Dell Power Solutions

SCALABLE ENTERPRISECONFIGURING THE DELL/EMC CX600 SANSeveral configuration settings can help optimize SAN performance withinan Exchange 2000 Server messaging environment. The Dell test teamconfigured the cache for the Dell/EMC CX600 storage array with thefollowing settings:• Page size: 4 KB• Low watermark: 60• High watermark: 80• Storage processor: enabled for read and write caches• Logical disks: write cache enabled; read cache disabledMemory for the SAN was allocated as follows:• Storage processor memory: 8 GB total• Read cache memory: 100 MB per storage processor• Write cache memory: 2 GB per storage processorThe Dell/EMC CX600 storage array ran the following software revisions:• Base software: 02.04.1.60.5.007• Management user interface: 6.4.1.0.0• Management server 6.4.0.5.2• EMC Navisphere Manager: 6.4.0.5.2• Navisphere agent and command-line interface (CLI): 6.4.0 (5.2)The testing performed by the Dell team demonstrates how amodular approach can help administrators improve the performanceand scalability of a Microsoft Exchange 2000 messaging environment.By scaling out PowerEdge 6650 servers, administrators can achievelower latency and higher messaging throughput while building a flexibleIT infrastructure that is responsive to ever-changing computingneeds. Scaling out a cluster with one-, two-, or four-processor serverscan be more cost-effective by using industry-standard components;more flexible by allowing servers to be added or removed easily; andmore fault-tolerant by avoiding the single point of failure inherent ina scale-up configuration.Fatima Hussain (fatima_hussain@dell.com) is a systems engineer and a senior analyst inthe Server and Storage Performance Analysis Group at Dell. She has worked on Exchange benchmarkingand scale-out studies, but her current work focuses on running microbenchmarks—such as Linpack, Stream, SPEC CPU2000, SPECjbb , and LMbench—on current and next-generationserver platforms to identify bottlenecks in the system architecture and to compare performanceacross systems. Fatima has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Universityof Texas at Austin.Scott Stanford (scott_stanford@dell.com) is a systems engineer in the Server andStorage Performance Analysis Group at Dell. His current work focuses on Exchange Serverbenchmarking. Scott served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal and with the U.S. Army, 24thand 3rd Infantry Divisions. Before Dell, he worked in the public sector as an informationservices manager. He has an M.S. in Community and Regional Planning from The Universityof Texas at Austin and a B.S. from Texas A&M University. Scott is A+ and N+ certified anda Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE).use the Windows 2000 Datacenter Server OS to take advantageof Hyper-Threading Technology, because Windows2000 Advanced Server cannot support the 16 virtual processorsthat would be created.• Reduced Active Directory utilization: Because each servercan have its own cache, localized DSAccessCache instanceson each Exchange server help to reduce Active Directoryutilization and improve response times for client requests. Ina monolithic server configuration, all clients are dependenton a single DSAccessCache.FOR MORE INFORMATIONDell PowerEdge 6650:http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/pedge_6650?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=bizMicrosoft Exchange Server:http://www.microsoft.com/exchangeSince 1999, Dell Power Solutions has been a forumfor discovering solutions in the emerging and everchangingIT landscape. The Dell Power SolutionsWeb site guides you through past and presentissues of the magazine. Search for articles, discoverupcoming topics, or subscribe online.ExploreDell Power SolutionsOnlineHTTP://WWW.DELL.COM/POWERSOLUTIONS48POWER SOLUTIONS March 2004