SQL Server2000 Server Features Merge

Overview

This article is a collaborative effort between Microsoft and Dell to illustrate the scalability of Microsoft®sql server™2000 and Dell hardware. SQL Server 2000 running on the Dell Enterprise eight server can support thousands of databases and a large number of users, while providing the performance required for centralized management. SQL Server 2000 enables users to gain maximum ROI on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems, and users can increase processor, memory, and disk to establish centrally managed enterprise servers.

More companies are willing to get database services from the Application Service provider (ASP). Internal information Technology (IT) organizations are consolidating database services based on their total cost of ownership (TCO) and manageable revenue. This article focuses on a common ASP scenario where multiple databases are hosted on one system, with fewer than a few users per database. This scenario also applies to companies that want to merge multiple databases across enterprise servers into a centrally managed server. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate how to successfully adjust the increased workload on a single server using multiple instances. We will use the Microsoft bcentral™ application to study the impact of different configurations on workload performance based on the number of transactions per minute (TPM).

The following table lists the advantages of using multiple instances on a single server:

A single server can assume a larger workload.

The database can be separated flexibly based on the requirements of different service level agreements (SLAs).

You can detach a database based on different performance requirements.

You can detach a database based on different backup and recovery requirements.

You can detach a database based on different security requirements.

The database can be detached according to change control, operation and maintenance requirements.

The results of this case study indicate that:

Using multiple instances to support more databases than using a single instance can increase the workload of one server by eight times times.

When used with multiple instances, setting the processor relationship can increase the workload by 80% compared to the default setting.