DesignandSizingExamples:

MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchangeSolutionsonVMware

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page1of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

Contents

1.Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3
1.1.Overview............................................................................................................................................3
1.2.BenefitsofRunningExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructure3.........................................4
2.SampleDesign..................................................................................................................................5
2.1.SampleExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructureLandscape..............................................5
2.2.SampleExchangePhysicalLayout......................................................................................................6
2.3.SampleExchangeVirtualNetworkConfiguration..............................................................................7
2.4.SampleESXHostArchitecture/StorageInteraction...........................................................................9
2.5.SampleLogicalArchitecture.............................................................................................................10
2.6.SizingandConfigurationGuidelines................................................................................................10
2.7.ExchangeServerBuildingBlocks......................................................................................................11
2.8.SampleBuildingBlockSizing4,000users/AverageProfile..........................................................12
3.SizingandDeploymentExamples...................................................................................................14
3.1.Example14,000AverageProfileMailboxes.................................................................................14
3.2.Example216,000AverageProfileMailboxes...............................................................................15
3.3.Example364,000AverageProfileMailboxes...............................................................................16
4.DesignandDeploymentConsiderations.........................................................................................18
5.Summary.......................................................................................................................................18

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page2of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

1. Introduction
1.1. Overview
Exchangecanbeaverycomplexapplicationtodeployandtherearemanydesigndecisionstobe
madetoensureasolidsolution.WeknowthatrunningMicrosoftExchangeServer2007onVMware
Infrastructure3canpositivelyimpactdesign,deployment,availability,andoperations,butwhat
doessuchasolutionlooklike?

Inthisdocument,wellexploreasamplearchitecturedesign,illustratinganExchangeenvironment
runningonVMwareInfrastructure3.Thefocusofthisarchitectureistoprovideahighlevel
overviewofthesolutioncomponentswithdiagramstohelpillustratekeyconcepts.Fordetailed
bestpractices,pleaserefertotheBestPracticesGuideinthisSolutionKit.Thesampledesignwill
coverthefollowingsubjects:

SampleExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructureLandscape
SampleExchangePhysicalLayout
SampleExchangeVirtualNetworkConfiguration
SampleESXHostArchitecture/StorageInteraction
SampleLogicalArchitecture
SizingandConfigurationGuidelines
ExchangeServerBuildingBlocks

Theexampleshereshowhowthesecomponentscontributetotheoveralldesignandareintended
onlytoprovideaguideline.Customersshouldworkwiththeirinfrastructurevendorstodevelopa
detailedsizingandarchitectureplandesignedfortheirindividualrequirements.Afterdescribingthe
conceptsofoursampledesign,welltakealookatsizingexamplesofExchangeServer2007on
VMwareInfrastructure3forthreedifferentsizedorganizations:

4,000Averagemailboxprofiles
16,000Averagemailboxprofiles
64,000Averagemailboxprofiles

Itisimportanttonotethatthisdocumentdescribessamplesthatshouldbeviewedasamodelto
helpunderstandcomponentsandconcepts.OfficialsizingforExchangeenvironmentswillvary
basedonbusinessandtechnicalrequirementsaswellasserverandstoragehardwareplatforms.
VMwarerecommendsthatyouengageyourserverandstoragevendorsinyourdesignplansor
utilizeoneofthedetailed,hardwarespecificreferencearchitecturesfoundonourwebsiteandin
thePartnerResourcesCatalog.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page3of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

1.2. BenefitsofRunningExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructure3

Simpleandeffectiveevaluation,test,anddevelopmentenvironments.
ImprovedflexibilitywithExchange2007serverroles.
SimpleandreliableExchangedisasterrecovery(DR).
AbetterwaytoprovisionExchangeserverresources.
Higheravailabilitywithlesscomplexity.
UnprecedentedcontrolofExchangeserverswithVMwareVMotion.
Rapidprovisioningwithvirtualmachine(VM)templates.
Easiertestingandtroubleshootingwithsnapshotsandclones.
ImprovedExchangedesignflexibilitytomeetspecificrequirements.
Simplifiedmaintenanceandoperationofessentiallegacysystems.
Fullutilizationof64bithardware.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page4of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

