1 Summary 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 About this Document 1
1.3 Intended Audience 1
1.4 Document Scope 1
1.5 Constraints and Assumptions 1
1.6 Known Issues 2
2 High-Level POC Architecture 3
3 High-Level Scenarios 4
3.1 Sequence Diagram for Iaas & SaaS 4
4 Solution Design 5
4.1 Server Physical Infrastructure 6
Server Physical Machine Table 6
5 SCVMM Web Portal 7
6 Configure Exchange Server 2010 17
6.1 Exchange Control Panel 17
6.2 Configuring Hosted Exchange using PowerShell 23
7 TroubleShooting refrences 35
7.1 Troubleshooting VMM 35
7.2 Troubleshooting Exchange Setup 35
Appendix A – Hyper-V Host Server Farm Pattern 36
Appendix B – Host Cluster patterns 37
No Majority – Disk Only 37
Node Majority 37
Node and Disk Majority 37
Node and File Share Majority 37
Appendix C – Network Architecture 39
Appendix D - Processor Architecture 40
Appendix E – Memory Architecture 41
Appendix F - Drive types 42
Appendix G - Disk Redundancy Architecture 43
Appendix H - Fibre Channel Storage Area Network 44
Appendix I - Disk Controller or HBA Interface 45
Appendix J - Cluster Shared Volumes 46
Appendix K - System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2 2008 48
Virtual Machine Manager Server 48
Microsoft SQL Server Database 48
VMM Library Servers 48
Administrator Console 48
Delegated Management and Provisioning Web Portal 49
Appendix L – Hyper-V Overview 50
Appendix M – Hardware Architecture 51
Hyper-V Management Server 51
Hyper-V Cluster Nodes 51
Disk Storage 51
Quick Migration 52
Operating System Version 53
Cluster Host Server Overview 53
Appendix N – References 54
Introduction
The Private Cloud-POC is a self-contained virtualised management infrastructure which can be deployed in a suitable environment to show the use of Microsoft Technologies in provisioning and managing Virtual Machines. This document covers the deployment details to allow the technical personnel involved in deployment the solution to understand what components are involved and how they are configured.
The Private Cloud-POC User Guide provides the information you need deploy and Configure the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal (VMMSSP, or the self-service portal) in your datacenter and Exchange Server.
About this Document
This document is for Private Cloud and provides a deployment scenario for self-service portal component guide and Exchange Server Mailbox.
Intended Audience
The intended audience of this document is the technical personnel engaged in implementing the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal and Exchange Services solution within their own environment.
Document Scope
The scope of this document is concerned with Microsoft technologies only.
Constraints and Assumptions
The server and storage hardware required for the GPC-POC
environment is as specified by the hosting partner provided it meets the minimum requirements as defined in this document.
There are also a lot of related conditions and technologies that will have an impact on the GPC-POC working. Some of those assumptions are listed in the table below:
Assumptions | Explanation |
Physical environment | It is assumed that a server environment exists with enough floor space, power, air conditioning, physical security etc. |
Stable network | It is assumed that the local and wide area network infrastructure which includes physical components switches, routers, cable etc. And the logical components like routing, broadcasts, collisions etc. Are stable and under control. Having an unstable network can result in unexpected behavior. |
Namespace | Maintain Isolated / Unique Namespace |
Network Support | Failover / Router / Configuration needs to be performed by IT staff. |
Constraints | Explanation |
DHCP Required | DHCP is required for VM Provisioning |
Network Bandwidth | 1 GB network bandwidth |
Multiple VLANS / NICS | Multiple VLANS / NICS required for Clustering, Live Migration and Heartbeat |
iSCSI Hardware | Required 500 GB – 1 TB on iSCSI |
Table 1: Constraints and Assumptions
Known Issues
No limitations on the number of VMs that a user can request. Potential future enhancement.
Cannot remote control a Linux machine currently (as there is no RDP connectivity). Potential to implement a telnet/X-Windows session instead in the future.
No automatic SCOM agent install for provisioned Linux machines. Potential future enhancement to include the agent in the source.
All Virtual machines are provisioned on same network and as such users can see all other machines on the network (but do not have logon access). Potential future enhancement to build VMs into separate VLANs but needs consideration of management infrastructure.
High-Level POC Architecture
Figure 0.1: High Level POC Architecture
POC is intended to be delivered on harddrive for installation at customer site with limited hardware investment.
It's only require 6-8 physical machines
Goal is to demonstrate IaaS & SaaS scenarios for Private Cloud deployment environment.
The POC uses a Windows iSCSI server instead of a SAN for portability reasons. iSCSI is a storage protocol used to connect to a network device that moves storage-related data. It allows clients to send SCSI commands to remote, consolidated storage targets (or disk arrays) in the same way the client can interact with a locally attached disk. A common misconception is that you can connect iSCSI over your existing LAN infrastructure.
High-Level Scenarios
High-Level Showcase Scenarios (10-15) |
IaaS (Dynamic Datacenter) | SaaS (Exchange) |
1. New tenant (organization) sign-up | 1. New tenant (organization) sign-up |
2. New environment provisioning request | 2. New tenant services configuration |
3. Virtual machine request | 3. Tenant admin set-up |
4. Virtual machine template setting | 4. New user (mailbox) addition |
5. Virtual machine provisioning | 5. Distribution list management rights assignment |
6. Reporting | 6. Charge back reporting |
Sequence Diagram for Iaas & SaaS
Figure 0.2: Sequence Diagram for Iaas & SaaS
Following are the sequence diagram steps
Business Group Customer requested for Emailbox setup for the department / organization.
Request goes to IT Aministrator of the department / organization. IT Admin enters the New Machine request through Website Form.
It goes to Data Center Admin approval for VMs aqquision. Once approved, approval mail sent to IT Adminstrator.
IT Administrator request for the VM Servers.
IT Administrator configure and installs the Exchange on VM Servers.
IT Administrator Provision and Add Tenant and Mailbox for users.
Finally the request gets completed and mail been send to BG Customer to utilize the services.
Report gets generated based on the service(space, bandwidth, etc..) usage and charge back to the department based on the usage.
