HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer (HP ESO) 3.5 User Guide

Transcription

1 HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer (HP ESO) 3.5 User Guide Abstract This document describes how to install and use HP's Enterprise SQL Optimizer (HP ESO) software. HP ESO is designed for system administrators and HP support personnel responsible for installing, configuring, and managing HP ProLiant servers running Microsoft SQL Server. This document is not a tutorial. HP Part Number: AM E Published: September 2013 Edition: 1.0

2 Copyright Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Legal Notices Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR and , Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Microsoft, SQL Server, and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel is a U.S. registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Publishing history Manufacturing Part Number Supported Operating Systems Supported SQL Server Supported Products (Servers) Publication Date AM A (HP ESO 1.0) Microsoft Windows Microsoft SQL Server Server 2008 R2 x R2 x64 Edition Edition with Service Pack with Service Pack 2 1 (SP1) (SP2) Enterprise, Data Center, and Standard Editions Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 x64 Edition with Service Pack 2 (SP3) Enterprise, Data Center, and Standard Editions HP ProLiant DL980 G7 November 2011 AM A (HP ESO 1.0) No changes No changes No changes April 2012 AM B (HP ESO 2.0) No changes Adds support for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise, Business Intelligence, and Standard Editions No changes June 2012 AM C (HP ESO 2.1) No changes No changes No changes August 2012 AM D (HP ESO 3.0) Adds support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 No changes No changes January 2013 AM E (HP ESO 3.5) No changes No changes No changes September 2013 For the latest version of this document, see the HP Technical Documentation website:

3 Contents 1 Introduction...6 Benefits of using HP ESO...6 Main features of HP ESO...6 New features in release New features in release New features in release 2.0 and Installing HP ESO...10 Software requirements...10 Installing the software...10 Uninstalling the software...12 Upgrading the software...12 Silent installation Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances...14 Set user account privileges in Database Engine security...14 Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security Using HP ESO...18 Getting started...19 Launching HP ESO...19 Getting Started pages...22 HP ESO Introduction page...22 HP ESO SQL Login page...23 Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session...24 Floating help for items on a page...27 Starting an authenticated Administrator Session (Admin Session)...28 SQL Login page: Setting credentials and logging in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances...29 Modifying the Admin Session timeout value...30 Settings pages: Setting parameters for data collection...31 Data Collection page: Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations...31 Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations...33 Summary page: Viewing recommended optimization values for settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; generating a PowerShell script for setting these recommended values...34 Modifying how the Summary page displays and generates recommended values...36 Downloading the PowerShell script...36 SQL Server page: Viewing and controlling SQL Server and Analysis Services parameters and optimization recommendations...37 SQL Server database instance parameters...38 Max Degree of Parallelism...38 Lightweight Pooling...38 Priority Boost...38 Min Server Memory (in MB)...38 Max Server Memory (in MB)...38 Recovery Interval...38 Lock Page...38 Max Worker Threads...39 Xp_CmdShell...39 Analysis Services instance parameters...39 Flight Recorder...39 Random File Access...39 Contents 3

4 4 Contents Low Memory Limit...40 Total Memory Limit...40 Coordinator Query Balancing Factor and Coordinator Query Boost Priority Level...40 Enable Rolap Distinct Count On DataSource...40 Process Min Threads...40 Vertipaq Memory Limit...40 Resource Monitor...40 Server modes (Multidimensional Mode, Tabular Mode, Sharepoint Mode)...41 Database page: Viewing and controlling database parameters and optimization recommendations...42 SQL Server Database Engine properties...43 Growth...43 Auto Create Statistics...43 Auto Update Statistics...43 Auto Update Statistics Async...44 Analysis Services properties...44 Tabular Compatibility Level Number...44 Data Dir...44 Temp Dir...44 Log Dir...44 Measure Group...44 Partition...44 Estimated Rows...44 Estimated Size...45 Proactive Caching...45 ESO database recommendation statements...45 Database File on OS Drive...45 Multiple Files...45 Create Column Store Index...45 tempdb Data File...45 Split the Partition...45 Enable Proactive Caching...45 Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations...45 Availability Group...45 Mirrored database...46 Clustered SQL Server instance...48 CPU page: Viewing and controlling CPU assignment parameters and optimization recommendations...49 Database Engine Processor Affinity...50 Viewing and understanding Database Engine Processor Affinity...51 Modifying and setting Database Engine Processor Affinity...53 Analysis Services Process GroupAffinity...56 SQL Startup Option page: Viewing and controlling SQL Server startup options...57 Trace flag Trace flag Trace flag Trace flag Trace flag Trace flag Trace flag Storage page: Viewing and controlling storage parameters and optimization recommendations...59 Database RAID level...59 User Write Cache Setting...59 Cache Power Protection...59 Drive free space...59

5 Volume mount point...60 Drive Latency...60 Network page: Viewing and controlling network parameters and optimization recommendations...60 NUMA Node Affinity and Interrupt Policy...60 Port affinity...61 Receive-Side Scaling...62 NIC teaming...63 Configuring a NIC team...64 Modifying a NIC team...64 Deleting a NIC team...65 Viewing NIC teaming information and recommendations on the Network page...65 System page: Viewing and controlling system parameters and optimization recommendations...66 PCI Controller Information...66 Software Discovery...66 System software and firmware status...67 Reports pages: Viewing workload/performance data and saving/restoring SQL configurations...67 Workload and Performance History...67 Save/Rollback Configuration...69 Help pages: Viewing and searching help topics...71 Accessing online help...71 Using the online help Welcome page...71 Using the help search facility...72 Using a PowerShell script to apply all recommended optimization values of settable parameters and to initialize software discovery...74 Using the PowerShell script to apply HP ESO optimization recommendations for all settable parameters...75 Using the PowerShell script to initiate software discovery Troubleshooting...78 HP ESO is not found on the SMH page and HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer is in Disabled state in the service list...78 Access to SQL Server or Analysis Services instance is denied...78 PowerShell script fails Support and other resources...79 Contacting HP...79 Before you contact HP...79 HP contact information...79 Subscription service...79 New and changed information in this edition...79 Related information...80 Typographic conventions Documentation feedback...81 Contents 5

6 1 Introduction This chapter describes the main benefits and features of the HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer (HP ESO). Benefits of using HP ESO HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer (HP ESO) is a software tool that greatly simplifies and consolidates the process of tuning HP ProLiant DL980 G7 servers running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 x64 editions, and SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, or SQL Server Use HP ESO to: Reduce the time and complexity of configuring and tuning systems running SQL Server Reduce the number of support calls due to misconfigured systems Help users optimize their configuration to ensure top SQL Server performance Improve customer satisfaction HP ESO achieves these goals by providing optimization tools for the following system components: Server Includes hardware-related recommendations such as placement of PCI cards and proper storage drive configurations, and information on the update status of HP software, drivers, and firmware Operating System Includes settings for Power Management Options and storage volumes Microsoft SQL Server Includes settings such as priority boost, light-weight pooling, CPU affinity, and more You access these optimization tools by logging in to SQL instances. There are two types of SQL instances: SQL Server Database Engine instances Handle user requests for reading and writing data in databases for any of three different types of applications: Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) Database Engine Data Warehouse (DW) Database Engine SAP Database Engine In general, the term Database Engine refers to the OLTP Database Engine, unless one of the other two types of Database Engine is specifically mentioned. Analysis Services instances Analyze the transactions that occur in the database. It provides online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities. Main features of HP ESO 6 Introduction HP ESO provides the following functionality for configuring and tuning your server and Microsoft SQL Server: Scheduled or manual data collection, for use as reference when optimizing the system and SQL Server Built in knowledge of the hardware architecture, to properly optimize the server Reports page that provides a graphical display of data collection parameters, for use in analysis and interpretation, with the ability to export to a file Built-in WBEM-based instrumentation for quick integration with other management tools such as HP System Insight Manager Capability to roll back to previously saved configurations. Use this feature to save the current configuration, then retrieve and apply it in the future if necessary

7 New features in release 3.5 HP ESO 3.5 provides the following new features: A Summary page that: Displays all recommended settable parameter values gathered from each optimization page (by default, the Summary page displays only those values that differ from the current values) Generates and downloads a PowerShell script for applying all the recommended settable parameter values gathered from each optimization page (by default, only the values that differ from the current values) Two types of PowerShell script: Generated from the Summary page, a script used for applying recommended values of settable parameters gathered from all optimization pages Generated when HP ESO is installed, a script used for running software discovery and for listing the components that are already up to date and those that need updating NIC teaming support on Windows Server 2012 The Network page displays the following NIC teaming information: Adapter status Member adapter status Adapter RSS status information Free NIC for Team recommendation (HP ESO detects that an adapter is not participating in NIC teaming and recommends that the adapter be used for creating a NIC team) Xvelocity support HP ESO 3.5 provides Xvelocity information and options on the following pages, as indicated: SQL Server page Three type modes (relevant to Analysis Services instances only) Process Min Threads parameter VertiPaq Memory Limit parameter Database page Three type modes (relevant to Analysis Services instances only) Tabular Compatibility Level Number parameter Column Store Index parameter New features in release 3.0 HP ESO 3.0 provides the following new features: Windows 2012 support Windows 2012 Server Core support New features in release 3.5 7

8 Data Warehouse (DW) / Business Intelligence (BI) identification and support User interface for entering login credentials for DW and BI instances Recommendations for optimized settings for the following parameters in DW instances and databases, based on monitored workload: Max Degree of Parallelism (MAXDOP) Max Worker Threads Startup options (trace flags) T834, T8048, T1117, and T1118 Recommendations for optimized settings for the following parameters in SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) instances, based on monitored workload: Resource Monitor RandomFileAccessMode FlightRecorder Enable ROLAP Distinct Count On DataSource Coordinator Query Balancing Factor CordinatorQueryBoostPriorityLevel MemoryLimit (Low/Total) Analysis Services Process GroupAffinity (only for SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services) Recommendations for optimized storage settings for the following parameters in DW instances: Database file autogrowth (Growth) Storage layout of database files Recommendations for optimized storage settings for the following parameters in SSAS instances: DataDir, LogDir, and TempDir Custom storage location of databases Partition information such as Proactive Caching, Estimated Rows, Estimated Size SAP Database Engine identification and support Recommendations for optimized settings for the following parameters in databases, based on monitored workload: Max Degree of Parallelism (MAXDOP) Checkpoint Xp_CmdShell Startup options (trace flags) T1117, T1118, T2371, T2549, and T2562 Database auto create/update/async statistics Recommendations for optimized storage settings for the following parameters: Database file autogrowth (Growth) Storage layout of database files Improved response times for page loading, saving, and rollback 8 Introduction

9 Improved graphical user interface (GUI) on all pages, with most significant changes on: CPU page CPU affinity settings of all SQL instances are shown side by side for convenience of comparison and analysis SQL Startup Option page Current status and additional details about trace flags in one single page Enhanced error handling, including additional detailed error messages presented in GUI and log file New features in release 2.0 and 2.1 HP ESO 2.0 additionally provides: Windows 2008 R2 Server core support SQL Server 2012 support Volume Mount Point support (see Volume mount point (page 60)) New SQL Login page that allows users to specify login credentials for SQL Server instances (see Setting credentials and logging in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances (page 29)) Session-based usage model to prevent simultaneous access and control of the tool (see Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session (page 24)) Support for SQL Server startup options (trace flags) settings (see Viewing and controlling SQL Server startup options (page 57)) Network RSS (Receive Side Scaling) settings recommendations (see Receive-Side Scaling (page 62)) New information on HADR (High Availability Disaster Recovery) configured databases and SQL servers (see Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations and recommendations (page 45)) HP ESO 2.1 additionally provides a fix for more efficient CPU and memory resources usage. Previous resources usage caused SQL Server, Database, CPU, and Network optimization pages to hang for certain storage settings. New features in release 2.0 and 2.1 9

10 2 Installing HP ESO Software requirements The following prerequisite software is required in order for HP ESO to function properly: HP System Management Homepage (HP SMH), Version 6.0 or later Any Internet browser supported by HP SMH (refer to your HP SMH documentation for more information) Microsoft.NET Framework, Version 3.5 Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Shared Management Objects Microsoft System CLR Types for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 The following Microsoft SQL Server versions and editions are supported: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise, Business Intelligence, and Standard Editions Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter, Enterprise, and Standard Editions Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Datacenter, Enterprise, and Standard Editions Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Analysis Management Objects HP Insight Management WBEM Providers (highly recommended) Installing the software To install HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer, follow these steps: 1. Login as Administrator on the target system. 2. Obtain the HP ESO installation file (file name: cpnnnnnn.exe) and either double-click it, or right-click and select Open. 3. The first installation window displays, as shown in Figure 1 (page 10). Click Install to continue. Figure 1 Package Setup window 4. The second installation window displays, as shown in Figure 2 (page 11). Click Install to continue. The installation begins, with a progress bar indicating status. 10 Installing HP ESO

11 Figure 2 Setup window #1 5. When the installation finishes successfully, as shown by the HP Setup window shown in Figure 3 (page 11), click Close to exit. Figure 3 Setup window #2 NOTE: The HP ESO application files are installed into the %ProgramFiles%\McPerfOpt folder, where %ProgramFiles% is typically: C:\Program Files. If the prerequisite HP Insight Management WBEM Provider software is not installed on the system, you will see (during HP ESO installation) the warning message shown in Figure 4 (page 12). Installing the software 11