2. SampleDesign
2.1. SampleExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructureLandscape
WhendeployingExchangeonVMwareInfrastructure,thesamerulesgenerallyapplyasthoseina
physicaldesign.Forexample,thereareadvantagestodistributingworkloadsbyseparatingthe
mailboxserverfromotherperipheralserverroles(CAS,HubTransport,etc.)whenyouareworking
withphysicalservers,andthosealsoapplywhendeployingExchangeonVMwareInfrastructure.The
figurebelowdemonstrateswhatsuchaninstallationmightlooklikeconceptually:

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page5of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

2.2. SampleExchangePhysicalLayout
Thefigurebelowdemonstratesasample16,000mailbox,averageuserprofileenvironmentwhere
eachoftheExchangeserverrolesrunsinitsownvirtualmachine.EachESXhosthasbeensizedto16
CPUsand48GBofRAMtohandletheworkloadof2MailboxServer,1HubTransport,and1Client
AccessServervirtualmachines.ToachievebestresultsinaVMwareenvironment,itisagood
practicetodivideouteachserverroleintoitsownvirtualmachinetoallowformoreefficient
workloadseparationaswellastoincreasetheamountofredundancyinthesystem.

Thelogicalseparationofthevirtualmachinesisalsoanimportantpartoftheabovedesign.When
workinginVMwareenvironmentsitisimportanttoclassifyandstructurevirtualmachineslogically
asyouwouldphysicalservers,andusingresourcepoolsisthebestwaytoaccomplishthisgoal.For
example,resourcepoolsallowforeasygroupingandlogicalseparationofproduction,test,and
developmentworkloads.Youcanalsoemploysomephysicalseparationasapartofyour
infrastructure,separatingthetestanddevelopmentenvironmentsfromtheproduction
environmentondifferentESXServersaswasdoneinthislayout,butitisnotnecessarytodoso.

Resourcepoolsalsohavetheaddedbenefitofensuringthatthemostimportantworkloadsmaintain
priorityfortheuseofthephysicalresources.Todothis,eachresourcepoolisallowedacertain
numberofshares.Thenumberofsharesdesignatedforeachresourcepoolwilldependonthe
workloadsforeachvirtualmachine.Intheabovegraphic,theProductionResourcePoolwouldbe
giventhemostnumberofsharesandtheDevelopmentandTestResourcePoolswouldbegiventhe
least.Intheeventofresourcecontention,wheretwoormorevirtualmachinesaretryingtousethe
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page6of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

sameresource(e.g.vCPU),thevirtualmachinewiththemostsharesassignedtoittakespriority
whiletheothervirtualmachineswillhavetowaitforthevCPUtobecomeavailable.Pleasereferto
thelatestResourceManagementGuideontheVMwareInfrastructure3documentationwebsite
formoredetailsonconfiguringandmanagingresourcepools.

WhenrunningMicrosoftExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructure,itisimportantto
considerwhichresourcepoolswillresideonwhichhardware.Itmaybedesirable(althoughnot
necessary)toseparatetheproductionenvironmentonphysicalhardware,justmakesurethereare
enoughphysicalresourcestoprovidetheavailabilityneededforproperoperationofVMwareHA,
VMwareDRS,andVMwareVMotion(thiswilldependontheoverallsizeoftheenvironment).

2.3. SampleExchangeVirtualNetworkConfiguration

ThisfigureisdesignedtohelpillustratehownetworkingishandledattheESXlevel.EachESXserver
needstohavethevirtualswitchesarchitectedtohandlethetypeofnetworktrafficthatwillbe
assignedtoeachofthedifferentvirtualmachines.Thefigurerepresentsasampleconfiguration
wheretheproductionresourcepoolissplitbetweentwodifferentphysicalservers(toreflect
redundancyforavailabilityconsiderations).Fromanetworkingperspectiveyouwillwanttomake
surethattheproductionnetworktrafficremainsseparatefromVMotionandAdmintraffic.Oneof
themosteffectivewaystohandletheseparationisbyintroducingVLANtechnologytologically
separatethetraffic.

