Application Note
Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Executive Overview
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is a relational
database management and analysis system
for Microsoft enterprise servers. SQL Server
2000 offers rich Extensible Markup
Language (XML) support, comprehensive
analysis services, and simplified database
administration. These features jointly
produce a solution that delivers reliable,
scalable e-commerce, data warehousing,
and line-of-business applications. These
features combine together to make SQL
Server 2000 a compelling relational
database management system (RDBMS) for
enterprises of small to midrange sizes.
Generally speaking, databases, similar to
files, store data but require applications to
access and present it in the user-defined
format. A relational database is one based
on the relational mode, and is designed to
implement set operations on the stored data
using the Structured Query Language
(SQL). Data objects are organized into
normalized relational tables, thereby
allowing faster access to data. Databases
are much more efficient because they avoid
storing multiple copies of records and,
therefore, duplicate updates of data that an
application or a user must provide. A
database consists of two main parts—the
physical structure holding the data and the
database management system (DBMS) that
is used by applications for data access and
is responsible for enforcing the relational
structure.
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Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000 allows access
to multiple users at the same time. A single
instance of SQL server can consist of
multiple databases and applications. An
SQL server can scale to meet the
requirements of a large enterprise ranging
in users from 50 up to thousands. This is
achieved by distributing the database across
different servers and hence several
multiprocessors for optimal performance.
In addition, its dynamic tuning features
allow it to proactively acquire resources to
meet the requirements of a large number of
users. Because of its ease of use, very little
administration is required to manage an
SQL environment. This feature alone makes
Microsoft SQL Server an ideal RDBMS for
small to midsize enterprise as well as the
departmental database application. It also
has built-in features to prevent data
corruption caused by data files
simultaneously edited by multiple users.
Microsoft’s SQL meets the scalability
requirements of most enterprises. This
makes it suitable for a wide variety of
enterprise solutions ranging from data
warehousing, e-commerce, and online
transaction processing (OLTP)
applications. These solutions offer different
features that may range from bulk data
movement to data analysis. OLTP is used to
manage more dynamic bits of data. These
types of databases allow more than simply
viewing archived data. They allow
modifications to the data and are used to
track real-time information. With different
features and unique enterprise requirements
 guiding database designs, many different versions of SQL are available for deployment. These versions address
features such as performance, runtime, and price requirements, to name a few. This offers enterprises maximum
flexibility by allowing them to deploy this in both high- and low-end user environments.

Some responsibilities of a relational database include input/output (I/O) and data buffer management, transaction
management, locking and logging, file and physical resource management, and fault recovery. Enterprise applications
drive parameters for each of these features. Other reasons for the popularity of SQL include its ease of use, low cost,
dynamic tuning capability, availability, reliability, scalability, and easier manageability. Enhanced capabilities within
SQL allow database administrators to manage servers more easily by consolidating them in a central location. This
lowers the cost of management and provides a framework for storage resource consolidation. Centralized servers can
now be shared among different departments with capacity allocated on an as-needed basis. Multiple servers can be
provided access to storage resources via Small Computer Serial Interface over IP (iSCSI) solutions that provide
consolidation. Customers can not only gain cost advantages by consolidating storage resources but also attain a more
efficient use of their storage capacity. The storage subsystem I/O access is a key component of any RDBMS. A
successful RDBMS implementation requires careful planning at the early stage of the project, for example, defining
business, performance, and scalability requirements including ease of management, cost benefit analysis, and so on.

The evolving IP storage standard, iSCSI, is currently under development in the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) and can complement or provide an alternative to Fibre Channel storage-area networks (SANs). This
technology allows end users to mix and match IP and Fibre Channel architectures or use an end-to-end IP storage
configuration. One of the advantages of iSCSI is that it lets IT shops take advantage of existing infrastructure (TCP/
IP networks) and expertise. In addition to providing a lower-cost alternative to Fibre Channel, iSCSI also benefits
applications such as storage consolidation, business continuance, remote backup and restore, and remote data access.

