IBM Flex System Reference Architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 High Availability using...

IBM Flex System Reference Architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 High Availability

using AlwaysOn Availability Groups

31 July 2013

Author(s): Michael Lawson

IBM Flex System Reference Architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 HA

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups Reference architecture © Copyright IBM Corporation 2013

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Table of contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4

Business problem and business value .................................................................................... 4

Requirements ............................................................................................................................ 4

Primary Functional requirements ............................................................................................................. 4

Normal operation ............................................................................................................... 5

High Availability ................................................................................................................. 5

Disaster Recovery ............................................................................................................. 6

Variations of the design ..................................................................................................... 7

Secondary functional requirements ......................................................................................................... 7

Read-able Secondaries ..................................................................................................... 8

Rolling Upgrades ............................................................................................................... 8

Storage Migration .............................................................................................................. 8

Multi-subnet Support ......................................................................................................... 8

Licensing ........................................................................................................................... 8

Automatic Page Repair ..................................................................................................... 8

Hardware Overview ................................................................................................................... 8

IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System ........................................................................................... 8

IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node .................................................................................................... 9

IBM Flex System V7000 Storage ........................................................................................................... 10

IBM Storwize V7000 .............................................................................................................................. 11

IBM Storwize V3700 .............................................................................................................................. 12

IBM Flex System EN4093 Switches ...................................................................................................... 13

IBM Flex System FC3171 Switches ...................................................................................................... 13

Architectural overview ............................................................................................................ 13

Component model ................................................................................................................... 15

Operational model ................................................................................................................... 15

Physical Layer ........................................................................................................................................ 16

Virtual Layer ........................................................................................................................................... 20

SQL Server Layer .................................................................................................................................. 21

Deployment considerations .................................................................................................... 22

Systems management ........................................................................................................................... 23

Server / Compute Nodes ....................................................................................................................... 23

Networking ............................................................................................................................................. 23

Storage integration ................................................................................................................................. 25

Performance Considerations ................................................................................................................. 26

Best practices and limitations ................................................................................................................ 27

Other considerations .............................................................................................................................. 27

About the author...................................................................................................................... 28

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 28

Appendix 1: Bill of Material .................................................................................................... 28



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Resources ................................................................................................................................ 32

Trademarks and special notices ............................................................................................ 34

Document history

Revision history

Date of this revision: 31 July 2013 Date of next revision (date)

Revision Number

Revision Date

Summary of Changes Changes marked

(1.0) (3 June 2013)

Initial draft (N)



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Introduction

This document describes the IBM Flex Reference Architecture for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 High

Availability using AlwaysOn Availability Groups. IBM reference architecture offerings create virtually

turnkey solutions built around the latest IBM x86 servers, storage and networking, literally taking the

complexity out of the solution. This IBM reference architecture combines Microsoft software, consolidated

guidance and validated configurations for compute, network, and storage.

The intended audience of this document is IT professionals, technical architects, sales engineers, and

consultants to assist in planning, designing and implementing the IBM Flex Reference Architecture for

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 High Availability using AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

Business problem and business value

These following sections outline the value proposition of this solution.

Business problem

For customers who have selected the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 relational database management

system, this reference architecture provides a solution which makes SQL Server highly available within a

main data center and provides disaster recovery in a remote data center, all using standard hardware and

software.

Business value

This solution leverages the new AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature of SQL Server 2012, the IBM Flex

System x240 compute nodes, Flex System storage node, Flex System networking components and the

IBM Storwize V7000 and V3700 storage systems. The AlwaysOn availability group feature is a high

availability solution and disaster recovery solution for SQL Servers that offer an alternative to database

mirroring. This solution features SQL Server synchronous replication with automatic failover between two

compute nodes in the main data center, with no data loss. In addition, it features SQL Server

asynchronous replication with manual failover between two compute nodes, one in the main data center

and one in a remote data center, with possible data loss, in case of disaster at the main data center. Not

only are the compute nodes redundant, but so is the storage, for higher uptime and lower risk of data loss.

In the past, this functionality required specialized hardware and software. This solution uses standard

hardware and software. This paper provides the configuration steps and best practices to implement the

solution.

Requirements

The following section describes the primary purpose of this solution, as well as some additional benefits.

Primary Functional requirements

This section describes the high availability and disaster recovery capabilities of this solution. This solution

leverages the new AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature of SQL Server 2012. This solution is flexible and



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can be modified in a variety of ways to suit the customer’s environment. In Figure 1 below, three servers

are shown, each with their own dedicated storage. Two servers are co-located in the Main Data Center

(MDC) and one server is located in a remote Disaster Recovery (DR) site, connected by Ethernet

networking.

Main Data Center(MDC) Disaster Recovery (DR)

Server1

DB

Server2

DB

Server3

DBSynchronous

Asynchronous

primary secondary secondary

Figure 1: Normal operation, AlwaysOn Availability Group spanning the Main Data Center and DR Site

Normal operation

Figure 1 shows the normal operating mode. Server1 has the updatable primary replica of the database.

Users connect to this server to update the database. Changes are replicated synchronously to Server2

and asynchronously to Server3 using SQL Server replication. Server1 waits to receive confirmation that

the change has been reliably received on Server2. Since the servers are physically close, the additional

latency for synchronous replication is low. Server1 does not wait for confirmation from Server3, so even

though there may be a longer latency (due to the remote distance to the DR Site), which does not affect

the latency experienced by the users performing updates on Server1. This arrangement creates three

copies of the database, two of which are synchronized and one of which is nearly synchronized.

High Availability

If Server1 or its storage were to fail, Server2 and its storage would take over the role of updatable primary

replica (shown in Error! Reference source not found.). This would be automatic. With the proper

configuration (prior to the failure), users connected to Server1 would be automatically connected to

Server2 the next time the application they are using attempts to connect to the database. Configured

correctly, this can make the outage of Server1, transparent to the users. No data would be lost, since the

updates from Server1 are synchronously transferred to Server2. After the failure of Server1, the

configuration is vulnerable to data loss because the replication to the DR site is asynchronous.