Eachvirtualmachine(VM)actsindependently,andwillremaincompletelyisolateduntilnetworking
isconfigured.Whatmakestheenvironmentalittledifferentthanthoseinaphysicalworldisthat
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page7of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

theconfigurationneedstohaveaninternalnetworkconfiguredtoestablishcommunication
betweenVMsthatresideonthesamephysicalESXserver.Thisnetworktrafficishandledthrough
thevirtualswitch.

EachphysicalNICcouldbeconfiguredtoconnectdirectlytoanassignedVLAN,buttheVMotionand
Adminnetworksarenottypicallyusedheavily,whileproductionnetworktrafficisfairlyconstant
withExchange.OnepracticeistoteamalltheNICsontheESXserver,connectthemtotrunkports
ontheswitch,anduseVLANtaggingtodirectthetrafficattheswitchlevel.Thisallowsbetter
utilizationofbandwidthandfreesupthemajorityoftheESXServerscapacityforproductiontraffic
whentheVMotionandAdminVLANsarenotbeingheavilyused.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page8of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

2.4. SampleESXHostArchitecture/StorageInteraction
ThefollowingfigureisanexampleofhowtheESXhostandtheVMsmightinteractwiththe
underlyingstorage.Inthisexample,eachESXhostwouldruntwoMailboxServerVMs,oneHub
TransportVM,andoneClientAccessServerVM.

ESXHostArchitectureforExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructure3

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page9of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

2.5. SampleLogicalArchitecture
LogicalarchitecturesforExchangecangetverycomplex,especiallywhendesigninglarge,multisite
hierarchies.Forsimplicity,theexamplebelowisabasicsinglesite,singledomaindesign.Each
ExchangeMailboxServerVMisequippedtohandle4,000mailboxes,andeachESXhostisdesigned
tosupport8,000mailboxes.Theentiresolutionisdesignedtosupport16,000totalmailusers.

LogicalarchitectureforExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

2.6. SizingandConfigurationGuidelines
SizingofanExchangeServer2007environmentisacomplexprocesswithmanyvariablesincluding
businessrequirements,anticipatedmailboxworkloads,andhardwareplatform,tonameafew.The
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page10of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

goodnewsisthatsizinganExchangeServer2007environmentonVMwareInfrastructureisnearly
thesameassizingforphysicalservers.

OneadvantageofconfiguringExchangeonVMwareInfrastructureistheoptiontousepredefined
buildingblocksforthemailboxserverrole.TestingbyVMwareanditspartnershasfocusedon
fourprimarysizesformailboxvirtualmachinebuildingblocks:500,1000,2000,and4000users.
Testinghasvalidatedperformanceandsizingfortheseconfigurationsandeachhasknown
performanceprofileswhichcanbeleveragedforeasyExchangeserversizing,aswellasforeasily
scalingtheenvironmentasadditionalExchangeserversarebroughtonline.

ThesizingprocessbeginswithunderstandingandapplyingMicrosoftsguidelinesforeachserver
role,asrepresentedbythefollowinghighlevelprocesses:

Designthemailboxserverbuildingblock.
o DefinecurrentworkloadsusingtheMicrosoftExchangeServerProfileAnalyzer.
o Chooseanappropriatebuildingblock(500,1000,2000,and4000userblockshave
beentestedandvalidated,althoughlargerbuildingblocksmaybepossible).
o ApplyMicrosoftguidelinestodeterminetheCPUrequirements.
o ApplyMicrosoftguidelinestodeterminetheamountofmemoryrequired.
o UtilizetheExchange2007MailboxServerRoleStorageRequirementsCalculator
fromMicrosofttodeterminestoragerequirements.
Designtheperipheralserverroles.
o Determinehowmanymailboxserverbuildingblocksareneeded.
o Calculatethenumberofmailboxserverprocessorcores.
o UseMicrosoftGuidelinesforServerRoleRatiostocalculateprocessorandmemory
requirementsfortheHubTransportroles.
o UseMicrosoftGuidelinesforServerRoleRatiostocalculateprocessorandmemory
requirementsfortheClientAccessServerroles.
o Allocateoneormorevirtualmachinesforeachserverroletosatisfythepreviously
calculatednumberofprocessorcoresandamountofmemory.
DeterminehowthevirtualmachineswillbedistributedacrossESXhosts.
AggregatevirtualmachinerequirementsplussomeoverheadtosizeeachESXhost.

