WS2012 FS SMBdirect v9

Highly Available Scale-Out File Server on IBM System x3650 M4
November 2012
Running Microsoft SQL Server

2012 on a Scale-Out File Server
Cluster via SMB Direct
Connection Solution Utilizing
IBM System x Servers
Kent R. Swalin
Quang Le
IBM Systems and Technology Group
Running Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on a Scale-Out File Server Cluster via SMB Direct Connection
Solution Utilizing IBM System x Servers
Page 2
Executive Overview
File Servers are well known for providing common storage repositories for shared documents,
images, and user file storage. The Server Message Block (SMB) protocol is the file sharing
protocol that is used by default on Windows file servers. Now with SMB Direct in Windows
Server 2012, a Scale-Out File Server using IBM System x Servers, IBM Storage, IBM System
Networking and Chelsio T4 adapters can provide high performance file shares that are
continuously available for applications such as Microsoft SQL Server 2012. SMB Direct which
is SMB over Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA), was introduced in Windows Server 2012.
SMB Direct has the typical benefits of SMB file storage: it is easy to provision, manage, and
migrate.
File server administrators can provide scale-out file shares and continuously available file
services to server applications and respond to increased demands quickly by simply adding more
servers to the cluster or bringing more storage online. All of this can be done in a production
environment and it is transparent to the server application.
Introduction
This document describes a Scale-Out solution that uses a two-node file server cluster and two
servers running Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server 2012. The application servers in
this solution can access file shares using any of the cluster nodes. This is achieved by leveraging
new Windows Server Failover Clustering features and new capabilities in the new version of
Windows file server protocol - SMB 3.0. SMB Direct supports the use of network adapters that
have remote direct memory access (RDMA) capability. SMB Direct functionality requires that the
SMB client and SMB server support SMB 3.0.
The new SMB Direct storage protocol in Windows Server 2012 provides for extremely fast
responses to network requests, and as a result, makes remote file storage respond similarly to
directly attached block storage. SMB Direct also offloads CPU cycles when transferring data over
the network, which leaves more cycles available to server applications.
Key benefits provided by Scale-Out File Server in Windows Server 2012 include:
Active-Active file shares: All cluster nodes can accept and serve SMB client requests.
By making the file share content accessible through all cluster nodes simultaneously,
SMB 3.0 clusters and clients cooperate to provide transparent failover to alternative
cluster nodes during planned maintenance and unplanned failures without service
interruption.
Increased bandwidth: The maximum share bandwidth is the total bandwidth of all file
server cluster nodes. Unlike previous versions of Windows Server, the total bandwidth is
no longer constrained to the bandwidth of a single cluster node, but rather the capability
of the storage system. Bandwidth can be increased by adding nodes to the Scale-Out
cluster.
CHKDSK with zero downtime: CHKDSK in Windows Server 2012 is significantly
enhanced to dramatically shorten the time a file system is offline for repair. Clustered
shared volumes (CSVs) in Windows Server 2012 take this one step further and eliminate
the offline phase. A CSV File System (CSVFS) can perform CHKDSK without impacting
applications with open handles on the file system.
Clustered Shared Volume cache: CSVs in Windows Server 2012 introduces support
for a read cache, which can significantly improve performance in certain scenarios.
Simpler management: With Scale-Out File Servers necessary CSVs and file shares
can be created and added. It is no longer necessary to create multiple clustered file
servers, each with separate cluster disks, and then develop placement policies to ensure
activity on each cluster node.
Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012
Page 3
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 offers full support for storing databases on SMB 3.0 file shares.
Scale-Out file shares provide the ability to share the same folder from multiple nodes in a cluster.
Utilizing a Scale-Out File Server can reduce SQL Server solution complexity. No longer does an
implementation of SQL Server require large amounts of local storage or attaching a server to a
Storage Area Network, when there is a Scale-Out File Server available that allows a set of shares
to be accessed by Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths.
Components
This Scale-Out File Server architecture is comprised of IBM System x servers, IBM storage, and
IBM System Networking running Microsofts Windows 2012 operating system. Each component
provides a key element to the overall solution.
IBM System x3650 M4 Server