Cisco SN 5420 storage routers can be used to deploy iSCSI solutions in SQL server environments, as shown in this
document. Given the cost advantages of managing servers in a central location, the iSCSI solution can be deployed
to optimize sharing of resources for storage consolidation. The Cisco SN 5420 not only allows a server to access
multiple storage devices over IP, but it enables multiple servers to access multiple targets/logical unit number (LUN)
devices on a single storage subsystem, all taking advantage of the IP protocol over Ethernet. This provides significant
cost advantages by reducing both capital and operational expenditure. Cisco SN 5420 storage routers also provide
a seamless end-to-end solution and interoperate in heterogeneous storage environments and solutions consisting of
multiple vendor products.

The Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router makes storage systems accessible at a block level over IP regardless of the
operating system. Implementing iSCSI within the server provides seamless block-level access for SQL server
applications and does not require additional software layers for IP network intelligence. With the Cisco SN 5420
Storage Router, any application that can access storage using the SCSI protocol becomes an IP application. This
capability enables the existing application software suites to operate without modification to the methods they use
to conduct I/O.

More information on the Cisco SN 5420 is available at:

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/rt/5420/

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 Options

In most environments today, storage is directly attached to servers via either SCSI or Fibre Channel. In some cases,
customers have started to deploy Fibre Channel-based SANs for shared access to storage. The direct-attached
solution is expensive because storage capacity tends to be stranded behind servers, where each server and its storage
are managed separately. As such, storage utilization is minimized in the direct-attached configuration. The SAN
provides a scalable, reliable, manageable solution to network storage subsystems and the application servers that
access them. With iSCSI, all resources within the enterprise can be consolidated and shared across workgroups. In
the case of Fibre Channel-based SANs, iSCSI can be implemented to overcome the cost and distance limitations of
Fibre Channel. It easily extends the Fibre Channel SAN for both local and remote block-level access in the enterprise.
The iSCSI solution can be deployed across a shared IP infrastructure and span a larger distance. Enterprises can thus
provide inexpensive access to centralized resources from the remote branches over the existing IP infrastructure.

Scenarios

This paper addresses two key goals. The first was to provide a validation of iSCSI deployment of the Microsoft SQL
Server with the Cisco SN 5420 as a storage router for block-level access. The second goal was to provide a
performance comparison between Fibre Channel and iSCSI implementation. The Fibre Channel SAN performance
baseline emulated small to midsize enterprise or departmental SQL deployment with numerous concurrent users
ranging from 50 to 200. Then the same test was recreated via iSCSI for a performance comparison. The tests
demonstrated that there is virtually no performance impact of an iSCSI implementation in this low to midrange
typical departmental OLTP application. The baseline compared parameters such as transactions per second and CPU
utilization as well as the I/O throughput. These metrics were chosen because in the case of iSCSI, these performance
numbers may be impacted because the CPU is handling the additional load of the iSCSI driver. In the case of Fibre
Channel, the local processor on the Fibre Channel host bus adapter (HBA) offloads the CPU. Thus, these parameters
would demonstrate the worst-case scenario and identify any potential performance impact of iSCSI. Although
CPU-offloaded iSCSI HBAs are available today, these tests were run with only the iSCSI software driver to
demonstrate the worst-case scenario.

These tests were repeated with different numbers of users in order to emulate different enterprise environments.
“Database Hammer,” a performance tool provided by Microsoft, was used for stress testing. All read/write
transactions were random and in equal proportion (50/50) to emulate an OLTP environment. The proportion of
read/write traffic can be varied in the tool to effectively create patterns related to different applications. For example,
data warehousing applications will have more writes because the information is backed up to a storage device,
whereas e-commerce, human resources, supply chain, and so on will perform a combination of both. In addition,
data archiving applications will perform sequential writes, whereas OLTP will generate mostly random reads and
writes, with multiple users trying to access different records.