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Server1

DB

Server2

DB

Server3

DB

Asynchronous

primary secondary

Figure 2: Automatic failover to Server2 in Main Data Center

Disaster Recovery

If the Main Data Center has a catastrophic failure and all components fail, Server3 can be manually

configured to take over the role of updatable primary replica (shown in Figure 3). These would be pre-

planned steps, executed manually, after the failure of the Main Data Center has been confirmed. There is

some possibility of data loss, because the updates from Server2 (or Server 1) are asynchronously

transferred to Server3. Not all the updates made on Server1 may have been transferred to Server3 before

the Main Data Center failed. With the proper configuration, users connected to Server1 would be

automatically connected to Server3 the next time the application they are using attempts to connect to the

database. Users might experience two things in this scenario. First, if they entered data that was lost,

they would need to re-enter the lost data. Second, depending on how long the manual failover takes,

there may be a short, but noticeable period when their application is not available. After the failure of both

servers in the MDC the configuration is vulnerable to data loss and extended outage because only one

copy of the data and only one server have survived.



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Server1

DB

Server2

DB

Server3

DB

primary

Figure 3: Manual failover to DR site

Variations of the design

This basic design can be modified in a variety of ways. Below are some of the possible variations on the example design presented in this paper.

Additional replicas

The AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature allows for up to four secondary replicas; two synchronous and two asynchronous.

Combine with other HA features

Other SQL Server high availability features, such as, Failover Clustered Instances, can be combined with AlwaysOn Availability Groups. This means that four, five, or more servers could be utilized to create higher availability.

Multiple databases

The concept of a replica collects together one or more databases, so, in the event of a failover, multiple databases failover together.

Virtualization variations

The design of this paper uses Hyper-V Virtual Machines (VM) and SQL Server is installed within each VM. However, it is also possible to install SQL Server directly on the physical servers.

Pass-through disks

In this design, the storage has also been provisioned using VHDX formatted virtual disks. However, the storage could also be implemented on the physical disks using pass-through disks.

Secondary functional requirements

In addition to the main purpose of the design, which is to provide redundancy in the event of various

failures, there are other benefits.



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Read-able Secondaries

The databases connected to Server2 and Server3 can be used for read-only tasks, including reporting, database snapshots, database integrity checks and backups. Using this capability can reduce the performance load on the primary replica.

Rolling Upgrades

When upgrading the software or hardware on the servers, this can be done on the secondary servers first, and then after failing over the primary, on the (old) primary. This can reduce the users’ downtime during an upgrade.

Storage Migration

Like rolling upgrades, migrating the database to new storage can be done in a way that shortens downtime for the users, by first making the new copy a secondary replica, and then switching over to it when ready.

Multi-subnet Support

This solution paper demonstrates how the server in the DR site can be on a different subnet, which supports a remotely located disaster recovery site.

Licensing

You are allowed one Passive Secondary server that you do not need to license.

Automatic Page Repair

If SQL Server detects that a database page is corrupted, the replication topology will transfer a good copy of the page to the server with the corrupted copy and repair it.

Hardware Overview

This section describes the IBM hardware used for the reference architecture.

IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System

IBM PureFlex™ System is a comprehensive infrastructure system that provides an expert integrated

computing system. It combines servers, enterprise storage, networking, virtualization, and management

into a single structure. Its built-in expertise enables organizations to manage and deploy integrated

patterns of virtual and hardware resources through unified management. These systems are ideally suited

for customers who want a system that delivers the simplicity of an integrated solution while still able to

tune middleware and the runtime environment.

PureFlex System uses workload placement based on virtual machine compatibility and resource

availability. Using built-in virtualization across servers, storage, and networking, the infrastructure system

enables automated scaling of resources and true workload mobility.

PureFlex System has undergone significant testing and validation so that it can mitigate IT complexity

without compromising the flexibility to tune systems to the tasks businesses demand. By providing both

flexibility and simplicity, PureFlex System can provide extraordinary levels of IT control, efficiency, and

operating agility. This combination enables businesses to rapidly deploy IT services at a reduced cost.

Moreover, the system is built on decades of expertise. This expertise enables deep integration and central

management of the comprehensive, open-choice infrastructure system. It also dramatically cuts down on

the skills and training required for managing and deploying the system. The streamlined management



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console makes it easy to use and provides a single point of control to manage your physical and virtual

resources (with KVM now. Hyper-V support is planned) for a vastly simplified management experience.

Figure 4: Front and rear view of the IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis

The hardware used in this paper is IBM Flex System. IBM Flex System takes the components of the

PureFlex System and offers them à la carte allowing customers to custom-build their own infrastructure.

This gives customers to ability to purchase exactly what they need, with the option to move to the

PureFlex System at a later date.

IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node

IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node, an element of the Flex System, provides outstanding performance

for your mission-critical applications. Its energy-efficient design supports up to 16 processor cores and 768

GB of memory capacity in a package that is easy to service and manage. With outstanding computing

power per watt and the latest Intel® Xeon® processors, you can reduce costs while maintaining speed and

availability.

Highlights

Optimized for virtualization, performance and highly scalable networking

Embedded IBM Virtual Fabric allows IO flexibility

Designed for simplified deployment and management

To meet today’s complex and ever-changing business demands, the x240 compute node is optimized for

virtualization, performance and highly scalable I/O designed to run a wide variety of workloads. The IBM

Flex System x240 is available on either your PureFlex System or IBM Flex System solution.



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Figure 5: IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node

More information about the IBM Flex System x240 compute node can be found in Resources at the end of

the document.