12 Figure 4 Installation warning message Uninstalling the software To uninstall HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer, follow these steps: 1. Login as Administrator on the target system. 2. Navigate to the Add/Remove panel (or Programs and Features in the Control Panel). 3. Locate HP Enterprise SQL Optimizer for Windows Server x64 Edition in the resulting list of programs. Right-click it and click Uninstall. 4. A confirmation popup displays, asking you to confirm this action. Click Yes to continue. 5. A notification popup displays, confirming that HP ESO was removed. Click OK to close this popup and complete the process. NOTE: Data files in the /History, /Scripts, and /Data folders are preserved in case they are needed in the future. Upgrading the software Upgrading HP ESO from an older version to a newer version is supported. For example, if HP ESO , , or is currently installed, you can upgrade to HP ESO The upgrade process is similar to the installation process described in Installing the software (page 10). The only exception is the slightly different screen seen when the installation begins, as shown in Figure 5 (page 12). Figure 5 Upgrade window 12 Installing HP ESO

13 Downgrades are not supported. For example, if HP ESO is currently installed, and you try to install HP ESO , , or , you will see a warning screen as shown in Figure 6 (page 13). If you attempt to continue, you will see an error screen. Figure 6 Downgrade error window Silent installation HP ESO can be installed in silent (non-interactive) mode by adding the /s or /silent switch to the installer package's executable file, such as cp exe /s when executing. When silent installation is performed, HP ESO will be installed to completion without any user interaction. NOTE: During silent installation, the prerequisite Microsoft SQL Management Object package will be installed automatically if it is not installed in the system. To prevent this from happening, extract the installer package into a temporary folder by clicking Extract during installation. At the location of the extracted files, delete SQL_AS_AMO.msi, SharedManagementObjects.msi, and SQLSysClrTypes.msi, and then execute cpqsetup.exe. Silent installation 13

14 3 Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances Prior to using HP ESO, ensure that the appropriate user accounts can access SQL Server and Analysis Services instances: Set user account privileges in Database Engine security, as described in Set user account privileges in Database Engine security (page 14). Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security, as described in Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security (page 15). Set user account privileges in Database Engine security To use HP ESO to access an SQL Server instance to set parameters and optimize resources based on the instance s particular workloads, the Microsoft SQL Server user account you intend to use must be assigned the serveradmin and/or sysadmin SQL Server role. To assign SQL Server roles to an account, follow these steps: 1. Open the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. To open this page from Windows 2008 R2 and earlier, click Start Programs Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. To open the page on Windows 2012, follow these steps: In desktop mode a. Open the Start Menu charm on the left side of the desktop and change to tile mode. b. Click Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. In tile mode Click Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. 2. Log in to an SQL Server instance using an account that is able to set permissions for the other accounts. 3. Follow these steps, as illustrated in Figure 7 (page 15): a. In the Object Explorer pane on the left side of the page, select Security Logins. b. In the list of accounts under Logins, right-click the account that is to be used in HP ESO and select Properties. c. From the Login Properties page, select Server Roles. d. In the list of server roles, check the box of the serveradmin and/or sysadmin role. (The Public role is checked by default.) 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all SQL Server instances. 14 Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances

15 Figure 7 SQL Server Management Studio Login Properties window Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security To use HP ESO to access an Analysis Services instance to set parameters and optimize resources based on the instance s particular workloads, the Microsoft Analysis Services user account you intend to use must be a member of the Microsoft Analysis Server Administrators group. To ensure that an account is in the Administrators group, follow these steps: 1. Open the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (see the instructions in step 1 of Set user account privileges in Database Engine security (page 14)). 2. Log in to an SQL Analysis Services instance using an account that is able to set permissions of other accounts: a. Select Connect Analysis Services... b. In the Connect to Server popup, select the server and click Connect. 3. In the Object Explorer panel on the left side of the page, right-click an instance and, from the popup menu, select Properties, as shown in Figure 8 (page 16). Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security 15

16 Figure 8 Selecting Analysis Services properties 4. In the Analysis Server Properties popup, select Security from the Select a page panel on the left, as shown in Figure 9 (page 17). 16 Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances

17 Figure 9 Analysis Server Properties page 5. If the account to be used to connect to the Analysis Services instance is not listed, click Add. 6. Enter the account to be added then click OK. 7. Close the Analysis Server Properties window. 8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for all Analysis Services instances so that HP ESO can optimize the resources based individual workloads. Set user account privileges in Analysis Services security 17

18 4 Using HP ESO HP ESO allows you to connect to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances to perform a variety of tasks to help with system configuration and tuning to optimize SQL performance. Table 1 (page 18) lists the main tasks you can perform. Table 1 HP ESO tasks Task to perform... For more information... Tasks to perform prior to using HP ESO Configure user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances Launch HP ESO Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances (page 14) Launching HP ESO (page 19) Tasks to perform initially to familiarize yourself with HP ESO Familiarize yourself with the Getting Started pages Familiarize yourself with a typical HP ESO session that includes commonly-performed tasks Getting Started pages (page 22) Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session (page 24) Individual tasks to perform using HP ESO Start an authenticated session to enable access to HP ESO pages and functionality Enter login credentials and authentication type for SQL Server and Analysis Services instances; log in to SQL instances Modify Admin Session timeout period Set data collection parameters and initiate data collection and analysis for optimization recommendations View summary of optimization recommendations for settable parameters (gathered from all optimization pages) and enable optimization recommendations View SQL Server and Analysis Services information and enable optimization recommendations View information about database files in each SQL Server and Analysis Services instance and enable optimization recommendations View information about high availability and disaster recovery database configurations Starting an authenticated Administrator Session (Admin Session) (page 28) Setting credentials and logging in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances (page 29) Modifying the Admin Session timeout value (page 30) Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations (page 31) Summary page: Viewing recommended optimization values for settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; generating a PowerShell script for setting these recommended values (page 34) Viewing and controlling SQL Server and Analysis Services parameters and optimization recommendations (page 37) Viewing and controlling database parameters and optimization recommendations (page 42) Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations and recommendations (page 45) 18 Using HP ESO

19 Table 1 HP ESO tasks (continued) Task to perform... View information about CPU (processor) affinity (thread associations) and enable optimization recommendations View SQL startup information and set trace flags to modify SQL Server behavior View storage information and enable optimization recommendations View network information and enable optimization recommendations View system information, including status of add-on PCI controllers, system software, drivers, and firmware versions; and enable optimization recommendations Run Software Discovery Configure and view (or export) data collection reports Save or restore parameter settings for all connected SQL instances and the system configuration Using online help Using a PowerShell scripts to apply recommended optimization values and to perform software discovery For more information... Viewing and controlling CPU assignment parameters and optimization recommendations (page 49) Viewing and controlling SQL Server startup options (page 57) Viewing and controlling storage parameters and optimization recommendations (page 59) Viewing and controlling network parameters and optimization recommendations (page 60) Viewing and controlling system parameters and optimization recommendations (page 66) Software Discovery (page 66) Workload and Performance History (page 67) Save/Rollback Configuration (page 69) Using the online help Welcome page (page 71) Using a PowerShell script to apply all recommended optimization values of settable parameters and to initialize software discovery (page 74) Getting started This section provides basic information to start using HP ESO. Launching HP ESO To access and start HP ESO, you must launch the HP System Management Homepage (SMH) software. SMH is the starting point HP ESO and many other HP server management tools. Follow these steps to launch SMH and start HP ESO: 1. From the target system Desktop, click Start All Programs HP Management Agents HP System Management Homepage. 2. When the security certificate warning displays (see Figure 10 (page 20)), click Continue to this website. Getting started 19

20 NOTE: To avoid seeing this certificate error message in the future, follow the steps described in this HP Support webpage: HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) and System Management Homepage (SMH) - Microsoft Internet Explorer Does Not Link Website Certificate to all IP or DNS Names Associated with the Certificate Also refer to the section Initializing the software for the first time in the document, HP System Management Homepage Installation Guide, found at: c pdf Figure 10 Certificate warning window 3. The SMH Sign In page displays as shown in Figure 11 (page 21). Enter a valid user name and password and click Sign In. 20 Using HP ESO

21 Figure 11 SMH Sign in page Your user name and password must be a valid account in the Administrator group (see Figure 12 (page 21)) configured in the SMH users groups. The Sign In button validates the values in the User Name and Password fields. If both values are valid, the HP SMH Homepage displays. The Clear button clears the User Name and Password fields. The question mark icon ( ) displays or hides a floating tooltip box containing information about the authentication mechanism and sign in process. Figure 12 How to configure user name and group in SMH Getting started 21

22 4. In the SMH Homepage (see Figure 13 (page 22)), click the HP ESO link in the Enterprise SQL Optimizer box. Figure 13 SMH Homepage 5. The Enterprise SQL Optimizer Introduction page displays, as shown in HP ESO Introduction page (page 22). Getting Started pages This section describes the two HP ESO Getting Started pages: Introduction page the first page displayed after you start HP ESO SQL Login page the page that allows you to set credentials and log in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances For information to help you get started using HP ESO, skip to Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session (page 24). HP ESO Introduction page When you start HP ESO, the Introduction page displays as shown in Figure 14 (page 23). The left navigation pane displays links to other HP ESO pages. To use these pages, you must start an Administrator Session by clicking Enter Admin Session on the top left corner of the page, as described in Starting an authenticated Administrator Session (Admin Session) (page 28). 22 Using HP ESO

23 Figure 14 HP ESO Introduction page When you start an Administrator Session, the SQL Login page displays (see Figure 15 (page 24)), allowing you to specify credentials and log in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances. When you log in to instances, you can use the full functionality of HP ESO pages. If you are not logged in, use of HP ESO pages is limited to viewing. IMPORTANT: HP highly recommends that you start data collection as soon as possible. Data collection enables HP ESO to capture and analyze real SQL Server workload patterns in the system and to give the best optimization recommendations, based on the observed workload patterns. For more information, see Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations (page 31). If you do not have credentials for logging in to any SQL instances, you can initiate data collection, but you cannot view or apply optimization recommendation. Database administrators (users with credentials) can log in to view or apply optimization recommendations. HP ESO SQL Login page The HP ESO SQL Login page (titled SQL Server and Analysis Services Login, as shown in Figure 15 (page 24)) allows you to set credentials and log in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances, as described in Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session (page 24). Getting started 23

24 Figure 15 SQL Login page Quick start: Tasks performed in a typical HP ESO user session Once you have launched HP ESO, you can begin using HP ESO by following these basic steps. The first two steps are required for performing most of the remaining steps. 1. Start an exclusive HP ESO Administrator Session (Admin Session) by clicking Enter Admin Session in the upper left corner of the left pane of the HP ESO Introduction page (see Figure 16 (page 24)). Figure 16 Enter Admin Session on HP ESO Introduction page NOTE: Before you can use HP ESO pages and functionality, you must perform this step. For more information about Admin Session, see Starting an authenticated Administrator Session (Admin Session) (page 28). Clicking Enter Admin Session brings up the SQL Login page. 2. Specify SQL credentials in the SQL Login page and then log in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances using the specified credentials. As shown in Figure 17 (page 25), you have two options for entering credentials: Option 1 Specify the same credentials once and for all Option 2 Specify specific credentials for each instance After specifying the credentials, log in to the instances by clicking Connect. Once logged in to an instance, you can perform such tasks as setting parameters and applying optimization recommendations on HP ESO pages. 24 Using HP ESO

25 Figure 17 SQL Login credential specification options and the Connect button For more information about setting credentials and logging into instances, see Setting credentials and logging in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances (page 29)) 3. View various HP ESO pages and perform tasks pertaining to them by selecting the links in the left pane of the page, as shown in Figure 18 (page 26) (in Figure 18 (page 26), the SQL Login page is currently selected). Before performing any actions, first collect data, as described in the next step. Getting started 25

26 Figure 18 Left pane page selection links 4. Configure and perform data collection. To do so, access the Data Collection page by selecting the Data Collection link (if you do not see the Data Collection page link, expand Settings ). The data collection process generates recommendations. Before performing data collection, make sure all the SQL instances are under the workload stress expected in real world conditions. In addition, if major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current Admin Session is active, rerun data collection before using optimization pages and reports. For more information about data collection, see Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations (page 31). 5. Select the Summary page to view a summary of optimization recommendations for all settable parameters. The recommendations are gathered from all the optimization pages. (By default, the page displays only those parameters whose recommended values differ from the values currently in effect.) The Summary page allows you to download a PowerShell script that you can use to set the recommended values. For more information about the Summary page, see Summary page: Viewing recommended optimization values for settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; generating a PowerShell script for setting these recommended values (page 34). You can also view and set optimization recommendations by accessing any of the Optimizations pages (access these by clicking any of the links under Optimizations in the left pane of the page). These pages display current values of parameters and their recommended values (even those recommended values that are the same as the values currently in effect). The Optimizations pages also display recommendation statements (static strings of 26 Using HP ESO