Solution Design
The GPC-POC is based on a self-contained domain environment consisting of a number of management servers to support a scalable Hyper-V cluster onto which the solution will provision multiple Virtual Machines:
Figure 3: Hyper-V cluster Nodes with Virtual Machine
In order to make the solution as portable as possible, the management servers are themselves provided as virtual machines. This allows them to be scaled at the virtual host level to higher levels of memory/processor and disk as required without losing any portability.
The actual GPC-POC components in the handover consist only of the virtual machines making up the management servers. The associated Hyper-V Cluster needs to be created after the management servers are in place in the environment as it will need to be joined to the GPC-POC domain.
Providing a Hyper-V Cluster as the Virtualisation platform allows for fast transfer of the virtual machine servers to a different physical server in the event of unexpected hardware failure of the host. Live Migration will be used in the event of scheduled maintenance on the host servers and will provide continuous service with no outage or service loss.
The sections below covers the detailed configuration for the GPC-POC Infrastructure Environment.
Server Physical Infrastructure
Server Physical Machine Table
Base OS Server Name | Assigned Machine | Bits | RAM | CPU | Disks | Virtual Switch "Public" | Virtual Switch "Hyper-V & Exchange Replication" | Purpose |
HPB1 (HPV1) | HP Blade 1 | x64 | 64 GB | Quad Core | 2 X 150 GB
(300 GB) | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC2
10.1.2.x
VLAN2
Lab internal | Hyper-V (cluster)
DDC (SQL, DIT-SC, SCCM, SCOM, SCVMM + Library)
Exchange CAS + Hub |
HPB2
(HPV2) | HP Blade 2 | x64 | 64 GB | Quad Core | 2 X 150 GB
(300 GB) | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC2
10.1.2.x
VLAN2
Lab internal | Hyper-V failover for HPV1 |
HPB3
(HPV3) | HP Blade 3 | x64 | 32 GB | Quad Core | 2 X 150 GB
(300 GB) | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC2
10.1.2.x
VLAN2
Lab internal | Hyper-V (cluster)
DAS (273GB - RAID5)
Exchange DAG |
HPB4
(HPV4) | HP Blade 4 | x64 | 32 GB | Quad Core | 2 X 150 GB
(300 GB) | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC2
10.1.2.x
VLAN2
Lab internal | Hyper-V (cluster)
DAS (273GB - RAID5)
Exchange DAG |
IBMH1 | IBM 3850 + 2 Fusion IO cards | x64 | 16 GB | Quad Core Intel Xeon Series 7400 | 2 X 650 GB Fusion IO | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | N/A | Hyper-V
Dual NIC gateway host for remote access
AD+DNS until Lenovo server is made available |
IBMH2 | IBM 3850 | x64 | 12 GB | Quad Core Intel Xeon Series 7400 | | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | N/A | iSCSI |
LENH1 | Lenovo RD210 | x64 | 8 GB | | | Gigabit Ethernet
External
NIC1
10.1.1.x
VLAN1
Corp or VPN | N/A | Server missing hard drive and won't be available before week of June 21.
AD+DNS |
Table 2: Server Physical Machine Table
For more details on the lab configuration, please refer the Excel sheet attached in the Appendix N
SCVMM Web Portal
This section will show you how to use the SCVMM Web Portal, please find the screen shots in the sequence, which is self-explanatory.
Login to the SCVMM Web Portal as per the screen below. Enter the Admin User id and paword.
Figure 1: Access SCVMM Web Portal
Click on Register New Business Unit
Figure 2: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Registration
Please enter all the required field as shown below in the screen.
Figure 3: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Registration
Click on "Submit" button
Figure 4: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Registration
As you can see the request has been submitted for the approval.
Figure 5: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Request Submission
Administrator can see the submission of the request to Approve or Reject.
Figure 6: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Request Submission
Please enter the Approval / Reject comments.
Figure 7: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Request Submission
Click on "Create infrastrure request"
Figure 8: SCVMM Web Portal – Self Service Request Approval
Enter the required fields as shown below
Figure 9: SCVMM Web Portal – Infrasturcture Request
Once completed click on Next button and it will go to Service Setup page
Figure 10: SCVMM Web Portal – Infrasturcture Request
Enter all the info as per the screen below.
Figure 11: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Figure 12: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Figure 13: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Click on Add Service Role link
Figure 14: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Enter the Service Role info on the below screen
Figure 15: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Role Setup page
Click on next and it will return to Service setup page.
Figure 16: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Role Setup page
As you can see the screen below Service role has been added. You can delete / edit as it's required.
Figure 17: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Figure 18: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Figure 19: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Add the VM Template.
Figure 20: SCVMM Web Portal –Service Setup page
Configure Exchange Server 2010
The Exchange 2010 OWA is exposing a new administrative interface. In the process OWA went through a name change and what we used to call "Options" became the Exchange Control Panel (ECP). Here is how OWA is venturing into the realm of user administration.
OWA does not stand for Outlook Web Access any longer! Starting from Exchange 2010 this acronym stands for Outlook Web App.
Who cares what the OWA acronym stands for? Certainly not me! What is more interesting is the new functionality this interface provides. Indeed OWA is now venturing in the realm of user administration, broadening its scope, and maybe justifying the name change.
Exchange Control Panel
As you can imagine OWA continues to be a five star email web client. What is completely new
is the addition of the Exchange Control Panel (ECP). When discussing a user interface nothing beats screenshots. So let's logon to OWA using an Exchange Administrator account.
To login, we use the Exchange Control Panel URL:
https://<CAS Server>/ecp
This is the control panel the administrator gets:
Figure 21: Exchange Server Configuration page
The ECP functionality will change depending on the rights granted to the login user. This administrator is a member of the Exchange Organization Management Universal Security Group, one of the security groups created on installing Exchange 2010. If we login using a regular user account (User4) that was granted no additional rights we of course get less functionality:
Figure 22: Exchange Server Configuration page
The ECP interface for User4 is very similar to what we already had in the Exchange 2007 OWA Options section. The interface looks different, but here we still find all the options to configure things like Client side rules, Out-of-Office auto-replies, Anti-Spam settings etc.
While looking at User4's interface, take note of the central pane titled 'Account Information - user4'. Clicking on Edit the user is able to modify his account information and personal details.