IBM Flex System V7000 Storage

IBM Flex System V7000 Storage® combines best-of-breed storage development with leading 1/10 Gb iSCSI, FCoE, or FC host interfaces and SAS/SSD drive technology. With its simple, efficient and flexible approach to storage, the Flex V7000 Storage is a cost-effective, complement to IBM Flex System. By offering substantial features at a price that fits most budgets, the Flex V7000 delivers superior price/performance ratios, functionality, scalability and ease of use for the mid-range storage user.

The Flex V7000 storage offers:

Automate and speed deployment with integrated storage for the IBM® PureFlex™ System or IBM Flex System™

Simplify management with an integrated, intuitive user interface for faster system accessibility

Reduce network complexity with FCoE and iSCSI connectivity

Store up to five times more active data in the same disk space using IBM Real-time Compression™

Virtualize third-party storage for investment protection of the current storage infrastructure

Optimize costs for mixed workloads, with up to 200 percent better performance with solid-state

drives (SSDs) using IBM System Storage® Easy Tier®1

Improve application availability and resource utilization for organizations of all sizes

Support growing business needs while controlling costs with clustered systems

Get innovative technology, open standards, excellent performance, and a broad portfolio of proven storage software, hardware and solutions offerings from IBM

IBM System Flex V7000 Storage (Figure 3) is well-suited for Microsoft virtualized cloud environments. The Flex V7000 Storage complements the IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis, Flex CN4093 Converged Network switches, and x240 compute nodes in an end-to-end Microsoft Hyper-V private cloud solution by delivering proven disk storage in flexible, scalable configurations. Connecting optional EXP2500 enclosures to your Flex V7000 Storage can scale up to 240 SAS and SSD disks and up to 960 per clustered system. The Flex V7000 Storage has 8GB cache per controller and 16GB for the whole system.

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/flex/storage/v7000/#overlay-1



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The IBM System Flex V7000 Storage comes with advanced features such as System Storage Easy Tier, IBM Flashcopy, internal virtualization and thin provisioning, data migration, system clustering. Optional features include Remote Mirroring, Real-time Compression, and external virtualization.

Figure 6: IBM System Flex V7000 Storage

IBM Storwize V7000

The IBM Storwize V7000 disk system is a multi-faceted solution that consists of both hardware and

software components. The modular hardware enclosures include integrated drives of varying form factors,

including both hard disk drives (HDD) and solid-state drives (SSD). The solution also provides external

storage virtualization, making it possible to integrate with and manage heterogeneous storage along with

the Storwize V7000 storage as a single resource.

The Storwize V7000 system is designed to allow quick and efficient storage deployment, thanks to an

easy to use Graphical User Interface (GUI), integrated drives, and interoperability with nearly any back-

end SAN attached storage. The web-based GUI runs on the Storwize V7000 system so there is no longer

a separate console server or management software installation required.

Highlights

A single user interface to manage and virtualize internal and third-party storage that can

improve storage utilization

Built-in tiering and advanced replication functions are designed to improve performance

and availability without constant administration

Single user interface simplifies storage administration to allow your experts to focus on

innovation

Figure 7: IBM Storwize V7000 Control Enclosure



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V7000 system details

V7000 enclosures support up to twenty-four 2.5-inch drives or up to twelve 3.5-inch drives. Control

enclosures contain drives, redundant dual-active intelligent controllers, and dual power supplies, batteries

and cooling components. Expansion enclosures contain drives, switches, power supplies and cooling

components. You can attach up to nine expansion enclosures to a control enclosure supporting up to 240

drives. The system also supports intermixing 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch type controller and expansion

enclosures.

Key system characteristics are:

Internal storage capacity: up to 36 TB of physical storage per enclosure

Drives: SAS HDDs, near-line SAS HDDs and solid-state drives can be mixed in an

enclosure to give you extraordinary flexibility

Cache memory: 16 GB cache memory (8 GB per controller) as a base feature—designed

to improve performance and availability

More information about the Storwize V7000 can be found in Resources at the end of the document.

IBM Storwize V3700

IBM Storwize V3700 is an entry-level addition to the IBM Storwize family of disk systems, and delivers efficient configurations specifically designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses. The system shares the same integrated easy-to use web interface as the XIV and other Storwize systems. The internal disk storage virtualization enables rapid, flexible provisioning and simple configuration changes. IBM Storwize V3700 offers advanced hardware and software capabilities usually found in more expensive systems, including:

Redundant, battery backed dual controllers

Up to 16GB cache, 8 per controller (4GB per controller standard)

Redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans

Dual-port, hot-swappable 6 Gb SAS disk drives

Support for RAID 0,1,5,6 and 10 and up to 180 TB of capacity

1 Gb iSCSI, optional 10 Gb iSCSI/Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) or 8 Gb Fibre Channel Disk storage scales up to 120 2.5-inch disk drives or 60 3.5-inch disk drives with four expansion units. Each unit is a packaged in a compact 2U 19-inch rack-mount enclosure. The modular design allows a business to start small and hot add additional enclosures as needed and without any downtime. The system also supports SSD drives and IBM Easy Tier® automated hot data migration as an optional upgrade feature. As with earlier Storwize systems, advanced data protection and migration features include:

Non-disruptive data migration

Internal virtualization and thin provisioning

Remote mirroring

Integrated IBM FlashCopy® snapshot technology

Reduce power consumption with energy-saving features

Advanced upgrades like FlashCopy (more targets) and Easy Tier



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Figure 8: IBM Storwize V3700 Control Enclosure

IBM Flex System EN4093 Switches

The IBM Flex System™ Fabric EN4093 and EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switches provide unmatched

scalability and performance, while also delivering innovations to help address a number of networking

concerns today and providing capabilities that will help you prepare for the future. These switches are

capable of supporting up to sixty-four 10 Gb Ethernet connections while offering Layer 2/3 switching. They

are designed to install within the I/O module bays of the IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis. These

switches can help clients migrate to a 10 Gb or 40 Gb Ethernet infrastructure and offer virtualization

features like Virtual Fabric and VMready®, plus the ability to work with IBM® Distributed Virtual Switch

5000V.

