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SAP VMs Resize and Move

| Robert Biro | Goran Condric |

Infrasturcture VM

YouTube

Anchor

Spotify

Apple

Episode #216

Introduction

In episode 216 of our SAP on Azure video podcast we talk about Virtual Machines. There is always a lot of innovation on Azure and we add new VM SKUs all the time. This also means that if you as a customer want to leverage the latest and greatest, you might want to switch from one VM to another. For this we have created some scripts that help you get started and we have Robert Biro and our own Goran Condric with us today how talk us more about this.

Find all the links mentioned here: https://www.saponazurepodcast.de/episode216

Reach out to us for any feedback / questions:

#Microsoft #SAP #Azure #SAPonAzure #Infrastructure

Summary created by AI

  • Introduction and Purpose:
  • Holger introduced the episode and outlined the focus on SAP and Microsoft infrastructure innovations, particularly virtual machines. He mentioned the presence of Robert and Goran to discuss the topic further.
    • Episode Introduction: Holger welcomed the audience to episode 216 of the SAP on Azure Video podcast, dated October 31st. He introduced the main focus of the episode, which is on SAP and Microsoft infrastructure innovations, particularly virtual machines.
    • Participants Introduction: Holger introduced Robert Biro and Goran Conrich, who are present to discuss the topic further. He mentioned that Robert and Goran are regular participants in the show.
  • Participant Introductions:
  • Robert and Goran introduced themselves, explaining their roles at Microsoft and their involvement in SAP on Azure projects, particularly in scripting and engineering.
    • Robert’s Role: Robert Biro introduced himself as an Azure core engineer responsible for SAP on Azure. He works on various topics, including enabling customers to handle resizing situations.
    • Goran’s Role: Goran Conrich introduced himself as part of the engineering team working with customers. He focuses on filling gaps where there is no official offering from Microsoft and has been involved in scripting for customer needs.
  • PowerShell Commandlets Overview:
  • Goran presented an overview of PowerShell commandlets for moving virtual machines to different zones and resizing them, highlighting the improvements and new features.
    • Commandlets Introduction: Goran introduced the PowerShell commandlets designed to help move virtual machines to different zones and resize them. He highlighted the improvements and new features in these commandlets.
    • Specific Commandlets: Goran mentioned specific commandlets such as ‘move AZ VM to zone’ and ‘resize AZ VM’, explaining their functionalities and improvements over previous versions.
    • Commandlets Usage: Goran explained that these commandlets are used to move VMs to availability sets, zones, and virtual machine scale sets, and to resize VMs with or without temp disks.
  • Motivation for Resizing VMs:
  • Robert explained the motivation behind resizing VMs, including cost savings and aligning with corporate standards. He emphasized the benefits of moving from VMs with temp disks to those without.
    • Cost Savings: Robert highlighted that VMs without temp disks are cheaper, leading to cost savings for customers. He provided an example of a 15% cost reduction in some cases.
    • Corporate Standards: Robert mentioned that many customers are aligning with corporate standards that do not require temp disks for workloads like SAP, leading to a shift towards VMs without temp disks.
    • Performance and Modernization: Robert explained that modernizing the VM estate by upgrading to newer VM types without temp disks can provide better performance and cost efficiency.
  • Technical Considerations:
  • Robert discussed the technical considerations for using temp disks, including their typical use cases and the importance of understanding the impact of removing them.
    • Temp Disk Use Cases: Robert explained that temp disks are typically used for swap files, paging files, and temporary databases like SQL Server’s tempdb. He emphasized that if the system is sized correctly, there should be minimal need for swap activity.
    • Impact of Removing Temp Disks: Robert stressed the importance of understanding the impact of removing temp disks, as it can affect system performance and configuration. He mentioned that customers need to ensure their systems can operate without temp disks before making the switch.
  • Certification Requirements:
  • Robert highlighted the certification requirements for SAP on Azure, including the need for a minimum OS disk size and the use of generation 2 VMs for certain workloads.
    • Minimum OS Disk Size: Robert explained that for VMs without temp disks, the OS disk needs to have a minimum size of 128 GB to accommodate the swap file and other requirements.
    • Generation 2 VMs: Robert mentioned that new VM types for SAP workloads are required to be generation 2, and this is mandated by the platform. He noted that this requirement is specified in the SAP note 1928533.
  • Resizing Process:
  • Robert and Goran explained the process of resizing VMs, including the need to recreate the VM and the associated downtime. They discussed the use of PowerShell scripts to automate this process.
    • Recreating VMs: Robert and Goran explained that resizing VMs from those with temp disks to those without requires recreating the VM, which involves creating a snapshot, deleting the original VM, and creating a new VM from the snapshot.
    • Associated Downtime: They discussed that this process involves downtime, as the VM needs to be stopped and recreated. Goran mentioned that the downtime is similar to the time required for a normal resize operation in Azure.
    • Automation with PowerShell: Goran highlighted the use of PowerShell scripts to automate the resizing process, including pre-checks, snapshot creation, and VM recreation, to ensure a smooth transition.
  • Pre-Checks and Validation:
  • Goran detailed the pre-checks and validation steps included in the PowerShell scripts to ensure compatibility and prevent errors during the resizing process.
    • Pre-Checks Overview: Goran explained that the PowerShell scripts include various pre-checks to ensure compatibility, such as checking the target VM SKU, premium disk support, NIC card support, and security settings.
    • Validation Steps: He mentioned that the scripts validate the hyper-V generation, disk and NIC card compatibility, and other prerequisites to prevent errors during the resizing process.
  • Demo of Resizing VM:
  • Goran demonstrated the process of resizing a VM using the PowerShell script, showing the steps involved and the checks performed to ensure a smooth transition.
    • Demo Steps: Goran demonstrated the resizing process by specifying the resource group name, VM name, and new SKU size. He showed the pre-checks, stopping the VM, creating a snapshot, and recreating the VM with the new SKU.
    • Pre-Check Execution: During the demo, Goran highlighted the execution of pre-checks, including checking the target VM SKU availability, premium disk support, and NIC card compatibility.
    • Post-Resize Steps: Goran explained the post-resize steps, such as restoring VM extensions and ensuring the VM is up and running with the new configuration.
  • Restoring VM:
  • Goran explained the process of restoring a VM to its previous state if the resizing process fails, highlighting the importance of having a tested backup and restore procedure.
    • Restore Process: Goran explained that if the resizing process fails, the PowerShell script can restore the VM to its previous state using a snapshot and locally saved configuration files.
    • Backup and Restore Importance: He emphasized the importance of having a tested backup and restore procedure to ensure data integrity and system availability in case of failures during the resizing process.
  • Conclusion and Future Work:
  • Holger concluded the session, thanking Robert and Goran for their insights and mentioning the upcoming publication of a blog post with detailed steps and examples.

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