Figure 23: Exchange Server Configuration page
This allows administrators to empower users for them to keep their personal information updated. Indeed one of the key advancements brought about by the ECP, is the ability to better manage users and their configuration.
Looking at User4 we could easily consider the ECP to be little more than a shortcut to the OWA options. Clicking on the 'My Email' link we go to the user mailbox. From here we could click back Options and return to the User4 ECP landing page. However this is only the case because User4 has very limited rights.
Let's go back to the Administrator's ECP landing page shown in the first screenshot. The 'Select what to manage' combo box at the top, is what opens the administrative reach beyond the currently logged on user. Here we have the choice between Myself, My Organization and Another User. Changing the selection to Myself, we get the interface that was presented to User4 when logging to the ECP.
From the combo box we first select 'Another User'. This pops a selection box from where we can identify the user to manage.
Figure 24: Exchange Server Configuration page
Here I selected User4 and we promptly got hold of his settings. So the administrator is now able to edit User4's options.
Figure 25: Exchange Server Configuration page
Note how at the top OWA reminds us that we are editing someone else's settings saying: 'Administrator is working on behalf of user4'
What is worth appreciating is that the Administrator account was not granted login rights over User4's mailbox. The Administrator is member of the Exchange Organization Management group that includes the right to manage user settings. This is part of the new Exchange 2010 Role Based Access Control (RBAC) that allows for more granular rights management. We will not discuss RBAC here although we will come across it again shortly.
Once finished with User4 we just close the Browser and go back to the Administrator's ECP landing page. Let's select 'My Organization' at the combo box now.
Figure 26: Exchange Server Configuration page
Here we have two categories Users & Groups and Reporting. At Users & Groups, the first three icons allow us to edit the settings of existing mailboxes, create/edit Distribution Groups and create/edit external Contacts. The ability to create new mailboxes was available in Exchange 2010 Beta but later dropped. Chances are that we will see this back maybe with some service pack. The idea here is to give you a general idea, not that of illustrating each and every setting. So we give a quick look at the Mailbox Details that are configurable here:
Figure 27: Exchange Server Configuration page
Note how this includes amongst others the selection of the Role assignment policy (which is part of RBAC) and the configuration of MailTips.
The remaining two icons at the Users & Groups category give access to more RBAC elements. From Administrator Roles we can configure the membership of Role Groups. Here is how this looks like for the Organization Management Role Group:
Figure 28: Exchange Server Configuration page
Configuring Hosted Exchange using PowerShell
PowerShell Script
Capture all steps with start-transcript in PowerShell
Snapshot the VMs (Domain Controllers and Exchange Servers)
Figure 29: Start-trascript in PowerShell on exchange server
Create Service Plans (copy existing service plan files to new names with descriptions)
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V14\ClientAccess\ServicePlans
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!-- ***************************************************************
Warning:
This is a Sample ServicePlan and should not be used as Production Offering.
This file will be replaced in case of Exchange Upgrade.
*************************************************************** -->
<Configuration Version="1.0">
<Organization>
<!-- Global Elements -->
<AddressListsEnabled>true</AddressListsEnabled>
<ApplicationImpersonationEnabled>true</ApplicationImpersonationEnabled>
<AutoForwardEnabled>true</AutoForwardEnabled>
<AutoReplyEnabled>true</AutoReplyEnabled>
<CommonConfiguration>true</CommonConfiguration>
<HideAdminAccessWarningEnabled>true</HideAdminAccessWarningEnabled>
<MailTipsEnabled>true</MailTipsEnabled>
<OfflineAddressBookEnabled>true</OfflineAddressBookEnabled>
<PermissionManagementEnabled>true</PermissionManagementEnabled>
<SearchMessageEnabled>true</SearchMessageEnabled>
<SkipToUAndParentalControlCheckEnabled>true</SkipToUAndParentalControlCheckEnabled>
<SMTPAddressCheckWithAcceptedDomainEnabled>true</SMTPAddressCheckWithAcceptedDomainEnabled>
<!-- Permission Elements -->
<ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>true</ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>
<ActiveSyncPermissions>true</ActiveSyncPermissions>
<ArchivePermissions>true</ArchivePermissions>
<CalendarConnectionPermissions>true</CalendarConnectionPermissions>
<ChangeMailboxPlanAssignmentPermissions>true</ChangeMailboxPlanAssignmentPermissions>
<EwsPermissions>true</EwsPermissions>
<ImapPermissions>true</ImapPermissions>
<JournalingRulesPermissions>true</JournalingRulesPermissions>
<LitigationHoldPermissions>true</LitigationHoldPermissions>
<MailTipsPermissions>true</MailTipsPermissions>
<ManagedFoldersPermissions>true</ManagedFoldersPermissions>
<MessageTrackingPermissions>true</MessageTrackingPermissions>
<ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>true</ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>
<NewUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</NewUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>true</OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>
<OutlookAnywherePermissions>true</OutlookAnywherePermissions>
<OWAMailboxPolicyPermissions>true</OWAMailboxPolicyPermissions>
<OWAPermissions>true</OWAPermissions>
<PopPermissions>true</PopPermissions>
<ProfileUpdatePermissions>true</ProfileUpdatePermissions>
<RBACManagementPermissions>true</RBACManagementPermissions>
<RecipientManagementPermissions>true</RecipientManagementPermissions>
<ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<RetentionTagsPermissions>true</RetentionTagsPermissions>
<RoleAssignmentPolicyPermissions>true</RoleAssignmentPolicyPermissions>
<SearchMessagePermissions>true</SearchMessagePermissions>
<SetHiddenFromAddressListPermissions>true</SetHiddenFromAddressListPermissions>
<SMSPermissions>true</SMSPermissions>
<TransportRulesPermissions>true</TransportRulesPermissions>
<UserMailboxAccessPermissions>true</UserMailboxAccessPermissions>
<!-- Quota Elements (Always Required) -->
<ContactCountQuota>600000</ContactCountQuota>
<DistributionListCountQuota>300000</DistributionListCountQuota>
