The Benefits of Professional Commercial Appliance Installation 1. Reduced Downtime Professional installation of commercial appliances ensures that equipment is installed correctly the first time. This means that you’re less likely to suffer from downtime or damage to new appliances. A professional installation will ensure that the appliances are fitted correctly to the electrical and plumbing requirements of the building. This will avoid issues such as electrical outages which can cost businesses valuable time and money. Commercial appliance installation done correctly ensures that your appliances are running smoothly without any stress. 2. Lower Maintenance Costs Improper installation of commercial appliances can lead to a higher likelihood of damage over time, leading to higher maintenance costs. A professional installation will help reduce maintenance costs by ensuring that all the necessary parts are functioning efficiently. Professional installers have specialized training and expertise in the service and maintenance of different types of commercial equipment. This means that they can detect and fix minor issues with your appliances before they become major problems. 3. Ensures Safety Improper installation of commercial appliances can lead to lower safety standards. An improperly installed appliance could be a safety hazard that could lead to fires, appliance malfunctions, and other unforeseen damages. This could, in turn, lead to liability issues for your business. Getting a professional appliance installer can help you to avoid such scenarios. Professional installation of commercial appliances ensures that your appliances are installed with the latest safety features and upgrades. Professional installers also have the knowledge and tools required to ensure that the appliances are installed in a way that meets safety standards. This is critical given that the installation of many commercial appliances requires specialized electrical and plumbing expertise. 4. Equipment Warranties Commercial Appliances come with warranties, and this is one valid reason to get professional commercial appliance installation services. Most of the warranties that come with commercial appliances require installation to be done by a qualified installer. Professional installers have the necessary training and experience to complete installations correctly. This allows appliance owners to enjoy true warranty coverage in case of breakdown or malfunction of the appliance. 5. Better Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency is vital for businesses that want to save money on energy bills. Commercial appliances consume a lot of energy, and installing them correctly is critical to maximizing energy efficiency. Professional installers can help you to choose appliances that are rated as energy-efficient and install them in the best possible manner. Properly installed and calibrated appliances can improve energy efficiency which may also lower utility costs. 6. Commercial Kitchen Optimization Commercial kitchens are highly technical environments that require expert management to operate efficiently. Professional installers understand how to install and configure appliances for optimal performance. This ensures that the appliances selected are suitable for the kitchen’s needs and that the kitchen runs with the necessary level of efficiency.

Team, I was thinking of a title for this topic but could not find except the above. What I am about explaining in general is how I think we should set SQL Server resources on VMs based on the best practices. I know environments are different but we have similar concepts. In my environment for example, we have post built scripts we use to determine the Min and Max and the MaxDop as well. But does this always work? So, in our discussion today, we are going to look at CPU, Memory, Storage and the Monitoring. But I will first look at the CPU Architecture which includes, single core, multicore and NUMA. Once we understand these then when I start explaining the settings in SQL Server, it will be a smooth ride. As I said in my last article, you cannot manage SQL Server efficiently and effectively if you don’t understand the infrastructure SQL Server is sitting on. Therefore, know your infrastructure, then you will understand most challenges that your SQL Server may have (especially performance). That is the more reason why we need to work with Windows Infrastructure Team and try as much as possible to understand the windows server build (from physical to virtual Servers) and the architecture. I am always surprised to see some DBAs configuring VMs alone undermining the host these VMs are sitting. The truth “When developers turned to become DBAs is when these happen and when Infrastructure Engineers crosses to become DBAs, you really see this” because the Infrastructure Engineers already have solid background of what SQL Server is interacting with at the backend… In conclusion, I think at the beginning Infrastructure Engineers makes better Production DBAs while Developers are better Application DBAs and as time progresses, there is convergence of skills. Now, let me cover part 1 of this topic for today and will release part 2 in a weeks’ time. CPU & NUMA We are going to discuss Processors with emphasis on CACHES because that is our area of interest. When we understand the concept, then we can talk about performance and configuring SQL Server in a VM. Not until 1988 when 386SX was released, all Processors manufactured never had Cache. Most systems then had below 16 MHz (8088, 8086, 286, 386) and Systems below 16MHz usually had no cache memory at all. Prior to the 486 processor, the cache