Figure 9: IBM Flex EN4093 Switch

IBM Flex System FC3171 Switches

The IBM Flex System™ FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch is a full-fabric Fibre Channel component with expanded

functionality. The SAN switch supports high speed traffic processing for IBM Flex System configurations

and offers scalability in external SAN size and complexity, and enhanced systems management

capabilities. The IBM Flex System FC3171 8 Gb Pass-thru supports a fully interoperable solution for

seamless integration of the Fibre Channel initiators to an existing fabric. The pass-thru module uses

industry-standard N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) technology to provide a cost-effective connectivity

solution for the IBM Flex System chassis.

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Architectural overview

The architectural diagram (Figure 11) shows a high-level view of the complete high availability solution.



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WAN

FLEX (DR)

FLEX (MDC)

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

Windows Failover Cluster

VM VM

VM

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group

SQL SQL

SQL

V7000SAN Array

VMDX

DB

V3700SAN Array

VMDX

DB

FLEX V7000SAN Array

VMDX

DB

Users

Figure 11: Complete high availability solution architecture

The solution is composed of two IBM Flex Systems (each with an external storage subsystem), which are

located in two separate data centers; the Main Data Center (MDC) and the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.

The two data centers have connectivity across a Wide Area Network (WAN). The Flex System in the MDC

has two physical servers (x240 compute nodes) and one integrated Flex System V7000 Storage unit. One

x240 is connected to the Flex System V7000 Storage unit. The other x240 is connected to the external

IBM Storwize V7000 Storage unit. The Flex System in the DR site has one physical server (x240 compute

node). That x240 is connected to the external IBM Storwize V3700 Storage unit. Each x240 compute

node is running Windows Server 2012 with the Hyper-V role enabled. A single virtual machine (VM) has

been created on each server. Windows Server 2012 and a standalone SQL Server 2012 has been

installed in each VM. The virtual machines have been configured in a Windows Server Failover Cluster

with no shared storage. This is a scalable solution and more SQL Servers and VMs can be created

depending on resources available. More x240 compute nodes can be added to the configuration also.

The disk space for the files used in the SQL Server databases begin as physical arrays, and then physical

volumes, created on each of the dedicated storage units. These volumes are then presented to the

Windows Hyper-V operating system and formatted as VHDX files. The VHDX files are attached to the

VMs, which see them as volumes presented to the Windows operating system inside the VM. It is on

those volumes that the SQL Server databases are created.



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A single database, or multiple databases, can be included in a SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group.

In this paper, we use a single database called TXN_DB, as an example. The Availability Group is

initialized so that all three servers have an identical copy of the TXN_DB database. One SQL Server is

identified as having the primary replica. Users are automatically routed to the primary replica for updates.

Updates made to the primary replica are sent to the other two SQL Servers, keeping them synchronized.

In the event of a failure on the primary replica, the AlwaysOn Availability Group feature, along with

Windows Server Failover Clustering feature, provide high availability by changing the role of one of the

servers to become the new primary replica and automatically routing users to the server with the new

primary replica.

Component model

The component model describes the functional view of the solution, showing the relationship of the

components.

In Figure 12 below, three servers are shown, each with their own dedicated storage. Two servers are co-

located in the Main Data Center (MDC) and one server is located in a remote Disaster Recovery (DR) site,

connected by Ethernet networking.


Server1

DB

Server2

DB

Server3

DBSynchronous

Asynchronous

Figure 12: AlwaysOn Availability Group spanning the Main Data Center and DR Site

Operational model

This section describes the "operational" aspect of the solution architecture in a technology and product

dependent manner. It describes the required operational characteristics and capabilities of the solution



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architecture and represents, at an architectural level, the network of computer systems and their

associated peripherals, together with the systems software, middleware, and application software that they

run in order to support the users of the system.

It is useful to view this solution in three layers, each built upon the previous layer: Physical, Virtual and

SQL Server.

Physical Layer – this includes the physical hardware; Flex chassis, servers, switches, storage

units, the networking configuration between the hardware components, as well as the operating

systems installed on the hardware and the storage volumes created.

Virtual Layer – this includes the virtual machines (VMs), the virtual disks, the networks created

between them, and the Windows Server Failover Cluster created between the VMs.

SQL Server Layer – this includes the SQL Server instances and the AlwaysOn Availability Group

configuration, the replication topology created between them, and the user databases.

Physical Layer

We begin with a discussion of the placement of the hardware in the racks. There will be one rack in each

data center – the Main Data Center (MDC) and the Disaster Recovery (DR) site. Please refer to Figure 13

Physical layer rack view. One Flex chassis and one external storage unit is placed in each rack. In the

MDC, an integrated Flex V7000 storage unit, two x240 compute nodes, two 10 Gb Ethernet switches and

two 8 Gb Fibre Channel switches are placed in the Flex chassis. In the DR site, one x240 compute node,

two 10 Gb Ethernet switches and two 8 Gb Fibre Channel switches are placed in the Flex chassis.

The physical location of the components in the chassis determines which internal connections are made

with the switches. For example, the adapter in IO Module 1 in the x240 connects to switch bays 1 and 2

(which are in positions 1 and 3 viewed from the back, from left to right). In this solution, the Ethernet

adapter is installed in IO Module 1 and the Ethernet switches in bays 1 and 2, so that the Ethernet

components are connected internally by the Flex infrastructure. Likewise, the Fibre Channel adapter is

installed in IO Module 2 in the x240 and the Fibre Channel switches are installed in switch bays 3 and 4

(which are in positions 2 and 4 viewed from the back, from left to right), so that the Fibre Channel

components are connected internally in the same way as the Ethernet components.

In addition, the placement of the x240s and integrated Flex V7000 (V7000A) in the Flex chassis

determines which internal switch ports are used. For example, the x240 placed in node 1, called BT101,

will utilize internal switch port 1 on each of the 4 switches.