<MailboxCountQuota>600000</MailboxCountQuota>
<MailUserCountQuota>300000</MailUserCountQuota>
<RecipientMailSubmissionRateQuota>Unlimited</RecipientMailSubmissionRateQuota>
</Organization>
<MailboxPlans>
<MailboxPlan Name="DefaultMailboxPlan" MailboxPlanIndex="0" ProvisionAsDefault="true">
<!-- Boolean Elements -->
<ActiveSyncEnabled>true</ActiveSyncEnabled>
<EwsEnabled>true</EwsEnabled>
<ImapEnabled>true</ImapEnabled>
<OrganizationalQueryBaseDNEnabled>true</OrganizationalQueryBaseDNEnabled>
<OutlookAnywhereEnabled>true</OutlookAnywhereEnabled>
<PopEnabled>true</PopEnabled>
<ShowInAddressListsEnabled>true</ShowInAddressListsEnabled>
<SkipResetPasswordOnFirstLogonEnabled>true</SkipResetPasswordOnFirstLogonEnabled>
<!-- Permission Elements-->
<ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>true</ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>
<ActiveSyncPermissions>true</ActiveSyncPermissions>
<AutoGroupPermissions>true</AutoGroupPermissions>
<ImapPermissions>true</ImapPermissions>
<MailTipsPermissions>true</MailTipsPermissions>
<MessageTrackingPermissions>true</MessageTrackingPermissions>
<ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>true</ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>
<OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>true</OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>
<PopPermissions>true</PopPermissions>
<ProfileUpdatePermissions>true</ProfileUpdatePermissions>
<ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<RetentionTagsPermissions>true</RetentionTagsPermissions>
<SMSPermissions>true</SMSPermissions>
<UserMailboxAccessPermissions>true</UserMailboxAccessPermissions>
<!-- Quotas Elements -->
<MaxReceiveTransportQuota>1GB</MaxReceiveTransportQuota>
<MaxRecipientsTransportQuota>5000</MaxRecipientsTransportQuota>
<MaxSendTransportQuota>1GB</MaxSendTransportQuota>
<ProhibitSendReceiveMaiboxQuota>10GB</ProhibitSendReceiveMaiboxQuota>
</MailboxPlan>
</MailboxPlans>
</Configuration>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!-- ***************************************************************
Warning:
This is a Sample ServicePlan and should not be used as Production Offering.
This file will be replaced in case of Exchange Upgrade.
*************************************************************** -->
<Configuration Version="1.0">
<Organization>
<!-- Global Elements -->
<AddressListsEnabled>true</AddressListsEnabled>
<ApplicationImpersonationEnabled>true</ApplicationImpersonationEnabled>
<AutoForwardEnabled>true</AutoForwardEnabled>
<AutoReplyEnabled>true</AutoReplyEnabled>
<CommonConfiguration>true</CommonConfiguration>
<HideAdminAccessWarningEnabled>true</HideAdminAccessWarningEnabled>
<MailTipsEnabled>true</MailTipsEnabled>
<OfflineAddressBookEnabled>true</OfflineAddressBookEnabled>
<PermissionManagementEnabled>true</PermissionManagementEnabled>
<SearchMessageEnabled>true</SearchMessageEnabled>
<SkipToUAndParentalControlCheckEnabled>true</SkipToUAndParentalControlCheckEnabled>
<SMTPAddressCheckWithAcceptedDomainEnabled>true</SMTPAddressCheckWithAcceptedDomainEnabled>
<!-- Permission Elements -->
<ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>true</ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>
<ActiveSyncPermissions>true</ActiveSyncPermissions>
<ArchivePermissions>true</ArchivePermissions>
<CalendarConnectionPermissions>true</CalendarConnectionPermissions>
<ChangeMailboxPlanAssignmentPermissions>true</ChangeMailboxPlanAssignmentPermissions>
<EwsPermissions>true</EwsPermissions>
<ImapPermissions>true</ImapPermissions>
<JournalingRulesPermissions>true</JournalingRulesPermissions>
<LitigationHoldPermissions>true</LitigationHoldPermissions>
<MailTipsPermissions>true</MailTipsPermissions>
<MessageTrackingPermissions>true</MessageTrackingPermissions>
<ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>true</ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>
<NewUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</NewUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>true</OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>
<OutlookAnywherePermissions>true</OutlookAnywherePermissions>
<OWAMailboxPolicyPermissions>true</OWAMailboxPolicyPermissions>
<OWAPermissions>true</OWAPermissions>
<PopPermissions>true</PopPermissions>
<ProfileUpdatePermissions>true</ProfileUpdatePermissions>
<RBACManagementPermissions>true</RBACManagementPermissions>
<RecipientManagementPermissions>true</RecipientManagementPermissions>
<ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<RetentionTagsPermissions>true</RetentionTagsPermissions>
<RoleAssignmentPolicyPermissions>true</RoleAssignmentPolicyPermissions>
<SearchMessagePermissions>true</SearchMessagePermissions>
<SetHiddenFromAddressListPermissions>true</SetHiddenFromAddressListPermissions>
<SMSPermissions>true</SMSPermissions>
<TransportRulesPermissions>true</TransportRulesPermissions>
<UserMailboxAccessPermissions>true</UserMailboxAccessPermissions>
<!-- Quota Elements (Always Required) -->
<ContactCountQuota>600000</ContactCountQuota>
<DistributionListCountQuota>300000</DistributionListCountQuota>
<MailboxCountQuota>600000</MailboxCountQuota>
<MailUserCountQuota>600000</MailUserCountQuota>
<RecipientMailSubmissionRateQuota>500</RecipientMailSubmissionRateQuota>
</Organization>
<MailboxPlans>
<MailboxPlan Name="DefaultMailboxPlan" MailboxPlanIndex="0" ProvisionAsDefault="true">
<!-- Boolean Elements -->
<ActiveSyncEnabled>true</ActiveSyncEnabled>
<EwsEnabled>true</EwsEnabled>
<ImapEnabled>true</ImapEnabled>
<OrganizationalQueryBaseDNEnabled>true</OrganizationalQueryBaseDNEnabled>
<OutlookAnywhereEnabled>true</OutlookAnywhereEnabled>
<PopEnabled>true</PopEnabled>
<ShowInAddressListsEnabled>true</ShowInAddressListsEnabled>
<SkipResetPasswordOnFirstLogonEnabled>true</SkipResetPasswordOnFirstLogonEnabled>
<!-- Permission Elements-->
<ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>true</ActiveSyncDeviceDataAccessPermissions>
<ActiveSyncPermissions>true</ActiveSyncPermissions>
<AutoGroupPermissions>true</AutoGroupPermissions>
<ImapPermissions>true</ImapPermissions>
<MailTipsPermissions>true</MailTipsPermissions>
<MessageTrackingPermissions>true</MessageTrackingPermissions>
<ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>true</ModeratedRecipientsPermissions>
<OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>true</OrganizationalAffinityPermissions>
<PopPermissions>true</PopPermissions>
<ProfileUpdatePermissions>true</ProfileUpdatePermissions>
<ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>true</ResetUserPasswordManagementPermissions>
<RetentionTagsPermissions>true</RetentionTagsPermissions>
<SMSPermissions>true</SMSPermissions>