Storagesizingandconfigurationcanvarydependingonthestoragearrayusedandmanyvendors
haveuniqueenhancementstothestoragesolutionthatcanincreaseavailability,speedrecovery,
enhanceperformance,etc.Tooptimizeperformanceandtakeadvantageofthesefeatures,itis
highlyrecommendedthatthestoragepartnerbeincludedinthedesigneffort.

TherearemanyfacetstoanExchange2007deploymentbesidessizing.Exchange2007canbe
deployedintosomeverycomplex,multisitearchitecturesthatshouldbedesignedwiththe
assistanceofanExchangeexpert,whetherthatpersonisaninternalcompanyresourceorapartner
withexperiencedeployingbothExchangeandVMwareinfrastructures.Thehighlevelsizing
guidelinesdefinedabovearedescribedindetailintheBestPracticesGuideinthisSolutionKit.

2.7. ExchangeServerBuildingBlocks
ThebuildingblockapproachisarecommendedbestpracticeforcreatingavirtualizedExchange
environmentrunningonVMwareInfrastructure3usingpresizedvirtualmachineconfigurations.
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page11of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

Exchangeserversthathavedividedintovirtualmachinebuildingblocks(asopposedtolarger,
monolithicExchangeservers)cansimplifyserversizingduringtheinitialdeploymentandcreatea
highlyscalablesolutionusingvirtualmachineswithpredictableperformancepatterns.Testingby
VMwareanditspartnershasfocusedonfourprimarysizesformailboxvirtualmachinebuilding
blocksconsistingof500,1000,2000,and4000users.Theseconfigurationshaveknownperformance
profilesthatcanbeleveragedforrapidExchangeserversizingaswellaseasilyscalingenvironments
asadditionalExchangeserversneedtobebroughtonline.

Thetablebelowpresentssomeguidelinesforsizingthemailboxserverroleinavirtualmachine
usingthebuildingblockapproachformailboxeswiththeaverageuserIOPS(Input/Output
operationsPerSecond)profiles.Thesameprinciplesareusedforsizingtheotherprofiles.

BuildingblockCPUandRAMsizingformailboxeswithaverageprofiles
BuildingBlock
Profile
vCPU
BaseRAM(GB)
Variable(MB/Mailbox)
Total(GB)

500
Average
1
2
3.5MB/Mailbox
4

1000
Average
1
2
3.5MB/Mailbox
6

2000
Average
2
2
3.5MB/Mailbox
9

4000
Average
4
2
3.5MB/Mailbox
16

Source:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/plan/hardware.mspx

2.8. SampleBuildingBlockSizing4,000users/AverageProfile
UsingtheMicrosoftsizingguidelinesandthebuildingblockapproach,wewillapplytheformulato
sizea4,000userbuildingblockwithanaveragemailboxprofile.Thefollowingcalculationsare
meanttoserveasanexampleofthesizingprocess;customersareencouragedtousetheseas
guidelinesbutmustalsoevaluatespecificrequirementstodeterminethemostoptimaldeployment
modelsfortheirneeds.

