Re: Server Hardware specs for Exchange 2003

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From: Al Mulnick (amulnick_No_SPAM_at_ncDOTrr.com)
Date: 07/10/04 

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 13:03:58 -0400

Server sizing is and likely always will be more art than science. That's
because there are too many variables to contend with. For example, user
profile has an impact on your requirements. If the 125-150 users are not
doing anything all day long, or even if they take turns ('cause maybe you
only have one desktop for them to use?) your profile would be one thing vs.
if the user profile was 125 hardcore messaging clients sending and receiving
7000 2MB messages each.
Applications that also run on the machine are also important when it comes
to sizing. If you run SQL and Anti-virus and host intrusion detection and
?? applications, it impacts the user density you can achieve.

In terms of performance, your processor is likely the least of your worries.
In fact, on many of the intel-based servers, I've found that processor waits
really really fast compared to what we get out of it. That's because Intel
has for so long been pushing the "raw-speed-rules" mantra. Equivalent of
putting a high-end carburetor on a '79 yugo when it comes to two-phase
commit databases with random-read/write I/O characteristics (tends to be
heavy read, but..)

No, in terms of performance, you'll get better bang for the buck if you
focus on removing bottlenecks in the I/O subsystem. Since your machine of
choice so far is somewhat limited, your disk choice may not be an issue.
But again, see the first paragraph to understand why we don't have enough
information to accurately answer that.

Reference: I've seen 2000 medium (mmb2 benchmark definition) users on a
machine with half the processor speed, more drives, anti-virus and backup
software running on them. They had plenty of room left on those machines.

I'd go with the current machine. I'd think for many small implementations,
a desktop-class machine could do the job as well except for the availability
problems.

Hope this helps,
Al

<anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:29f8101c465f7$a11a7650$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> Thanks for you response. I had checked the exchange site
> and was looking for more detail about number of users and
> realistic specs. I am looking at a dual processor
> 3.06Ghz, 2G RAM and raid 5 with 3 73G drives. We have
> approximately 125 users now and will probably grow to
> over 150 in the next year. Ofcourse, Dell is trying to
> sell me a bigger box saying that this box really should
> support only 70 users. I think it's a huge improvement
> over what we have and should be good. Just looking for
> more experienced input. Thanks.
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Nicole:
> >
> >You need to look a little harder. The specs can be found
> here:
> >http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/sysreqs/2003
> .asp. Check
> >http://www.microsoft.com/exchange first if you have any
> further questions
> >regarding Exchange.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Martin
> >
> >"Nicole" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
> message
> >news:29dee01c465df$fe115e40$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> >> I am looking to migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange
> >> 2003. I need to purchase a new server to support this.
> >> We currently have about 125 users. Our current
> >> Information Store is about 5G. I can't find any specs
> on
> >> hardware requirements for the new server. Any
> >> suggestions would be appreciated.
> >
> >
> >.
> >

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