@dashrender said in Questions about licensing issues after converting physical SQL server to virtual:

That said, if disk performance is your issue, not processor, then perhaps backing up the DB, then wiping our the current config, setting up RAID 10 HDD or RAID 5 SSD on that box will give you what you need. We don't know what your current drive setup is (how many drives, what size, what spindle speed).

RAID 5, we can only hope that the server is at least 8 years old though, and really more like 15 still being on RAID 5 an all.

This server is an 8-bay chassis and currently has 4x 600GB 6Gbps SAS HDD's in RAID 5 on a PERC H710 Mini (embedded) controller.

I have thought of other strategies, but the only other one I would be comfortable with is to get some extra 600GB drives and swap them out with the old drives, put them in a RAID 10, then restore the old system from a backup (using SPX). This way, if there are any issues, I can just throw the old drives back in..

Hi. New here..

I have a Poweredge R320 running Server 2012 R2 Standard which is running Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (64bit). This server has always been a bit slow with often very high disk I/O. Performance has gotten worse over time and I believe it's due to the fact that it's disks are in a RAID 5, and the SQL DB has gotten larger over the years/had more use, etc.

Anyway, I wish to virtualize this system because our storage controller is RAID 10 with much better IOPs. We have 3x ESXi hosts, each with dual sockets and better processors than the R320 server as well, but I'm really only looking to improve disk I/O. This server is running a single Xeon E5-2440 0 (6 cores) btw.

I want to convert this system from physical to virtual (using vCenter Converter) and verify that there are no issues before we pay more money for licensing, assuming we have to pay to change # of CPU and cores. If there is an issue, I can just revert and we won't be out $. I am just unclear on if SQL Server 2008 actually knows when there's a hardware change and if it will stop functioning or something, or if the system will continue on without any issues.

Thanks. Also, hi Scott.