The System x3650 M4 provides the ultimate balance of performance, flexibility and cost
efficiency. With technology choices like the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family, eXFlash
high IOPS SSD solutions and 10Gb Ethernet, the x3650 M4 meets virtualization challenges with
ease. IBM System x servers and IBM System Storage help create a resilient, cost-effective and
exible infrastructure for securely storing information and mitigating risk
As business grow and change - and continue with the same tight budgets the need efficient and
flexible IT solutions increases. The new generation of x86 servers offers improved performance
and efficiency designed to provide the power to transform any business. This can help improve
operational efficiency optimize for business-critical workloads and unlock data for real business
insights.
The new x3650 M4 servers offer many enhanced features:
Industry-leading performance
Platforms designed for flexibility and growth
eXFlash
Slotless 10Gb Networking (Virtual Fabric)
High-capacity, high-performance memory
Figure 1 IBM System x3650 M4
IBM System x3550 M4 Server

Big things do come in small packages. The x3550 M4 is a 1U powerhouse with leadership high
availability features, such as predictive failure analysis, redundant power and disk mirroring
capabilities. The M4 generation of this business-critical platform offers up to twice the
performance as previous generation servers and provides a solid foundation for cloud
deployments. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 supports 64 processors and 1TB memory on
the host and 4 virtual processors and 64 GB memory in the guest.
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By virtualizing with Microsoft Hyper-V technology on IBM System x3550 M4 servers, businesses
can make the best use of server hardware investments by consolidating multiple server roles as
separate virtual machines running on a single physical machine. This results in fewer physical
servers to manage. Running the same hypervisor allows IT administrators to manage more
servers than without virtualization. Since applications are managed within virtual machines and
isolated from the actual hardware, this again simplifies the physical server, maximizing uptime.
Greater IT flexibility is also realized by the ability of virtualization to streamline the deployment
and upgrade processes in both physical and virtual machines.
In addition, clients can see a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) from reduced hardware
requirements by maximizing the resource utilization of each server purchased. This usually
results in a substantial reduction in the number of physical servers required to support operations,
thereby lowering capital acquisition, power consumption, and cooling costs. Businesses also
benefit from infrastructure optimization that simplifies and standardizes IT administration, thus
helping to control labor costs. Reduced downtime costs can be achieved by the ability to easily
move and balance workloads across different resources, improve operational agility, and provide
flexibility in managing maintenance schedules and responding to todays dynamic IT demands.
Figure 2 IBM System x3550 M4
Chelsio T4 10GbE Unified Wire Ethernet adapters

Chelsios T420-CR adapters powered by its fourth-generation T4 ASIC provide the highest
10GbE performance available while dramatically lowering host-system processing overhead with
integrated hardware offload of TCP/IP, iSCSI, FCoE and iWARP RDMA. The T420-CR frees up
host CPU cycles for useful applications, resulting in increased bandwidth, lower latency, lower
power consumption and improved overall system efficiency.
Figure 3 Chelsio T420-CR

Page 5
IBM DS3500 Storage

The IBM DS3500 disk system is an ideal platform for Scale-Out environments. Highly
expandable, clients can start with just the right amount of storage, and then scale accordingly as
storage workloads increase. The DS3500 provides powerful, robust, yet easy to manage storage
that serves as a platform for many Microsoft-based reference architectures.
The DS3500 can expand to support up to 192 drives, which can be an intermix of 2.5, 3.5, and
SSDs. High performance SAS and NL SAS disks provide clients a wide range of deployment
options. Host attachment options include 6 Gbps SAS, 8 Gbps Fibre Channel, and 1/10 Gbps
iSCSI for easy guest clustering support. A full complement of advanced features such as Copy
Services, Flash Copy, partitioning, full MPIO/VSS support and remote mirroring ensure the
DS3500 can grow as storage and application needs increase in complexity.
Figure 4 IBM DS3524 Storage
IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8124E 10GbE Switch

