Configuration of Microsoft® Exchange™ 2000 on Dell™ PowerEdge™ 6400 Server
Guy Westbrook
Performance Engineer
System Performance and Analysis Lab
Abstract
In this paper you will learn how to size and configure Microsoft Exchange 2000 running on Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server on Dell PowerEdge6400 Server. This document will explain the basics of how to determine the memory configuration, the proper I/O subsystem, the proper processor requirements, and the network subsystem. This document will also include the consideration for Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Exchange 2000 options, such as OS binaries, transaction logs, and Exchange data files. This paper will recommend RAID levels based on application function and cost. As a prerequisite, we recommend that the reader be familiar with the installation and configuration of Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Exchange 2000.
Notice
The information in this publication is subject to change without notice. Any reliance by the end user on the information contained herein is at the end user’s risk. Dell will not be liable for information in any way including but not limited to its accuracy or completeness.
Exchange Performance Brief
Goals
In order to achieve the best performing server, there are several factors that must be reviewed. These factors include optimizing the hardware, configuring Exchange 2000, and configuring and tuning Windows 2000. These factors will be the focus of this paper. In addition to these factors, this paper will also discuss processor scalability and tuning, disk optimization, I/O tuning, memory tuning, and network tuning. Lastly, Exchange 2000 and Windows 2000 configuration and tuning issues will be addressed throughout the paper.
PLANNING
WINDOWS 2000 ACTIVE DIRECTORY (AD) INTEGRATION WITH EXCHANGE 2000
Active Directory is the directory service in a Windows 2000 network. A directory service is a network service that stores information about network resources and makes it accessible to users and applications. Active Directory provides centralized management. Active Directory uses Domain Name Service (DNS) to provide name resolution, to provide namespace definition, and to locate physical components of Active Directory. The computers in a Windows 2000 domain share a common configuration, schema, and global catalog. The physical structure of Active Directory is separate from the logical structure. The physical structure contains sites and domain controllers. Unlike previous versions of Exchange Server, Exchange 2000 no longer has a dedicated directory. Instead, Exchange 2000 integrates with the Windows 2000 Active Directory directory service. Distribution lists will be based on groups in Active Directory, simplifying administration tasks. There is an Active Directory connector that can be used to replicate directory information between Exchange 2000 and existing Exchange 5.5 sites.
EXCHANGE 2000 ARCHITECTURE
All Exchange 2000 directory information (including mailboxes, information about servers and sites, and custom recipients) will be stored in Active Directory. In Exchange 2000, the protocols have been removed from the Information Store and now run as part of the IIS process. Moving the protocols into the IIS process allows administrators to host Exchange 2000 subsystems (protocol, storage, and directory) on different servers for scalability up to millions of users. Exchange 2000 overcomes the limits of Exchange 5.5 by introducing support for multiple databases and storage groups on the same server. Exchange 2000 allows you to partition the Information Store into separately manageable databases. This gives an administrator the option of splitting a single logical database into separate physical databases to increase overall system reliability, enable much faster backup, and speed up the recovery process in the event of hardware failure. Although each instance of a database runs under the same information store process, you can mount and dismount individual databases dynamically. The advantage of this for customers is that they can restore an individual database from backup while other database instances service client requests.
INSTALLATION
INSTALLING WINDOWS 2000 ADVANCED SERVER
This section discusses the planning and installation of Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Exchange 2000 on your PowerEdge6400 server. These planning considerations cover the areas of the server setup and installation, Windows2000 and Exchange 2000 optimization.
Domain Controller(s), or Member Server(s)
During the installation of Windows 2000 Advanced Server, you can designate the PowerEdge6400 system to be a Domain Controller or a Windows 2000 Member Server. The Domain Controller is a computer running Windows 2000 Server that stores a replica of the directory. It also manages the changes to directory information and replicates those changes to other domain controllers in the same domain. Domain Controllers in a Windows 2000 domain store directory data and manage user logon processes, authentication, and directory searches, and provides a centralized management location for the network and performs the validation of all user logins and permissions. To provide the best performance, avoid running Exchange 2000 on a Domain Controller server. The performance impact can vary depending upon the number of user logins, level of security, logging levels, and the available system and network bandwidth.
The number of Domain Controllers you will use is driven by two factors: fault tolerance requirements and load distribution requirements. It is recommended that you have at least two domain controllers so that there is not a single point of failure for the domain. The additional Domain Controller server is part of a domain and can assume some of the overhead in maintaining a replica of the Domain Controller server and to handle some of the site-specific client load.
A Windows 2000 Server can be a member of a Windows NT Domain, a Windows 2000 domain, or a Windows 2000/NT Workgroup. As a member of a Windows Domain, the Domain Controller system handles all of the administrative tasks for that domain. In the case of Exchange 2000, this would leave all of the Exchange Server system resources available for running Exchange Server. The Windows 2000 Member Server is the recommended option to install and run Exchange on. As a member of a Windows Workgroup, there are no Windows Domain controller responsibilities and the management of the entire network, users, and shared resources is on a per system basis. The Windows 2000 Server can then join a Windows 2000 domain. The Windows 2000 server must be a member of a domain before Exchange 2000 can be installed.