27 text that cannot be updated dynamically). The recommendation statements suggest changes that you can make manually. IMPORTANT: To ensure suitability of HP ESO s optimization recommendations, perform data collection during typical business workloads. To obtain the most up-to-date recommendations, run and complete (stop) the data collection process prior to accessing the reports page. 6. View data collected by the data collection process by accessing the Workload and Performance History reports page. For more information, see Workload and Performance History (page 67). NOTE: To obtain the most up-to-date reports, run and complete (stop) the data collection process prior to accessing the reports page. 7. The upper left corner of each HP ESO page indicates how much time is left in the current Admin Session (see Figure 19 (page 27)). Whenever the HP ESO Admin Session is about to expire, click Extend Session to reset the timeout value. When less than one minute remains, some pages might not be accessible. Clicking Extend Session makes those pages accessible again. Figure 19 Session timer and Extend Session button The default Admin Session timeout is 30 minutes. You can change the timeout value in the ESO Session Configuration section of the SQL Login page. To see this section of the SQL Login page, you might have to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Figure 20 (page 27) shows the ESO Session Configuration section. For more information, see Modifying the Admin Session timeout value (page 30). Figure 20 ESO Session Configuration: Session Time Out 8. To end the ESO Admin Session, click Exit Session (directly beneath the Time left field in the upper left corner of the HP ESO page). For security purposes, this clears all SQL credentials. You need to re-enter SQL credentials when running HP ESO again. When an HP ESO Admin Session expires, all SQL credentials are cleared automatically and must be re-entered. Floating help for items on a page Anytime you mouse over a setting or section that has the cursor/question mark symbol, clicking that symbol brings up floating help text, as shown in Figure 21 (page 28). This feature is extremely useful in learning about the many settings that HP ESO provides. Getting started 27

28 Figure 21 Floating help text For information about online help provided by HP ESO, see Using the online help Welcome page (page 71). Starting an authenticated Administrator Session (Admin Session) Starting an Administrator session ensures that only one authenticated user can use and change the different parameters in the system and the SQL Server. When you start an Admin Session, other users will be blocked from accessing the HP ESO pages. Once you have started an Admin Session, you can view HP ESO pages and start the data collection process. However, to change parameters and apply optimization recommendations on HP ESO pages, you must be logged in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances. You can log in to instances from the SQL Login page this page displays automatically when you start an Admin Session. To start an Admin Session, click Enter Admin Session on the top left corner of the page (see Figure 22 (page 29)). This starts an exclusive session that lasts for 30 minutes by default. The session time limit may be reset to the full 30 minutes by clicking Extend Session. The number of minutes remaining in the current session will be shown at the Time Left field. If the time left reaches 0, you need to start an Admin Session again to continue working on ESO. An In Admin Session message indicates that an Admin Session is currently active. NOTE: The default session timeout of 30 minutes is configurable and may be overridden by entering the new timeout value in the New Value field in the ESO Session Configuration section of the SQL Login page. For more information, see Modifying the Admin Session timeout value (page 30). If an Admin Session has not been started, the system will display detailed steps for starting a session, as shown in Figure 22 (page 29). 28 Using HP ESO

29 Figure 22 Steps to enter an Admin Session SQL Login page: Setting credentials and logging in to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances Upon starting an Admin Session, the SQL Login page appears, as shown in Figure 23 (page 29). The page displays all SQL Server and Analysis Services instances along with input boxes for entering login credentials. This page allows you to enter login credentials and the authentication type for each instance. From this page, you can then log in to the SQL Server and Analysis Services instances. HP ESO validates the credentials. Figure 23 SQL Login page For SQL Server instances, the type of login (Windows Authentication or SQL Authentication) can be selected under the Authentication Type column. For Analysis Services, Windows Authentication is the only selectable option. Username and Password columns contain the appropriate input boxes to fill in the user name and password used for logging in to each SQL Server instance and Analysis Services instance. To log in to a domain account, specify the user name in this format: domain-name\user-name. Getting started 29

30 If similar login credentials will be used to log in to all SQL Server and Analysis Services instances, you can have the same login credentials applied to all the instances. Simply fill in the Authentication Type, Username, and Password boxes in the top All Instances row. Finally, click Connect to log in to the SQL instances using the provided login credentials. As shown in Figure 24 (page 30), the Login Status and Login Type : Login Name columns indicate the validity of the supplied login credentials and the type of authentication (Windows or SQL Authentication), respectively. If a login fails, the Latest Login Log section shows the reason for the failure, as shown in Figure 24 (page 30). If the reason for failure is that a specified account is not assigned sufficient server roles in SQL Server or is not a member of the Analysis Services Server Administrators group, the user account was not configured to ensure access to SQL Server or Analysis Services instances. To configure the user accounts correctly, see Configuring user accounts to enable access to SQL Server and Analysis Services instances (page 14). Figure 24 Login credentials status NOTE: For security purposes, when an ESO Admin Session ends or expires, all SQL credentials are cleared. You must re-enter SQL credentials with each new session. Modifying the Admin Session timeout value The default session timeout of 30 minutes may be changed by entering the new timeout value in the New Value field under the ESO Session Configuration section of the SQL Login page. The maximum timeout value is approximately 1,000,000 minutes. The ESO Session Configuration section is near the bottom of the page; you might have to scroll down to that section. Figure 25 (page 30) shows the ESO Session Configuration section where the session timeout can be modified. NOTE: When there is less than one minute remaining in the current Admin Session, some pages might be inaccessible. To resolve the issue, click Extend Session (located at the top of the left pane of the page). Figure 25 ESO Session Configuration: Session Time Out 30 Using HP ESO

31 Settings pages: Setting parameters for data collection Use the Data Collection page to configure some of your data collection settings prior to discovery and optimization of the HP server, the Windows Operating System (OS), and SQL Server. Data Collection page: Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations The data collection feature collects data from the Windows OS, SQL Server Database Engine, and Analysis Services. Data includes CPU, memory, and IO utilization; and SQL Server transaction rates. Collected data is saved in the form of CSV (Comma Separated Value) files located at %ProgramFiles%\McPerfOpt\Data, as shown in Figure 26 (page 31). Figure 26 CSV data files These CSV files are used by HP ESO for analysis, and form the basis of its optimization recommendations and its performance and workload history reports. IMPORTANT: To ensure suitability of HP ESO s optimization recommendations, perform data collection during typical business workloads. Whenever major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current ESO Admin Session is active, rerun data collection. (Examples of major configuration changes include adding or removing an SQL instance, database, or database file.) Data that was collected prior to a major configuration change will likely be obsolete. Rerunning the data collection ensures that optimization recommendations and reports are aligned to the current configuration and workload. Click Data Collection in the HP ESO navigation pane to display the Data Collection page. Figure 27 (page 32) shows a Data Collection page. This page allows you to set data collection parameters and to start the data collection process. Settings pages: Setting parameters for data collection 31

32 Figure 27 Data Collection page User input fields in the Data Collection Settings section include the following: START ON Lets you select the date and time that data collection starts. NOW is the default value and immediately starts data collection when you click Start. To specify a future date and time for starting data collection, click the calendar icon ( ). STOP ON Lets you select the date and time when data collection stops. NON-STOP is the default value and keeps data collection running until you stop it manually. Data Sampling Rate Lets you specify how often data is sampled by data collection. The default value is 10 seconds. NOTE: The lower the sampling rate value, the finer the resolution of the data samples, and the more accurate the internal data analysis will be. However, setting the sampling rate too low makes the resulting data collection files larger. The higher the sampling rate value, the coarser the resolution of data samples, and the less accurate the internal data analysis will be. However, setting the sampling rate higher will make the resulting data collection files smaller. Control buttons in the Data Collection Settings section include the following: START Starts data collection on the selected date and time in the START ON field. This button is disabled (displayed as grayed-out) when data collection is currently in process. STOP Stops data collection on the selected date and time in the STOP ON field. This button is disabled when data collection is not currently in process. When data collection starts, HP ESO automatically invokes the Windows Performance Monitor tool (see Figure 28 (page 33)) to collect data from different counters. To view data collected by the data collection process, use the Workload and Performance History reports page, as described in Workload and Performance History (page 67). NOTE: To obtain the most relevant and up-to-date workload and performance history reports, perform the data collection process and complete (stop) it prior to accessing the reports page. 32 Using HP ESO

33 Figure 28 Performance Monitor Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations The Optimizations pages provide various types of optimization recommendations based on collected data. IMPORTANT: HP highly recommends that you run data collection and complete the process before visiting or modifying the optimization pages. To ensure suitability of HP ESO s optimization recommendations, perform data collection during typical business workloads. Whenever major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current ESO Admin Session is active, rerun data collection prior to using Optimizations pages. (Examples of major configuration changes include adding or removing an SQL instance, database, or database file.) Data that was collected prior to a major configuration change will likely be obsolete. Rerunning the data collection ensures that optimization recommendations and reports are aligned to the current configuration and workload. If you have used a domain user account to log into SQL instances, Optimizations pages may take a few minutes to load the first time after logging in to the SQL instances or completing data collection, as HP ESO initially gathers data from multiple sources and calculates optimization recommendations. HP ESO optimization pages typically display the following values or controls (see Figure 29 (page 34)): N/A No recommendation can be provided for the parameter at the current state and environment. Current The current parameter value discovered in the system. Recommended The parameter value recommended by HP ESO. New Value This field contains the new parameter value to be applied to the system. By default, this field contains the recommended value. However, you can change this value if desired. SET ALL Sets all of the parameters shown in the New Value field on the page. Click this button to make the changes take effect immediately. Changes requiring a system or SQL Server service restart are indicated after the changes are applied. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 33

34 SET Sets the specific parameter shown beside it. Click this button to make the change take effect immediately. Changes requiring a system or SQL Server service restart are indicated after the change is applied. Enable Parameter Change check box (alongside each parameter name) When checked, allows the corresponding parameter to be changed. When cleared, the parameter retains its current value after clicking SET or SET ALL. Select/Unselect All check box When checked, causes the parameter changes enablement check boxes under its section to toggle between Selected and Unselected. Expand ( ) and Collapse ( ) Expand or Collapse a section in a page. Show Recommendation Details check box Shows details of all recommendations, as shown in Figure 29 (page 34). The details are listed under the parameter setting area. Figure 29 Show Recommendation Details page When a critical error occurs, the Optimizations page displays possible steps that can be taken, as shown in Figure 30 (page 34). Figure 30 Critical error page Summary page: Viewing recommended optimization values for settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; generating a PowerShell script for setting these recommended values The Summary page displays optimization recommendations for settable parameters, as gathered from all the HP ESO optimization pages. The page also allows you to download a PowerShell script that you can modify and run to set the recommended optimization values. 34 Using HP ESO

35 To ensure you have the most helpful and up-to-date recommendations, first collect data for the workload of concern, then view the Summary page (and if needed, download the PowerShell script). Some recommendations are based on the data collection. For more information about data collection, see Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations (page 31). NOTE: By default, the Summary page and PowerShell script downloaded from it include only those recommended settable parameter values that differ from the values currently in effect. You can change the default behavior of the Summary page so that it displays all recommended values, including those that do not differ from the values currently in effect. Likewise, you can modify how the PowerShell script is generated, causing all recommended values to be included in the script. For more information, see Modifying how the Summary page displays and generates recommended values (page 36). The Summary page and PowerShell script omit static recommendation statements regarding unsettable parameters. To view these recommendation statements as well as all recommended optimization values (including those that differ from the current values), go to the corresponding optimization page. The generated PowerShell script may only be executed on the same server where it was generated. Copying and running this script to another server can cause unexpected performance degradation. The PowerShell script generated from the Summary page does not support the following two Storage page parameters: User Write Cache Setting and Cache Power Protection. IMPORTANT: To ensure suitability of HP ESO s optimization recommendations, perform data collection during typical business workloads. Whenever major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current ESO Admin Session is active, rerun data collection prior to using the Summary page or any other page that depends on up-to-date data. (Examples of major configuration changes include adding or removing an SQL instance, database, or database file.) Data that was collected prior to a major configuration change will likely be obsolete. Rerunning the data collection ensures that optimization recommendations and reports are aligned to the current configuration and workload. Figure 31 (page 36) shows an example of the Summary page. For information about how to download a generated PowerShell script from the page, see Downloading the PowerShell script (page 36). Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 35

36 Figure 31 Summary page Modifying how the Summary page displays and generates recommended values Two registry keys control how the Summary page displays recommended values and how it generates them for the PowerShell script. These registry keys are under the following path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Hewlett-Packard\Management Software\McPerfProv Table 2 (page 36) lists the keys and the effect of the values they can assume. Regardless of the values you select for the registry keys, static recommendation statements (for unsettable parameters) are always omitted. Table 2 Registry keys for controlling how recommended values are displayed and generated Summary page display Key Possible values Behavior SkipSameValueRecommendation_SummaryPage true (default) false Summary page displays only those recommended settable parameter values that differ from the values currently in effect Summary page displays all recommended settable parameter values, including those that do not differ from the values currently in effect PowerShell script generation Key SkipSameValueRecommendation_PSScript Possible values true (default) false Behavior Generated PowerShell script will include only those recommended settable parameter values that differ from the values currently in effect Generated PowerShell script will include all recommended settable parameter values, including those that do not differ from the values currently in effect Downloading the PowerShell script To download the PowerShell script, follow these steps: 1. Click the Download PowerShell Script button. This initiates generation of the script (while the script is being generated, a Processing data message appears to the right of the button). 36 Using HP ESO