The RackSwitch G8124E is a 10Gb Ethernet top of rack aggregation switch with unmatched linerate Layer 2/3 performance. It uses a wire-speed, non-blocking switching fabric that provides
simultaneous wire-speed transport of multiple packets at low latency on all ports.
The G8124E contains 24 ten Gigabit Small Form-factor, Pluggable (SFP+) slots and two 1Gb
management ports. The 10Gb SFP+ slots can accept 1Gb copper transceivers, 10Gb optical
transceivers, or Direct Attach Cables (DAC).
Figure 5 IBM RackSwitch G8124E 10GbE Switch
Page 6
Overview of the Solution Configuration

The physical configuration of the servers in this solution is shown below in Figure 6. The two
x3650 M4s are configured as a Windows 2012 cluster with the file server role enabled. They are
attached to a DS3500 using 8GB Fibre Channel. In the event of a cluster node unavailability due
to hardware failure or system maintenance, the other cluster node will, transparently to the client,
take over serving the file shares. The two x3550 M4s are running SQL Server 2012 with all
associated SQL files located on the file server as shown in Figure 9.
The DS3500 storage is configured using IBM Storage Manager Client GUI. Four data volumes
were created, two for SQL data and two for Log files. These volumes were initialized and
formatted using Windows Server 2012. They were added into the File Server cluster as Cluster
Shared Volumes (CSV).
Each IBM System x server had one Chelsio T4 adapter installed. Latest version of the NIC-TOE
driver for Windows Server 2012 was downloaded from Chelsio and installed. They were
configured with a static IP address using Windows Server 2012 Network Connections.
The detailed steps to create the solution are documented in the appendix.
Page 7
X3550 M4 SQL Server
X3550 M4 SQL Server
B
SP
L/A
MB
A
MS
Stacking
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
10101
Reset
Mgmt
G8124 10GbE Switch
Windows Server 2012

File Server Cluster
System x3650 M4
System x3650 M4
16
17
DS3524
FC
FC
IBM DS3500
8
16
17
DS3524
IBM DS3500 Expansion
Cluster
Witness
LUN
Cluster Shared Volume LUNs for File
Server data and log files.
Variety of configuration options
available to maximize IOPs &
capacity. Up to 192 Disks Max.
Figure 6 Physical view of the Cluster Configuration
Page 8
Figure 7 shows a view of the interaction between the SMB Direct client and the SMB Direct
server. In this scenario the SMB Direct clients are the two SQL Servers while the SMB Direct
server is the x3650 M4 cluster. The SMB Direct client and server roles are included in Windows
Server 2012.
Figure 7 SMB Direct Client and Server
Page 9
Figure 8 shows the two options when adding the File Server Role to the cluster. For this solution
the option for File Server for scale-out application data was chosen.
Figure 8 Creating the High Available File Server
Page 10
Table 1 and table 2 detail the configuration of the cluster nodes and SQL Servers.
X3650 M4 File Server Node Configuration

Processors
Two Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 with eight 2.6GHz cores
Total Physical
Memory
64GB using DDR-3 RDIMMs
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition
Network
Fibre Channel
Four on-board Intel 1GbE adapters
One Chelsio T420 10GbE adapter
One Brocade 8Gb FC Dual-port HBA for IBM System x
Table 1 IBM System x3650 M4 server configuration
X3550 M4 SQL Server Configuration

Processors
Two Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 with eight 2.6GHz cores
Total Physical
Memory
96GB using DDR-3 RDIMMs
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition
Network
Four on-board Intel 1GbE adapters
One Chelsio T420 10GbE adapter
Table 2 IBM System x3550 M4 server configuration
Page 11
SQL Server configuration