Installing Windows 2000 Advanced Server on PowerEdge6400
Insert the Windows NT CD-ROM into the drive of the PowerEdge6400. Restart the server. Once the blue screen appears press F6 to select the drivers to install. Install the RAID controller driver for the type of RAID controller that you are using, and continue with the Windows 2000 Advanced Server installation. Install Windows 2000 Advanced Server on a 2048MB NTFS partition. After Windows 2000 Advanced Server is installed, create a separate partition on the same physical drive or a separate physical drive as the Windows 20000 Advanced Server Operating System. Place the pagefile on that partition. It is recommended that the page file be set to 2 times physical memory, if space permits. Create at least one array for Exchange Server Information Store and a separate array for the Transaction Logs. It is recommended that the arrays be on separate physical disks. Exchange 2000 allows you to partition the Information Store into separate manageable databases. How the Information Store is configured is a policy decision that must be decided during the planning phase by the administrators. However, a main consideration for how the Information Store is configured will be determined by the amount of physical RAM in your system. For each database that is mounted, 10 MB of RAM is allocated. The more databases that are created and mounted, the more memory the server will require to provide optimal performance for the Information Store.
Optimizing Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows 2000 Advanced Server is designed with many different tunable parameters and settings that can potentially increase the throughput of your system. Refer to the Windows 2000 Advanced Server Resource Kits for more detailed information on this topic.
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Maximize Throughput for Network Applications
One of the key features that need to be tuned is the File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks Properties. Verify that the option is set to Maximize Data Throughput for Network Applications. This can be checked by right clicking My Network Places, clicking on properties, right clicking on the appropriate Local Connection icon, clicking on properties, clicking on File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks, clicking on properties, ensure that the button for Maximize Data Throughput for Network Applications is on,this tells the Windows 2000 Advanced Server memory manager to “back off” and allow Exchange to manage its’ own memory area(s). What you are altering the way Windows 2000 Advanced Server controls its’ memory optimization routine from disk cache management to process working set management.
Unnecessary Services
It is recommended that all unnecessary services running on the server be turned off, since they add a processing overhead on the system processor(s). Even though you can run with as few as the Server service and the Exchange Services, we recommend also running EventLog. You can disable services such as ClipBook Server, Computer Browser, Messenger, Network DDE, Network DDE DSDM, Schedule and others if you do not need them. Performance monitoring of the server is highly recommended so that administrators can proactively monitor the behavior of your system, and remanage any changes that may adversely impact the performance or impair the stability of your system.
INSTALLING EXCHANGE 2000 SERVER
Installing Exchange Server 2000 requires knowledge of Exchange 2000 system and hardware requirements. Installation also requires the understanding of the dependencies of Exchange 2000 on Microsoft Windows 2000 and Active Directory directory service.
Minimum Hardware Requirement
Intel Pentium II 300Mhz or greater
128MB RAM (256Mb Recommended)
2GB of Available Disk space for Exchange
500 MB of available disk space on the system drive
Pagefile set to a minimum of twice the amount of system RAM (recommended)
Minimum Software Requirements
Windows 2000 Server
Exchange 2000
When the first Exchange 2000 server is installed the Active Directory the configuration information is modified. Therefore, the account installing Exchange must be a member of the Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Schema Admins groups to install the first Exchange 2000 server, such as the domain Administrator. A member of the Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins groups may do subsequent installations.
Because Exchange 2000 Server relies on Active Directory, you can only install Exchange Servers if they are a member of an existing Windows 2000 domain that has Active Directory directory service running.
Once the system requirements are meet install Exchange 2000 by inserting the Exchange 2000 CD and wait for the Exchange 2000 wizard to appear. The Exchange 2000 wizard will display a list of components to install. Specify all components you want to install. Accept the per seat licensing option. Per seat is the only licensing option supported by Exchange 2000. Accept the default configurations for Organization Name, First Administrative Group, and First Routing Group, and specify the domain administrator account information for the domain you are part of. After confirming the components that will be installed click next to complete installation. When the Exchange 2000 wizard is finished installing, click finish. Shutdown and restart your server. After the server restarts you want to verify that Exchange 2000 services appear in the service list and have successfully started. Click start, point to programs, point to administrative tools, and then click component services. Click services (local) and scroll down to the services that begin with Microsoft Exchange. Ensure that the core services are running.
The core services are:
Information Store
MTA Stacks
Routing Engine
System Attendant
Check the status of other services that you have installed related components.
HARDWARE CONSIDERATIONS FOR EXCHANGE 2000 INSTALLATION
Sizing the System
Most performance problems occur from a lack of sufficient hardware, improper hardware configuration, or Exchange Server configuration that is not optimized. Sizing the system usually involves three main components, CPU, memory, I/O subsystem, and other related hardware components. This section will cover each of those components.