The two scenarios used for testing are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The first scenario (Figure 1) provided switched Fibre
Channel connectivity between the server and an EMC Symmetrix array. The second scenario, Figure 2, utilized the
Cisco SN 5420 to extend the Fibre Channel SAN for iSCSI connectivity. It is important to note that both tests utilized
an identical test hardware setup including server, storage (EMC Symmetrix), and a Fibre Channel switch. The server
was equipped with an HBA for the Fibre Channel connection to access the storage in scenario 1. In scenario 2, a
Gigabit Ethernet network interface card (NIC) equipped with an iSCSI driver was used to enable it to act as an
initiator communicating with iSCSI targets provided by the Cisco SN 5420. Both scenarios were configured with the
same LUNs. In scenario 2, an Ethernet switch was used between the Cisco SN 5420 and the server to provide Layer
2 connectivity, but this can be any low-latency IP network, further maximizing the advantages of iSCSI technology.

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 Scenario 1

Figure 1
SQL Server Connectivity to EMC Symmetrix with Fibre Channel

SQL Server Brocade Fabric EMC Symmetrix

Switch

Scenario 2

Figure 2
SQL Server Connectivity to EMC Symmetrix via iSCSI with Cisco SN 5420

SQL Server Low-Latency Cisco SN 5420 Brocade EMC Symmetrix

IP Network Fabric Switch

Test Setup

As indicated previously, the tests focused on creating a scenario that would emulate the I/O patterns for enterprises
of different sizes by varying the total number of users. Microsoft’s Database Hammer tool was used to populate the
database in both scenarios as well as generate user traffic. All read/write transactions were random, with each at 50
percent of total. Table 1 describes the test environment. Each scenario comprised four tests that were run for different
user load simulations. CPU utilization, transactions per second, and throughput comparisons were made for both
scenarios. The same hardware was used to run both tests to ascertain similarity in hardware configuration of the
server and Fibre Channel switch. The hardware configuration is given in Table 2.

Table 1 Test Criteria

Test criterion Value

Read/Write Ratio 50/50

Database Size 10 million rows

Test Time 2 hours

Number of Concurrent Users 50

100

125

150

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 Table 2 Hardware Configuration

Hardware Configuration

Server Dell PowerEdge 2550

Dual processor—933 MHz
Dual hard drive—18 GB each
Memory—1 GB

Fibre Channel Switch Brocade Silkworm 2800

Firmware—v2.4.1f

Storage Subsystem EMC Symmetrix 3830

Microcode 5267.21.14S

Database Configuration and Layout

SQL 2000 Design configuration

For a SQL server setup, Microsoft recommends striping data files via either Microsoft software in SQL (file groups)
or in hardware. For the software striping option, the data files must be located on different physical disks, and not
different logical disks, to optimize performance. It is also recommended that the database log files be either hardware-
or software-mirrored and striped (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks [RAID] 1+0) and located on separate
disk(s) from the data file. The log files were striped for this test. The SQL server uses a tempdb database that is used
for temporary working storage and sort operations. A separate disk was used for the tempdb database to maximize
performance, especially for the complex queries. It is important to note that because an EMC Symmetrix was utilized
for this test, the disks (LUNs) in use were also hardware mirrored (RAID 1) within the Symmetrix itself.

The logical layout of the SQL Server 2000 database named CSN is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3
Logical Layout of SQL Server Database CSN

SQL Server Database Engine

For CSN

Disks 1–4: Data Files

Striped in Software Disks 5, 6: Striped Disks 7: Tempdb
Across Four Disks Volumes for Log Files

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 Seven EMC disks (LUNs) were configured in the disk group named SQLdg, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Volume Label Mapping for Physical Disks

Disk Drive letter/type

Disk 1 E/simple

Disk 2 F/simple

Disk 3 G/simple

Disk 4 H/simple

Disks 5 and 6 I/striped

Disk 7 J/simple

The database was called CSN and configured as shown in Table 4. The data files were automatically striped across
four disks by SQL server file group implementation. The log files were separated on to a different disk, as shown in
Table 4. A separate disk was created for tempdb.

Table 4 Database Layout Across Multiple Volumes

Data file Location File group

Csn_datafile1 E:\CSN Primary

Csn_datafile2 F:\CSN Primary

Csn_datafile3 G:\CSN Primary

Csn_datafile4 H:\CSN Primary

Csn_log1 I:\CSN_Log

Csn_log2 I:\CSN_Log

Tempdb J:\

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 Test Results

The results are summarized in tabular (Table 5) and graphical format (Figures 4–6).