The standard method for installing SQL Server 2012 is followed; however, when setting up the
data directories, direct the files toward the UNC path which reside on the x3650 M4 cluster. For
SQL Server setup to work properly, the appropriate ACL permissions should be set on these
UNC directories.
Figure 9 SQL Server 2012 Setup
Page 12
Performance Monitoring
Performance Monitor was used to capture the relevant disk performance data for an SMB Client
and an SMB Server and shown on Figures 10 and 11. These are the counters that should be
checked to monitor IO performance. These are examples only and should not be used as a
guide.
Figure 10 SMB Client Performance Monitor Data
Page 13
Figure 11 SMB Server Performance Monitor Data
Conclusion
Utilizing IBM hardware combined with Microsoft Windows Server 2012, it is possible to create a
high-performance, interoperable, and reliable application file server. With Enterprise-class
hardware, fault tolerance is achieved by configuring a robust collection of industry-leading
servers, storage systems and networking components from IBM. The SMB direct framework
promotes a standardized and highly manageable environment which helps satisfy even the most
challenging business critical SQL Server storage demands.
Page 14
Appendix: Demonstration System Setup

Figure 12 below illustrates the lab environment used to generate the results documented in this
white paper.
X3550 M4
SQL Server
X3550 M4
SQL Server
SQLSVR1"
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ire
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ire
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SQLSVR2
X3650 M4
File Server Cluster
isk Ac
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Cluster nodes: x3650m4-1 x3650m4-2
Figure 12 Overview of the demonstration environment
Page 15
Install the Chelsio T420-CR 10 GigE Adapter

The Chelsio T4 Unified Wire driver for Windows 2012 Server can be downloaded from Chelsios
support website at http://service.chelsio.com. The driver is also available from Windows update,
and if the user instructs Windows 2012 to find a driver for the Chelsio card in Device Manager, it
will be able to locate and install it.
SMB Direct is installed and enabled by default when the driver is installed. To determine if the
driver was installed correctly and that RDMA is properly enabled, use the Get-NetAdapterRdma
command in PowerShell.
Storage Configuration
The following steps illustrate how quick and easy it is to configure DS3500 storage.
Create each of the arrays needed for the configuration. Assign an array name, and select the
number of disks and RAID type to be used (Figure 13).
Page 16
Figure 13 DS3500 Array Creation
Disks can now be created off each of the arrays (Figure 14)
Figure 14 DS3500 Drive Creation
A Host Group is a logical group that will contain the host servers that should all see the
same storage volumes; in this case add the hosts x3650m4-1 and x3650m4-2.
Create a Host Group to that will contain each of the host servers (Figure12 )
Page 17
Figure 15 Host Group Creation
Multipath I/O (MPIO) Fault-Tolerance Driver

Multipath I/O is used to provide balanced and fault tolerant paths to DS3500. This requires an
additional driver to be installed on the host servers before attaching the storage.
Page 18
Install and Configure the File Server Cluster

In this section, steps to create and configure the file server cluster will be shown:
Install the Required Roles and Features

Both servers x3650m4-1 and x3650m4-2 were configured as files servers and cluster nodes.
There are two ways to do this, PowerShell commands or via the GUI.
Using PowerShell Commands

Open the PowerShell windows:
Type Install-WindowsFeature File-Services, FS-FileServer, Failover-Clustering <Enter>
Type Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Clustering IncludeAllSubfeature <Enter>
Type Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-File-Services IncludeAllsubFeature <Enter>
Upon completing the previous three commands, execute the following command to display the
status of the file server cluster:
Type Get-WindowsFeature *File*, *Cluster* <Enter>
Using the GUI

Page 19
Open Server Manager
For both servers x3650m4-1 and x3650m4-2, select Add Roles and Features and check the
File and Storage Services box.
On the next screen, select Add Feature and check the Failover Clustering box.
Click Install
Validate the Cluster

