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Deploying Microsoft SQL Server 2008 based Decision Support Systems using Dell EqualLogic 10GbE iSCSI Storage 1
1 Introduction
The goal of this paper is to describe best practices for deploying Decision Support System (DSS) or
Data Warehousing (DW) solutions based on Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 using Dell™ EqualLogic™
storage. DSS solutions require scalable storage platforms that offer high levels of performance and
capacity. Deploying the storage platform using validated best practices and recommended settings for
various system components (storage, server, switch, operating system, and application) will ensure
optimal operation.
The Dell Storage Interoperability Engineering Lab conducted a series of end-to-end system integration
tests using Dell PowerEdge servers, Dell PowerConnect network switches, and Dell Equallogic storage
arrays. From those tests we validated optimal configuration settings for maximizing system
performance and for designing storage architectures that are best suited to support the storage
demands of DSS applications running on Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008.
1.1 Audience
This paper is intended for Solution Architects, Storage Network Engineers, System Administrators and
IT Managers who need to understand how to design and deploy Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 based
DSS or DW solutions on Dell® PowerEdge® servers and Dell EqualLogic storage.
1.2 The Rest of This Paper
This rest of this paper contains the following sections:
 Section 2, Understanding DSS Storage Requirements, on page 2
 Section 3, DSS Workload Test, on page 4
 Section 4, Best Practices, on page 8
 Section 5, Test Results, on page 19
Note: Decision Support System (DSS) is a term that defines a broad class of information
processing applications which are used to support data analysis and decision making
activities. Business Intelligence (BI), Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Data
Warehousing (DW) systems provide decision support functionality and require similar system
designs. Thus, the design and configuration best practices presented in this paper could
apply to those scenarios as well.