37 2. After the script is generated, a link to the script appears further to the right of the button, as shown in Figure 32 (page 37). Figure 32 PowerShell script link 3. Right-click the link and save the script, removing the.txt extension. For example, save the script shown in the preceding example as file named: ESO_All_Recommendations_ _ ps1 4. To edit and run the script, follow the directions provided in Using the PowerShell script to apply HP ESO optimization recommendations for all settable parameters (page 75). SQL Server page: Viewing and controlling SQL Server and Analysis Services parameters and optimization recommendations The SQL Server page contains recommendations for setting parameters for SQL Server and Analysis Services instances. The SQL instances displayed on the page are grouped into the following types: SQL Server instances Database Engine (OLTP) Data Warehouse (DW) SAP Database Engine Analysis Services instances Figure 33 (page 37) shows an example of the SQL Server page. Figure 33 SQL Server page The following subsections describe the parameters affecting SQL Server optimization.and memory allocation NOTE: HP ESO calculates memory allocation recommendations for all active instances. If you have not provided valid credentials for certain instances, HP ESO displays the recommendations for these instances only after you have logged in to them with valid credentials. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 37

38 SQL Server database instance parameters Information about some parameters might not be displayed, depending on the availability of the components to which the parameters apply. NOTE: Cluster-related parameters (Cluster Network Name, Computer Name, Status, and Computer Role) are described in Clustered SQL Server instance (page 48). Max Degree of Parallelism When SQL Server runs on a system with more than one microprocessor or CPU, it detects the best degree of parallelism. Specifically, it recognizes the number of processors employed to run a single statement, for each parallel plan execution. Use the Max Degree of Parallelism (MAXDOP) option to limit the number of processors to use in parallel plan execution. Lightweight Pooling Use the Lightweight Pooling option to reduce system overhead associated with the excessive context switching sometimes seen in symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) environments. When excessive context switching is present, lightweight pooling can provide better throughput by performing the context switching inline, thus helping to reduce user/kernel ring transitions. Priority Boost Use the Priority Boost option to specify whether Microsoft SQL Server should run at a higher Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 scheduling priority than other processes on the same system. If you set this option to 1, SQL Server runs at a priority base of 13 in the scheduler. The default is 0, which is a priority base of 7. Min Server Memory (in MB) Use the Min Server Memory option to specify whether SQL Server should start with at least the minimum amount of allocated memory and not release memory below this value. Set this value based on the size and activity of your SQL Server instance. Always set the option to a reasonable value to ensure the operating system does not request too much memory from SQL Server and inhibit Windows performance. Max Server Memory (in MB) The Max Server Memory option specifies the maximum amount of memory SQL Server can allocate when it starts and while it runs. Set this option to a specific value if you know there are multiple applications running at the same time as SQL Server and you want to guarantee these applications have sufficient memory to run. If these other applications, such as Web or servers, request memory only as needed, then do not set the option because SQL Server will release memory to them as needed. However, applications often use whatever memory is available when they start and do not request more if needed. If an application that behaves in this manner runs on the same system at the same time as SQL Server, set the option to a value that guarantees the memory required by the application is not allocated by SQL Server. Recovery Interval The Recovery Interval option writes all dirty pages for the current database to disk. Dirty pages are data pages that have been entered into the buffer cache and modified, but not yet written to disk. Check points save time during a later recovery by creating a point at which all dirty pages are guaranteed to have been written to disk. Lock Page Lock Page is a setting for use on 64-bit operating systems. When this setting is enabled, Windows retains the SQL Server process working set (the committed, buffer pool memory) in physical memory until the application in use frees the memory or exits. The Windows operating system prevents the 38 Using HP ESO

39 SQL Server from paging (swapping) the data to virtual memory on disk or from trimming the data. However, the Windows operating system can still page out the nonbuffer pool memory within the SQL Server process. Locking pages in memory can improve server performance and responsiveness when paging memory to disk occurs. By default, this setting is turned off on 64-bit systems. NOTE: If the Database Engine instance is running under a local system account, Microsoft Windows does not support turning off Lock Page. Max Worker Threads This parameter applies to the Data Warehouse Database engine only. Use this option to configure the number of worker threads available to Microsoft SQL Server processes. Thread pooling helps optimize performance when large numbers of clients are connected to the server. Usually, a separate operating system thread is created for each query request. However, with hundreds of connections to the server, using one thread per query request can consume large amounts of system resources. The Max Worker Threads option enables SQL Server to create a pool of worker threads to service a larger number of query request, which improves performance. Xp_CmdShell This parameter applies to the SAP Database Engine only. Some SAP transactions such as those made by the database monitor need to execute the stored procedure xp_cmdshell. This fails unless you have set the SAP Database Engine Xp_CmdShell configuration option to 1. To execute the stored procedure, select On (this is equivalent to setting it to 1) at the drop down box, as shown in Figure 34 (page 39). Figure 34 Setting the Xp_CmdShell option Analysis Services instance parameters Information about some parameters might not be displayed, depending on the availability of the components to which the parameters apply. Flight Recorder SQL Server Analysis Services Flight Recorder provides a mechanism to record server activity into a short-term log. Information captured by Flight Recorder can be helpful for troubleshooting specific issues; however the load placed on the server when capturing the snapshots and trace events can have a small impact on overall performance. For optimal performance, the flight recorder should be disabled unless attempting to capture diagnostic information relevant to troubleshooting a specific problem. Random File Access A Boolean property that indicates whether database files and cached files are accessed in random file access mode. This property is disabled by default. By default, Analysis Services does not set the random file access flag when opening partition data files for read access. On high-end systems, particularly those with large memory resources and multiple NUMA nodes, it can be advantageous to use random file access. In random access mode, Windows bypasses page mapping operations Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 39

40 that read data from disk into the system file cache, thereby lowering contention on the cache. Available only on SQL 2012 and later. Low Memory Limit Specifies the amount of memory allocated by Analysis Services at startup. When this limit is reached, the instance starts to slowly clear memory out of caches by closing expired sessions and unloading unused calculations. The server will not release memory below this limit. The default value is 65, which indicates the low memory limit is 65% of physical memory or the virtual address space, whichever is less. Total Memory Limit Defines a threshold that, when reached, causes the server to deallocate memory more aggressively. The default value is 80% of physical memory or the virtual address space, whichever is less. Coordinator Query Balancing Factor and Coordinator Query Boost Priority Level When multiple users access SQL Server Analysis Services concurrently, an expensive query that needs to scan large number of partitions can monopolize the system and block other users. To avoid this problem and achieve high concurrency, HP recommends that Coordinator Query Balancing Factor be set to 1 and Coordinator Query Boost Priority Level to 0. Enable Rolap Distinct Count On DataSource Queries that include DistinctCount in a ROLAP process can run faster, assuming certain criteria are met. Performance is improved because more of the operation has been off-loaded to the relational database engine, where COUNT(DISTINCT column) is used to return unique non-null values, eliminating the need for more expensive ordering operations that degrade query performance. This optimization is disabled by default because the query results produced by the new and older algorithms are not always identical. Transact-SQL counting can vary for NULL values and different collations. If you want to use the optimization, set the OLAP\ProcessPlan\Enable Rolap Distinct Count On DataSource property to 1. Process Min Threads A signed 32-bit integer that determines the minimum number of threads for queries. HP ESO always recommends that the value be equal to the total number of logical CPUs on the local system. Vertipaq Memory Limit If you use VertipaqPagingPolicy mode 0 (Vertipaq is the Microsoft xvelocity in-memory analytics engine), the VertiPaq Memory Limit defines the total amount of memory Vertipaq is allowed to lock in the working set (this is the total that can be used for in-memory databases; the Analysis Services service might use more memory for other reasons). If you use VertipaqPagingPolicy mode 1 (the default), this defines a limit for the physical memory used by VertiPaq, allowing paging for the remaining memory (virtual committed memory) above this limit. This property is specific to Tabular mode Analysis Services only. The VertipaqPagingPolicy mode is not settable by the HP ESO interface. You can set or change the mode using the msmdsrv.ini file. Resource Monitor Resource Monitor provides a communication, monitoring, and processing layer between the Cluster service and one or more resources. HP ESO always recommends it be disabled (OFF). The property is specific to SQL Using HP ESO

41 Server modes (Multidimensional Mode, Tabular Mode, Sharepoint Mode) When installing SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), you can configure one of the following three modes of operation for Analysis Services: Multidimensional Mode Analysis Services provides online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence applications. Multidimensional and data mining solutions use OLAP modeling constructs (cubes and dimensions, availability of which requires setting up Business Intelligence [BI]). This mode is the default mode. If you install Analysis Services using default values, you get an instance that runs in this mode. Tabular Mode Tabular solutions use relational modeling constructs such as tables and relationships for modeling data, and they use the xvelocity in-memory analytics engine for storing and calculating data. When you choose Tabular mode during installation of Analysis Services, the xvelocity engine is enabled. You can then author and deploy tabular model projects by using the Analysis Services Tabular Project, Import from PowerPivot, or Import from Server project templates in SQL Server Data Tools. xvelocity is not available with Analysis Services Multidimensional and Data Mining solutions. This mode is supported only with SQL 2012 or later versions. Sharepoint Mode This mode enables PowerPivot, a self-service BI solution that lets business analysts build an analytical data model inside a Microsoft Excel workbook using the PowerPivot for Excel add-in. PowerPivot also uses the xvelocity in-memory analytics engine within Excel and on SharePoint. Because PowerPivot solutions use Excel for both data modeling and rendering, deploying a workbook on a server for centralized and controlled data access requires SharePoint and Excel Services. You can configure this mode while installing SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS). This mode is supported only with SQL 2012 or later versions. Figure 35 (page 42) shows a portion of the SQL Server page displaying the Analysis Services mode types (information for the instances is not seen in this view; to display the information, click the expand button next to each instance name). Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 41

42 Figure 35 Analysis Services mode types Database page: Viewing and controlling database parameters and optimization recommendations The Database page contains parameters related to database files in each SQL Server and Analysis Services instance. The SQL instances displayed on the page are grouped into the following types: SQL Server instances Database Engine Data Warehouse SAP Database Engine Analysis Services instances Figure 36 (page 43) shows an example of the Database page. When Availability Groups and database mirroring are in use, the Database page displays information about them. Availability Groups and database mirroring contribute to higher availability and more reliable disaster recovery for databases. For more information about availability groups, database mirroring, and viewing information about high availability and disaster recovery configurations, see Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations and recommendations (page 45). IMPORTANT: Whenever major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current ESO Admin Session is active, rerun data collection. (Examples of major configuration changes include adding or removing an SQL instance, database, or database file.) Data that was collected prior to a major configuration change will likely be obsolete. Rerunning the data collection ensures that optimization recommendations and reports are aligned to the current configuration and workload. 42 Using HP ESO

43 Figure 36 Database page The following subsections describe database parameters and recommendations that might be seen on the Database optimization page. Parameters pertaining to Availability Groups and database mirroring are described in Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations and recommendations (page 45). Cluster-related parameters (Cluster Network Name, Computer Name, Status, and Computer Role) are described in Clustered SQL Server instance (page 48). SQL Server Database Engine properties Information about some parameters might not be displayed, depending on the availability of the components to which the parameters apply. Growth The Growth option specifies the method of incremental allocation (autogrowth) applied when an operating system file is extended. To disable autogrowth, select OFF. To enable autogrowth, specify the method of incremental allocation: either MB or % (Percent). SQL Server files can grow automatically from their originally specified size. When you define a file, you can specify a specific growth increment. Every time the file is filled, it increases its size by the growth increment. If there are multiple files in a file group, they will not automatically grow until all the files are full. Growth then occurs in a round-robin fashion. If necessary, the tool recommends allocation of larger space in the file and turns off automatic file growth. Auto Create Statistics This parameter applies to the SAP Database Engine only. When you enable the AUTO_CREATE_STATISTICS option (select ON), the Query Optimizer creates statistics on individual columns used in a predicate, if these statistics are not already available. These statistics are necessary to generate the query plan. They are created on columns that do not have a histogram in an existing statistics object. To disable this parameter, select OFF. Auto Update Statistics This parameter applies to the SAP Database Engine only. Updates query optimization statistics on a table or indexed view. Possible values are ON or OFF. By default, the query optimizer already updates statistics as necessary to improve the query plan; in some cases, you can improve query performance by using UPDATE STATISTICS or the stored procedure sp_updatestats to update statistics more frequently than the default updates. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 43

44 Updating statistics ensures that queries compile with up-to-date statistics. However, updating statistics causes queries to recompile. HP recommends that you avoid updating statistics too frequently: there is a performance trade-off between improving query plans and the time it takes to recompile queries. The specific trade-offs depend on your application. UPDATE STATISTICS can use tempdb to sort the sample of rows for building statistics. Auto Update Statistics Async This parameter applies to the SAP Database Engine only. When you enable this option (select ON), the SQL Server will start updating statistics asynchronously, using a separate background thread. Client queries will not have to wait for the process to complete, and they can continue using the current statistics while the update is processing in background. When the update process completes, the Query Optimizer can start using the updated statistics. This means that until the update process is complete, the Query Optimizer will produce execution plans based on the current/old statistics. To disable this parameter, select OFF. Analysis Services properties The following properties are informational only; they are not settable from HP ESO. Tabular Compatibility Level Number Analysis Services instances with SQL Server 2012 support compatibility levels 1100 and The SQL Server Database page displays the database version as SQL Server 2012 (1100) or SQL Server 2012 (1103). Data Dir The Data Dir property indicates where Analysis Services data is stored per server instance. Temp Dir The Temp Dir property indicates where Analysis Services places temporary files that it uses during processing operations. Log Dir The Log Dir property indicates where Analysis Services logs and traces are stored. Measure Group A Measure Group (MeasureGroup object) is composed of basic information, measures, dimensions, and partitions. Basic information includes the name of the measure group, the type of measures, the storage mode, the processing mode, and others. Measures are the actual set of measures that compose the measure group. For each measure there is a definition for the aggregate function, the formatting attribute, the data item source, and others. Dimensions are a subset of cube dimensions used for creating the processed measure group. Partitions are the collection of physical splits of the processed measure group. Partition A partition is a container for a portion of the measure group data. Partitions are not seen from MDX queries; all queries reflect the whole content of the measure group, regardless of how many partitions are defined for the measure group. The data content of a partition is defined by the query bindings of the partition and by the slicing expression. Estimated Rows 44 Using HP ESO The estimated number of rows in the partition.