<UserMailboxAccessPermissions>true</UserMailboxAccessPermissions>
<!-- Quotas Elements -->
<MaxReceiveTransportQuota>20MB</MaxReceiveTransportQuota>
<MaxRecipientsTransportQuota>5000</MaxRecipientsTransportQuota>
<MaxSendTransportQuota>20MB</MaxSendTransportQuota>
<ProhibitSendReceiveMaiboxQuota>25GB</ProhibitSendReceiveMaiboxQuota>
</MailboxPlan>
</MailboxPlans>
</Configuration>
Edit the mailbox plans (if req'd) for each service plan
Add service plans to the service plan map
# ServicePlanHostingRemap.csv, version 1
#Column headers:
#ProgramId,OfferId,ServicePlanName
# Hosting Sample Offers
##################
HostingSample,2,HostingAllFeatures_Sample
HostingSample,3,HostingBusinessMapi_Sample
HostingSample,4,HostingBusinessNonMapi_Sample
OCCTO,5,OCCTO_ServicePlan
Transportation,6,Transportation_ServicePlan
Create Tenant Organizations
New-Organization -Name "police.ontoso.gov" -DomainName "police.contoso.gov" -Location "en-us" -ProgramId "Tourism" -OfferId "5"
New-Organization -Name "police.ontoso.gov" -DomainName "police.contoso.gov" -Location "en-us" -ProgramId "Police" -OfferId "6"
Figure 30: Create Tenenant Organization using PowerShell
Create users
New-Mailbox -name "Pamela Erling" -alias "pamela" -Organization "police.contoso.gov" -UserPrincipalName pamela@police.contoso.gov
New-Mailbox -name "Patty Fisher" -alias "patty" -Organization "police.contoso.gov" -UserPrincipalName patty@police.contoso.gov
New-Mailbox -name "Tom Gregory" -alias "tom" -Organization "tourism.contoso.gov" -UserPrincipalName tom@tourism.contoso.gov
New-Mailbox -name "Ted Johnson" -alias "ted" -Organization "tourism.contoso.gov" -UserPrincipalName ted@tourism.contoso.gov
Figure 31: Create New User mailbox using PowerShell
Figure 32: Create New User mailbox using PowerShell
Figure 33: Create New User mailbox using PowerShell
Figure 34: Create New User mailbox using PowerShell
Check differences with Get-Mailbox
PowerShell Script
get-mailbox -organization police.contoso.gov
get-mailbox -organization tourism.contoso.gov
Figure 35: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 36: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 37: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 38: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 39: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 40: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 41: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 42: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 43: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 44: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 45: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 46: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
Figure 47: Access OWA to verify user mailbox setup
TroubleShooting refrences
Troubleshooting VMM
Please follow the link for troubleshooting any issue with VMM http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc764272.aspx
Troubleshooting Exchange Setup
- Troubleshooting the Exchange Management Console
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd876948.aspx
- Troubleshooting the Exchange Management Shell
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd351136.aspx
Appendix A – Hyper-V Host Server Farm Pattern
The Host Server Farm architecture pattern is illustrated below.
The architecture consists of a multi-node Windows Server 2008 R2 cluster leveraging a shared storage system such as an iSCSI or Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN) and storage array. Each node of the cluster runs Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V.
This pattern provides server consolidation and high availability on a greater scale.
Supports up to 16 nodes in a single cluster configuration.
Virtual machines can run on any node of the cluster.
In the event of a node failure, the virtual machines will be restarted automatically on any node that has the available capacity to host the failed resources.
Figure i: Hyper-V Server Farm pattern
Information
The Host Server Farm pattern provides high availability as well as better use of hardware since a single physical host can serve a passive node for up to 15 active nodes.
Appendix B – Host Cluster patterns
The cluster has quorum if one node is available and in communication with a specific disk in the cluster storage. Only the nodes that are also in communication with that disk can join the cluster.
Microsoft Recommendations
This pattern is not recommended for High Availability as the disk can be a single point of failure.
Node Majority is a quorum model where each node that is available and in communication can vote. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half.
Microsoft Recommendations
This pattern is recommended in Failover Cluster deployments containing an odd number of nodes.
Node and Disk Majority is a quorum model in Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clustering. In this quorum model, a cluster remains active until half of the nodes and its witness disk is available. In case, the witness disk is offline, a cluster requires a majority of nodes to be up and running in order to successfully run the cluster. This model contains two or more nodes connected to a shared storage device. The witness disk is stored on the cluster disk. This quorum model is used in scenarios where all nodes are connected to a shared storage device on the same network.
Microsoft Recommendations
This pattern is recommended in Failover Cluster deployments containing an even number of nodes.
The file share witness feature is an improvement to the current Majority Node Set (MNS) quorum model. This feature lets you use a file share that is external to the cluster as an additional "vote" to determine the status of the cluster.
Microsoft Recommendations
This pattern is recommended in Failover Cluster deployments containing an even number of nodes and for Multi-Site failover clusters.
Figure ii: Host Cluster Patterns
Appendix C – Network Architecture
The network architecture of the host server is a frequently overlooked topic in host server sizing because Gigabit Ethernet NICs are now very inexpensive and most servers have at least two built in. The topic is important, however, because it is directly impacted by the host server architecture pattern selected. If one of the two host server cluster patterns is selected, a dedicated NIC per server is required for the cluster private (heartbeat) network. Gigabit Ethernet is a high-speed network transport, though a host server with a large number of guests may require greater than Gigabit speed, thus requiring additional NICs. Finally, it is recommended that each host server have a NIC dedicated to the host itself for network I/O and management.
