Large
numbers of performance problems are related to mis-configured and
under performing I/O or storage area network (SAN) subsystems.
It is strongly recommended to test the SAN from a performance perspective. The
following tools are recommended for stress testing a SAN.
SQLIO
SQLIO is a
tool provided by Microsoft which can be used to determine the I/O capacity of a
given configuration. For configuration and usage instructions, and to download
the tool, see the following Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9a8b005b-84e4-4f24-8d65-cb53442d9e19&DisplayLang=en.
SQLIO
Stress
The
SQLIOStress utility simulates the read and writes patterns of a heavily loaded
server that is running SQL Server, and it uses a Write Ahead Logging (WAL)
protocol that is similar to the protocol that SQL Server uses.
These
patterns include heavy page insert/split simulations, inserts, updates,
checkpoint stress scenarios, read aheads, sorts, hashes, and backup scan
activities that include large and varied scatter and gather I/O requests. The
simulation also imposes heavy data file activity that requires high transaction
log activity.
For
configuration and usage instructions and to download the tool, see “How to use
the SQLIOStress utility to stress a disk subsystem such as SQL Server” at the
following Web site: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;231619.