45 Estimated Size The estimated size of the partition in megabytes. Proactive Caching Proactive caching provides automatic MOLAP cache creation and management for OLAP objects. The cubes immediately incorporate changes that are made to the data in the database, based upon notifications received from the database. The goal of proactive caching is to provide the performance of traditional MOLAP, while retaining the immediacy and ease of management offered by ROLAP. ESO database recommendation statements Database File on OS Drive HP ESO recommends that you store the database file in a location other than the system (OS) drive. If a database file is found on the system drive, HP ESO displays a recommendation statement to use a non-system drive for the database. Multiple Files HP ESO recommends that each database file be located on a separate, dedicated drive. If multiple database files are found on a drive, HP ESO displays a recommendation statement to use a dedicated drive for each database file and to use 80% of the drive space as the initial size of each database file. Create Column Store Index The Column Store index in the SQL Server Database Engine can be used to significantly speed up the processing time of common data warehousing queries. Typical data warehousing workloads require summarizing large amounts of data. The techniques typically used in data warehousing and decision support systems to improve performance are pre-computed summary tables, indexed views, OLAP cubes, and so on. The HP ESO recommendation is to create a column store index for data warehousing if its Analysis Services instance is running in Tabular mode. tempdb Data File HP ESO recommends that the number of tempdb data files be the same as the socket number or core number in the socket. Split the Partition If the Partition size is greater than 3GB, HP ESO recommends splitting the partition. This recommendation statement appears only when the database of the Analysis Services instance has a database cube built inside. Enable Proactive Caching Turn on Proactive Caching for partitions. This recommendation statement appears only when the database of the Analysis Services instance has a database cube built inside. Viewing high availability and disaster recovery configurations HP ESO Database page can provide information about high availability and disaster recovery configurations for SQL Server and Analysis Services databases. Availability Group An Availability Group, a feature introduced with SQL Server 2012, provides high availability for application databases. Availability Groups support a failover environment for a discrete set of user databases known as availability databases. An Availability Group provides all the benefits of Database Mirroring but also comes with a powerful set of new options that increase application Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 45

46 availability. More importantly, the Availability Group feature includes support of active secondary replicas, which dramatically improves resource utilization. Active secondary replicas perform log backups and copy-only backups of a full database, file, or filegroup. If a database is a member of an Availability Group, additional parameters will be displayed, including Availability Group Name, Synchronization Status, and Replica Role. Figure 37 (page 46) shows a sample portion of the Database page screen displaying information about Availability Group parameters. The Replica Role is indicated within parenthesis next to the Availability Group Name. For example, in Figure 37 (page 46), the Availability Group Agroup_SP1 is a primary replica. Table 3 (page 46) and Table 4 (page 46) lists possible synchronization states and replica roles, respectively. Possible database status and read-only values are listed in the next subsection in Table 5 (page 47) and Table 6 (page 47), respectively. Figure 37 Database in Availability Group Table 3 Possible synchronization status values Value NotSynchronizing Synchronizing Synchronized Reverting Initializing Description The synchronization state is Not Synchronizing. The synchronization state is Synchronizing. The database replica is synchronized with the primary. The database replica is reverting after a failover. The principal database is initiating a failover. Table 4 Possible replica roles Role Description Resolving Primary Secondary Unknown The Role is Resolving. The Role is Primary. The Role is Secondary. The Role is Unknown. 46 Using HP ESO Mirrored database Database mirroring is used for protecting application databases from planned and unplanned downtime. Combined with log shipping and failover clustering, database mirroring effectively meets high availability requirements of mission critical applications. A mirror database is a copy of the primary database and typically is fully-synchronized with it. When the transaction log buffer for the principal database is written to disk, transactions are sent directly from the principal database and server to its mirror database and server. If a database is configured for mirroring, Mirror Status information will be displayed, as shown in Figure 38 (page 47). Possible values for are listed in Table 7 (page 47). Table 5 (page 47) and Table 6 (page 47) list possible values for Database Status and Read-Only, respectively.

47 Figure 38 Mirrored database Table 5 Possible database status values Value Description Normal Restoring RecoveryPending Recovering Suspect Offline Standby Shutdown EmergencyMode AutoClosed Inaccessible The database is available. The database is going through the restore process. The database is waiting to go through the recovery process. The database is going through the recovery process. The database is has been marked as suspect. You should check your data, and the database might have to be restored from a backup. The database has been taken offline. The database is in standby mode. The server on which the database resides has been shut down. The database is in emergency mode. The database has been automatically close. The database is inaccessible. The server might be switched off or the network connection has been interrupted. Table 6 Possible read-only values Value Description False True The database is read-write. The database is read-only. Table 7 Possible mirror status values Value Description None Suspended Disconnected Synchronizing PendingFailover Synchronized The principal database is not mirrored. Mirroring of the principal database is suspended. The principal database and the mirror database are disconnected. The principal database and the mirror database are in the process of synchronizing. The principal database is initiating a failover. The principal database and the mirror database are synchronized. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 47

48 Clustered SQL Server instance If an SQL Server is clustered, cluster status information will be displayed, including Cluster Network Name, Status, Computer Role, and Computer Name, as shown in Figure 39 (page 48). (This example shows a portion of the page; in full view, the Computer Name would be seen to the right of the Computer Role.) Information about these status parameters is included in the subsections that follow. Figure 39 Clustered database Cluster Network Name Cluster Network Name is the virtual host name of a clustered system. This name is also used to reference the default SQL Server instance in a clustered system. Computer Name Computer Name is the computer host name of the physical node in a clustered system. Status Status is the current status of the cluster. For possible values and descriptions, see Table 8 (page 48). Table 8 Possible cluster status values Value Description Unknown Online OnlinePending Offline OfflinePending The instance of SQL Server is in an unknown state. The instance of SQL Server is online. The instance of SQL Server is waiting to come online. The instance of SQL Server is offline. The instance of SQL Server is waiting to go offline. Computer Role Computer Role is the current role of the computer node in a cluster. For possible values and descriptions, see Table 9 (page 48). Table 9 Possible computer roles Role Description Unknown Not Applicable Primary Secondary The Role is unknown. There is no Role applicable in the current setup. The Role is primary. The Role is secondary. 48 Using HP ESO

49 CPU page: Viewing and controlling CPU assignment parameters and optimization recommendations The CPU page (see Figure 40 (page 50)) displays SQL Server Database Engine Processor Affinity and Analysis Services Process GroupAffinity settings and recommendations for each SQL instance in the system. As shown in Figure 40 (page 50), the CPU page shows CPU resources organized in NUMA nodes and KGroups. In NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Architecture) systems, logical CPUs (also referred to as logical processors) are arranged in smaller systems called NUMA nodes. Each node has its own processors and memory. The system attempts to improve performance by scheduling threads on processors that are in the same node as the memory being used. (The NUMA architecture is non-uniform because each processor is close to some parts of memory and farther from other parts of memory; the processor quickly gains access to the memory that is close by.) Kgroups (also referred to as K-groups) are supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer versions that support more than 64 logical CPUs in the server. A KGroup is a processor group consisting of a static set of up to 64 logical CPUs that is treated as a single scheduling entity. KGroups are numbered starting with 0. Systems with fewer than 64 logical CPUs always have a single group: KGroup 0. Multiple logical CPUs are provided by systems with more than one physical processor or systems with physical processors that have multiple cores. A logical CPU is one logical computing engine from the perspective of the OS, application, or driver. Logical CPUs are also provided by threads that are carved from cores when Intel Hyper-Threading is enabled in this case, a core appears as two logical CPUs corresponding to thread 0 and thread 1. For better performance, the OS takes physical locality into account when assigning logical CPUs to groups. All of the logical CPUs in a core, and all of the cores in a physical processor, are assigned to the same group, if possible. Physical processors that are physically close to one another are assigned to the same group. NOTE: Windows 2008 R2 and newer versions can detect more than 64 logical CPUs are in the server and attempts to group them into KGroups. The OS balances the number of logical CPUs per KGroup. For example, if the server has 80 logical CPUs, the OS will create two KGroups. SQL Server 2008 or older versions do not detect or support more than 64 logical CPUs. They only see the first KGroup. In the preceding example of the server with 80 logical CPUs, an SQL Server 2008 (or older) running on that system would only use logical CPUs from the first group, wasting available processing power. Therefore, if you are running SQL Server 2008 or older on Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer systems, to maximize utilization of all available processor resources on the system, make sure that the server has fewer than 64 logical CPUs. To ensure this, disable hyper-threading or disable cores in CPU sockets. For more information, see the SQL Server tuning recommendations documented in the Best Practices for Tuning Microsoft SQL Server on the HP ProLiant DL980 white paper at: Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 49

50 Figure 40 CPU page The following subsections describe parameters pertaining to CPU affinity and performance optimization. NOTE: HP ESO calculates CPU allocation recommendations for all active instances. If you have not provided valid credentials for certain instances, HP ESO displays the recommendations for these instances only after you have logged in to them with valid credentials. Database Engine Processor Affinity The Database Engine Processor Affinity parameter allows you to specify the affinity mode for CPUs on multi-processor systems: automatic affinity or manual affinity. Normally, automatic affinity is in effect, where Microsoft Windows controls the assignment of threads to CPUs, dynamically migrating threads among processors based on the current workload. Although this is efficient from an OS point of view, this activity can reduce SQL Server performance under heavy system loads, as each processor cache is repeatedly reloaded with data. Under these conditions, you can give the SQL Server greater control over the assignment of threads, helping confine threads to specific CPUs (the CPUs are given higher priority among other resources for these threads). This mode is referred to as manual affinity. This improves performance by eliminating processor reloads and reducing thread migration across processors (thereby reducing context switching). In general, HP recommends automatic affinity (the default). However, if there is a significant discrepancy among workloads of several instances, such as one heavily-loaded instance among two or more other instances that are idling (lightly-loaded), you can enable manual affinity for under-utilized CPUs on the lightly-loaded instances. This allows the OS to distribute the processor load over a greater number of CPUs on the heavily-loaded instance. (On heavily-loaded instances, the OS automatically manages CPU affinities.) Over all, this strategy results in less conflict for CPU resources among under- and highly-utilized instances. NOTE: In general, you need not determine or evaluate the workload and CPU utilization of instances and individual CPUs. The CPU page guides you, indicating which CPUs should be manually affinitized, if any. In SQL Server 2008 R2, you can set Database Engine Processor Affinity (manual affinity) for a maximum of 256 CPUs. In SQL Server 2012, you can set manual affinitization for a maximum of 640 CPUs. In older versions of SQL Server (SQL Server 2008, for example), manual affinitization is limited to only 64 CPUs. In general, the maximum number of CPUs depends on the number of logical processors on the system. 50 Using HP ESO

51 Viewing and understanding Database Engine Processor Affinity To view current and recommended Database Engine Processor Affinity settings, expand the Database Engine instance CPU list (if necessary) that you want to view or modify. For example, in Figure 41 (page 51), to display the CPU list for NUMA 0, click the expand button shown circled in red. Figure 41 Expand the CPU list Figure 42 (page 51) shows an example of an expanded NUMA CPU list for an SQL 2012 Database Engine instance. Figure 42 Expanded CPU list At the top of an instance section, the Auto boxes for the Current, Recommended, and New Value columns reflect or control the affinity setting for all the instance s CPUs. The only box you can check at the top of an instance section is the New Value column s Auto check box, referred to as the Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 51

52 master Auto check box. In Figure 42 (page 51), the master Auto check box for instance SQL2012_Bl is circled in green. As described in more detail in Modifying and setting Database Engine Processor Affinity (page 53), when you check the master Auto box, you are setting up all the instance s CPUs for automatically affinity you must click SET to make this setting take effect. When you clear this box, you can enable manual affinity for selected CPUs in the list. A check mark in the Current column s Auto value box at the top of a CPU list indicates that automatic (dynamic) affinity is in effect for that list. A check mark in the Recommended column s Auto value box at the top of the CPU list indicates that HP ESO recommends automatic (dynamic) affinity for the CPUs in the list. A check mark in the New Value column s master Auto check box indicates that the recommended automatic affinity will be in effect for the entire instance after you click SET. When the Auto check box for the Current or Recommended column is blank, manual affinity is in effect or recommended (depending on the box) for one or more CPUs in the list. If the NUMA architecture is supported, boxes to the right of each NUMA id (NUMA 0, NUMA 1, and so forth) reflect or control the manual affinity setting for a specific NUMA CPU list. When a NUMA New Value master check box is checked (in Figure 42 (page 51), this master check box is circled in purple), the SQL Server will manually affinitize all CPUs under that NUMA after you click SET. When cleared, HP ESO enables automatic affinitization for the NUMA CPUs after you click SET. If the master Auto box at the top of the instance s New Value column is checked, then the CPU page displays a dash ( ) for each NUMA and CPU in the New Value column, as shown in Figure 43 (page 52). This means manual affinity will be disabled when you click SET; automatic affinity will take effect for all CPUs in NUMA 0 and all other NUMAs for that instance. Figure 43 Automatic affinitization setting for all instance and NUMA CPUs Under each Database Engine instance, or within each NUMA CPU list for a Database Engine instance, the CPU page displays the current, recommended, and new value for each individual CPU s affinity/allocation state. By default, the new value is the same as the recommended value. A dash ( ) as a specific CPU s Current value indicates that the CPU is automatically affinitized. A check mark indicates that the CPU is manually affinitized. If the check box in the New Value column to the right of a specific CPU is cleared (as are the boxes circled in red in Figure 42 (page 51)), the check box is enabled so that you can check the box to 52 Using HP ESO

