This is Dave Wickert and my PASS 2009 presentation on a preview to PowerPivot Server Best Practices.

1. SQLCAT: A Preview to PowerPivot
Server Best Practices
Denny Lee, Dave Wickert
Microsoft Corporation

2. SQL Server Customer Advisory Team
(SQLCAT)
• Works on the largest, most complex SQL Server projects worldwide
• MySpace - 4.4 million concurrent users at peak time, 8 billion friend relationships, 34
billion e-mails, 1 PetaByte store, scale-out using SSB and SOA
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000004532
• Bwin – Most popular European online gaming site – 30000 database transactions /
second, motto: “Failure is not an option”; 100 TB total storage
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000004138
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000001470
• Korea Telecom - Largest telco in Korea serves 26 million customers; 3 TB Data
Warehouse
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000001993
• Drives product requirements back into SQL Server from our customers and ISVs
• Shares deep technical content with SQL Server community
• SQLCAT.com
• http://blogs.msdn.com/mssqlisv

3. SQL Server Design Win Program
• Target the most challenging and innovative SQL Server
applications
• 10+ TB DW, 3k/tran/s OLTP, Large 500GB+ Cubes, Competitive
migrations, Complex deployments, Server Consolidation (1000+)
• Invest in large scale, referenceable SQL Server projects
across the world
• Provide SQLCAT technical & project experience
• Conduct architecture and design reviews covering performance,
operation, scalability and availability
• Offer use of HW lab in Redmond with direct access to SQL Server
development team
• Work with Marketing Team Developing PR

4. SQLCAT and SQL CSS Invite You…
ROOM 611
• To the SQL Server Clinic where the most experienced SQL Server experts in the world
will be waiting to talk with you.
• Bring your toughest Questions / Challenges to the experts who have seen it all
• Architect and Design your future applications with experts who have done it before
with some of the largest, most complex systems in the world
• Or just stop in to say hello!

5. PASS PowerPivot Sweepstakes
1) Become a follower of www.twitter.com/powerpivot
2) Re-tweet our message:
“Want to learn more, go to www.powerpivot.com and sign up for CTP #powerpivot”
3) You are entered to win an XBOX 360
4) We will randomly select a follower who re-tweeted this and
announce the winner
5) The results will be posted on Monday, November 9th at
www.twitter.com/powerpivot
*No Purchase Necessary. Open only to residents 18+ of the 50 US (includes D of C) or Canada
(excluding Quebec). Game ends 11/5/09. For full Official Rules, visit www.powerpivot.com/contest

6. Agenda
• PowerPivot Infrastructure
• Capacity Planning
• Configuration
• Installation
• Upload Configuration
• Troubleshooting

7. Business User Experience
Microsoft Business Intelligence
Get more out of products you already own
Data Infrastructure
and BI Platform
Analysis Services
Reporting Services
Integration Services
Master Data Services
Data Mining
Data Warehousing
Business Collaboration
Platform
Dashboards & Scorecards
Excel Services
Web based forms & workflow
Collaboration
Search
Content Management
LOB data integration
Familiar User Experience
Self-Service access & insight
Data exploration & analysis
Predictive analysis
Data visualization
Contextual visualizationBusiness Collaboration Platform
Data Infrastructure & BI Platform

8. PowerPivot Infrastructure
Client and Server Infrastructure
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

9. PowerPivot Infrastructure Overview
SharePoint Farm
WFE
App Servers
Content dBs
NLB
Excel, RB,
PerfPoint
Power User
Data Sources
Excel Services
PowerPivot Service
AS Engine
Browser
Standard User
PowerPivot Add-In

10. PowerPivot Client
Excel Client Add-In
PowerPivot Infrastructure
PowerPivot Client
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
PowerPivot Architecture
Agenda

11. PowerPivot Infrastructure: Excel
SharePoint Farm
WFE
App Servers
Content dBs
NLB
Excel Services
PowerPivot Service
AS Engine
Browser
Standard User
Excel, RB,
PerfPoint
Power User
Data Sources
• Use of AS Engine: in-memory,
column-based store w/ VertiPaq
compression
• Once data is imported, all calculations
are performed on client
• Excel now has it’s own local in-process
SSAS engine
• Added Excel power functions for
PowerPivot called DAX (Data Access
eXpressions)
• Use of new compression algorithm to
significantly compress the data ~ 10:1
• Added slicer functionality: not just for UI
but for smoother SharePoint integration
PowerPivot Add-In
All in the workbook!!

12. PowerPivot Infrastructure
Client Observations
• For few instances VertiPaq may result in more
storage than MOLAP
• MOLAP can compress fact rows with same FK
into a single row where VertiPaq maintains each
row separately
• How do you see the VertiPaq internal
storage…
Let’s show you the trick!

