Combating Data Deluge on SQL Servers for Linux and Windows – CitC Episode 190

Ken LeTourneau, Solutions Architect in Intel’s Data Center Group, joins us on this week’s Conversations in the Cloud to discuss Intel® Select Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server on Windows and Linux. Ken highlights the major differences between versions of Intel® Select Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server. While the original designs were very workload focused, the version 2 solutions are built to be general purpose with multi-tenant environments in mind. The new design is based on Windows Server 2019 and incorporates Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory as well as Intel® Optane™ Solid State Drives (SSD). Using persistent memory means high endurance and IOPS so customers can scale with the same quality of service. He also discusses the SQL Server for Linux, which introduces multi-tenancy via containers. Users can stack containers onto servers, allowing more room to grow before a new server is needed. Linux for SQL Server is now supported by Microsoft and has performance parity with Windows. As an architect, Ken feels that Intel® Select Solutions are a valuable approach for SQL servers because the verified hardware and software stacks are workload optimized. The designs are guided by relevant industry benchmarks and input from an ecosystem of partners. In addition, the prescriptive reference design gives partners high confidence in solution performance for end-users. Data is doubling every 2 years and companies need to understand both its value and use. In the future, Ken expects to see a major change as companies are forced to adapt to their own data deluge. Learn more about SQL Server offerings and explore Intel® Select Solutions for Analytics at https://intel.com/selectsolutions.