A Reference Architecture for Microsoft SQL Server with Everpure.
Executive Summary
This reference architecture covers the use of Everpure® products in Microsoft SQL Server environments. It offers solution overviews, technical configurations, and best-practice recommendations for use cases such as database copy optimization, data protection, high availability, and near-synchronous replication. These solutions utilize Everpure FlashArray™ for primary block storage in the SQL Server landscape, Everpure™ Cloud Dedicated block storage for storage in public cloud environments, and FlashBlade® products for T-SQL backup solutions with data virtualization using PolyBase.
SQL Server environments must be properly architected to ensure the optimal database performance, availability, and security needed for business continuity. This means all layers, from system hardware through the software stack, must be correctly architected for a variety of environments. A well-architected database environment with the correct storage configuration can help ensure that business operations run smoothly; it can also facilitate rapid troubleshooting in the event of any issues.
The solution overview provided in this document outlines the interconnected components of a typical SQL Server environment, including SQL Server instances, FlashArray, Everpure Cloud Dedicated, and FlashBlade storage, and it summarizes the benefits of Everpure solutions, including high performance, seamless scalability, non-disruptive upgrades, data integrity, and continuous availability.
The technical solution design section provides technical guidance and best practice recommendations for compute and network resources, storage systems, and SQL Server configurations. The architectural use cases provided in this document feature common scenarios that highlight using FlashArray snapshots to create database copies for development and testing, using volume snapshots on FlashArray or Everpure Cloud Dedicated for data protection, ActiveCluster™ for high-availability databases, and ActiveDR™ for near-synchronous replication and transparent failover.