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Bus
The PCI bus is a high-performance, 32 or 64-bit local bus that provides an interface for high-speed transfers to peripheral components without overloading the host processor. A single 32-bit PCI bus provides 66 MB/s of bandwidth between PCI devices and the host bus, which holds the CPU and main memory. The PowerEdge6400 supports seven PCI slots: 2 slots that are 64-bit/66MB/s, 4 slots that support 64/133MBs, and 1 slot that supports 32/33MBs. This PCI configuration allows that PowerEdge6400 to provide greater performance, flexibility and connectivity than its previous generation product. By balancing the I/O load evenly between PCI buses, you ensure the most efficient use of PCI throughput. Generally, when installing an even number of network or array controllers, it is best practice to split the controllers evenly between the buses. If installing an odd number of controllers, split the network controllers as evenly as possible between buses. In general, network controllers consume more bandwidth than array controllers.
Processor Subsystem Planning
The objective of this section is to outline the processor subsystem configurations of the PowerEdge6400 Server and to provide some performance information necessary to determine the best configuration for your environment.
Processor Scalability
With the rapid growth of processor technology the systems of today are performing tasks much faster than previous systems. The scalability of the systems has increased along with their processing power. The PowerEdge6400 Processor subsystem consists of the Intel Pentium III Xeon processor. The PowerEdge6400 can support up to four 550Mhz, or 700Mhz processors. The processor can support three different L2 cache sizes: 512K, 1M, and 2M. In addition, the processor subsystem on the PowerEdge6400 includes a 100MHz Front Side bus for enhanced performance.
Exchange Server 2000 tends to be more CPU intensive. The processor subsystem can have a substantial impact on the Exchange Server. The processor is critical for providing response time for the users. The subsystem also can provide user scalability on the server. The processor subsystem gives the server the capability to handle an increasing number of users without compromising response time. Choosing the right processor configuration for Exchange Server will speed up the response time for the user. This is especially true if you are using multiprocessors. Exchange Server 2000 supports multiple processors and is a multithreaded application. The benefit of this multiprocessor-aware design is that when the processor becomes the bottleneck, in most cases, you can relieve the bottleneck by adding more or faster processor(s) to the system.
It is recommended that an administrator select the fastest processor available when considering the processor configuration for an Exchange Server. L2 cache configuration is important as well. L2 cache provides benefits in multithreaded applications such as Exchange Server 2000. So it is recommended to get the fastest processor with the largest amount of L2 cache. This will allow for great performance today and also support future growth.
Memory Subsystem Planning
The objective of this section is to provide you with a starting point for system base memory and to introduce you to some important considerations regarding the system memory on PowerEdge servers.
Greater than 2GB User Memory Support
By default, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server permits only 2GB of the installed memory to be allocated as user memory. With the advent of Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server user applications like Exchange can utilize up to 3GB of memory. The remaining 1GB of a 4GB system can be reserved as system memory for use by the Windows 2000 Advanced Server system and is unavailable as user memory. After installing Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server you can modify your system to utilize the 4GB of memory. To enable the 3GB user memory feature you will need to edit the system hidden file c:\boot.ini and add the command line option /3GB to the boot up string and reboot your system.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(0)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(0)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Advanced Server [3GB user]" /3GB
4.00 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos
Windows 2000 Memory Management Setting
To help reduce excessive paging, check the Windows NT Registry setting for LargeSystemCache under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, System, CurrentControlSet, Control, Session Manager, Memory Management. This value should be set to zero to instruct Windows 2000 to favor the process working set over the system cache.
Refer to the Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Concepts and Planning Guide for a more in-depth discussion of the paging file.
PowerEdge6400 MEMORY SUBSYSTEM
One of the key features of the PowerEdge6400 is that it has ECC SDRAM, PowerEdge6400 can support up to 8GB of SDRAM DIMM memory modules. The PowerEdge6400 also supports Enterprise Memory Architecture (EMA). EMA allows applications to take advantage of large amounts of physical memory on Windows 2000 Advance Server. The application must be also support EMA.
EXCHANGE SERVER MEMORY CONSIDERATIONS
Exchange 2000 can use any amount of RAM you give it. With Exchange 2000 and Windows 200 Advanced Server, you can allocate 3GB of RAM to Exchange Server. For each database that is mounted, 10 MB of RAM is allocated. As the databases are used and their tables grow larger, the amount increases.
Windows 2000 needs approximately 64MB for itself. Included in this 64MB will be some memory allocated for the System Cache. Exchange Server does not use the System Cache for disk I/O, because it has its own. Minimize the System Cache size by selecting Maximum Data Throughput for Network Applications. With this setting, Windows 2000 will page memory used by the System Cache before it will page memory used by Exchange Server. In the case where the system is running low on memory resources, the Exchange Server processes will begin to have their memory paged. This is usually the first warning sign that you need to add more memory to your server. There are four main processes in Exchange Server. They run as NT services.