53 manually affinitize that CPU. If a CPU s New Value check box is checked, it will be manually affinitized after you click SET. Modifying and setting Database Engine Processor Affinity Overview To enable automatic affinity for an instance s CPUs, or to disable manual affinity for one or more CPUs, use the New Value column s master Auto check box. This check box is circled in red in Figure 44 (page 53). To enable manual affinity for one or more CPUs, use the NUMA or individual CPU check boxes circled in green in Figure 44 (page 53). NOTE: If the Recommended column s Auto check box is blank, HP ESO is recommending manual affinity for one or more CPUs in the instance CPU list. Expand the CPU list to ascertain which CPUs are recommended for manual affinity. Expand the CPU list by clicking the expand buttons on the left side of the instance column. For SQL 2008 instances, only one expand button exists per instance. For later versions of SQL, expand buttons are available for each NUMA CPU list. To apply settings, click SET (at the top of the instance column). The remainder of this section provides more specific details about modifying affinity modes. Figure 44 Automatic versus manual affinitization setting boxes Details about modifying and setting Database Engine Processor Affinity To modify and enable Database Engine Processor Affinity for one or more CPUs, follow these steps: Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 53

54 1. If you want automatic affinity for all of the instance s CPUs, check the New Value column s master Auto check box and click SET. Figure 45 (page 54) shows the master Auto check box circled in green. (If that box is already checked, all instance CPUs are set to automatic affinity after you click SET.) If HP ESO does not have recommendations for manual affinity, the New Value column s master Auto check box has a check mark. If an instance s CPU utilization is too high, HP ESO automatically inserts a check mark within the Auto check boxes for the Recommended and New Value columns, indicating that the OS should continue automatically affinitizing all CPUs. If HP ESO has recommendations for manually affinitizing individual CPUs, the CPU page displays a check mark in the Recommended column to the right of each recommended CPU (expand and scroll down, looking particularly at the bottom of the CPU list or NUMA list for the recommended CPUs). To comply with the recommendations, check the CPU s New Value box and click SET. If you want to manually affinitize individual CPUs against HP ESO recommendations, clear the New Value column s master Auto check box. This clears and enables all check boxes (for all CPUs) in the New Value column, allowing you to select individual CPUs for manual affinity mode. To specify a new affinity setting, proceed with one of the following actions, as appropriate: To manually affinitize one or more specific CPUs, check the New Value column s check box to the right of each CPU, such as one of the boxes circled in red in Figure 45 (page 54) (two CPUs are shown selected). To manually affinitize all the CPUs in a specific NUMA list (NUMA 0, NUMA 1, or so forth), check the master New Value box to the right of the NUMA id (in Figure 45 (page 54), the master New Value box for NUMA 0 is circled in purple). In versions of SQL that do not support NUMA (such as SQL 2008), this choice is not available; you must check all the CPU New Value boxes under the NUMA, one by one (in Figure 45 (page 54), the New Value boxes under NUMA 0 are circled in red). To manually affinitize all the CPUs for an instance, check all master NUMA New Value boxes. In versions of SQL that do not support NUMA, this choice is not available; you must check all CPU New Value boxes one by one. Figure 45 Setting automatic and manual affinitization 54 Using HP ESO

55 2. To make your modifications take effect, click SET. The CPU page then displays a message indicating that the corresponding CPU settings will be changed, and then displays a confirmation message indicating that settings were applied successfully (or not). For each CPU setting changed successfully, the symbol appears alongside the New Value box of each affected CPU. If a CPU setting fails, the symbol appears alongside affected CPUs. If you have manually affinitized several (but not all) CPUs, HP ESO displays the Current column s Auto check box as cleared (no check mark). To disable manual affinity: 1. For a specific CPU, clear the New Value box to the right of the CPU. Then go to Step 2. For all CPUs under a specific NUMA, clear the New Value box to the right of the NUMA id. Then go to Step 2. For all CPUs under an instance, check the New Value column s master Auto check box at the top of the instance CPU section (under the SET button). Then go to Step To enable modifications to take effect, click SET. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 55

56 NOTE: Do not set Database Processor Affinity and IO Affinity to the same CPUs. This can degrade system performance (HP ESO displays a warning if the system is configured this way). As a general rule, HP ESO recommends manual affinity for only a few specific processors in SQL instances that are comparatively lightly utilized. This helps ensure that a substantial number of system processors is available for handling heavier workloads. Likewise, HP ESO does not recommend manual affinity for heavily utilized SQL instances they need to use all available system processors. From a single GUI interface, Processor Affinity can be set for the SQL Database Engine and Process GroupAffinity for Analysis Services. This reduces the complexity of setting instance affinity one-by-one. In addition to the CPU/NUMA information shown in the SQL Server Management Studio GUI, HP ESO also shows the Processor Group information. This helps the user allocate resources properly, based on application needs (some applications might not be using all Processor Group information). Analysis Services Process GroupAffinity To support multiple processor groups and thus more than 64 CPUs, SSAS 2012 was updated to set the process affinity mask for the msmdsrv.exe process to span multiple processor groups. Along with this capability, a new configuration property named GroupAffinity was added for each thread pool in the server. This property allows an SSAS administrator to have fine-grain control over which CPUs on a machine are used for each thread pool managed by Analysis Services. The GroupAffinity setting is a bitmask that determines which CPUs in a processor group can be used for the thread pool in which the GroupAffinity mask is defined. This setting is supported with SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services only. Figure 46 (page 56) shows two Analysis Services instances with the NUMA 1 CPU lists expanded for view. Modify the Process GroupAffinity in a similar fashion as that described for the Database Engine Processor Affinity parameter in Database Engine Processor Affinity (page 50). NOTE: When you click SET to apply changes, HP ESO displays a message that the instance should be restarted for the changes to take effect. SQL instances that need to be restarted have this symbol alongside their names after refreshing the page:. Figure 46 Analysis Services Process GroupAffinity view 56 Using HP ESO

57 NOTE: The Process GroupAffinity parameter is not supported with Analysis Services 2008 and 2008 R2 instances; therefore, Analysis Services 2008 and 2008 R2 instances are not displayed with Process GroupAffinity information. SQL Startup Option page: Viewing and controlling SQL Server startup options During SQL Server installation, a set of default startup options is written to the registry. Trace flags are one form of these startup options. Use trace flags to temporarily set specific server characteristics, or to switch particular SQL Server behaviors on or off. Trace flags can be used for a variety of purposes. Many of them, if set appropriately for your environment and workload, can enhance performance of the SQL Server. Figure 47 (page 57) shows an example of the SQL Startup Option page. The subsections that follow describe the trace flag startup options. Figure 47 SQL Startup Option page Trace flag 8048 Trace flag 834 The SQL Startup Option page lists the status of trace flags available for each particular SQL instance. Trace flags are very sensitive to the SQL Server edition and versions, and to workload types (SAP, Data Warehouse, Database Engine). The SQL Startup Option page displays only those trace flags (and their status) supported by the SQL instance. The page displays a description of each supported trace flag. To change the status of an individual trace flag, select a new value from the drop down box and click SET. CAUTION: Each trace flag covers a very specific field and requires certain conditions to work. Caution should be used when turning a trace flag on or off. Enable trace flag 8048 (TF-8048) to use memory allocation at the CPU level to reduce costs when you have too many CPUs per NUMA node. HP ESO recommends and displays this flag for non-sap instances only, with systems having at least eight CPUs per NUMA node. When combined with the Lock Page option described previously, this flag forces the SQL Server to use 2MB pages for the buffer cache instead of the default 4KB pages. This reduces the Translation Look aside Buffer (TLB) size and contention, and simplifies memory management by reducing the number of pages to be tracked and manipulated. This flag is recommended particularly on systems Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 57

58 Trace flag 1117 Trace flag 1118 Trace flag 2371 Trace flag 2549 Trace flag 2562 where the SQL Server is the main (or only) application running. HP ESO recommends and displays this flag for non-sap instances only. Trace flag 1117 determines how the SQL Server automatically extends (grows) data files in a file group when automatic file growth is needed. Enable trace flag 1117 to cause the SQL Server to automatically grow all of the files at the same time. Otherwise, the files will automatically grow in round-robin fashion. Trace flag 1118 is used to help alleviate allocation bitmap contention in tempdb when under a heavy load of small temp table creation and deletion. Trace flag 2371 is used to address the well-known problem caused by the current 20% threshold that determines when automatic statistics updates occur. The statistics keep track of the number of changes made to a table. The threshold is the percentage of the number of rows in the table. When the number of changes exceed 20% of the number of rows in the table, the statistics are automatically updated. For large applications with correspondingly large tables, this could mean that automatic updates would not occur often enough to accurately reflect current statistics. As a result, administrators would have to manually update the statistics (using a query plan, for example). Because the manual updates usually require excessive I/O, this was not optimal for many applications. The 2371 trace flag changes the threshold from a fixed-rate of 20% to a dynamic rate based on the table size. The higher the number of rows in the table, the lower the threshold will become to trigger an update of the statistics. Enable the 2371 trace flag to prevent the need for manually updating the statistics. HP ESO recommends and displays this flag for SAP instances only. NOTE: To prevent small tables from being updated too frequently, automatic updates require a minimum of 500 rows in a static table and 6 rows in a temp table. The DBCC CHECKDB checks the logical and physical integrity of all objects in the specified database. The command builds an internal list of pages to read per unique disk drive across all database files. The logic determines unique disk drives based on the drive letter of the physical file name of each file. If the underlying disks are actually unique when the drive letters are not, the DBCC CHECKDB command treats these database files as residing on one disk. Enable the trace flag to optimize the CHECKDB process by treating each database file as residing on a separate, unique disk drive. Do not use this trace flag unless you know that each file is based on a unique physical disk. HP ESO recommends and displays this flag for SAP instances only. By default, the DBCC CHECKDB command tries to minimize the amount of tempdb resources required to check the entire database. The command does this by breaking up the database into batches. This reduces the number of indexes or "facts" that it generates. Trace flag 2562 implements the following changes: Forces the DBCC CHECKDB command to run all processing in a single batch regardless of the number of indexes in the database. Improves the internal process for determining which pages to read from the database. This reduces contention on the DBCC_MULTIOBJECT_SCANNER latch, helping avoid such errors as: Timeout occurred while waiting for latch: class DBCC_MULTIOBJECT_SCANNER. 58 Using HP ESO

59 One effect of using this trace flag is that the space requirements for tempdb may increase. The tempdb may grow to as much as 5% or more of the user database that is being processed by the DBCC CHECKDB command. Therefore, to avoid automatic growth when you use this trace flag, which may slow down the performance of the DBCC CHECKDB command, HP recommends that you pre-size tempdb to at least 5% of your database size. HP ESO recommends and displays this flag for SAP instances only. Storage page: Viewing and controlling storage parameters and optimization recommendations The Storage page displays recommendations for different storage parameters. Figure 48 (page 59) shows an example of a Storage page. Figure 48 Storage page The following subsections describe some of the parameters affecting storage optimization. Information about some parameters might not be displayed, depending on the availability of the components to which the parameters apply. Database RAID level This parameter is for information purposes only; it is not settable using HP ESO. HP highly recommends that tempdb files and log files for user databases be on physical disks with RAID or RAID 1. User Write Cache Setting This setting enables write caching to improve disk performance, but a power outage or equipment failure might result in data loss or corruption. Cache Power Protection Drive free space Some storage controllers provide an option to enable cache power protection. Using a backup battery, a storage controller can keep data in volatile memory intact, even during power interruptions. This protects cached data even during power failures. This parameter is for information purposes only; it is not settable using HP ESO. When drive free space reaches less than 20%, a Warning message displays, with a recommendation to either move the file to a larger drive or free up more space on the current drive. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 59

60 Volume mount point Drive Latency This parameter is for information purposes only; it is not settable using HP ESO. Volume mount points are specialized file system objects which are used to mount and provide an entry point to other volumes. Mount points can be created in a directory on a file system, which gives a reference to the root directory of the mounted volume. HP ESO will show all mount points on disk with volume mount point configured. Drive latency (often called rotational latency, rotational delay, or simply latency) is the delay waiting for the rotation of the disk to bring the required disk sector under the read-write head. The latency is a function of the rotational speed of the disk (or spindle motor). The latency can be improved by increasing the rotational speed of the disks. This can also improve throughput. Network page: Viewing and controlling network parameters and optimization recommendations The Network page includes controls for setting various network affinity features, including network interface NUMA node and port affinities, Receive-Side Scaling (RSS) parameters, and Interrupt policies. The page is divided into major sections: the NUMA Node Affinity and Interrupt Policy section and the Port Affinity section. Figure 49 (page 60) shows an example of a portion of the Network page (the Port Affinity section is not visible; it is below the NUMA Node Affinity and Interrupt Policy section. Figure 49 Network page The following subsections describe the parameters affecting network optimization. NUMA Node Affinity and Interrupt Policy The Numa Node Affinity and Interrupt Policy section of the Network page allows you to select NUMA Node affinity and Interrupt Policy settings. HP ESO detects all NIC adapters connected to the system. Each tab in this section displays the status of a NIC adapter. Figure 50 (page 61) shows the NUMA Node and Interrupt Policy parameter settings for a particular network interface: 60 Using HP ESO

