Cisco Cisco UCS 6248UP 48-Port Fabric Interconnect White Paper
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Microsoft SQL Server Single-Instance Deployment Model
In the single-instance model, multiple applications are moved onto a single physical server with multiple Microsoft
SQL Server instances. Each application is contained within its own Microsoft SQL Server instance. This model
provides isolation of the Microsoft SQL Server instance binaries, allowing each application to be at a different patch
level (major or minor version level). However, conflicts can potentially occur with the running application because
system resources (mainly CPU, memory, and I/O) are shared, although tools such as the CPU affinity mask and
max server memory settings can help provide resource isolation. Database system administration is isolated, but
Microsoft Windows system administration shares the same host server. Each Microsoft SQL Server instance on
the device can be enrolled within a Microsoft SQL Server control point for management. Another possible
implementation is consolidation of several databases under a single Microsoft SQL Server instance to serve
various applications. In this model, a single Microsoft SQL Server instance is shared across multiple applications,
with each application having its own database.
In the single-instance model, multiple applications are moved onto a single physical server with multiple Microsoft
SQL Server instances. Each application is contained within its own Microsoft SQL Server instance. This model
provides isolation of the Microsoft SQL Server instance binaries, allowing each application to be at a different patch
level (major or minor version level). However, conflicts can potentially occur with the running application because
system resources (mainly CPU, memory, and I/O) are shared, although tools such as the CPU affinity mask and
max server memory settings can help provide resource isolation. Database system administration is isolated, but
Microsoft Windows system administration shares the same host server. Each Microsoft SQL Server instance on
the device can be enrolled within a Microsoft SQL Server control point for management. Another possible
implementation is consolidation of several databases under a single Microsoft SQL Server instance to serve
various applications. In this model, a single Microsoft SQL Server instance is shared across multiple applications,
with each application having its own database.
With the single-instance approach, applications migrated from their physical server to a virtual machine
environment can continue to have similar isolation with the Microsoft SQL Server database running on its own
virtual machine. A single physical machine hosts multiple virtual machines, and each virtual machine hosts a single
Microsoft SQL Server instance. Because a virtual machine can act as a dedicated physical machine, this approach
provides an easier migration of the source environment to the consolidation environment. The single-instance
deployment model is shown in Figure 4.
environment can continue to have similar isolation with the Microsoft SQL Server database running on its own
virtual machine. A single physical machine hosts multiple virtual machines, and each virtual machine hosts a single
Microsoft SQL Server instance. Because a virtual machine can act as a dedicated physical machine, this approach
provides an easier migration of the source environment to the consolidation environment. The single-instance
deployment model is shown in Figure 4.