on the motherboard was the only cache used in the system. Starting with the 486 series, processors began including what was called L1 (Level 1) cache directly on the processor. This meant that the L1 cache always ran at the full speed of the chip, especially important when the later 486 chips began to run at speeds higher than the motherboards they were plugged into. During this time the cache on the motherboard was called the second level or L2 cache, which ran at the slower motherboard speed. Wait a minute!! What is or why Cache? Yeah you think you know it… ok let’s look at meaning critically. Caches are small pools of memory that store data the CPU is most likely to need next. Today almost all CPUs have L1 or L2 Caches because of the performance benefits which cannot be ignored. The goal of the cache system is to ensure that the CPU has the next bit of data it will need already loaded into cache by the time it goes looking for it often called cache hit. A cache miss, on the other hand, means the CPU has to go hurrying off to find the data elsewhere. This is where the L2 cache comes into play — while it’s slower, it’s also much larger. Some processors use an inclusive cache design (meaning data stored in the L1 cache is also duplicated in the L2 cache) while others are exclusive (meaning the two caches never share data). If data can’t be found in the L2 cache, the CPU continues down the chain to L3 (typically still on-die), then L4 (if it exists) and main memory (DRAM). I will use the diagram below to explain to you what I am talking about: rom the above diagram on the left, this is a single Core. This is what old systems used to have. The CPU (green) which contains Core Registers, L1, L2 and L3 caches is a piece of chip that goes into the socket on the motherboard. Then there is a board that contains main memory which is the RAM and the Hard Disk. This is no longer use these days. But we have multi-core hierarchy which is for example: MULTICORE ARCHITECTURE (Storage Heirachy) The single CPU may have 4 CPUs and each core has its on L1 and L2 and its registers. Then there is a shared L3 cache. The L3 shares data between the four cores. Example, if data are not available in L1, it goes to L2 and they all go to L3 which share data among the CPU. This is a single Core Storage Architecture. What happens is, 1 CPU internally extended to accommodate 4 cores and L1 and L2. We have only one Physical CPU which is extended to share data. The other I would want us to look at is the NUMA architecture NUMA ARCHITECTURE (None-Uniform Memory Access) NUMA means the board contains two or more CPUs and each of the CPUs has 4 or more cores. NUMA systems are advanced server platforms with more than one system bus. Like before we only had one CPU with Cores and now we have banks of memory depending on which CPUs is accessing the memory. So how do application (SQL Server) access these L1, L2, L3 and the main memory depends on our configuration. SQL Server is NUMA aware. NUMA can match memory with CPUs through specialized hardware (hardware NUMA) or by configuring SQL Server memory (soft-NUMA). If you run SELECT DISTINCT memory_node_id FROM sys.dm_os_memory_clerks and it returns 0 node, either you do not have hardware

Grease Extractors When it comes to commercial restaurant equipment, one thing that is often overlooked is the need for regular kitchen exhaust system cleaning. However, it’s essential to maintaining the proper health and safety of your business and its team. The kitchen exhaust and ductwork are prone to clogging with dirt, fats and grease from cooking. This buildup can cause serious hazards including increased fire risk, poor air quality and odors. Grease extractors should also be serviced on a regular basis. This reduces the amount of FOGS (fats, oils, grease) that enters the sewer. It also protects the sanitary sewer line from major blockages. Hoods Kitchen hoods collect heat, smoke, and grease-laden vapors from cooking equipment. These vapors can pose a serious fire hazard, especially if they are clogged or poorly maintained. Restaurants are required to regularly clean and maintain hoods in order to ensure that they meet safety standards, health regulations, and fire codes. Failure to do so can result in fines or even suspension of operations. Regular cleaning and maintenance of a hood’s filters will keep your kitchen safe, employees comfortable, and your business up to code as far as local laws are concerned. This will also extend the life of the filter and hood system. Ductwork Ductwork systems must be cleaned regularly to avoid serious problems like a buildup of grease, smoke, soot and other combustible materials that can pose a fire risk and lead to poor air quality and foul odors. Frequent cleaning will prevent these issues from developing, as well as keep your kitchen operating safely. When you hire a professional for your ductwork, they will design the system to distribute air correctly. They will also be able to make sure that the ductwork is properly insulated and sealed for maximum efficiency. Fans Restaurants rely on exhaust fans to vent out the fumes, grease, and air contaminants that can build up in their kitchens. Cleaning the fan often keeps it operating at peak performance, minimizing fire hazards and keeping your employees safe. It also helps keep humidity to a minimum, which can cause serious water damage in vulnerable areas. Without a fan, humidity would condense and collect on walls, furniture, and equipment. A professional repair and maintenance service is the best way to ensure that every aspect of your kitchen’s ventilation system is properly cleaned and functioning at a high level!

