Hotspot Question You need to use an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template to deploy an Azure virtual machine that will host a Microsoft SQL Server instance. The solution must maximize disk I/O…

Question

Exhibits

Answer Area

• variables.dataDisks.cachingReadOnly
  NoneReadOnlyReadWrite
• caching for log disks (conditional in copy loop)None
  NoneReadOnlyReadWrite

Explanation

This question tests knowledge of ARM template configuration for maximizing SQL Server disk I/O performance on Azure VMs, specifically focusing on managed disk types, caching settings, and storage configuration.

Approach. To maximize disk I/O performance for SQL Server on Azure VMs, you should use Premium SSD managed disks (storageAccountType: 'Premium_LRS') for data and log files. For SQL Server data files, set the disk caching to 'ReadOnly' (host caching) to improve read performance, while for SQL Server log files, set caching to 'None' because log writes are sequential and caching provides no benefit and can hurt performance. Additionally, you should use multiple data disks and stripe them together (using Storage Spaces on Windows) to maximize IOPS and throughput, and ensure the VM size supports Premium Storage. The 'managedDisk' property with 'storageAccountType' set to 'Premium_LRS' is the correct configuration in the ARM template, along with 'diskSizeGB' set appropriately and 'caching' properties configured per SQL Server best practices.

Concept tested. ARM template configuration for Azure VM storage optimization for SQL Server, including Premium SSD managed disk selection (Premium_LRS), host caching policies (ReadOnly for data disks, None for log disks), and disk configuration best practices to maximize IOPS and throughput for SQL Server workloads.

Reference. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/virtual-machines/windows/performance-guidelines-best-practices-storage

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