61 Figure 50 NUMA Node and Interrupt Policy parameters NUMA Node NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Access) Node is a logical grouping of processors that share common, directly-linked physical memory. HP ESO recommends CPU NUMA nodes closest to the network interface I/O. Interrupt Policy Network interface interrupt policy settings include All Close CPUs, One Close CPU, or All CPUs. HP ESO recommends All Close CPUs. Free NIC for Team This is a recommendation statement that HP ESO displays when the physical NIC adapter port is not configured for NIC teaming. HP ESO detects that this NIC adapter does not belong to a NIC team and recommends to use this adapter to create a NIC team. HP ESO recommends creating teams of NIC adapters of the same type (for example, NICs that share the same bandwidth or RSS mode). Teaming of network adapters can provide load balancing, bandwidth aggregation, and failover capabilities for standard Ethernet NICs. The example in Figure 53 (page 63) displays this recommendation statement. If some NICs are configured as a team, the Network page displays the team participants (Members in Teaming), as shown in Figure 51 (page 61). For more information about NIC teaming, see NIC teaming (page 63). Figure 51 NIC Members in Teaming Port affinity The Network Port Affinity section of the Network page allows you to select port affinity settings. The SQL Server uses an application port (usually Port 1433) whose affinity can be set to one or more CPU NUMA nodes. As with SQL CPU Affinity, this improves performance by directing network traffic bound to a CPU or group of CPUs used by the SQL Server. Additional ports can also be added and removed. To add a specific network port, follow these steps: Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 61

62 1. Click the white check box (under Enable IP) of the port to be affinitized, as is shown in Figure 52 (page 62). This port must have a valid IP address or be classified as IPAll. An invalid address cannot be assigned port affinity. An address with the first two bytes being 169 and 254 ( n.n) is invalid and cannot be used for assigning ports. (On any server running Microsoft Windows, a failure to obtain a dynamic IP address for the local network interface from a DHCP server results in the network interface being assigned a local Automatic Private IP Addressing [APIPA] IP address within the range to Such APIPA addresses are generally useful only for home or small intranet LANs; they cannot be used to communicate with other nodes and devices in the network of a production environment.) Figure 52 Adding a port: select unique port number 2. Click Add Port. 3. Specify the unique port number. Optionally, set the NUMA node affinity mask by checking the appropriate node numbers (0 through 7). In Figure 52 (page 62), the user specified port number 1434 with node affinity mask 0 (every scheduler in a node is affinitized to its own CPU), and port 4367 with node affinity mask 2 (every scheduler affinitized to node 2 CPU). To explain further, the NUMA node affinity masks (0 through 7) form a bitmap, with mask values 0 to 7 being the binary position place holders (ordered from right to left). If mask 0 is checked, the decimal value is 1; if mask 1 is checked, the decimal value is 2; if mask 2 is checked, the decimal value is 4, and so on. For example, for port 4367, mask 2 represents 2²=4 decimal. When mapping a TCP/IP port to a NUMA node in SQL Server Configuration Manager, use notation such as IPA11:4367[4]). You can assign multiple nodes to the port, adding the decimal values for each node mask selected. As another example, if node masks 0, 2, and 3 had been selected, the designation would be 4367[13], where 13 is 2 + 2² + 2³ (note that 2 =1). Use the decimal number total (such as 13) to map a TCP/IP port to the appropriate NUMA nodes. 4. To apply modifications, click Set (next to the instance name, above the IP address). To delete a specific network port (if no ports have an affinity setting, the Delete Port feature is not available), follow these steps: 1. For the port you want to delete, click Delete Port. 2. To apply the change (deletion), click Set. To delete all affinitized ports for a particular IP address, click Delete Port one by one for each of the affinitized ports, then click Set to apply the changes. NOTE: To enable your changes to take effect, follow HP ESO instructions for restarting SQL Server instances or the system. Receive-Side Scaling Receive-Side Scaling (RSS) resolves the single-processor bottleneck by allowing the receive-side network load from a network adapter to be shared across multiple processors. RSS enables packet receive processing to scale with the number of available processors. This allows the Windows Networking subsystem to take advantage of multi-core processor architecture. RSS is supported by Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server RSS is enabled by default in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server To take advantage of RSS, network drivers must be written with RSS capabilities. With Windows Using HP ESO

63 R2 (including Service Pack 1), RSS cannot support more than 64 processors. Beginning with Windows 2012, RSS can support more than 64 processors. Modern network drivers are configured to use RSS through settings found in the Windows Device Manager, in the Advanced Properties of the network interface. Depending on the driver versions and OS versions, HP ESO might not support some of the RSS features. Contact HP support for details. HP ESO recommends that RSS be enabled as necessary. The following parameters of every Network Interface will have corresponding RSS recommended settings: Base Processor The first logical CPU number to be used for RSS. RSS status Disable or enable NIC adapter RSS function. Max RSS Processors The maximum number of logical processors to be used for RSS of the network interface. RSS Rings or RSS Queues The maximum number of CPUs a NIC can support for RSS. The number of RSS CPUs on a system would be capped by the MaxNumRssCpus registry key or the RSS ring NIC property setting, whichever is the lowest. Queues can be associated with specific processor cores to distribute the workload and prevent data traffic processing from overwhelming a single core. NOTE: HP ESO detects NIC adapter RSS support when the driver has RSS and RSS Ring or RSS Queue properties enabled. Figure 53 (page 63) shows the Network page view of RSS parameter optimization recommendations. Figure 53 RSS settings NIC teaming NIC teaming, also known as Load Balancing/Failover (LBFO), allows multiple network adapters on a computer to be placed into a team for the purpose of providing: Bandwidth aggregation Traffic failover to maintain connectivity in the event of a network component failure With configuration of a NIC team, one or more physical NICs are connected into the NIC teaming solution core, which then presents to the operating system one or more virtual adapters. These virtual adapters are presented as team interfaces or team NICs (tnics). NIC teaming in a native Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 63

64 host requires the presence of at least one Ethernet NIC. Windows 2012 supports up to 32 NIC teams. NIC teaming supports RSS. The Windows Server TCP/IP stack programs the RSS information directly to team members. To configure NIC teaming on a client system, perform these steps: Configuring a NIC team To configure a NIC team, access the Server Manager Local Server properties tile (Server Manager Local Server Properties). Then, follow these steps. 1. Click the hypertext value shown for NIC Teaming (Enabled or Disabled). Figure 54 (page 64) shows the NIC Teaming hypertext value (Disabled). When you click the value, the NIC Teaming dialog box appears. Figure 54 Clickable (hypertext) NIC Teaming value in Server Manager Local Server properties table 2. In the NIC Teaming dialog box, click the server name in the list of servers (even if there is only one server listed). 3. From the Tasks drop-down menu in the Teams section, select New Team. 4. In the Add Team dialog box, specify a team name and select the network adapters to join the team. 5. If you want to use a mode other than the default, click Advanced, select the teaming mode (Switch Independent, Static Teaming, or LACP), and the distribution mode (Address Hash) as needed. 6. Click OK to create the team. Modifying a NIC team To modify a NIC team, perform these steps from the NIC Teaming dialog box (for information about accessing the dialog box, see Configuring a NIC team (page 64)): 1. In the list of teams provided by the NIC Teaming dialog box, right-click the name of the team you want to modify. 64 Using HP ESO

65 2. Click Modify Team. The Team properties dialog box appears, allowing you to rename the team, add team members, or remove team members. If you select the Additional properties drop-down item, you can also modify the teaming mode and load distribution mode. 3. Modify the NIC Teaming properties and click OK. Deleting a NIC team To delete a NIC team, perform these steps from the NIC Teaming dialog box (for information about accessing the dialog box, see Configuring a NIC team (page 64)): 1. In the list of teams provided by the NIC Teaming dialog box, right-click the name of the team you want to delete. 2. Click Delete Team. A confirmation dialog displays. Once confirmed, the team is deleted. Viewing NIC teaming information and recommendations on the Network page The Network page displays NIC teaming adapter status and NIC teaming member adapter status, as shown in Figure 55 (page 65). All tabs with NIC teaming information are labeled Microsoft Ne... To reveal the full name of the tab, hover your mouse over the tab, as shown in Figure 55 (page 65). Figure 55 NIC teaming status and parameter display The following parameters provide NIC teaming information: Device Name Virtualized NIC adapter name (the team name assigned by Windows Server device manager) and, below that, each team member device name Name Alias known to the operating system for network connections (the team name assigned by the user when adding the NIC team s member name via the Windows Server interface). The user can modify names of team members via Microsoft Windows (for example, on Windows 2012 servers, use the Network and Sharing Center control panel to access Change Adapter Settings; on certain Windows systems, use the Network and Internet control panel to access Network Connections). Members in Teaming The NIC adapter name known by the operating system for network connections. IP Address NIC teaming adapter s IP address obtained from the virtualized NIC teaming adapter of the operating system. Status Connection status of the NIC teaming adapter and NIC team members. Team status can be Up, Down, or Degraded; Degraded status might occur when one or more team members are disconnected or disabled. Team member status can be Active, Enabled, Disabled, Up, Down, Faulted, Disconnected, Degraded. Optimizations pages: Viewing and controlling optimization recommendations 65

66 Teaming Mode Algorithm used for NIC teaming, displayed as SwitchIndependent, Static, or LACP. Load Balancing Mode The method for network load balancing. HP ESO obtains mode status from the Microsft NIC team s load balancing mode. Mode can be TransportPorts (Address Hash), HyperVport (Hyper-V Port), or Dynamic. The NIC Teaming tab also includes the RSS Status (Enable or Disable) and a recommendation statement (recommending NIC teaming that supports RSS). System page: Viewing and controlling system parameters and optimization recommendations The System page displays information about add-on PCI controllers; settings of Software Discovery; and status of system software, drivers, and firmware versions. The page allows you to perform software discovery; it shows the result of the software discovery process. Figure 56 (page 66) shows an example of a System page. Figure 56 System page The System page has three major parts, discussed in subsequent sections: PCI Controller Information (page 66) Software Discovery (page 66) System software and firmware status (page 67) PCI Controller Information This section of the page enumerates all of the system's add-on PCI cards. It also indicates when PCI cards are inserted in slots that are incapable of utilizing their maximum capabilities. If better-suited slots are available, HP ESO recommends them by slot number. Software Discovery HP ESO Software Discovery checks to see if the latest HP software, drivers, and firmware are installed in the system. The Software Discovery section of the System page allows you to specify the location of the Reference Catalog used for Software Discovery and to run Software Discovery. The Reference Catalog is a file that lists details about system software and firmware components, including information about the latest available versions of the components. 66 Using HP ESO

67 To specify the catalog location, specify the local directory containing the HP catalog file (hpsum.exe). This directory must be on the system where HP ESO is running. If that location also contains HPSUM components, HP ESO will perform software discovery in local mode (comparing all the components in the directory directly with the ones installed on the current system); otherwise, HP ESO performs the software discovery in Web mode by connecting to an HP File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site (ftp.hp.com) to obtain the latest catalog. This requires Internet connectivity. NOTE: The logged-in account for the current Microsoft Windows session must have access to the specified local directory. Moreover, HP ESO only supports HPSUM version or earlier. NOTE: If you specify a shared network drive, the software discovery fails by default. To work around this issue, copy the catalog file to a non-networked drive (for example, C:). If you must use a network drive, use SysinternalsSuite by Mark Russianovich ( technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb aspx). PSEXEC is the only tool needed. Perform the following steps: 1. Open up a new command window and run: psexec -s cmd.exe 2. Run the net use command or any other script to create the network drive. Clicking the Software Discovery RUN button runs the system software discovery and updates. Results are shown on the same page (in the Optimization section s System page). Status of the latest discovery also displays below this button. System software and firmware status This section of the page lists (from the Reference Catalog) the status of software and firmware components, as shown in the example in Figure 57 (page 67). The status information is displayed after you run Software Discovery. The status table describes each component and indicates the latest available version of the component and the component status (whether it is up to date or needs to be upgraded). Figure 57 System software and firmware status Reports pages: Viewing workload/performance data and saving/restoring SQL configurations Reports pages include the Workload and Performance History page and the Save/Rollback Configuration page. Workload and Performance History Use the Workload and Performance History page to select and view data collected by the data collection process (the data collection process is described in Collecting data for analysis and optimization recommendations (page 31)). Figure 58 (page 68) shows an example of a Workload and Performance History report. You can view a graph of the data collected, save the data to a file, and compare graphs of two different data collection sources. Reports pages: Viewing workload/performance data and saving/restoring SQL configurations 67