We will make use of Windows Ethernet adapter teaming on the x240, which will require an ISL (inter-

switch link) configuration between the two Ethernet switches within each Flex chassis. A Virtual Link

Aggregation Group (VLAG), to support the team, should be configured on the 2 switches [refer to page 19

“Grant Privilege and Enter Configuration mode” of Hyper-V Fast Track Reference Architecture for IBM

Flex System]. The ISL requires two physical Ethernet cables between the switches. In addition, two

physical Ethernet cables are required to connect the Flex chassis to the WAN (wide area network).

The external storage unit (V7000B in the MDC and the V3700C in the DR site) requires four external fibre

cable connections to the fibre channel switches. The integrated Flex V7000 (V7000A) does not require

external fibre cables as those connections are made using the internal infrastructure of the Flex chassis.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=tss1wp102278




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The storage on the external Storwize V7000 (V7000B) will be zoned and dedicated to the x240 named

BT101. The storage on the integrated Flex V7000 (V7000A) will be zoned and dedicated to the x240

named BT103. The storage on the external Storwize V3700 (V7000C) will be zoned and dedicated to the

x240 named BT105. Dedicating each storage unit to one x240 provides high availability and performance.



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Physical deployment rack view

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V3700 storage

controller V3700C

Flex FC3171 8Gb

SAN Switch

Flex FC3171 8Gb

SAN Switch

Flex EN4093 10Gb

Ethernet Switch

Flex EN4093 10Gb

Ethernet Switch

Front view Back view

Flex System Enterprise

1

3

5

7

9

11

13

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Flex System V7000

Control Module

1

1-24

Control Module

1

x240

0

1

x240

0

1

241

System Storage

45

41

CMM1

CMM2

LINK

TX/RX

CMMBay

6 3

10 3

4

5

6

1

2

3

PowerSupplyBays

54

3

2

1

109

8

7

6

FanBays

6

5

4

3

2

1

I/O BayI/O BayI/O BayI/O Bay

PowerSupplyBay

FanBay

PowerSupplyBay

PowerSupplyBay

PowerSupplyBay

PowerSupplyBay

PowerSupplyBay

FanBay

FanBay

FanBay

FanBay

FanBay

FanBay

FanBay

21

1 2

CAUTION

3

1

4

2



4

2

3

1

CAUTION

3

1

4

2

4

2

3

1

CAUTION


CAUTION


2

3

1

4

21

1 2

2 1

1

3

2

412

2 14 3 2 14 3

21 4321 43

12

1 2

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

Flex x240 compute

node BT101

Flex x240 compute

node BT103

Flex V7000 storage

node V7000A

V7000 storage

controller V7000B

Flex FC3171 8Gb

SAN Switch

Flex FC3171 8Gb

SAN Switch

Flex EN4093 10Gb

Ethernet Switch

Flex EN4093 10Gb

Ethernet Switch

Front view Back view

Main Data Center (MDC)

Disaster Recovery (DR)

Ethernet

Fibre

Figure 13: Physical layer rack view



19

Next, we discuss the configuration of the physical hardware, such as, installing the operating system and

creating the SAN volumes. Please refer to Figure 14.

We install Windows Server 2012 on each x240 compute node (on a RAID1 mirror between the two local

spinning disks) and enable the Hyper-V role. We name these servers BT101, BT103 and BT105. The first

two are in the MDC and the last one is in the DR site. We are not going to configure Windows Server

Failover Clustering (WSFC) on the Hyper-V servers. (However, we will be using WSFC on the virtual

machines, as described below.) We use the new NIC Teaming feature in Windows Server 2012, which

allows two or more network adapters to behave as a single, virtual device. This improves the reliability of

the networking subsystem – if one NIC dies, the other continues to function – and allows the bandwidth

available to each to be pooled for greater total network throughput for SQL Server data.

The physical volume configuration is highly dependent on an organization’s requirements for space and

performance. The client may wish to increase the number of volumes, for example, if there are more

databases involved. We describe the sample configuration created for this paper.

Each storage unit is configured identically. Three physical volumes were created on each storage unit.

(Note that Figure 14 shows a single SAN array physical volume per storage unit for simplicity.) The three

volumes are mounted under the local C: drive (in C_mnt, K_mnt and L_mnt directories) of the Hyper-V

server. They will be provisioned for a virtual machine operating system disk (C drive), a database data

disk (K drive) and a database log disk (L drive), respectively. In this solution, the operating system disk

(C_mnt) is on a volume of 6 spindles in a RAID10. The database (K_mnt) and log (L_mnt) disks are on

dedicated volumes of 8 spindles each, in a RAID10. It is a SQL Server best practice to place the database

and log files on separate dedicated volumes. This improves both availability and performance. Two

spindles are assigned as hot spares.

Each set of three physical volumes is mapped to and mounted on the corresponding Hyper-V server

(meaning the one zoned on the fibre channel switch).



20

Physical deployment logical view

WAN

FLEX (DR)

FLEX (MDC)

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

V7000SAN Array

V3700SAN Array

FLEX V7000SAN Array

Users

Figure 14: Physical layer logical view

Virtual Layer

Once the physical layer has been setup, we move on to creating and configuring the virtual layer. We will

create virtual switches, virtual disks, virtual machines, and a cluster between the virtual machines. This

will lay the foundation for SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups, the final layer. Please refer to Figure

15.

On each Hyper-V server, we create a Hyper-V virtual switch (vSwitch) based on the physical teamed

network adapter created in the physical layer. vSwitch will provide one interface back to the Hyper-V host,

and the switch can support ‘N’ interfaces on the Virtual Machines (VMs). In this case, two virtual ports

were configured in the VM. The management port will be used to manage the Hyper-V server (for

example, using RDP). The two virtual machine ports will be used in the cluster between the virtual

machines to create the public and private (heartbeat) networks.