Table 5 Test Results

Number
Scenario 1 (Fibre Channel) Scenario 2 (iSCSI)
of Users

Percent CPU Transactions Throughput Percent CPU Transactions Throughput

utilization per second utilization per second

50 4.7 408 1.9 11.8 301 1.9

100 20.9 779 3.3 28.1 809 3.3

125 47.6 955 3.8 52.6 962 3.8

150 75.9 1088 3.9 78.4 1066 3.7

Figure 4
CPU Utilization

CPU Utilization
100
% Processor Time

80
60 iSCSI
40 FC
20
0
50 100 125 150
Concurrent Connections

Figure 5
Transactions Per Second

Transactions Per Second

No. of Transactions Per Sec

1200
1000
800
iSCSI
600
FC
400
200
0
50 100 125 150
Concurrent Connections

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 Figure 6
Throughput

Throughput
5

MB Per Sec 4
3 iSCSI
2 FC
1
0
50 100 125 150
Concurrent Connections

These tests demonstrated that performance in both the Fibre Channel and iSCSI scenarios was comparable. As
expected, CPU utilization was 3 percent higher, in the case of 150 users with iSCSI because it is handling much more
load with the normal Gigabit Ethernet NIC and iSCSI software driver combination in this scenario versus the Fibre
Channel case with an HBA. In the latter, the processor on the HBA is utilized to process the I/O that offloads the
sever CPU. With the availability of iSCSI TCP offload engine adapters (TOE), this issue can be addressed by
implementing a TOE NIC in the server to offload both iSCSI and TCP processes onto the NIC, thereby alleviating
the CPU.

From a total cost of ownership perspective, however, this extra CPU utilization by iSCSI driver can be considered
negligible, depending on the application. For instance, in the case of 50 users, CPU was up to 11.8-percent utilization,
versus 4.7 percent in the Fibre Channel case. Even with the increase in CPU utilization with iSCSI, the total CPU
utilization was fairly low and not a cause for concern. This may, however, vary if other applications are running on
the same server. Customers can thus make implementation decisions based on analyses provided in this document.

Other results were fairly comparable, as shown in the figures. Transactions per second were slightly higher with Fibre
Channel because the processor on the HBA is directly forwarding traffic. In the case of iSCSI, the traffic has to hit
the CPU and gets stored in memory before a forwarding decision is made, and that impacts the total number of
transactions that can be processed. The reduction in transactions varied between 2 and 26 percent. This is consistent
with expectation and will be alleviated by the TOE cards, as mentioned previously.

Summary

These tests demonstrate that the Cisco SN 5420 implements an iSCSI solution that offers a cost-effective alternative
for enterprises to consolidate their SQL server resources. Because of its ease of use, Microsoft’s SQL Server is widely
deployed for various enterprise applications. This document demonstrates that SQL server applications, requiring
block-level access, work well with iSCSI as the underlying transport, with little configuration and no major
operational concerns. The Cisco SN 5420 enables optimal use of the enhanced, built-in features implemented in the
SQL server software. Enterprises can use the Cisco SN 5420 to deploy a more centralized SQL server architecture
and utilize built-in features such as dynamic tuning and clustering, combining with the high-availability features of
the Cisco SN 5420. More information on high-availability designs with the Cisco SN 5420 can be obtained at
Cisco.com.

Enterprises can use iSCSI technology to reduce total cost of ownership without compromising performance. This
allows a centralized implementation of storage resources where servers can be located in a central data center facility.
This also alleviates other costs via easier manageability and reduction in training requirements. Centralizing

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resources via Cisco SN 5420 routers allows uptime, availability, and
provisioning to be significantly enhanced. As enterprises migrate
their data “online,” dynamic upgrades and scalability become key
requirements. Central management enables greater efficiency where
resources can be shared across multiple organizations and
applications.
Finally, the tests demonstrated that iSCSI meets performance
expectations for I/O performance as compared to Fibre Channel.
These tests emulated a lower-end enterprise environment with up to
150 users accessing applications on a single server. This could be
similar to a scenario in a remote-office server that typically hosts a
small number of users.
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