The best way to virtualize SQL Server (So many questions. So little time. Part 17.)

Several weeks ago at our TechNet Event in Saint Louis, Joe F asked me:

“When virtualizing SQL Server I need to know how to best configure SQL and the VM to ensure it will run well. Where can I find configuration and setup information?”

A quick Bing of “virtualize SQL Server using Hyper-V Best Practices” will net you several good articles and options for finding some answers here.  A few that stand out as being fairly authoritative are:

• Running SQL Server 2008 in a Hyper-V Environment - Best Practices and Performance Recommendations
• The Virtualize SQL Server page
• “Running SQL Server 2008 in Hyper-V Environment” (document download), and
• Planning, Implementing and Supporting SQL Server Virtualization with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Live Migration

These resources will give you a good overview of the areas to consider, such as having sufficient processor-power, memory configuration, network configuration (for the VM as well as for storage), and so on.

I hope this helps!

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Do you have any recommendations for Joe? Got any other go-to resources that someone planning the virtualization of SQL Server on Hyper-V should know about? Please share them in the comments. If they’re good, I’ll even add them to this blog post.