Exchange Enterprise Pre Install Help

[rogerpatel]

HI,

Looking for some advice as I can’t seem to find any information regarding my problem / questions.

Here’s a quick run down.

I have the following NEW server, ready to install Exchange 2003 Enterprise.

HP Proliant ML 350 G4p
Dual Xeon
4Gb Ram
HP Smart array 6i with Battery Backup 128mb
Array is configured as follows:
Raid 5 + 1x Hotspare
6 x 145 HS Scsi Drives in Total
1 logical drive (Disk 0)
C: = 25gb
D: = 517gb
The server has 2 Nics, this will be configured using a Team at 2gb.

Windows 2003 r2 installed and all updates installed.

The network switch for servers and pc’s is 1gb allround.

All client pc’s connect at 1gb.

The Server is added to our domain and now ready to become the First Exchange 2003 Enterprise Server.

Our questions are all regarding Exchange

1, The network has 130 Users (will grow to 200 by end of next year), all users are to have a mailbox limit of 1gb.

2, There will be a number of users who will require limits of around 5gb. (the bosses)

3, I am undecided and need help with regards to Storage Groups and Mailbox Stores as I am finding contradicting information.

4, Is worth creating more than one Storage Group, bare in mind the complete Exchange will be installed on one local drive (d:\Exchsrvr)folder

5,does it make a difference if I make additional storage groups in directories other than d:\Exchsrvr\mdbdata, is it better if I create a new folder for each group.

6, What about Mailbox Stores, again, what are my best options here?

7, Or do I just leave Exchange as is by default using one Group and create many Mailbox Stores. How Many?
I hope you can all see what I am trying to do here, I don’t want to install this server and then find out in the past I should have done this and that. I’ve installed many Exchange servers in the past but they have always been Exchange Standard and never above 50 users.

Thanks for you time and effort in assisting me.

Any help / advice / information /suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Roger

 

[MiniOrganMorgan]

I'd configure your server slightly differently, instead of, 1xRAID5 set (of 6 disks), I'd
1xRAID1 set (of 2 disks), for OS and logs
1xRAID5 set (of 3 disks), for database
1x global hotspare (for redundancy).

Essentially, in an ideal world there should be a dedicated RAID1 set for the logs. Exchange will run like a dog if the logs are written to busy disks; the reason for that is any database transaction is written to logs first, before the change is written to the database. Also, you don't need the capacity of having 6 disks in a RAID5, having dedicated (as they can be) spindles for logs is more important.

Also, with your number of mailboxes, I'd have one Storage Group with four mailbox stores (the maximum per SG) with users split alphabetically over the stores. I'd prefer to split that way, instead of by department, so that it randomises to an extent the chance of an entire department/team/customer being knocked out due to a fault with one particular database. Seperate Storage Groups require seperate logs, which would mean seperate spindles for those logs, hence the recommendation of sticking to one SG.

Hope that all makes sense!

 

[MiniOrganMorgan]

Oh, one more thing, having multiple mailbox stores leads to easier management, easier backup/recovery and reduces the chance of a database corruption affecting the whole company.

 

[rogerpatel]

Great reply, thank you very much, its great we are able to get info from more experianced users.

It's a shame the server cant be rebuilt in your suggestions.

As we have 1 large logical drive in Raid 5 do you think it will make a huge difference?

 

[rogerpatel]

And,

I will be doing as you suggested, 1 Group with four stores.

currently the default store is kept in the mdbdata folder, is will it make sense to make new folders like mdbdata1,2,3,4 and make the stores in there own folders instead of having them all in mdbdata?

Thanks

 

[MiniOrganMorgan]

I'd prefer to have the RAID sets split, if your users are really heavy, it may be worth investing the time. If they'll be light, like OWA users, you may be alright. Think of it this way, better doing it now, rather than in 18 months time. Although some of the other guys may have some input on the feasibility.

It's probably easier from a management point of view having them in seperate folders with clear filenames ie SG\MBStore1\priv1.xxx, SG\MBStore2\priv2.xxx, etc. Reduces confusion!

 

[AllUserNamesAreTaken]

Common sense tells you that Storing the TL's on different spindle's to what the Database is stored on will increase performance. I didn't realise this when I set up my Exchange Server.

Saying that, 31 users, on RAID 1 2x146GB SCSI 15k, works a treat. Even with the TL's on the same drive, the performance woes are negligible. I guess having 200 users would make a slight difference, but realistically, Dual Xeon's with Fast Hard Drives and enough Memory should suffice. (2 x 3.0Ghz (800FSB), and 4gb Ram here)

My OS is installed on Raid 1 2x36GB SCSI 15k's...

I can't help you with any of your questions, but I thought I'd just like to add my experience of Exchange to this thread. I hope you don't mind.