Category Archives: Processors

Hardware 201: Selecting and Sizing Database Hardware

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Glenn Berry

On July 25, I had the opportunity to present Hardware 201 for the PASS Performance Virtual Chapter. You can download my deck here. Hardware 201: Selecting and Sizing Database Hardware for OLTP Performance The foundation of database performance is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Intel, Processors, SQL Server 2012, Teaching | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hardware 301 Presentation

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Glenn Berry

I had the opportunity to present the latest version of Hardware 301: Diving Deeper into Database Server Hardware two times in one day yesterday! First was a virtual presentation for the PASS Virtual DBA chapter at 12PM, and then I … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Processors, Sandy Bridge, SQL Server 2012 | Tagged | 3 Comments

Speaking at PASS Database Administration Virtual Chapter

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Glenn Berry

I will be speaking at the PASS Database Administration Virtual Chapter on February 13, 2013 at 12PM MST. I will be presenting the latest version of my Hardware 301: Diving Deeper into Database Hardware deck. The LiveMeeting link is here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, PASS, Processors, Storage Subsystems | Tagged | 1 Comment

Understanding Server Hardware Course from Pluralsight

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Glenn Berry

My first training course from Pluralsight, Understanding Server Hardware has just gone live. It is listed in the SQL Server section of the course catalog, even though it is not really SQL Server specific. It is meant as a foundational … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Processors, Teaching | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Interview on RunAsRadio #281 with Richard Campbell

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Glenn Berry

I recently had a chance to record a 33 minute podcast interview on RunAs Radio #281 with Richard Campbell, where I talked about the licensing changes in SQL Server 2012 and how to select your new hardware to minimize your … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Haswell, Processors, Sandy Bridge, SQL Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Intel Haswell-EP Processor Rumors

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Glenn Berry

Intel releases a new processor microarchitecture every two years, which is called a Tock release. One year later, they take that same microarchitecture and move it to a new, smaller manufacturing process, along with adding some minor feature improvements. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Haswell, Intel, Processors | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Choosing a Mobile Workstation

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Glenn Berry

I get a lot of e-mail and Twitter requests for advice about what laptop someone should buy. I don’t mind this too much (I actually sort of like it, to be honest), but it probably makes some sense to summarize … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Dell, Intel, Ivy Bridge, Laptops, Processors | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Three Generations of Toshiba Portege Laptops Compared

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Glenn Berry

Since I am a bit of a hardware enthusiast, I tend to buy new computer hardware a little more often than the average person (probably too often)! I like to have a smaller laptop for teaching and presentations, that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Ivy Bridge, Laptops, Processors, Sandy Bridge | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Two Socket Database Servers vs. Four Socket Database Servers

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Glenn Berry

Fujitsu has submitted a new TPC-E benchmark for a two socket, Sandy Bridge-EP system that had a tpsE score of 1,871.81.  It is no real surprise that this system is using the very capable Intel Xeon E5-2690 processor, which has … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer Hardware, Processors, SQL Server 2012 | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Analyzing TPC-E Benchmark Performance by Physical Processor Core

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Glenn Berry

The TPC Benchmark E (TPC-E) is an OLTP performance benchmark that was introduced in May, 2007. The TPC-E benchmark is a not a replacement for the old TPC-C benchmark, but rather is a completely new OLTP benchmark. Even though this … Continue reading →

Posted in AMD, Computer Hardware, Intel, Processors, SQL Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2012 | Tagged , | 3 Comments