On each Hyper-V server, we create 3 virtual disks (VHDX format) using the volumes mounted in the

C_mnt, K_mnt and L_mnt directories created in the physical layer.

One virtual machine was created on each Hyper-V server and assign it the desired number of processors

and memory, adding the 3 virtual disks as SCSI drives and the two VM network ports created on the

vSwitch. We install Windows Server 2012 in each VM and enable the Failover Clustering Role. We



21

mount the C_mnt volume to the C: drive and the K_mnt and L_mnt volumes to the K: and L: drives,

respectively, inside the VM. We assign the static IP addresses to the VM network interfaces, one for the

Public network and one for the Private network. Note this solution supports multiple subnets. We name

the VMs VM101 (on BT101), VM103 (on BT103) and VM105 (on BT105). We join the VMs to the domain.

We create the Windows Server Failover Cluster between the three VMs. Please not that this cluster has

no shared storage. It should have multiple static IP addresses, if the VMs are on different subnets.

For details on establishing the cluster quorum model, including using a file share, and voting, please see:

Building a High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solution using AlwaysOn Availability Groups

Virtual deployment

WAN

FLEX (DR)

FLEX (MDC)

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

Hyper-V


VM VM

VM

V7000SAN Array

VMDX

V3700SAN Array

VMDXFLEX V7000

SAN Array

VMDX

Users

Figure 15: Virtual layer

SQL Server Layer

After the virtual layer has been configured, we create the final layer based on SQL Server and the

AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature. In this step, we will install SQL Server, configure the AlwaysOn

Availability Groups feature and assign a sample database, TXN_DB, to an availability group for high

availability protection. Please refer to Figure 16.

We install a default standalone SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition Instance in each VM. Please note

that this is not a clustered SQL Server Instance.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj191711.aspx



22

We place our user database, TXN_DB, on the K: and L: drives in VM101, which will be our primary replica.

Then we backup the database and restore it (using the NORECOVERY option) on the other two VMs,

VM103 and VM105, which will be our secondary replicas.

We create the Availability Group for the TXN_DB database, making VM101 the primary replica, making

VM103 the synchronous secondary with automatic failover and making VM105 (in the DR site) the

asynchronous secondary with manual failover. We create an Availability Group Listener, called

TXN_AG_Listener, giving two static IP addresses (one for each subnet), which provides a DNS name

which user applications can connect to and be automatically routed to the primary replica, regardless of

which subnet the primary replica is running on.

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group deployment

WAN

FLEX (DR)

FLEX (MDC)

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

Hyper-V


VM VM

VM

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group

SQL SQL

SQL

V7000SAN Array

VMDX

DB

V3700SAN Array

VMDX

DB

FLEX V7000SAN Array

VMDX

DB

Users

Figure 16: SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group layer

Deployment considerations

This section describes noteworthy deployment considerations. In particular, it describes how features of

the Flex System are used in the solution deployment across data centers for high availability.

This section also includes a high-level overview of the requirements the customer’s IT environment must

address for deploying this reference architecture.



23

Systems management

Systems management for this solution uses the native Windows Server and SQL Server management

tools.

Server / Compute Nodes

The compute nodes are the Flex System x240 compute nodes. Each x240 has 2 processors, 96 GB of

memory, two 2.5” spinning disks in a RAID1 pair, a dual port 10Gb Ethernet adapter in IO Module 1 and a

dual port 8 Gb fibre channel adapter in IO Module 2. Processor speed and number of cores, and amount

of memory should be selected based on the customer’s requirements.

Networking

This section describes the Ethernet network topology. Figure 17 Ethernet network connections shows the

connections between the servers, switches, and the wide area network (WAN). Each x240 compute node

has two Ethernet connections from the EN4132 2-port 10Gb Ethernet adapter in IO Module 1, one to each

Ethernet switch for redundancy and increased performance. These connections are made via the Flex

infrastructure, not by using external cables. Two external cables connect the two Ethernet switches within

a single Flex chassis to create a bonded (LACP) Inter Switch Link (ISL). The ISL link allows the two

Ethernet ports in each x240 to be teamed efficiently. The teaming is done using LACP for active/active

utilizations of the links. Additional Ethernet cables uplink the switches into the WAN infrastructure. The

WAN, which is unique to each customer, provides connectivity between the Flex chassis over a

geographic distance. The WAN also connects to the file share (needed for the quorum in Windows Server

Failover Cluster), to the customer’s Active Directory servers (required for the Windows Server Failover

Cluster) and to the users for accessing the application servers using the SQL Server databases.



24

Main Data Center(MDC)


WAN

Flex Chassis

BT103 I/O Mod1

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

ISL cables

Flex EN4093 10Gb Ethernet Switches

I/O Mod2

BT101 I/O Mod1

I/O Mod2

Flex Chassis

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

Link

Tx/Rx6

Link

Tx/Rx5

Link

Tx/Rx2

Link

Tx/Rx1

Link

Tx/Rx4

Link

Tx/Rx3

Link

Tx/Rx8

Link

Tx/Rx7

Link

Tx/Rx10

Link

Tx/Rx9

Link

Tx/Rx12

Link

Tx/Rx11

Link

Tx/Rx14

Link

Tx/Rx13

Link

Tx/Rx15 16

Link

Tx/Rx17 18

15

15

171618

10 Gb

40 Gb

Link

Tx/Rx19 20

21 22

19

19

212022

10 Gb

40 Gb

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

ISL cables

Flex EN4093 10Gb Ethernet Switches

BT105 I/O Mod1

I/O Mod2

File Share

AD Server

Internal connection

External cables

Users

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Figure 17: Solution Ethernet network connections



25

Storage integration

This section describes the storage fibre channel network topology. Figure 18 shows the connections

between the servers, switches, and the storage units. Each x240 compute node has two fibre channel

connections from the F3172 2-port 8Gb FC adapter in IO Module 2, one to each fibre channel switch for

redundancy. These connections are made via the Flex infrastructure, not by using external fibre cables.