13. PowerPivot Server
SharePoint Integration
PowerPivot Infrastructure
PowerPivot Server
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

14. Excel, RB,
PerfPoint
Power User
Data Sources
Browser
Standard User
SharePoint Farm
WFE
App Servers
Content dBs
NLB
PowerPivot SharePoint Integration:
ECS Viewing
Excel Web Access
Excel Services
PowerPivot Service
AS Engine

15. Excel, RB,
PerfPoint
Power User
Data Sources
Browser
Standard User
SharePoint Farm
WFE
App Servers
Content dBs
NLB
PowerPivot SharePoint Integration:
Server Action
Excel Web Access
Excel Services
PowerPivot Service
AS Engine

16. Capacity Planning
PowerPivot Best Practices
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

17. Capacity Planning:
Basic observations
• VertiPaq mode is an in-memory system
• Any currently ‘in-use’ database must be in
memory (add’em up)
• Need some buffer (~10-20%) for the auto-
detection to work effectively
• To reduce impact on content database,
PowerPivot keeps a ‘cache’ of detached
databases in the SSAS Backup folder

18. Capacity Planning:
Provisioning
Metric Determination
Total # of Users • Ascertain maintenance costs for user-base
• Storage Requirements = Avg # of files x Avg Size of
files x Total # of Users
Total # of Concurrent Users Help determine number of SharePoint WFEs
Total # of PowerPivot Users Help determine number of SharePoint Application
Servers (hosting Excel Services, AS Engine,
PowerPivot System Service)
# of Files; Avg/Max Size of Files Necessary to determine storage requirements to host
SharePoint data (PowerPivot and non-PowerPivot).
Data Refresh Options • Security and driver issues – users will have access
to data sources that PowerPivot may not have
• Frequency and # of files dictate how much
resources used to process/open/store these files

19. Capacity Planning
Scale Out Content Database
SharePoint Farm
WFE
App Servers
Content dBs
• Excel workbooks (or any
file) stored as blobs in
content database
• Another option is to use
Remote Blob Store to store
in FILESTREAM or
connected network storage
(e.g. EMC Centera)
• Preliminary results note low
overhead (2-3%) and able
to better handle higher
concurrency scenarios

20. Topologies
PowerPivot Best Practices
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

21. http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=167089
SharePoint Server 2010 Topologies
Medium Server Farm Topology

22. SharePoint Server 2010 Topologies
PowerPivot Departmental Topology
WFE
Power
Pivot
Excel
Svcs
SQL
• Good for small setups
• Not a good farm scenario
• Should work fine in Kerberos or
Claims scenarios
Single Server Multiple Standalone Server
• Evenly distributes load across many
servers*
• Easy to rebuild but doesn’t take into
account heavier loads
• Should work in Claims and Kerberos
SharePoint Farm

23. SharePoint Server 2010 Topologies
Enterprise Topology (1)
SharePoint Farm
WFE
Power
Pivot
Excel
Svcs
SQL
Power
Pivot
Power
Pivot
WFE
Excel
Svcs
web app dB
Application Servers are
PowerPivot Only
• Scenario is good if
PowerPivot servers have the
most amount of load
• Not as common because
most calculations in
PowerPivot are not overly
complex
• May be helpful for Report
Builder and Performance
Point scenarios
• Should work in Claims and
Kerberos scenarios

24. SharePoint Server 2010 Topologies
Enterprise Topology (2)
SharePoint Farm
WFE
SQL
Power
Pivot
WFE
web app dB
Application Servers
are PowerPivot and
Excel Services
• Scenario is good if WFE
servers have the most
amount of load
• May be a good idea due
to high amount of
chatter between Excel
Services and PowerPivot
• Should work in Claims
and Kerberos scenarios
Excel
Svcs
Power
Pivot
Excel
Svcs
Power
Pivot
Excel
Svcs

25. SharePoint Server Topology
Multi-hop scenario?
SharePoint Farm
SQL
WFE
web app dB
Multi-Hop
• By definition, going from the
client to Excel Services to
PowerPivot server is multi-hop
But
• Excel Services and PowerPivot
Services are service applications
• PowerPivot System Service
recreates the identity token
Background
With SharePoint 2010, we have
Claims token as part of Geneva
framework
Excel
Svcs
PP
Service
Client
AS
Engine

26. SharePoint Server Topology
Claims Data Source Scenario
SharePoint Farm
SQL
WFE
web app dB
• PowerPivot System Service Login
• AS Engine Service Impersonates
SSS credentials
• Connects to Data Source 1 via
impersonation
Excel
Svcs
PP
Service
Client
AS
Engine
Data
Source 1

27. SharePoint Server Topology
Kerberos Data Source Scenario
SharePoint Farm
SQL
WFE
web app dB
• Still need Kerberos in scenarios
like above.
• Constrained Delegation by
machine (less secure) or user
account (more secure)
• This is defined by settings on
Data Source 2
Excel
Svcs
PP
Service
Client
AS
Engine
Data
Source 1
Data
Source 2
Linked To
Kerberos

28. Installation
PowerPivot Best Practices
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

29. Installation Best Practices
• Read the manuals!!!
• There are a lot of steps and a lot components
integrated together:
• PowerPivot System Service, AS Engine,
SharePoint, Excel Services, Reporting Services,
Excel Client, Office Workspace, IIS, Windows, etc.)
• Examples:
• To change password for SharePoint Farm takes
seven separate steps in the farm, services, and IIS.
• Multiple steps to handle larger file sizes

30. Installation Best Practices
Gotchas!
• “New Farm” vs. “Existing Farm”
• Require Domain Accounts
• Upgrade SharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2010
is very complex
• Cannot upgrade from Gemini Server
• CTP2 -> CTP3: Cannot do
• CTP3 -> RTM: ??