The next step is to validate the newly created cluster.
Open the Failover Cluster Manager
Click on Validate Configuration
Page 20
Click Next
Enter the names of the servers, one at a time followed by clicking Add.
Page 21
Select Run all tests (recommended), click Next

On the next screen, click Next to confirm
The validation process will take a few minutes to complete. It should not return any errors. If
there are errors, address the issues listed in the validation report.
Create a Failover Cluster

There are two ways to do this, PowerShell commands or via the Failover Cluster Manager
Using PowerShell Command

Type New-Cluster Name x3650Cluster Node x3650m4-1, x3650m4-2 <Enter>
In this example, the name of the cluster will be x3650Cluster. It has two nodes, namely
x3650m4-1 and x3650m4-2.
Using the GUI Failover Cluster Manager

From one of the systems, open Server Manager
On the Tools menu, select Failover Cluster Manager
In Failover Cluster Manager, click Create Cluster
Page 22
Click Next on the Create a Cluster Wizard
Add the names of the servers to be members of the cluster (x3650m4-1 and x3650m4-2). Click
Next
Enter the name of the cluster x3650m4Cluster, click Next
On the Confirmation screen, Click Next
Click Finish
Configure the Cluster Networks

During the creation of the cluster, active network adapters in the individual nodes are assigned to
the cluster networks. In our lab example, the Chelsio T4 10 GigE adapters are assigned to
Cluster Network 1 and the onboard 1 GigE adapters are assigned to Cluster Network 2. These
cluster network names can be changed to match the configuration names in your environment.
Right click Cluster Network 1
Page 23
Select Allow cluster network communication on this network

Check the box Allow clients to connect through this network
Click OK
Right click Cluster Network 2

Page 24
Select Do not allow cluster network communication on this network

Click OK
Page 25
From the PowerShell window, type Get-ClusterNetwork | Select * displays the contents in the
above screen.
Create the Folders and shares

In this section, steps to create shares for database and log files will be shown. Since there are
two SQL servers, two data shares (Data1 and Data2) and two log shares (Log1 and Log2) will be
created.
Using PowerShell Commands

From one of the cluster nodes (SQLSVR1)
Type md c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\Shares\Data1
Type New-SmbShare name Data1 Path c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\Data1 FullAccess
Pf.net\Administrator, Pf.net\SQLService, NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Type (Get-SmbShare Data1).PresetPathAcl | Set-Acl
Repeat the same steps for SQLSVR2, change Data2 for Data1.
From one of the cluster nodes (SQLSVR1)
Type md c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\Shares\Log1
Type New-SmbShare name Log1 Path c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\Log1 FullAccess
Pf.net\Administrator, Pf.net\SQLService, NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Type (Get-SmbShare Log1).PresetPathAcl | Set-Acl
Page 26
Repeat the same steps for SQLSVR2, change Log2 for Log1
Using the GUI, Failover Cluster Manager

Select the Roles node on the left pane
Click on x3650-FS role and then click on Add File Share on the actions menu on the right
The New Share Wizard will start
On the Select Profile page, select SMB Share Applications and click Next
On the Share Location page, select c:\ClusterStorage\Volume1\ as he location. Click Next
On the Share Name page, type Data1 as the share name, click Next
On the Other Settings page, click Next
On the Permissions page, click on Customize permissions
Ensure user NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM has Full Control permission
Click on Add, then click on Select a Principal
Enter pf.net\administrator, click on Check Names, click OK
Click Full Control and click OK
Click on Add, then click on Select a Principal
Enter pf.net\sqlservice, click on Check Names, click OK
Click Full Control and click OK
Click OK, then click Next, then click Create
Click Close after the wizard finishes creating the share.
Repeat the same steps for shares Data2, Log1 and Log2
Page 27
Ensure Administrator, SQLService and NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM users have Full Control