Everyenvironmentisdifferentandsomeorganizationsuseemailmoreheavilythanothers.To
accuratelydetermineyourmailboxprofilerequirements,utilizetheMicrosoftExchangeServer
ProfileAnalyzer.Itisalsohighlyrecommendedthatyouworkwithaninternalorpartnerresource
thatisexperiencedwithExchangearchitecturestoensureproperperformanceinyourenvironment.
Inourexample,wewillbeusingtheaveragemailboxprofiledefinedbelow:

10messagessent/40receivedperday
Averagemessagesizeof50KB
500MBmailboxquota

Notethatthisexampledoesnottakeintoaccountaparticularstoragesolution.ManyofVMwares
storagepartnershavedoneextensivetestingonbuildingblocksofvaryingcapacitiesandworkload
characteristics.PleaserefertothePartnerResourceCatalogforstoragespecificimplementation
details.

2.8.1. MailboxServerResourceRequirements
Thefollowingtablesummarizestheresourcerequirementsforour4,000userbuildingblock.

4,000user/AverageProfileBuildingBlockRequirements
ExchangeRole
PhysicalResources(perserver)
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page12of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

MailboxServer

CPU: 4cores
Memory:16GB
OSandApplicationFileStorage:
16GB(OS&Applicationfiles)
DBStorage:
20x400GB10KRPMFC/SCSI/SAS3.5"
LogStorage:
4x300GB15KRPMFC/SCSI/SAS3.5"(Logs)
Network:1Gbps

2.8.2. GuestVMConfiguration

TheresourcerequirementsforExchangearedetailedbelowintheVMconfigurationofour
4,000user,mailboxserverbuildingblock.

ExchangeVMconfiguration
ExchangeRole
MailboxServer(4VMs)

VirtualHardware(perVM)
CPU: 4vCPU
Memory:16GB
Storage:SCSIController0
HDD1:16GB(OS&Applicationfiles)
HDD2:1101GB(SG1SG7Databases)
HDD3:1101GB(SG8SG14Databases)
HDD4:1101GB(SG15SG21Databases)
HDD5:96GB(SG1SG7Logs)
HDD6:96GB(SG8SG14Logs)
HDD7:96GB(SG15SG21Logs)
Network:NIC1

2.8.3. GuestVMStorageInteraction

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page13of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

3. SizingandDeploymentExamples
Usingthe4,000usermailboxserverbuildingblockandthesizingprocessdetailedintheBestPractices
document,thissectionhelpstodemonstratehowtoscaleouttoaccommodatealargernumberof
users.

3.1. Example14,000AverageProfileMailboxes
Theexamplebelowusesour4,000userbuildingblocknumberstoestimatetheamountof
processingandmemoryneededfortheCASandHubTransportRoles.Wethentranslatethe
estimatedresourcesintovirtualmachineandhostconfigurations.

3.1.1. ResourceRequirementsbyServerRole
UsingMicrosoftandVMwarebestpractices,wecanestimatetheresourcerequirementsofeach
serverrolebasedonserverroleratiosandMicrosoftsizingguidelines.Foranindepthlookat
thesizingandconfigurationprocess,pleaserefertheBestPracticesGuideinthisSolutionKit.

Resourcesrequiredtosupport4,000averageprofilemailboxes
ServerRole
#VMs
vCPU
vMemory
OS/AppStorage
(perVM)
(perVM)
(perVM)

Network

MailboxServer

16GB

16GB

NIC1

ClientAccess
Server
HubTransport
Server

2GB

16GB

NIC1

2GB

16GB
(+32GBforprotocol,tracking
logs,tempfiles)

NIC1

3.1.2. VMDistribution
DecidinghowtodistributetheExchangeworkloadonphysicalserversdependsonmanyfactors,
includingavailability/recoverymodel,corporatestandards,andcost.ByusingtwoESXhosts,we
canimplementadvancedVMwarefeaturessuchasHAandDRS.Also,byconfiguringbothhosts
toconnecttothesamesharedstorage,wecanutilizeVMotiontoreduceunplanneddowntime.