68 Figure 58 Workload and Performance History page To view and/or export a report, follow these steps: IMPORTANT: To ensure that reports are most relevant and up-to-date, perform data collection and complete the process prior to generating or exporting a report. This saves an up-to-date CSV data collection log file that you can use as the basis of your report (select the file in step 1). Whenever major SQL Server configuration changes are made while the current ESO Admin Session is active, rerun data collection prior to viewing or generating reports. (Examples of major configuration changes include adding or removing an SQL instance, database, or database file.) Data that was collected prior to a major configuration change will likely be obsolete. Rerunning the data collection ensures that optimization recommendations and reports are aligned to the current configuration and workload. 1. In the first field in the Specify Data Report file section, click the drop-down menu ( ) button on the right to list the available CSV data collection log files, and select the file you want to view. To view a report based on the most recently-collected data, select the most recent log file, as denoted by the file name. 2. If you want to export this file, select the desired export file format (XML or CSV) and click Generate File. Right-click the file name to open or save the file, as shown in Figure 59 (page 69). If you choose to generate an XML file, you can open the file in your browser. To export the file to a specific destination, select Save target as... and indicate the location. 68 Using HP ESO

69 Figure 59 Generate or export file 3. If you want to view a graph of the data in the selected file, click Show Graph. 4. On the right side of the graph, select the counters you want included or excluded in the graph (for convenience, use the Select/Unselect All check box to select or exclude all counters listed). You can repeat this step to change the graph to reflect different counters. A key code is listed to show what the colors in the graph represent. 5. To show a specific area of the graph, select the area in the Overview graph. The selected area will be reflected in the larger graph on the left. 6. Click Generate File to create the report. To compare data collection log files, follow these steps: 1. From the upper drop-down menu, select the first CSV file to compare. In Figure 58 (page 68), the CpuPerfColl csv file is selected. 2. From the lower drop-down menu, select the second CSV file to compare. In Figure 58 (page 68), the CpuPerfColl csv file is selected. 3. Click Show Comparison Graph. In Figure 58 (page 68), graphs of both files are shown. 4. Optionally, counters within each file to be compared can be filtered using the Select/Unselect All check box on the right side of the graph, or by selecting individual counters to be included in the comparison. NOTE: The longer the data collection process is running, the more data will be stored in the CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. When the amount of data collected is very large (exceeding 10MB, roughly), the ESO Workload and Performance History page may not be able to show the entire graph. If this issue is encountered, use external applications such as Microsoft Excel to view and graph the CSV files located in C:\Program Files\McPerfOpt\Data. Save/Rollback Configuration Use this page to save the current system configuration to an XML file and retrieve it for future use. The Save feature saves current parameter settings for all connected SQL instances and the system configuration. Figure 60 (page 70) shows an example of the Save/Rollback Configuration page. Reports pages: Viewing workload/performance data and saving/restoring SQL configurations 69

70 Figure 60 Save/Rollback Configuration page NOTE: Whenever you enter an Admin session, HP ESO automatically saves all network and physical driver settings. When you provide credentials in the SQL Login page, HP ESO automatically saves all settings for each SQL instance. All these settings are saved automatically only once. These automatically-saved settings (the files containing them) are listed in the Restore Settings section of the page, as shown in Figure 61 (page 70). Figure 61 Restore settings section The Save/Rollback Configuration page displays the following values or controls: Save Current Settings Saves the current settings to an XML file. You can enter comments and a description to make it easier to identify the saved settings in the future. Restore Settings section Retrieve, apply, or delete previously saved settings. To retrieve settings, follow these steps: 1. Select the desired restoration point settings file by checking its box in the first column. 2. To display the contents of the selected restoration point settings file, click View Detail. Figure 62 (page 71) shows an example showing a portion of the settings for a selected restoration point. The Restore button, which becomes active when you select a single restoration point settings file, allows you to restore the selected settings (next step). The 70 Using HP ESO

71 View Detail feature responds only if the selected restoration point settings differ from the current settings. To view details of a restoration point settings file, you must select only one file; do not select the Select All check box. 3. To apply the settings contained in the selected restoration file, click Restore. NOTE: Restore points created by older versions of HP ESO cannot be restored successfully. Before restoring such restore points, install the version of HP ESO that was used to create them. Figure 62 Restoring selected settings To delete saved restoration point settings, select the restoration point settings files and click Delete; you can select the Select All check box to delete all of the saved settings. Refer to Figure 61 (page 70). NOTE: With the current version of ESO, the Save/Rollback Configuration feature handles parameters for all HP ESO pages except the System page. Help pages: Viewing and searching help topics The Help pages display the HP ESO Online Help system. Available topics are similar in structure and content to the HP ESO User Guide document, with the exception that HP ESO installation information is in the User Guide only. Use the Help pages to find the information you need to use HP ESO effectively. Accessing online help Access online help by either clicking on the Online Help link in the left (navigation) pane of the HP ESO page or by clicking the question mark icon in the upper right corner of an HP ESO page. In either case, the online help appears in a separate browser window or tab. When you access online help from the HP ESO navigation pane, the online help Welcome page displays, as shown in Figure 63 (page 72). To navigate, you can use the table of contents in the left pane or any of the convenient links provided in the Welcome page. When you access online help by clicking the question mark icon on a page, HP ESO displays online help for that particular page. To access help information for other HP ESO pages, you can scroll up or down, or use the online help table of contents. In addition, HP ESO also provides floating help for individual items on a page. Anytime you mouse over a setting or section that has the cursor/question mark symbol, clicking that symbol brings up floating help text, as described in Floating help for items on a page (page 27). This feature can give you more information about parameters that HP ESO allows you to modify. Using the online help Welcome page Figure 63 (page 72) shows the online help Welcome page displayed when you access online help from the HP ESO navigation pane. To navigate to other help pages, click the table of contents links in the left pane or the links provided by the Welcome page. The Welcome page links take Help pages: Viewing and searching help topics 71

72 you to pages that describe introductory topics and tasks that are likely to be performed in typical HP ESO sessions, as well as topics that provide related sources of information and HP contact information. Figure 63 Online help Welcome page Using the help search facility The online help includes a search facility that performs simple queries to help you find information. To search the online help, follow these steps. For information about search features and rules, see Table 10 (page 73). 1. Click the Search link as shown in Figure 64 (page 72). The link is located at the top of the help navigation pane on the left side of the screen. Figure 64 Help Search link 72 Using HP ESO

73 2. In the Search box (as shown in Figure 65 (page 73)), enter the term or terms for which you want information. Press Enter or click List Topics. Figure 65 Help Search box for entering terms NOTE: To enter complex search text, you can copy it from another window, right-click the help Search text box and select Paste. 3. The search facility displays a list of results, as shown in the example in Figure 66 (page 73). Each result is a link to a help page that contains information pertaining to the text specified in the preceding step. Click any link to advance to the corresponding help topic page. Figure 66 Help Search results Table 10 (page 73) describes the search. Table 10 Search features and restrictions Features/rules Searches ignore character case Searches perform word stemming, finding full and partial matches of terms; however, searches might exclude unrelated terms Searches do not support wildcards Searches do not support punctuation marks, single quotation ( ) marks, or double quotation ( ) marks Searches support multiple terms. Entering multiple terms provides varying results, depending on the number of terms entered Examples and descriptions Searching for cat lists topics containing cat or Cat. Searching for cat finds topics that include cat or cats but not category, which is an unrelated term. An asterisk (*) is ignored: searching for cat* is equivalent to searching for cat;. A question mark (?) is not considered a wildcard character and is not searchable. Searching for cat? finds no results even if the text cat? and cats are included in the help. Searches ignore these marks and any word immediately following them. Searches cannot be limited to exact matches. Searching for cat dog lists topics that contain both cat and dog ; the search facility also lists topics that contain cat only. Help pages: Viewing and searching help topics 73

74 Table 10 Search features and restrictions (continued) Features/rules Examples and descriptions Searching for cat dog mouse renders a list of topics that include all three terms, a list of topics that contain both cat and dog but not mouse, a list of topics that contain cat and mouse but not dog, and a list of topics that contain cat only. Searches do not support Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT). Searches ignore articles and prepositions Searches do not support ranking If you enter cat AND dog or cat NOT dog, the search facility considers the entry as three different terms. It responds in the same way as described in the second example in the preceding row. If you enter cat OR dog, the search facility ignores OR ; it considers the entry as two terms, cat and dog, and responds in the same way as described in the first example in the preceding row. Searching for the cat or by cat is equivalent to searching for cat. Searches order lists of help topics randomly. The order is not based on the relevance or depth of the information provided by the topic page results. Using a PowerShell script to apply all recommended optimization values of settable parameters and to initialize software discovery Beginning with HP ESO 3.5, two types of PowerShell scripts are available: A script to apply recommended values of settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; you can download the script from the Summary page (see Summary page: Viewing recommended optimization values for settable parameters obtained from all optimization pages; generating a PowerShell script for setting these recommended values (page 34)) A script to run software discovery; the script is generated when HP ESO is installed 74 Using HP ESO

75 NOTE: Before running any PowerShell script, you should set the PowerShell execution policy to either RemoteSigned or Unrestricted, as follows: 1. Set the systemwide PowerShell execution policy (32-bit) a. Select Start All Programs Accessories (or Administrative Tools in Windows Server 2012 or later) Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell ISE (x86) b. In the bottom pane of the PowerShell ISE (x86) window, enter either of the following commands: set-executionpolicy RemoteSigned The RemoteSigned policy requires that downloaded scripts be signed by a trusted publisher before they can be run. set-executionpolicy Unrestricted The Unrestricted policy removes all restrictions; all Windows PowerShell scripts can be run. To run the command, press Enter on your keyboard. 2. Set the systemwide PowerShell execution policy (64-bit) a. Select Start All Programs Accessories (or Administrative Tools in Windows Server 2012 or later) Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell ISE b. In the bottom pane of the PowerShell ISE window, enter either of the following commands: set-executionpolicy RemoteSigned The RemoteSigned policy requires that downloaded scripts be signed by a trusted publisher before they can be run. set-executionpolicy Unrestricted The Unrestricted policy removes all restrictions; all Windows PowerShell scripts can be run. To run the command, press Enter on your keyboard. Should you want to restore your original execution policy, use the following command: set-executionpolicy After you finish using the HP ESO PowerShell script, HP strongly recommends setting security back to the default by using the set-executionpolicy Restricted command. This prevents unsecured scripts from being run and restricts use of Windows PowerShell to interactive mode. NOTE: HP recommends using PowerShell ISE (64-bit) to edit and run PowerShell scripts generated by HP ESO. PowerShell ISE (32-bit) may not have access to some registry settings. If you are logged into the OS through a domain account, run ISE as an Administrator. (Right click Windows PowerShell; in the menu, click Run ISE as Administrator. Using the PowerShell script to apply HP ESO optimization recommendations for all settable parameters The PowerShell Script downloaded from the HP ESO Summary page contains recommended values for settable parameters. The recommended values are gathered from all the optimization pages. You can edit and run the PowerShell script in the PowerShell ISE on the current local client. Figure 67 (page 76) shows an example of such a PowerShell script. Using a PowerShell script to apply all recommended optimization values of settable parameters and to initialize software discovery 75

76 NOTE: By default, the script includes only those recommended settable values that differ from the values currently in effect. You can change this default behavior so that the script generates all recommended settable values, including those that do not differ from the values currently in effect. For more information, see Modifying how the Summary page displays and generates recommended values (page 36). The script omits static recommendation statements for unsettable parameters. The generated PowerShell script may only be executed on the same server where it was generated. Copying and running this script to another server can cause unexpected performance degradation. The PowerShell script generated from the Summary page does not support the following two Storage page parameters: User Write Cache Setting and Cache Power Protection. Figure 67 PowerShell script downloaded from the HP ESO Summary page You can run the PowerShell script generated from the Summary page even if the HP ESO service is stopped. Before running the script, open and edit the script in PowerShell ISE: 1. Launch PowerShell ISE 2. In PowerShell ISE, open the ps1 file downloaded from the Summary page. 3. To selectively apply optimization parameters (instead of applying all parameters), you can modify the script to skip certain types of optimization parameters. To do so, modify the corresponding $EXECUTE_ lines. For example, to skip CPU-related parameters, replace True in the following line with False: $EXECUTE_CPU_SETTINGS = $True 4. Insert the correct credentials for each SQL Database Engine instance at the beginning of the script file, as the comments suggest. 5. Click the Run button in the tools bar of the PowerShell ISE or press the F5 shortcut key. All setting results (whether settings succeeded or failed) are listed in the PowerShell ISE console. NOTE: Microsoft Analysis Services instances use Windows Integrated Security. Therefore, there is no need to specify login credentials for these instances. Using the PowerShell script to initiate software discovery 76 Using HP ESO The PowerShell Script for software discovery is generated when HP ESO is installed. The generated script location and name is as follows: C:\Program Files\McPerfOpt\Scripts\ ESO_Recommendations_Software_Discovery.ps1 This script performs the same function as does the software discovery tool on the HP ESO System page. It can be edited and run in PowerShell ISE on the current local client system.

77 Figure 68 (page 77) shows an example of such a PowerShell script. NOTE: HPSUM versions later than are not supported. Figure 68 PowerShell script for initiating software discovery You can run the software discovery PowerShell script even if the HP ESO service is stopped. Before running the script, open and edit the script in PowerShell ISE: 1. Launch PowerShell ISE 2. Open the ESO_Recommendations_Software_Discovery.ps1 file in PowerShell ISE. 3. Click the Run button in the tools bar of the PowerShell ISE or press the F5 shortcut key. 4. In the output console of PowerShell ISE, specify the directory containing the HPSUM component (hpsum.exe) and press Enter on your keyboard. The software discovery results (whether settings succeeded or failed) are shown in the output console. Components that need updates are listed in red typeface, while components that are up to date are listed in green. Using a PowerShell script to apply all recommended optimization values of settable parameters and to initialize software discovery 77