31. Upload Configuration
PowerPivot Best Practices
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda

32. Upload Configuration
Overview
• SharePoint is optimized for download, hence our concerns for
PowerPivot scenarios were for upload
• Important because IT (SharePoint) Administrators are now dealing
with larger files
• Default SharePoint Scenarios
• Max Size: 50Mb; Average Size: 20Mb
• PowerPivot SharePoint Scenarios
• Max Size: 2000Mb (configure Excel Services and SharePoint); Average
Size: ~50Mb
• Install instructions provide how to configure this
• New: Office Sync Center which can asynchronously upload files from
Excel to SharePoint

33. Upload Configuration
SharePoint LargeChunkFileSize
LargeChunkFileSize parameter little to no effect on
upload performance

34. Upload Configuration
Effect of Bandwidth (100Mbps vs. 1Gbps)

35. Upload Configuration
Effect of Bandwidth (Various)
0:19:56
2:29:27
3:41:03
0:53:16
0:00:00
0:28:48
0:57:36
1:26:24
1:55:12
2:24:00
2:52:48
3:21:36
3:50:24
4:19:12
Corp (100) T1 (1.54) Comcast (1.00) OC3 (155.52)
Bandwidth Category
Average Upload Duration for 1.3GB to SharePoint

36. Upload Configuration
SharePoint Upload vs. File Copy
0:00:01 0:00:01 0:00:02 0:00:04 0:00:07 0:00:12 0:00:16
0:00:37
0:00:59
0:00:09 0:00:16
0:00:28
0:00:43
0:01:11
0:02:12
0:02:57
0:04:32
0:06:55
0:00:00
0:01:26
0:02:53
0:04:19
0:05:46
0:07:12
0:08:38
25 43 75 128 223 388 536 822 1240
File Size (MB)
WebDav vs. FileCopy Speed by File Size (1Gb)
FileCopy
WebDav

37. Troubleshooting
PowerPivot Best Practices
PowerPivot Infrastructure
Capacity Planning
Topologies
Installation
Upload Configuration
Troubleshooting
Agenda
• Reading ULS Logs
• SQL Profiler Trace

38. Troubleshooting
Reading ULS Logs
%commonprogramfiles%Microsoft SharedWeb Server Extensions14LOGS

39. Troubleshooting
SQL Profiler

40. Complete the Evaluation Form & Win!
• You could win a Dell Mini Netbook – every day – just for
handing in your completed form! Each session form is
another chance to win!
Pick up your Evaluation Form:
• Within each presentation room
• At the PASS Booth near registration area
Drop off your completed Form:
• Near the exit of each presentation room
• At the PASS Booth near registration area
Sponsored by Dell

41. Thank you
for attending this session and the
2009 PASS Summit in Seattle

42. Visit the
Microsoft Technical Learning Center
Located in the Expo Hall
Microsoft Ask the Experts Lounge
Microsoft Chalk Talk Theater Presentations
Microsoft Partner Village

43. SharePoint Farm
PowerPivot for Excel Architecture
EXCEL
MSOLAP
ADOMD.NETAMO
PowerPivot Addin
PowerPivot In-Proc Engine
SSAS
Server Web
Data
Pump
SSAS
Server

44. WFE
EWA
EWS
ECS
Other
OLEDB
Providers. . .
App
Server
PSS
ASPWS
H
T
T
P
PowerPivot
OLEDB
Transports
SharePoint Farm
Other PowerPivot-
enabled SP Farm(s)
WFE
Excel
Desktop
Application
Internet
Explorer
SSAS
Server
SQL Server
Instance
Config Db
Content Db(s)
PowerPivot Db(s)
T
C
P
C
H
A
N
N
E
L
PowerPivot for SharePoint
Architecture
PowerPivot
OLEDB
Provider

45. PowerPivot AS Engine Architecture
Customer Insider Session – Microsoft NDA
Only
Formula Engine
XMLA & MDX
VertiPaq SE
Parsing and query
preparation
Block computation
On-disk files loaded
Into memory on
database open

46. • Optimized for in-memory operation; no paging
(But we do have on-disk files for transactional
integrity)
• Column-oriented; high compression
• Expressions evaluated natively by storage engine
(where possible)
• No aggregates – scan speed is sufficient for
self-service needs
Customer Insider Session – Microsoft NDA
Only
VertiPaq Storage Engine