privileges
Install SQL Server

SQL Server 2012 DataCenter Edition was installed on two servers SQLSVR1 and SQLSVR2.
These two servers will access their database and log files via the file server cluster.
Run SQL Server 2012 Setup from the DVD
In the SQL Server Installation Center, click Installation, then select New SQL Server standalone
SQL Server Setup Support Rule runs its verification tests. Ensure all test are passed. Click OK
Select the Enter the Product Key button. Enter the appropriate key in the space below
Click Next on the Licensing page
SQL Server 2012 Setup will start. Setup Support Rules will be verified. When passed, click
Next
In the Feature selection page, select only the Database Engine Services and the
Management Tools
Page 28
Use the default directories. Click Next
In the Installation rules page, click Next
In the Instance Configuration page, click Next
In the Disk Space Requirements page, click Next
In the Server Configuration page, enter pf.net\slqservice as the account name for the SQL
Server Database Engine and the SQL Server Agent, set bot services to start automatically. Click
Next
In the Database Engine Configuration page, click Add Current User
Click the Data Directories tab. Enter \\x3650-fs\data1 as the Data Root Directory
Change the two path for Log directories to use \\x3650-fs\log
Click Yes when prompted to confirm the correct permissions
Click Next on the Error reporting page
Click Next on the Installation Configuration Rules page
Click Install on the Ready to Install page
Installation of SQL will complete
Page 29
For More Information

IBM System x Servers
IBM System x and BladeCenter Power Configurator
http://ibm.com/systems/x
http://ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/resources/powerconfig.html
http://ibm.com/systems/x/hardware/configtools.html
IBM ServerProven Program
Technical Support
Other Technical Support Resources
http://ibm.com/systems/info/x86servers/serverproven/compat/us
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Highly Available Scale-Out File Server on IBM System x3650 M4

Running Microsoft SQL Server

IBM System x3650 M4 Server

Figure 1 IBM System x3650 M4

IBM System x3550 M4 Server

Figure 2 IBM System x3550 M4

Chelsio T4 10GbE Unified Wire Ethernet adapters

Figure 3 Chelsio T420-CR

IBM DS3500 Storage

Figure 4 IBM DS3524 Storage

IBM System Networking RackSwitch G8124E 10GbE Switch

Figure 5 IBM RackSwitch G8124E 10GbE Switch

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Overview of the Solution Configuration

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

X3550 M4 SQL Server

X3550 M4 SQL Server

G8124 10GbE Switch

Windows Server 2012

IBM DS3500 Expansion

Figure 6 Physical view of the Cluster Configuration

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 7 SMB Direct Client and Server

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 8 Creating the High Available File Server

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

X3650 M4 File Server Node Configuration

Two Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 with eight 2.6GHz cores

64GB using DDR-3 RDIMMs

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition

Four on-board Intel 1GbE adapters

One Chelsio T420 10GbE adapter

One Brocade 8Gb FC Dual-port HBA for IBM System x

Table 1 IBM System x3650 M4 server configuration

X3550 M4 SQL Server Configuration

Two Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 with eight 2.6GHz cores

96GB using DDR-3 RDIMMs

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition

Four on-board Intel 1GbE adapters

One Chelsio T420 10GbE adapter

Table 2 IBM System x3550 M4 server configuration

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

SQL Server configuration

Figure 9 SQL Server 2012 Setup

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 10 SMB Client Performance Monitor Data

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 11 SMB Server Performance Monitor Data

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Appendix: Demonstration System Setup

Figure 12 Overview of the demonstration environment

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Install the Chelsio T420-CR 10 GigE Adapter

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 13 DS3500 Array Creation

Figure 14 DS3500 Drive Creation

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012

Figure 15 Host Group Creation

Multipath I/O (MPIO) Fault-Tolerance Driver

Copyright IBM Corporation, 2012