A fairly large number of NICs per host server may be required. Recently, 10-Gigabit Ethernet has become commonly available and is starting to drift lower in price, similar to the way Gigabit Ethernet has done over the years. The ability for servers to utilize 10-Gigabit Ethernet NICs is a significant factor in increasing the consolidation ratio.
Microsoft Recommendations
Use multiple NICs and multi-port NICs on each host server.
One NIC dedicated to the host machine only for management purposes
One NIC dedicated to the private Cluster Heartbeat network
One NIC dedicated to the Live Migration network
One or more NICs dedicated to the guest virtual machines (use 10 gpbs NICS for highest consolidation)
Two or more NICs dedicated to iSCSI with MPIO
Dedicate at least one NIC/Port on each host server for guest virtual machine network I/O. For maximum consolidation ratio, utilize one or more 10-Gigabit Ethernet NICs to virtual machine network I/O.
Warning
Microsoft does not support the use of NIC teaming software. Support for these third-party technologies must be provided by the vendor.
Appendix D - Processor Architecture
Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V requires x64 processor architecture from Intel or AMD, as well as support for hardware execute disable and hardware virtualization such as Intel VT or AMD-V.
Both Intel and AMD provide a wide range of processors that are appropriate for host servers. The industry competition between the two is very tight and at any one time; one may have a performance advantage over the other. Regardless of which manufacturer is chosen, several performance characteristics are important.
The number of processor cores is a key performance characteristic. Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V makes excellent use of multi-core processors, so the more cores the better. Another important characteristic is the processor clock speed, which is the speed at which all cores in the processor will operate. It's important because it will be the clock speed of all of the guest virtual machines. This is a key variable in the consolidation ratio because it impacts the amount of candidates that the host server can handle and the speed at which those guests will operate. As an example, choosing 2 GHz processor rather than a 3 GHz processor on a server that will host 20 guests means that all of those guests will run only at 2 GHz.
At a lower level of detail, the server processor architectures make design choices in terms of the type and quantity of processor cache, memory controller architecture, and bus/transport architecture. A detailed analysis of these factors is beyond the scope of this document.
Microsoft Recommendations
x64 processor architectures are required for all Hyper-V host server architecture patterns. If you are purchasing new servers, we recommend working with your server vendor to ensure that the selected hardware is capable of running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V, and that it is validated for Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clustering. For new servers, we recommend selecting the maximum number of cores per processor available and choosing the fastest or second fastest clock speed available.
Appendix E – Memory Architecture
Once the system architecture and processor architecture choices are made, there are relatively few options remaining for memory architecture because it is usually predetermined by the manufacturer/system/processor combination. The memory architecture choices that remain are typically quantity, speed, and latency. For Hyper-V, the most important memory architecture choice is the quantity of RAM. Most consolidated workloads (that is, individual guest virtual machines) will require at least 512 MB to 1 GB of RAM or more. Since most commodity four-socket servers can only cost effectively support between 32 and 128 GB of RAM, this is frequently the limiting factor in host server capacity.
The quantity of RAM is a more important factor than RAM speed or latency. Once the maximum amount of RAM that is cost effective is determined, if there is a remaining choice between speed and latency, choosing the memory with lower latency is recommended.
Microsoft Recommendations
Given the system and processor architectures already selected, we recommend utilizing the maximum amount of RAM that can be cost effectively added to the host system. Typically, there is a price point where the cost of moving to the next DIMM size (that is, 2 GB DIMMs to 4 GB DIMMs) is more than twice the cost, and in some cases, it approaches the cost of an entire server. We recommend fully populating the server up to that price point. For example, if the server has 8 DIMM slots and 4 GB DIMMs are much more than twice the cost of 2 GB DIMMs, we recommend fully populating the server with 2 GB DIMMs and considering a second host server if additional capacity is required.
For all host server architecture patterns, we recommend a minimum of 16 GB of RAM.
For Multi-Node Host Server Farm patterns, we recommend a minimum of 64 GB per server.
Appendix F - Drive types
The type of hard drive utilized in the host server or the storage array the host servers will have a significant impact on the overall storage architecture performance. The critical performance factors for hard disks are the interface architecture (for example, U320 SCSI, SAS, SATA), the rotational speed of the drive (7200, 10k, 15k RPM), and the average latency in milliseconds. Additional factors, such as the cache on the drive, and support for advanced features, such as Native Command Queuing (NCQ), can improve performance. As with the storage connectivity, high IOPS and low latency are more critical than maximum sustained throughput when it comes to host server sizing and guest performance. When selecting drives, this translates into selecting those with the highest rotational speed and lowest latency possible. Utilizing 15k RPM drives over 10k RPM drives can result in up to 35% more IOPS per drive.
SCSI
SCSI drives are rapidly being replaced by SATA, SAS, and Fibre Channel drives. SCSI drives are not recommended for new host server architectures; however, existing servers with U320 SCSI drives can provide excellent performance characteristics.
SATA
SATA drives are a low cost and relatively high performance option for storage. SATA drives are available primarily in the 1.5 GB/s and 3.0 GB/s standards (SATA I and SATA II) with a rotational speed of 7200 RPM and average latency of around 4 ms. There are a few SATA I drives that operate at 10k RPM and average latency of 2 ms that can provide an excellent low cost storage solution.
SAS
SAS drives are typically much more expensive than SATA drives but can provide significantly higher performance in both throughput, and more importantly, low latency. SAS drives typically have a rotational speed of 10k or 15k RPM with an average latency of 2 to 3 ms.
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel drives are usually the most expensive and typically have similar performance characteristics to SAS drives but use a different interface. The choice of Fibre Channel or SAS drives is usually determined by the choice of storage array. As with SAS, they are typically offered in 10k and 15k RPM variants with similar average latencies.
Microsoft Recommendations
Fibre Channel 15k RPM drives are recommended for Host Server Farm patterns.
If you are using a Fibre Channel SAN, ensure that the switch and director infrastructure is sized to handle the large amount of storage I/O that will be generated from the consolidated servers.