The integrated Flex V7000 (V7000A) is also connected to the fibre channel switches via the Flex

infrastructure. The external storage units (V7000B and V3700C) are connected to their respective Flex

chassis via external fibre cables to the fibre channel switches as shown. The effect of this topology is for

each server to be connected to its own dedicated storage, with redundancy, including redundant switches.



26

Main Data Center(MDC)


Flex Chassis

BT103 I/O Mod1

Flex FC3171 8Gb Switches

I/O Mod2

BT101 I/O Mod1

I/O Mod2

Internal connection

External cables

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

V7000A

Node1 Node2

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Inte

rnal

po

rts

V7000B

Node1 Node2

Flex Chassis

Flex FC3171 8Gb Switches

BT105 I/O Mod1

I/O Mod2

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

LOGTXRX

16

LOGTXRX

15

LOGTXRX

17

LOGTXRX

18

LOGTXRX

19

LOGTXRX

0

Mgmt

Link

Tx/Rx

8Gb FULL FABRIC

Inte

rnal

po

rts

Inte

rnal

po

rts

V3700C

Node1 Node2

Figure 18: Solution storage fibre channel network connections

Performance Considerations

AlwaysOn Availability Groups are sensitive to Ethernet network bandwidth, because potentially high

volume updates on the primary replica can be sent over Ethernet to the secondary replicas. This solution

provides very high network bandwidth using the 20 Gb/s aggregated teamed network adapters. Updating



27

workload performance on the primary replica can be improved by offloading read-only workloads (such as

backup and reporting) to the secondary replicas. Create fixed sized VHDX disks for best storage

performance. Chose 64K as the NTFS cluster (Allocation Unit) size for the volumes used by SQL Server.

Another improvement in performance could be realized by doing away with the virtual machines and

installing SQL Server on the physical servers. Both of these options trade off performance with the

manageability benefits of virtualization.

Best practices and limitations

In this solution, the unit of failover is the availability group (a group of user databases). SQL Server Agent

jobs, logins, linked servers, and other objects that are stored outside of the availability databases do not

fail over with the availability group. Consider the use of contained databases for containing logins that fail

over across the availability replicas. For other objects outside of the user database such as SQL Server

Agent jobs, linked servers, and SQL Server Integration Services packages, you will need to take additional

synchronization steps across the SQL Server instances.

When conducting a planned failover to the DR site, or when failing back to the MDC, put the secondary

replica on VM105 in synchronous mode, temporarily. Then the failover can proceed.

Once the availability group is operational, set up monitoring to provide alerts when the health of the

availability group declines.

Set up database and log backup preferences, so that backups are taken regardless of the state of the

availability group.

Other considerations

When deploying the solution, here are a couple of alternatives. Consider installing SQL Server from the

command line, rather than via the GUI. After the first VM, VM101, has been created, sysprep it and copy

the VM image to the other two servers. This works even if SQL Server is installed (a new feature of SQL

Server 2012).



28

About the author

Michael Lawson works at the IBM Center for Microsoft Technologies in Kirkland, Washington (just 5 miles

from the Microsoft main campus). He also has an office on the Microsoft main campus in Redmond,

Washington to facilitate close collaboration with Microsoft.

Michael has been an IBM employee since 1999 and has specialized in SQL Server including data

warehousing, high availability, performance testing, and virtualization.

[email protected]

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the following people for supporting the work in this paper: Vinay Kulkarni,

David Ye, Hoai Nguyen, and David West.

Appendix 1: Bill of Material

MAIN DATA CENTER (MDC)

PN Description Quantity

Flex System chassis_MDC

8721HC1 IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis Base Model 1

A0TB IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch 2

4942 10GbE 850 nm Fiber SFP+ Transceiver (SR) for IBM BladeCenter 4

3700 1m LC-LC Fiber Cable (networking) 2



A1EL IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch (Upgrade 1) 2

A0UE IBM Flex System Chassis Management Module 1

3793 3m Yellow Cat5e Cable 1

A0UC IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 2500W Power Module Standard 1


6252 2.5m, 16A/100-240V, C19 to IEC 320-C20 Rack Power Cable 3

A0TW System Documentation and Software - US English 1

A0TA IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 1

A0UA IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 80mm Fan Module 4

A1NF IBM Flex System Console Breakout Cable 1

A2EV RFID Tag, AG/AP: 902-928Mhz 1

A0UD IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 2500W Power Module 1


6292 2m, 16A/100-250V, C19 to IEC 320-C20 Rack Power Cable 1

A0TD IBM Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch 2

5075 IBM 8Gb SFP + SW Optical Transceiver 4

mailto:[email protected]



29

3704 5m LC-LC Fiber Cable 4

2300 BladeCenter Chassis Configuration 1

2306 Rack Installation >1U Component 1

A2ZT IBM Fabric Manager Manufacturing Instruction 1

Node_Flex_V7000

4939X49 IBM Flex System V7000 Control Enclosure 1

9170 Storage Subsystem ID 01 1

AD23 600 GB 10,000 RPM 6Gbps 2.5-inch SAS HDD 24

ADB2 8Gb FC 4 Port Daughter Card 2

AD2D Agency label - IBM Logo 1

AD2B Bezel - SRC with IBM Logo 1

Node_x240_BT101

8737AC1 Flex System node x240 Base Model 1

2212 Custom RAID Configuration 1

5599 IBM 300GB 10K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF Slim-HS HDD 2

A1BL IBM Flex System Compute Node 2.5" SAS 2.0 Backplane 1

A1C2 System Documentation and Software-US English 1

A1BD IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node 1

A1BM IBM Flex System FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter 1

A1QY IBM Flex System EN4132 2-port 10Gb Ethernet Adapter 1

8923 8GB (1x8GB, 2Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC DDR3 1333MHz LP RDIMM 12