VMDistributionfor4,000averageusersacross2ESXhosts
ESXHost
VM(s)
ESXHost1
ExchangeMailboxVM1(4vCPU/16GBRAM)

ESXHost2
ExchangeClientAccessVM2(1 vCPU/2 GBRAM)
ExchangeHUBTransportVM2(1vCPU/2GBRAM)

3.1.3. HostSpecifications
EachESXhostservershouldprovideenoughphysicalhardwaretoaccommodatetheplanned
workloadandprovidesomeheadroomintheeventofaVMwareHAfailoverorplanned
VMotionmigrationofliveVMsforhosthardwaremaintenance.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page14of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

ESXHosthardwareconfigurationtosupport4,000averageprofilemailboxes
ESXHost
Configuration
AllESXHosts
8cores(2x4or4x2)
24GBRAM
2FiberChannelHBAs
4GigabitNetworkAdapters

3.2. Example216,000AverageProfileMailboxes
Theexamplebelowusesour4,000userbuildingblockandperipheralserverrolecalculationsto
showhowoursimple4,000userenvironmentcanscaleouttosupport16,000users.

3.2.1. ResourceRequirementsbyServerRole
Inthisexample,theMailboxServerbuildingblockisthesame;wevejustadded3moreofthem.
WealsoaddedanextraCASandanextraHubTransportVManduppedthememoryontheCAS
VMtohandletheextraworkloadfromthemailboxservers.

Resourcesrequiredtosupport16,000averageprofilemailboxes
ServerRole
#VMs
vCPU
vMemory
OS/AppStorage
(perVM)
(perVM)
(perVM)

Network

MailboxServer

16GB

16GB

NIC1

ClientAccess
Server
HubTransport
Server

4GB

16GB

NIC1

2GB

16GB
(+32GBforprotocol,tracking
logs,tempfiles)

NIC1

3.2.2. VMDistribution
Again,inthisexample,wevechosentousetwoESXhostsconnectedtosharedstoragetouse
advancedVMwarefeaturessuchasHAandDRS.

VMDistributionfor16,000averageusersacrosstwoESXhosts
ESXHost
VM(s)
ESXHost1
ExchangeMailboxVM1(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM2(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM1(2vCPU/4GBRAM)
ExchangeHubTransportVM1(2vCPU/2GBRAM)
ESXHost2
ExchangeMailboxVM3(4vCPU/16GB RAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM4(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM2(2vCPU/4GBRAM)
ExchangeHubTransportVM2(2vCPU/2GBRAM)

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page15of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

3.2.3. HostSpecifications
Notethatwearestillonlyusingtwophysicalmachinestosupportfourtimesthenumberof
mailboxesasthepreviousexample;wevejustincreasedtheprocessorandmemory
specificationsontheESXServerstosupporttheaddedload.

ESXHosthardwareconfigurationtosupport16,000averageprofilemailboxes
ESXHost
VM(s)
AllESXHosts
16cores (4x4)
48GBRAM
2FiberChannelHBAs
4GigabitNetworkAdapters

3.3. Example364,000AverageProfileMailboxes
Thisexampletakesourscalingmethodonestepfurtherbyshowinghowthe4,000userbuilding
blockandperipheralserverrolescalculationscanbeexpandedtosupport64,000averageprofile
mailboxes.

Althoughweveusedthe4,000userbuildingblockinthisexample,highermailboxconcentrations
arecertainlypossible,dependingonthespecificworkload.MailboxServerVMshavebeen
configuredtorun11,000mailboxesinproductioncustomerenvironments.Thatnoted,the4,000
userbuildingblockisofficiallytestedandrecommendedbyourserverandstoragepartners.Please
refertothePartnerResourcesCataloginthisSolutionKitformoreinformationaboutbuilding
blocksandperformancetesting.

3.3.1. ResourceRequirementsbyServerRole
Inthisexample,theMailboxServerbuildingblockisthesameandwevescaledto16VMs.We
alsoincreasedtheClientAccessServercounttoeightandtheHubTransportcounttofour.

Resourcesrequiredtosupport64,000averageprofilemailboxes
ServerRole
#VMs
vCPU
vMemory
OS/AppStorage
(perVM)
(perVM)
(perVM)

Network

MailboxServer

16

16GB

16GB

NIC1

ClientAccess
Server
HubTransport
Server

4GB

16GB

NIC1

2GB

16GB
(+32GBforprotocol,tracking
logs,tempfiles)

NIC1

3.3.2. ExchangeVMDistribution
Inthisexample,weveincreasedthephysicalservercounttoeightESXhostsandevenly
balancedtheinitialVMplacementacrossthem.

