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Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Planning for Server Hardware

Learning Objectives Chapter 2

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Explain the hardware requirements for Windows 2000 Server Explain the importance of using Microsoft’s hardware compatibility list Determine specifications for your server in terms of the right processor type, bus type, and advanced bus features

Learning Objectives (continued) Chapter 2

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Select the right network interface card (NIC) for your server Calculate the amount of memory needed for your server Plan disk capacity, disk architecture, and fault tolerance Plan a backup system and CD-ROM specifications

System Requirements Chapter 2

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Use the Windows 2000 Server basic system requirements as a starting point from which to develop server computer specifications

Windows 2000 Server Minimum Hardware Requirements Chapter 2

Processor: Memory:

Hard disk Space:

Pentium 133Mhz Minimum Maximum 4 Processors 128MB Minimum 256MB Recommended 4GB Maximum 685MB* minimum 2GB recommended

* Minimum space required depends on the number of optional components installed

Windows 2000 Server Compatibility ■

Always check the Microsoft hardware compatibility list (HCL) before selecting computer hardware for a server ◆ Located

on the web at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl ◆ Located on the Windows 2000 Server CD under \Support\HCL.TXT ■

Chapter 2

Check every hardware component in the server for compatibility.

Hardware Listed in the HCL Chapter 2

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Single-processor computers Multiprocessor computers Processor upgrades PCMCIA hardware SCSI adapters and drives Video adapters

Hardware listed in the HCL (continued) ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Network adapters Audio adapters Modems Printers Tape devices Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)

Chapter 2

CPU Sizing Chapter 2

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Most servers today come with Pentium III or Pentium III Xeon Pentium III Processors begin at 500MHz Pentium 4 Processors begin at 1.4 GHz ◆ Clock

speed – Speed at which the CPU sends data through the bus. 1 MHz = One Million clock cycles per second.

Pentium Computers Chapter 2

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Processor cache: A data storage area that is only used by the system processor. Increases performance by storing frequently used information in very fast memory space. ◆ Level

1 (L1) cache, usually 8 - 64 KB, built into the processor ◆ Level 2 (L2) cache that supplements L1 cache and is usually 256 KB to 1 MB.

L2 Cache in Different Pentium Processors ■

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Pentium processor: L2 cache is usually an SRAM chip on the mother board Pentium Pro: L2 cache is built into the chip Pentium II and III: L2 cache is on a daughter board Celeron processor: has no L2 cache Xeon processor: has faster L2 caching for extra speed. Two to four times more expensive than non-Xeon processors

Chapter 2

Multiprocessor Computers Chapter 2

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Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP): employs two or more processors, including some computers that can support up to 32 processors Computers with more than one processor can execute multiple threads simultaneously if the OS and software are multithreaded

Clustering Computers Chapter 2

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Clustered computers operate as one to share resources, load-balance and provide fault tolerance (failover) ◆ Shared

disk model: All servers equally share resources including disks, CD-ROM and tape storage ◆ Shared nothing model: each cluster node owns and accesses a particular resource. If one node fails, another node can take over its resources.

Shared Disk Clustering Chapter 2

S e rv e r

D is k

T a p e d r iv e D is k

H ub

D is k

C D -R O M a rra y

D is k

S e rv e r

Figure 2-1 Shared disk clustering model

Shared Nothing Clustering Chapter 2

D is k

T a p e d riv e D is k

M a in c o n n e c tio n

D is k

C D -R O M a rra y

D is k

B a c k u p c o n n e c tio n s in c a s e o f s e rv e r fa ilu r e

D is k

Figure 2-2 Shared nothing clustering model

S e rv e r

H u b

S e rv e r

T a p e d riv e D is k

D is k

C D -R O M a rra y

D is k

M a in c o n n e c tio n

Bus Architectures Chapter 2

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Industry Standard (ISA): 8-bit and 16-bit bus architecture dating to the early 1980s Extended Industry Architecture (EISA): 32-bit bus built on the ISA architecture with faster throughput by means of bus mastering

Bus Architectures (continued) Chapter 2

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Micro channel Architecture (MCA): 32bit bus proprietary to IBM computers and having a slightly faster transfer rate than EISA Peripheral Computer Interface (PCI): 32-bit and 64-bit bus with the fastest data transfer rate and local bus capability

Plug and Play Chapter 2

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Plug and Play: Ability of added computer hardware, such as an adapter or modem, to identify itself to the operating system for installation Windows NT 4.0 was not plug-and-play compatible. Always download the latest drivers for your hardware prior to installing Windows 2000.

