20
Sun StorEdge 3000 Family Best Practices Manual
• May
2005
Database Server Tips and Techniques
Consider the following tips and techniques when configuring database servers.
■
Database servers make heavy use of storage resources. Always use Ultra320 or
Ultra160 SCSI ports for best performance. Further optimize performance by
dedicating one RAID controller to each logical drive.
■
The recommended configuration for database servers consists of one RAID 1 and
one RAID 5 logical drive. Use the RAID 5 logical drive to store data files and the
RAID 1 (1+0) logical drive to store tables and other performance sensitive files.
■
Assign two drives as global spares, four drives to the RAID 1 logical drive (it
automatically becomes RAID 1+0) and the remaining drives to the RAID 5 logical
drive. Scale storage capacity by adding disks to the RAID 5 logical drive.
■
Adding disk drives to RAID 5 logical drives linearly improves transaction
performance whenever cache misses occur, regardless of whether the additional
storage capacity is utilized or not.
■
For environments with extreme performance needs, use two of the small
configuration arrays rather than one of the large configuration arrays. Doing so
doubles storage performance for less than twice the storage cost.
■
When connecting a server to the array using two SCSI buses, map each LUN to
one SCSI bus so that they can both be active and have a dedicated path.
TABLE
7
Configuration Details for Database Servers
Small Configuration
Large Configuration
RAID Enclosures
1
1
JBOD Enclosures
0
1
Number of Controllers
2
2
Number of Disks
12
24
Bus Configuration
Split Bus
Split Bus
Cache Optimization
Random
Random
RAID Levels Used
RAID 1 and 5
RAID 1 and 5
Drive Configuration
Two LUNs
One spare drive
Two LUNs
One spare drive
