SQL Server Multiple CPU's

[lcolson1959]

Is there a tech article anywhere or advice from anyone on when to start entertaining SQL Enterprise for memory over 2.5 GB and/or increasing from a current 2 CPU system to possibly 4 CPU's. I can't find anything concrete.

Thanks,

SC

 

[Catadmin]

Advice, run SQL Server Profiler. You need to look for high CPU usage and long running queries. Try first to upgrade those queries for better run time before you do anything else, so you have a truer feel for whether or not you actually need to put in multiple processors or upgrade the RAM.

Also, run a Windows Trace in Performance Monitor. Add in the Memory counters, the SQL counters that are availble to the OS, and the Processor -> Queue Length counter. If the QL counter is consistantly higher than 10 (MS says it should have no more than 2, but I say it depends on what you have running on the machine), then it's time to add more processors.

Google Performance Monitor counters and SQL Server Counters. That should give you a fairly extensive list of sites with different opinions on the matter. Also, SQL Server Memory might give you more.



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"If a person is Microsoft Certified, does that mean that Microsoft pays the bills for the funny white jackets that tie in the back???