SQL Server Workloads in Azure with Everpure Cloud Dedicated Deployment Guidance

Microsoft Platform Guide
Audience
Public
Source Type
Documentation

This section outlines milestone-based deployment guidance for running Microsoft SQL Server workloads on Azure Virtual Machines with Everpure Cloud Dedicated (Everpure Cloud Dedicated). Each milestone includes key objectives and links to detailed Everpure documentation for step-by-step execution.

Milestone 1:

Deploy Everpure Cloud Dedicated in Azure

Milestone 2:

Install and Configure Multipath I/O

Objective: Provision Everpure Cloud Dedicated using the Azure Marketplace.

Objective: Enable reliable, redundant storage connectivity on Windows Server.

  1. Deploy Everpure Cloud Dedicated from the Azure Marketplace in the same region and availability zone as the target Azure VM.

  2. Ensure iSCSI endpoints and Everpure Cloud Dedicated health are validated after deployment.

  3. Consult the Everpure Cloud Dedicated Deployment and Configuration Guide for Azure for more detailed configuration and prerequisite information that should be configured during or before the deployment.

  1. Install the Multipath-IO Windows feature.

  2. Configure Device Specific Module (DSM) settings for Everpure arrays.

  3. Enable least queue depth (LQD) load balancing.

  4. Reference link: Installing Multipath-IO

  5. Reference link: Configuring Multipath-IO for Windows Server

Milestone 3:

Configure and Connect Volumes

Milestone 4:

Apply Best Practices for Connectivity

and SQL Server

Objective: Connect volumes from Everpure Cloud Dedicated and prepare them for SQL Server data and log placement.

Objective: Optimize connectivity and SQL Server performance using validated configuration patterns.

  1. Connect Everpure Cloud Dedicated volumes to the Windows Server host using iSCSI.

  2. Format volumes with NTFS using 64KB allocation units.

  3. Use separate volumes for data and log files.

  4. Reference link: Working with Volumes on a Windows Server Host

  1. Configure four or more iSCSI sessions per volume for redundancy and throughput.

  2. Follow Everpure recommendations for volume layout, TempDB placement, and snapshot usage.

  3. Apply Windows and SQL Server tuning parameters for I/O and file initialization.

  4. Reference link: iSCSI Best Practices for Windows Server and FlashArray

  5. Reference link: SQL Server Best Practices for Everpure Cloud Dedicated in Azure