Appendix G - Disk Redundancy Architecture
Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disk (RAID) is strongly recommended for all Hyper-V host storage. By definition, Hyper-V hosts run and store data from multiple workloads. RAID is necessary to ensure that availability is maintained during disk failure. In addition, if properly selected and configured, RAID arrays can provide improvements in overall performance.
RAID 1
RAID 1 is disk mirroring. Two drives store identical information so that one is a mirror of the other. For every disk operation, the system must write the same information to both disks. Because dual write operations can degrade system performance, many employ duplexing, where each mirror drive has its own host adapter. While the mirror approach provides good fault tolerance, it is relatively expensive to implement because only half of the available disk space can be used for storage, while the other half is used for mirroring.
RAID 5
Also known as striping with parity, this level is a popular strategy for low- or mid-range storage systems. RAID 5 stripes the data in large blocks across the disks in an array. RAID 5 writes parity data across all the disks in the RAID 5 set. Data redundancy is provided by the parity information. The data and parity information is arranged on the disk array so that the two types of information are always on different disks. Striping with parity can offer better performance than disk mirroring (RAID 1). However, when a stripe member is missing, read performance is decreased (for example, when a disk fails). RAID 5 is a less expensive option because it utilizes drive space more efficiently than RAID 1.
RAID 1+0 (RAID 10)
This level is also known as mirroring with striping. RAID 1+0 uses a striped array of disks that are then mirrored to another identical set of striped disks. For example, a striped array can be created by using five disks. The striped array of disks is then mirrored using another set of five striped disks. RAID 1+0 provides the performance benefits of disk striping with the disk redundancy of mirroring. RAID 1+0 provides the highest read-and-write performance of any one of the other RAID levels, but at the expense of using twice as many disks.
RAID levels that are higher than 10 (1 + 0) may offer additional fault tolerance or performance enhancements. These levels generally are proprietary systems.
For more information about these types of RAID systems, contact your storage hardware vendor.
Microsoft Recommendations
RAID 1 or RAID 1+0 is recommended for the system volume in all host server architecture patterns.
RAID 1+0 is recommended for the data volumes in the Host Server Farm patterns.
Appendix H - Fibre Channel Storage Area Network
Fibre Channel storage area networks provide high speed, low latency connectivity to storage arrays. Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) are utilized by the host servers to connect to the Fibre Channel SAN via switches and directors. Fibre Channel SANs are typically used in concert with mid to high end storage arrays, which provide a multitude of features such as RAID, disk snapshots, multipath IO.
The following table show a comparison between the different connecting methods and the theoretical throughput that can be achieved by it. Some of these connection methods are for direct attached storage only and are showed here for comparative reason.
Architecture | Throughput (theoretical max Megabyte/sec) |
iSCSI (Gigabit Ethernet) | 125 MB/s |
Fibre Channel (2 GFC) | 212.5 MB/s |
SATA (SATA II) | 300 MB/s |
SCSI (U320) | 320 MB/s |
SAS | 375 MB/s |
Fibre Channel (4 GFC) | 425 MB/s |
Table i: Comparison of Disk Controller throughput speeds
Microsoft Recommendations
Direct attached storage or iSCSI SAN storage is recommended for the Single Host Server architecture pattern.
iSCSI or Fibre Channel SANs are recommended for the Two-Node Host Cluster pattern.
Fibre Channel SANs are recommended for the Host Server Farm pattern.
For performance and security reasons, it is strongly recommended that iSCSI SANs utilize dedicated NICs and switches that are separate from the LAN.
Appendix I - Disk Controller or HBA Interface
The disk controller interface determines the types of drives that can be utilized as well as the speed and latency of the storage I/O. The table below summarizes the most commonly utilized disk controller interfaces.
Architecture | Throughput (theoretical max Megabyte/sec) |
iSCSI (Gigabit Ethernet) | 125 MB/s |
Fibre Channel (2 GFC) | 212.5 MB/s |
SATA (SATA II) | 300 MB/s |
SCSI (U320) | 320 MB/s |
SAS | 375 MB/s |
Fibre Channel (4 GFC) | 425 MB/s |
Table ii: Comparison of Disk Controller Interfaces
Microsoft Recommendations
SATA II or SAS are recommended for the Single Host Server architecture pattern, with SAS being the preferred option.
iSCSI, 2 GFC Fibre Channel, or 4 GFC Fibre Channel are recommended for the Two-Node Host Cluster architecture pattern.
4 GFC Fibre Channel is recommended for the Host Server Farm architecture pattern.
Appendix J - Cluster Shared Volumes
Server 2008 R2 includes the first version of Windows Failover Clustering to offer a distributed file access solution. Cluster Share Volumes (CSV) in R2 is exclusively for use with the Hyper-V role and enables all nodes in the cluster to access the same cluster storage volumes at the same time. This enhancement eliminates the 1 VM per LUN requirement of previous Hyper-V versions. CSV uses standard NTFS and has no special hardware requirements, if the storage is suitable for Failover Clustering, it is suitable for CSV.
Because all cluster nodes can access all CSV volumes simultaneously, we can now use standard LUN allocation methodologies based on performance and capacity requirements of the workloads running within the VMs themselves. Generally speaking, isolating the VM Operating System I/O from the application data I/O is a good rule of thumb, in addition to application-specific I/O considerations such as segregating databases and transaction logs and creating SAN volumes that factor in the I/O profile itself (i.e., random read and write operations vs. sequential write operations).
CSV provides not only shared access to the disk, but also disk I/O fault tolerance. In the event the storage path on one node becomes unavailable, the I/O for that node will be rerouted via Server Message Block (SMB) through another node. There is a performance impact while running this state; it is designed for use as a temporary failover path while the primary dedicated storage path is brought back online. This feature can use the Live Migration network and further increases the need for a dedicated, gigabit or higher NIC for CSV and Live Migration.
CSV maintains metadata information about the volume access and requires that some I/O operations take place over the cluster communications network. One node in the cluster is designated as the coordinator node and is responsible for these disk operations. Virtual Machines, however, have direct I/O access to the volumes and only use the dedicated storage paths for disk I/O, unless a failure scenario occurs as described above.
Figure iii: CSV Volume Allocation
Microsoft Recommendations
Use Cluster Shared Volumes in Two-Node and Host Server Farm architecture patterns.
Allocate SAN LUNs and corresponding CSV volumes based on workload I/O requirements.
