greater than 2:1Applications running in root partition (excluding AV)

Partner Evidence: Exchange VirtualizationHP recommended configurations for Exchange 2010 virtualization using Hyper-V R2

Sizing for 20,000 users, 512 MB mailboxesAll roles virtualized and Live Migration for MBX serversHardware: HP ProLiant BL460c G6 (BL460c G6) server blade and HP StorageWorks 8400 Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA8400) storage systems http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA1-2127ENW.pdf

Sizing for 5,000 users, 256 MB mailboxesAll roles virtualized and Live Migration for MBX serversHardware: HP ProLiant BL460c G6 (BL460c G6) server blades and HP LeftHand P4500 (P4500) storage systemshttp://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA1-9895ENW.pdf

For More Information…Virtualization

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-Vhttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-main.aspx

Windows Virtualization Team Bloghttp://blogs.technet.com/virtualization

Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides for Virtualizationhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/ee395429.aspx?SA_CE=VIRT-IPD-WEB-MSCOM-2009-09-21

Microsoft Virtualization Solutionshttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/solution-business-apps.aspx

ExchangeExchange Virtualization Best Practices Webcasthttp://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032428204&CountryCode=US

Exchange Server 2010 Guidancehttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124558(EXCHG.140).aspx

Exchange Team Bloghttp://blogs.technet.com/exchange

For More Information…SQL Server

SQL Server Virtualizationhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/virtualization.aspx

SQL Server Whitepapershttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/white-papers.aspx

SQL Server Virtualization Best Practices Webcasthttp://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032428764&EventCategory=5&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

SharePointSolutions for Optimizing SharePointhttp://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/managing-microsoft-applications/optimizing-sharepoint.aspx

Microsoft Virtualization Solutionshttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/solution-business-apps.aspx

Microsoft Consulting Services UK SharePoint Bloghttp://blogs.msdn.com/uksharepoint/archive/2009/03/04/topic-1-recommendations-for-optimizing-the-performance-of-a-virtualized-sharepoint-environment.aspx

www.microsoft.com/teched

Sessions On-Demand & Community

http://microsoft.com/technet

Resources for IT Professionals

http://microsoft.com/msdn

Resources for Developers

www.microsoft.com/learning

Microsoft Certification & Training Resources

Resources

Complete an evaluation on CommNet and enter to win an Xbox 360 Elite!

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS,

IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.