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SQL Server 2012: Evaluating and Sizing Hardware

by Glenn Berry

Learn how to correctly choose server hardware for SQL Server 2012, including workload evaluation, SQL Server 2012 Edition hardware limits and licensing costs, processor and storage choice, and redundancy components and effects. This course is applicable to anyone who is purchasing hardware for SQL Server for the first time and wants to avoid the common mistakes and pitfalls that are made so often.

What you'll learn

How do you choose a processor? Which Edition of SQL Server 2012 should you select? How do you choose a RAID level for the SQL Server storage? How do you compare processor performance using benchmarks? This course answers all these questions and more. The course begins by explaining why it is so important to choose server hardware for SQL Server 2012 correctly, and then explains how to categorize your workload and the hardware requirements of the common SQL Server workloads. It then explains how to choose a processor based on your server configuration, as well as how to compare the performance of processors, as well as the various SQL Server 2012 Editions and their license limits. Next it explains the various storage types, RAID levels, and how to test the performance of your storage, along with comparing overall server performance and considerations around the amount of memory to use. Finally it discusses the effects on hardware choice of high-availability and disaster-recovery strategies, along with hot-swappable components to increase uptime. This course is perfect for anyone who is purchasing hardware for SQL Server for the first time and needs guidance on how to properly make decisions to get the return on investment from SQL Server 2012 license costs and server hardware and storage costs.

Table of contents

Introduction
16mins
Choosing the Correct Hardware for Your Workload
15mins
Choosing the Correct Processor for SQL Server 2012
29mins
SQL Server 2012 Editions and License Limits
12mins
Choosing an Appropriate Storage Type for SQL Server 2012
25mins
Hardware and Storage Sizing Techniques
19mins
Choosing Components for Redundancy
10mins

About the author

Glenn Berry

Glenn works as a Principal Consultant at SQLskills.com. He has been a SQL Server MVP since 2007, and he has a whole collection of Microsoft certifications, including MCITP, MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD, MCAD, and MCTS, which proves that he likes to take tests. His expertise includes DMVs, high availability, hardware selection, and performance tuning. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at University College - University of Denver, where has been teaching since 2000. He has completed the Master Teacher P... more

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