Network Interface Card (NIC) Speed and Duplex Modes Chapter 2

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Current speeds are 10Mbps, 100Mbps, and 1Gbps Half duplex: ability to send or receive signals, but not simultaneously Full duplex: capacity to send and receive signals at the same time 3Com, Intel and Compaq are the most commonly used NIC in servers. Check the HCL!

Memory Sizing Guidelines Chapter 2

*Ignore table 2-3 (pg. 49), it is incorrect*

Operating System

Max. Proc.

Max. Memory

Windows 2000 Server

4

4GB

Windows 2000 Advanced Server

8

8GB

Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

32

64GB

Use the formula on P. 50 to calculate the amount of RAM required for your server.

Disk Capacity Chapter 2

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Estimate disk capacity to include: ◆ Operating

system files ◆ Application files (MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, WinZip, etc.) ◆ Data and database files ◆ User files ◆ General public files ◆ Utility files ◆ Server management files

Disk Drive Design Issues that Affect Disk Contention ■

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Speed of the individual disks or disk access time (measured in milliseconds). Most drives are at or below 10ms. Speed of the disk controllers (IDE, ESDI, or SCSI) Speed of the data pathway to the disks or data transfer rate (from 16.6Mbps up to 1Gbps) Number of disk pathways Disk caching

Disk Drive Interfaces Chapter 2

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Enhanced Small Device Interface (ESDI): An early device interface for computer peripherals and hard disk drives Integrated Device Electronics (IDE): An inexpensive hard disk interface that is used on Intel-based computers from the 80286 to Pentium computers Small Computer System Interface (SCSI): A 32- or 64-bit hard disk adapter that transports data between one or more attached devices, such as hard disks, and the computer

Simple Disk Controller Architecture

D is k C o n tr o lle r D is k D r iv e

S e rv e r

Figure 2-5 Disk controller connecting a disk drive

Chapter 2

SCSI Architecture Chapter 2

S C S I C a b le C o n tr o lle r a n d D is k D r iv e U n it

U ltr a S C S I a d a p te r p lu g g e d in to m a in s e rv e r b o a rd C o n tr o lle r a n d D is k D r iv e U n it

C o n tr o lle r a n d T a p e U n it w ith S C S I C a b le T e r m in a te d o n th e C o n tr o lle r C a r d

Figure 2-6 Ultra SCSI adapter connected to two disk drives and a tape drive

SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates Interface

Data Transfer Rate

SCSI-1

Up to 5 MBps

Narrow SCSI-2

Up to 10 MBps

Wide SCSI-2

Up to 20 MBps

Ultra SCSI

Up to 20 MBps

Wide Ultra SCSI Up to 40 MBps Ultra2 SCSI

Up to 80 MBps

SCSI-3 (RISC)

Up to 100 MBps

Table 2-5 SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates

Chapter 2

Design Tip Chapter 2

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One method to significantly increase performance on a server is to purchase two or more hard disk drives and divide the flow of data between two or more data pathways by placing drives on different adapters.

Setting Up Multiple Disk Pathways (Disk Duplexing)

Chapter 2

S C S I C a b le

U ltr a S C S I a d a p te r

U ltr a S C S I a d a p te r

C o n tr o lle r a n d d is k d r iv e u n it

C o n tr o lle r a n d d is k d r iv e u n it

S e rv e r

Figure 2-7 Using two SCSI adapters to create separate data paths for hard disk drives

Fibre Channel Chapter 2

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For disk intensive applications, consider using Fibre Channel as an alternative to SCSI. ◆ Fibre

Channel is a high-speed method for connecting computer peripherals, such as disk drives, to servers and other host computers through copper and fiber-optic cable. Current implementations of Fibre Channel in Windows 2000 servers provide data transfer rates of up to 1 Gbps.

