Performance Tuning is always the most interesting subject when we talk about a software application. While I was recently discussing performance tuning with my friend, we started to talk about the best practices for TempDb. I also pointed my friend to the excellent blog post written by Cindy Gross on the subject: Compilation of SQL Server TempDB IO Best Practices. One of the discussion points was that we should put TempDB on the drive which is always giving better performance.
But my friend suddenly asked, “what if we can put TempDB on RAM, as RAM is the fasted drive?”
Good question! This was supported in earlier versions of the SQL Server (I think in 6.5). In later version of the SQL Server, the whole algorithm was written more efficiently and it is not that much of an absolute requirement. However, I still prefer putting TempDB on the drive which has lesser IO pressure.
Afterwards, he introduced to me a tool which can create drive from RAM. Well, that was an interesting thought. But then again, I will not go for this solution as it is not natively provided with SQL Server. For me, SQL Server Engine knows the right thing to do and how to maximize the usage of the RAM. Taking away RAM from OS and from other applications may not be a good idea. There are more optimization tricks that exist for TempDB than going for this option.
I would like to ask my readers who among you use this method in the production environment. What is your experience?
Reference: Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)