VMDistributionfor64,000averageusersacross8ESXhosts
ESXHost
VM(s)
ESXHost1
ExchangeMailboxVM1(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM2(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM1(2vCPU/4GBRAM)
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page16of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

ESXHost2

ESXHost3
(extraheadroom)

ESXHost4
(extraheadroom)

ESXHost6

ESXHost7
(extraheadroom)

ESXHost8
(extraheadroom)

ExchangeHub TransportVM1(2vCPU/2GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM3(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM4(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM2(2vCPU/4GBRAM)
ExchangeHubTransportVM2(2vCPU/2GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM5(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM6(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM3(2vCPU/4GBRAM)

ExchangeMailboxVM7(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM8(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM4(2vCPU/4GBRAM)

ExchangeMailboxVM11(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM12(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM6(2vCPU/4GBRAM)
ExchangeHubTransportVM4(2vCPU/2GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM13(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM14(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM7(2vCPU/4GBRAM)

ExchangeMailboxVM15(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeMailboxVM16(4vCPU/16GBRAM)
ExchangeClientAccessVM8(2vCPU/4GBRAM)

3.3.3. HostSpecifications
AlthoughweveincreasedtoeightESXhostsand64,000users,wearestillutilizingthesame
serverconfigurationasthe16,000userexample.

ESXhosthardwareconfigurationtosupport64,000averageprofilemailboxes
ESXHost
Specification
AllESXHosts
16cores(4x4)
48GBRAM
2FiberChannelHBAs
4GigabitNetworkAdapters

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page17of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

4. DesignandDeploymentConsiderations

ExchangeServer2007aggressivelyutilizesallthememoryprovidedtoitinaguest.ESXServer
cansupporthigherlevelsofmemoryovercommitmentifVMssharethesameOSand
applicationcodepages.Evenwithpagesharing,overcommitmentshouldbeattemptedwith
cautionifuserswanttoavoidperformanceimpactsduetoresourcecontention.VMware
recommendssetting"MemoryReservation"totheamountofmemoryconfiguredfortheVM.
FollowMicrosoftGuidelinesforstoragesizingusingtheExchange2007MailboxServerRole
StorageRequirementsCalculator.
Usethelatestprocessorgenerations(IntelDualCore,Xeon51xx,53xx;AMDRev.E/F)fortheir
enhancedsupportforvirtualization.
VMwarerecommendsatleastfourNICportsperESXhostmachinetoaddressnetworktraffic,
VMsecurityandisolation,VMotion,andManagement(serviceconsole).
VMwarerecommendsatleasttwoHBAportsperESXhostforredundancy.
TheNIC/HBAportsareminimumrecommendationsforeachESXhost.Moreportsmaybe
neededdependingonthenumberofvirtualmachinesandcustomerspecificnetworkand
storagerequirements.Thenumbershouldbedeterminedbyadetailedsizinganalysiswiththe
infrastructurevendor.

5. Summary
ThisdocumentshowssampleconfigurationsofExchangeServer2007onVMwareInfrastructure.These
examplesprovideahighlevelguidelineonlyandarenotintendedtoreflectcustomerspecific
workloads.Customersneedtoworkwiththeirinfrastructurevendorstobuildadetailedsizingand
architecturedesignthatmeetstheirindividualrequirements.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page18of19

DesignandSizingExamples:
MicrosoftExchange2007onVMwareInfrastructure

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA

Tel 650-427-5000 Fax 650-427-5001 www.vmware.com
2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.ProtectedbyoneormoreofU.S.PatentNos.6,397,242,
6,496,847,6,704,925,6,711,672,6,725,289,6,735,601,6,785,886,6,789,156,6,795,966,6,880,022,
6,961,941,6,961,806,6,944,699,7,069,413;7,082,598and7,089,377;patentspending.

2008VMware,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Page19of19