Sizing Guide Exchange Server 2003 - Fujitsu

White Paper Sizing Guide Exchange Server 2003 Version: 4.2, July 2006
PRIMERGY Econel 200
The dual processor system PRIMERGY
Econel 200 offers the computing
performance of two Intel Xeon DP
processors and configuration options with
up to 4 GB of main memory as well as four
internal SATA hard disks. The optional 1channel
SCSI controller is intended to
control the backup drives.
Processors 2 × Xeon DP
2.8/3.4 GHz, 2 MB SLC
Memory max. 4 GB
Onboard RAID SATA
PCI SCSI controller 1 × 1-channel
SCSI channels 1 (backup device)
Disks internal max. 4
80 – 500 GB, 7200 rpm
Disks external none
Onboard LAN 2 × 10/100/1000 Mbit
As the entry-level model PRIMERGY
Econel 100, the PRIMERGY Econel 200 is
also ideally suited for the small business segment or for branch offices where more computing performance
is needed than a mono processor system can provide.
It should be noted that if deployed in such a scenario the Active Directory must in the majority of cases also
be accommodated in the system. However, in the small business environment the Active Directory is not
critical as regards hard disk access, since there should not be many changes and read access is temporarily
buffered by Exchange. The only prerequisite here should be somewhat more main memory. If used in the
branch offices of larger companies the data volume arising as a result of replication of the Active Directory
depends on the design of the Active Directory. This not only influences the necessary network bandwidth
between branch office and head office, but also the hardware of the Active Directory server in the branch
office.
The picture opposite shows a small configuration for
an Exchange server with Active Directory. The four
disks are connected directly to the internal onboard
SATA controller. The RAID 1 functionality can be
realized either with the disk mirroring of Windows
Server 2003 or with the onboard 4-port SATA
controller with HW-RAID. Provided the system is
secured by UPS, the disk caches should be activated
to improve performance. Although hard disks with a
RAID
RAID
1
OS,
OS,
AD,
AD,
Logs,
Logs,
Queues
Queues
RAID
RAID
1
Store
Store
capacity up to 500 GB are available for the PRIMERGY Econel 200, you should not come up with the idea of
replacing the four small-capacity hard disks with two large-capacity hard disks. Four hard disks are
consciously used here to be able to archive the Exchange databases and log files onto different physical
hard disks. This is for performance and security reasons, see chapter Disk subsystem.
Two mirrored system drives are set up. One partition is created for each system drive. The first system drive
is used for the operating system, Active Directory, log files and queues, the second one is solely for the
Exchange databases (store).
If you equip the PRIMERGY Econel 200 with one or two Xeon DP processors and 1 GB of memory, this
configuration could in connection with Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 [L16] be an entry-level
configuration for up to 75 users, which can be loaded with other CPU- or memory-intensive tasks. Since a
regular data backup is essential for the smooth operation of an Exchange Server (see chapter Backup), a
VXA-2 or VXA-320 tape drive is recommended.
If you use the standard products of Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 instead of the
Microsoft Small Business Server Edition that is limited to 75 users, an appropriately configured PRIMERGY
Econel 200 with two processors and 2 GB of main memory can by all means manage up to 200 users, with
the disk subsystem of at most four internal SATA hard disks proving to be the limiting factor. Alternatively, a
Network Attached Storage (NAS) on the basis of the Windows Storage Server 2003 can also be used as disk
subsystem. Thus as regards computing performance the PRIMERGY Econel 200 would also suit as a costeffective
solution for dedicated Exchange Servers for branch offices or Application Service Provider (ASP)
data center. However, as it is not possible to integrate the PRIMERGY Econel 200 in a 19" rack, it is for this
field of application less suited and in this case the rack servers of the PRIMERGY product line are
recommended.
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