Team, today I want to continue from from previous article. I will talk about the best practices of Virtual Servers and how we can set or utilize our CPUs. I would like us to look at our windows systems and SQL Servers configurations before proceeding with this article. Try and think it through why certain systems are configured that way. So I will take CPU and Memory first but let us define Virtualization What is Virtualization? Let’s go back to the era of Main Frames and Multi-Users and Networking. In the 1990s, virtualization was used primarily to re-create end-user environments on a single piece of mainframe hardware. This kind of architecture was forgotten after the era of x36 machines until VMWare which is one of the leading market of virtualization revived the market and almost 86 percent IT industries today have and are still implementing the said technology. In computing, virtualization means to create a virtual version of a device or resource, such as a server, storage device, network or even an operating system where the framework divides the resource into one or more execution environments. Example, if I have a Hard Disk that is drive C: of 100GB and I decided to divide the drive into two or three maybe Drive C: 30GB, Drive D:60GB and drive E: 10GB, then we refer to this as Virtualization. Revival and adjustment of this technology of virtualization has resulted to having technologies like VDI, VLANs etc. We have different types of virtualizations example, the partitioning of a Server into smaller servers is referred to as Server Virtualization (hardware Virtualization is our focus), multiple network storage devices into what appears to be a single storage unit is Storage Virtualization, using network resources through a logical segmentation of a single physical network is Network Virtualization (like VLAN) and the operating system virtualizations is the use of software to allow a piece of hardware to run multiple operating system images at the same time. With virtualization, several operating systems can be run in parallel on a single central processing unit (CPU). In Server virtualization, a virtual machine that acts like a real computer with an operating system is created. Software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources. For example, a computer that is running Microsoft Windows may host a virtual machine that looks like a computer with different operating system; In Server virtualization, the host machine is the actual machine on which the virtualization takes place, and the guest machine is the virtual machine inside the host. We can have as many Guests inside the host (physical machine) as possible depending on the resources (CPU, memory, HDD etc) available and if the machine allows virtualization. In server virtualization each virtual machine runs its own operating system known as “guest Operating system”. Typically this guest operating system is running onto another operating system called “Host Operating System” with the help of virtualization software. Each virtual machine (VM) running in this manner is totally unaware of any other software is also running on the same fabric. The software that creates a virtual machine on the host hardware is called a hypervisor or Virtual Machine Manager. I just have to stop!! And then talk about SQL Server Administration. Although its good to deviate to explain the basics and history as most of us can’t even define what a computer is, yet we are Database Administrators, Application Developers or IT Professional…. What kind of IT Pro are you?? I had to explain all these so that when I begin to explain performance tuning in SQL Server as it’s relate to infrastructure, you will know what to look at. We have always looked at the scripts but that is not enough. This is why Developers finds it difficult to become DBAs. So let us talk about Virtualization in SQL Server. CPU As Database Administrators and Developers, when we see CPU growing or a spike to a certain level we worry why this is happening and begin to point fingers! Yes its our job in ensuring that CPU can even be zero percent if possible. The truth is, looking at it from the management perspective, they will not commit any financial resources if the CPU is not fully utilized (closed to 100% use). I guess some of the CIOs, CEOs and other IT experts know what I am talking about lol. When we used to work on physical servers life was much easier and since the advent of virtual servers, life became complex for SQL Server administrators because more things are to be considered before configuring SQL Servers on Virtual Servers. Today SQL Server on physical Server can accept a higher number of transactions per second (TPS) on a high OLTP workload than a Virtual Machine SQL Server. Simple query like below can help you determine the TPS on any machine. You can try it out but I am talking from experience as Microsoft Certified Data and BI expert. You also use a third party software select * FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WHERE OBJECT_NAME = ‘SQLServer:Databases’ AND counter_name = ‘Transactions/sec’ AND instance_name = ‘db_name’ —database name This is an example: SELECT cntr_value, * FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WHERE counter_name = ‘transactions/sec’ AND OBJECT_NAME = ‘SQLServer:Databases’ AND instance_name = ‘AdventureWorks’ Now, when we are to set up Windows Server, it is not advisable to allow the WINTEL or windows team carry out the configuration or setup alone. You need to give them your requirements for that Virtual Server. Allowing them to do the setup may not actually meet your requirements and you may have serious issues at the end. If it was a physical server, that is understandable and your primary focus then will just be CPU speed and the number of Cores. But we are talking about Virtual Servers. Before, you give the Server Team your configuration, you may need to snip around and know the following points or ask the following questions: What is the current configurations of