Disk Storage Fault Tolerance Chapter 2

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Disk mirroring: A fault tolerance method that prevents data loss by duplicating (mirroring) data from a main disk to a backup disk. Only ½ of the total disk space is used for data, the other ½ is used for fault tolerance. More expensive and less efficient than RAID5

Disk Mirroring Architecture Chapter 2

M ir r o r e d d r iv e D is k

P r im a r y d r iv e D is k

C o n tr o lle r o r a d a p te r

Figure 2-8 Disk mirroring

Disk Storage Fault Tolerance Chapter 2

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Disk Duplexing: A fault tolerance method similar to disk mirroring in that it prevents data loss by duplicating data from a main disk to a backup disk. Duplexing places the backup (mirrored) disk on a different controller or adapter than is used by the main disk. If either of the controllers or disks fail, the system can be configured to use the backup disk or controller

Disk Duplexing Architecture Chapter 2

P r im a r y d r iv e

D is k

D is k

M ir r o r e d d r iv e

Figure 2-9 Disk duplexing

RAID Fault Tolerance Chapter 2

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RAID level 0: Disk striping with no redundancy (not fault tolerant) RAID level 1: Disk mirroring or duplexing RAID level 5: Disk striping with parity (error correcting information) spread across all disks in the set

RAID Supported by Windows 2000 Server ■ ■ ■ ■

RAID level 0 RAID level 1 RAID level 5 RAID1 AND RAID 5 are not supported by Windows 2000 Professional

Chapter 2

Important RAID Notes Chapter 2

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If using Software RAID, Boot and system files can be placed on a RAID1 drive, but not on RAID 5. RAID1 uses only two hard disks; RAID5 can use from 3 to 32. RAID5 wastes less disk space than RAID1

Features of the Windows 2000 Disk Management Snap-in ■ ■ ■

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Status information about drives Ability to create and format partitions Ability to change drive letter assignments Support for FAT and NTFS drives Ability to create mirrored, striped, RAID5, and spanned volumes

Chapter 2

Disk Management Snap-In Chapter 2

Figure 2-10 Windows 2000 Disk Management snap-in

Software RAID and Hardware RAID Compared ■

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Software RAID – implemented through the server operating system Hardware RAID – implemented through server hardware such as disk controllers Hardware RAID is more expensive and is generally faster for read/write access The Windows 2000 system partition can be stored on all configurations of hardware RAID, but not on software

Software RAID and Hardware RAID Compared Chapter 2

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Hardware RAID can include the ability to “hot swap” disks Hardware RAID generally has more setup and configuration options Hardware RAID requires no operating system overhead

Planning Tip Chapter 2

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Purchase hardware RAID from a vendor that does not use all proprietary components so you can use disk drives, cables, and various parts from other vendors.

Backup Media Chapter 2

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Plan your server so that it can be backed up using removable media such as tapes, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs. Place backup devices on a separate SCSI controller so backups do not slow down disk access

Tape Drive Architecture Chapter 2 S C S I C a b le

C o n tr o lle r

U ltr a S C S I a d a p te r R A ID u n it

C o n tr o lle r

U ltr a S C S I a d a p te r

T a p e d r iv e u n it

S e rv e r

Figure 2-11 Connecting a tape drive to a separate adapter

Implementation Tip Chapter 2

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Fully set up and test all server components Allow for a “burn-in” period of 24-48 hours

Chapter Summary Chapter 2

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Server hardware comes in a full range of sophisticated options including fast processors and fault-tolerant disk drives. Plan server hardware to meet or exceed the needs of the intended implementation. Begin the selection process by consulting the Microsoft HCL.

Chapter Summary Chapter 2

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Select a fast bus architecture and other features that enable you to expand the server as needed. Implement disk storage using fast channel technology such as SCSI or Fibre Channel and include fault tolerance in your planning.

Chapter Summary Chapter 2

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Implement at least one CD-ROM drive to load software and drivers. Plan to test the server hardware before you install Windows 2000 Server.