Use gigabit Ethernet or higher for all cluster communication networks, including the Private Cluster Heartbeat and Live Migration networks.
Appendix K - System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2 2008
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 delivers simple and complete support for consolidating multiple physical servers within a virtual infrastructure, thereby helping to increase overall utilisation of physical servers. This is supported by consolidation candidate identification, fast Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) migration and intelligent workload placement based on performance data and user defined business policies. VMM enables rapid provisioning of new virtual machines by the administrator and end users using a self-service provisioning tool. Finally, VMM provides the central management console to manage all the building blocks of a virtualised data centre. Virtual Machine Manager 2008 also enables administrators and authorised users to rapidly provision virtual machines.
Virtual Machine Manager Server
The VMM server is the hub of a VMM deployment through which all other VMM components interact and communicate. The VMM server runs the VMM service, which runs commands, transfers files, and controls communications with other VMM components and with all virtual machine hosts and VMM library servers, collectively referred to as managed computers. The VMM service is run through the VMM agents that are installed on the managed computers. By default, the VMM server is also the default library server.
Microsoft SQL Server Database
The SQL Server database can be hosted on all versions of SQL Server from Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to Microsoft SQL Server 2008.System Center Virtual Machine Manager stores performance and configuration data, virtual machine settings, and other virtual machine metadata in a SQL Server database. For reporting, Virtual Machine Manager takes advantage of SQL Server Reporting Services through Operations Manager. Larger organisations can also configure VMM to work with a remote clustered SQL Server database and a storage-area network (SAN) or network-attached storage (NAS) system.
VMM Library Servers
The virtualised data centre relies on the ability to find and maintain very large image files for virtual machines (known as virtual hard drives, or VHD files). Unlike a physical server, these virtual hard drives can be unintentionally lost or duplicated. VMM provides a complete library to help administrators quickly create new virtual machines. The library organises and manages all the - building blocks of the virtual data centre in a single interface, including:
The graphical user-interface (GUI) allows administrators to effectively manage an environment of hundreds of virtual machines. The Virtual Machine Manager Administrator Console is built on the familiar System Center framework user interface so that administrators can quickly and easily become proficient at managing their virtual machines. The VMM Administrator Console is designed to manage large deployments with easy sorting, categorisation, search, and navigation features.
The Administrator Console integrates with System Center Operations Manager 2007 to provide insight into the physical environment as well as the virtual environment. With the ability to map the relationship of virtual and physical assets, IT administrators can more effectively plan hardware maintenance, for example.
For geographically disperse operations, distributed VMM library servers facilitate the quick transmission of assets to physical hosts at the edge of the organisation, enabling rapid creation and deployment of virtual machines in branch offices.
Delegated Management and Provisioning Web Portal
In addition to using the GUI administrator console and the Windows PowerShell command-line interface, administrator-designated end-users and others can access VMM by way of a Web portal designed for user self-service. This portal enables users to quickly provision new virtual machines for themselves, according to controls set by the administrator.
Appendix L – Hyper-V Overview
Microsoft Hyper-V was designed to minimize the attack surface on the virtual environment. The Hypervisor itself is isolated to a microkernel, independent of third-party drivers. Host portions of the Hyper-V activities are isolated in a parent partition, separate from each guest. The parent partition itself is a virtual machine. Each guest virtual machine operates in its own child partition.
These are the recommended security best practices on a Hyper-V environment, cumulative to the usual security best practices for physical servers:
Figure iv: Hyper-V Environment
Appendix M – Hardware Architecture
Hyper-V Management Server
The recommended server configuration for the Hyper-V Management Server is:
Server Architecture |
2 x Xeon Quad Core Processors x64 |
32 GB of RAM |
2 x 150 GB (300GB) RAID 1 OS Partition with Array - SAS RAID Controller |
Local or External Storage (ISCSI/FC) |
Up to 4 x 1GBps Network ports (Management/Virtual/External and potentially ISCSI Networks) |
Table iv: Management Host Server Architecture
Note: Optionally, the virtual management servers can be installed on individual physical servers (running Hyper-V) where necessary to allow for more scaling of resources.
The Virtualised Management Servers which will be used have the following resource requirements:
Hyper-V Cluster Nodes
The recommended server specification for each cluster node is:
Server Architecture |
2 x Xeon Quad Core Processors x64 |
48GB of RAM |
2 x 150 GB (300GB) RAID 1 OS Partition with Array - SAS RAID Controller |
Optional 2GBps FC HBA (if using FC SAN) |
External Storage (ISCSI/FC) – 5TB |
Up to 3 x 1GBps Network ports (Management/Virtual/Live Migration/ Heartbeat and potentially ISCSI Networks) Minimum required is 2. |
Table v: Cluster Host Server Architecture
Disk Storage
The Hyper-V host servers should utilise local storage for the operating system and the paging file.
The drives utilised by the operating system should be configured as RAID 1.
HBA/ISCSI Interface
Each server should be fitted with either a separate ISCSI network adapter or a single channel FC HBA to connect to the SAN.
Virtual Machine Storage
In Hyper-V R2, the performance of Dynamically Expanding disks has increased dramatically and are now viable options for production use, GPC-POC
will use Dynamically Expanding disks for Virtual Hard Disks. This will reduce storage oversubscription and fragmentation.
In addition, the underlying storage should use Clustered Shared Volumes to store the Virtual Machines.
Quick Migration
All virtual machines that will be hosted on the Hyper-V infrastructure will be able to take advantage of the Quick migration feature. This will enable entire workloads to be moved between hosts in the event of planned downtime without service loss.
No guest modifications are needed or required and furthermore, Live Migration is also guest OS agnostic. The guest OS has no knowledge of a Live Migration and there are no restrictions as to what guest OS or workload can be migrated.
Operating System Version
The GPC-POC will utilise Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise or Datacenter editions as these support the memory and processing needs of large-scale, mission-critical applications.
Note: To be managed by the SCVMM server, it is necessary for the Cluster nodes to be part of the same Domain and as such the Cluster can only be built after the Management Servers are in place.
Cluster Host Server Overview
Figure iv: Cluster Host Server Overview
Appendix N – References
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506(SQL.100).aspx
Lab Configuration excel sheet 