A2ER Intel Xeon Processor E5-2690 8C 2.9GHz 20MB Cache 1600MHz 135W 1

A2ES Addl Intel Xeon Processor E5-2690 8C 2.9GHz 20MB Cache 1600MHz 135W 1

A1BF IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node Front Bezel 1

A248 IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node Air Baffle 2

Node_x240_BT103
















30

Rack_1 1

9363RC4 IBM 42U 1100mm Enterprise V2 Dynamic Rack 1


6061 DPI Three-phase 60A/208V C19 Enterprise PDU (US) 1

4275 5U black plastic filler panel 6


2304 Rack Assembly - 42U Rack 1

Software

0051

IBM Flex System V7000 Base SW Per Storage Device with 1 Year SW

Maintenance 1

0036

IBM Flex System V7000 Base SW Per Storage Device SW Maintenance 3 Yr

Registration 1

External_V7000

2076-124

IBM Storwize V7000 Controller - 124, includes four 8Gb FC ports & SFPs per

controller (8) 1

3546 IBM 600 GB 2.5 in SAS Disk Drive for Storwize V7000 24

5301 1 meter fibre cable (LC) 4

6942-25B 2076-124 24x7x4 Warranty Service Upgrade (WSU) 3yr 1

DISASTER RECOVERY SITE (DR)

PN Description Quantity

Flex System chassis_DR

8721HC1 IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis Base Model 1

A0TB IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch 2





A1EL IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 10Gb Scalable Switch (Upgrade 1) 2

A0UE IBM Flex System Chassis Management Module 1

3793 3m Yellow Cat5e Cable 1



6252 2.5m, 16A/100-240V, C19 to IEC 320-C20 Rack Power Cable 3

A0TW System Documentation and Software - US English 1



31

A0TA IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 1

A0UA IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis 80mm Fan Module 4

A1NF IBM Flex System Console Breakout Cable 1




6292 2m, 16A/100-250V, C19 to IEC 320-C20 Rack Power Cable 1

A0TD IBM Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch 2

5075 IBM 8Gb SFP + SW Optical Transceiver 4

3704 5m LC-LC Fiber Cable 4

2300 BladeCenter Chassis Configuration 1

2306 Rack Installation >1U Component 1

A2ZT IBM Fabric Manager Manufacturing Instruction 1

Node_x240_BT105














Rack_2 1

9363RC4 IBM 42U 1100mm Enterprise V2 Dynamic Rack 1


6061 DPI Three-phase 60A/208V C19 Enterprise PDU (US) 1



2304 Rack Assembly - 42U Rack 1

External_V3700

2072-24c

Storwize V3700 SFF (small form factor – 24 drives) dual controller w/8GB cache

(4 per controller) 1

ACHB Cache upgrade (additional 4GB for each controller) 2

ACLK IBM 600 GB 10k 2.5 in SAS Disk Drive for Storwize V3700 24



32

ACHK 8Gb FC host interface card, 4 port, includes 2 SFPs per card 2

ACSJ 1 meter fibre cable (LC) 4

675685B 3 Year Onsite Repair and Warranty 24x7, 4 hour response 1

Resources

Building a High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solution using AlwaysOn Availability Groups http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj191711.aspx

Hyper-V Fast Track Reference Architecture for IBM Flex System http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=tss1wp102278 Overview of AlwaysOn Availability Groups (SQL Server) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884.aspx Prerequisites, Restrictions, and Recommendations for AlwaysOn Availability Groups (SQL Server) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878487%28v=sql.110%29.aspx SQL Server AlwaysOn team blog http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlalwayson/ Monitoring of Availability Groups http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877954.aspx IBM Flex System V7000 Storage Node

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.acc.8731.doc%2Fconfiguring_and_managing_storage_node.html IBM Support http://www.ibm.com/support IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node Installation and Service Guide http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.8737.doc/dw1ko_book.pdf IBM Flex System Chassis Management Module Installation Guide http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1ku_cmm_ig_book.pdf IBM Flex System Chassis Management Module User’s Guide http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1kt_cmm_ug_pdf.pdf IBM Flex System Chassis Management Module Command-Line Interface Reference Guide http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1ku_cmm_ig_book.pdf IBM Flex System Power Guide http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102111

IBM Flex System Fabric EN4093 and EN4093R 10Gb Scalable Switches http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0864.html

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj191711.aspx


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878487%28v=sql.110%29.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlalwayson/

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877954.aspx

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.acc.8731.doc%2Fconfiguring_and_managing_storage_node.html

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.acc.8731.doc%2Fconfiguring_and_managing_storage_node.html

http://www.ibm.com/support

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.8737.doc/dw1ko_book.pdf

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1ku_cmm_ig_book.pdf


http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1kt_cmm_ug_pdf.pdf

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/topic/com.ibm.acc.cmm.doc/dw1kt_cmm_ug_pdf.pdf



http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102111

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0864.html



33

IBM Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0866.html IBM Reseller Option Kit for Windows Server 2012 http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS212-513&appname=totalstorage

IBM Fast Setup http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=TOOL-FASTSET IBM x86 Server Cloud Solutions http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/x/solutions/cloud/index.html

More detailed information on the Storwize V7000 disk system can be found in the IBM Storwize V7000

Introduction and Implementation guide Redbook at:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247938.html?Open

Another excellent resource is the IBM Storwize V7000 Information Center at:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/storwize/ic/index.jsp

For more information about PureFlex System and IBM Flex System visit the following URL:

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/pureflex/overview.html

For information on creating a Windows Server 2012 failover cluster, please visit the following URL:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2012/05/01/10299698.aspx

For best practices, tuning, and troubleshooting recommendations see the IBM Storwize V7000 Information Center, at the following URL:


http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/tips0866.html

http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS212-513&appname=totalstorage

http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS212-513&appname=totalstorage

http://www-947.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=TOOL-FASTSET

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/x/solutions/cloud/index.html

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247938.html?Open


http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/pureflex/overview.html

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2012/05/01/10299698.aspx




34

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