Solution Brief

NetApp Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server

KEY BENEFITS

Speed Backup and Recovery Back up more often and recover any size database in minutes. Increase Flexibility Meet changing business needs by using a single platform that offers IP or FC SAN architecture, nondisruptive storage provisioning, and spaceefficient cloning capabilities. Reduce Operational Costs Leverage our SQL Server data management software to simplify management with no additional training required.

The Challenge Increase data availability while reducing management costs Microsoft SQL Server is a powerful and cost-effective database solution that has been deployed to meet a wide variety of enterprise and departmental needs. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 builds on this innovation and momentum. Supporting enterprisewide deployments of these powerful databases with direct-attached storage systems can increase the complexity of your IT environment, resulting in high overhead and administrative costs. Widely distributed data assets often lack integration and result in poor system availability. The key to solving this issue is to upgrade your SQL Server environment with a flexible, enterprise-class storage solution that serves your data efficiently and reliably while reducing management costs and leveraging as much of your current infrastructure as possible.

The Solution Implement your SQL Server deployment on NetApp storage You can easily manage data from multiple SQL Server systems when you deploy on simple, scalable NetApp storage systems. You get more efficient, reliable data storage and cut costs at the same time. The combination of our storage solutions with your SQL Server systems can help you: Increase your application availability Simplify your data management Reduce your storage and data management costs Enable better data protection Accelerate your deployment, testing, and QA application lifecycle With our highly efficient and scalable storage solutions, you can consolidate all of your SQL Server data by using an iSCSI or Fibre Channel SAN infrastructure, depending on your preferred protocol. As the need arises, you can extend our storage systems to add new functionality for disk-based

If an end-user file is deleted or corrupted, it takes less than 5 minutes to recover from a recent Snapshot copy. Weve recovered entire SQL Server databases in 5 to 15 minutes. The reliability of our NetApp solution is unmatched.
H. Henry Jenkins Chief Technology Officer, First American Trust Federal Savings Bank

backup vaulting, disaster recovery, and other capabilities. With Data ONTAP operating in Cluster-Mode, you can nondisruptively meet the needs of SQL Server data growth and increased and changing SQL Server application workloads. Improve business results You can improve your bottom line and receive rapid return on your investment with NetApp storage solutions that are tailored for Microsoft SQL Server. You save money through improved storage utilization, reduced and simplified management, and increased productivity. Your system is more reliable. Youre able to grow as business needs dictate, without disrupting the system or your end users. Youre better able to accommodate testing and perform short-term projects. And when unforeseen events disrupt your system, you can recover rapidly. Weve built our reputation on the results weve provided to many companies and organizations.

See your solution in action To see how well our storage and data management solutions can support your Microsoft SQL Server environment, visit any Microsoft Technology Center. NetApp Global Services and our extensive partner network can provide expert help to assist you in planning and implementing an efficient and reliable storage and data management solution for your SQL Server environment. Please contact your NetApp representative for more information. About NetApp NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions that deliver outstanding cost efficiency and accelerate business breakthroughs. Discover our passion for helping companies around the world go further, faster at www.netapp.com. Go further, faster

SQL Server Hosts

IP SAN or FC SAN

Backup Vaulting

FAS Storage

Remote Mirroring for Disaster Recovery

Figure 1) End-to-end SQL Server storage using NetApp solutions.

CHALLENGE
Increase availability

NETAPP SOLUTION
To help you meet or exceed your stringent service-level agreements, NetApp storage solutions enable rapid recovery of SQL Server databasesin minutes, no matter what the size. With Data ONTAP operating in Cluster-Mode, you can achieve increased SQL Server application uptime during infrastructure (hardware and software) maintenance and upgrades via a highly available storage back end. You can quickly and easily deploy and scale NetApp solutions to meet your changing business needs. With thin provisioning provided by NetApp FlexVol technology, you can cost effectively expand and reallocate storage while increasing efficiency through deduplication of active dataall without interfering with your business operations. Data ONTAP operating in Cluster-Mode helps you nondisruptively meet the needs of SQL Server data growth and increased and changing SQL Server application workloads. Reduce your total cost of ownership when you move your SQL Server databases onto NetApp storage systems. You can leverage your existing iSCSI and/or Fibre Channel infrastructure to cut storage outlay, because our unified architecture helps you increase storage and server utilization while simplifying data management. NetApp SnapManager for SQL Server software lets you streamline administrative tasks such as backup, restore, cloning, and disaster recovery so that you can focus your time and resources on more strategic tasks and business initiatives. With SnapManager, you can also simplify data protection administration of SQL Server applications where data is distributed across multiple SQL Server instances and databases by eliminating the need for complex scripting to group data together. With NetApp solutions, you get quick, space-efficient backups that significantly reduce the time needed to bring data back online. Because you can perform full backups in seconds, our solutions enable you to back up more frequently and protect more of your data. Our simplified data replication enables you to recover rapidly in the event of a disaster. You also get remote flexible mirroring to protect your critical data against disaster. Accelerate the release and improve the quality of new applications based on SQL Server applications with NetApp FlexClone technology. With FlexClone, you can create space-efficient copies of SQL Server data for development, testing, reporting, and disaster recovery testing in seconds. SnapManager for SQL also enables enterprise DBAs to offer on-demand, periodic, and customized staging and user-acceptance testing services quickly and without errors to other DBAs and end users (application engineers) via a policy-based cloning automation framework. NetApp Professional Services for Microsoft Applications offers a wide range of services, including SQL Server implementation on the NetApp storage platform, disaster recovery, and high availability, as well as custom services to help customers successfully deploy SQL Server. Service engagements are delivered though NetApp Professional Services in combination with a global partner ecosystem. NetApp Global Services and our wide network of partners can provide the guidance you need to design and implement an efficient and reliable storage infrastructure for your SQL Server environment.

Respond quickly to data growth

Reduce costs

Simplify management

Speed backup and increase data protection

Clone lifecycle management

Enable your success

Make a smooth transition

 2011 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved. No portions of this document may be reproduced without prior written consent of NetApp, Inc. Specifications are subject to change without notice. NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster, Data ONTAP, FlexClone, FlexVol, SnapManager, and Snapshot are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft and SQL Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. DS-2628-1211

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