This document provides an overview of Exchange server architecture and sizing. It discusses key considerations for Exchange versions, roles, and requirements. It outlines the preferred architecture and covers steps for sizing an Exchange deployment including gathering user statistics, using the sizing calculator, and validating storage. Virtualization best practices are also reviewed such as hypervisor validation and avoiding overcommit of resources.

1. 14 September2016
OGD ICT Services
Dave Stork
Exchange Architecture & Sizing

2. 2016
Dave Stork
SolutionArchitect at OGD ICT services
I am an MCT and and Office Server and ServicesMVP
I tweet from @dmstork
I blog at https://dirteam.com/dave
I am also one of the Contributors of The UC Architects Podcast
@theucarchitects/ www.theucarchitects.com
Email me dave.stork@ogd.nl
#GWAVACon

3. 2016
TITLE
HERE
• Fundamentals
• Preferred Architecture
• Sizing
• Virtualization
CONTENTS
#GWAVACon

4. Fundamentals

5. Fundamentals
Which version?
Exchange 2007 & 2010
– Extended Supportuntil 2017 & 2020
– Lowest coexistencewith Exchange 2000 & 2003
Exchange 2013
– Mainstream support until 2018
– Lowest coexistencewith Exchange 2007
Exchange 2016
– Mainstream support until 2020
– Lowest coexistencewith Exchange 2010

6. Fundamentals
What is necessary to run Exchange?
Active Directory Topology
Certificates
Windows Server
– Use highest supported version
– Enterpriseor Standard?
Server resources
– CPU & Memory
– Storage
– Network

7. Fundamentals
What might be necessary?
Load Balancer
– When more than one (Client Access) server
Reverse Proxy
– Extra security layer
– Pre-authentication
Office Web App / Office Online Server
Others from business requirements

8. Outer DMZ
public IP adressing
Inner DMZ
private IP adressing Datacenter Zone
Users (Outlook, Mobile, OWA)
Exchange DAG
Reverse Proxy
(TMG)
Load balancer
File share
Witness
Office Web
App
(Optional)
Users (Outlook, Mobile, OWA)
IP-PBX
(Optional)
Lync
(Optional)
SharePoint
(Optional)
Anti
Malware

9. Fundamentals
Exchange 2010 Roles
Client Access
– HTTPS: OWA Rendering, ActiveSync etc.
Hub Transport
– SMTP transport and handling
Mailbox
Unified Messaging
– Voicemail and Auto-Attendant
Best practice: Multi role (CAS, HUB, MBX)
Edge Transport
– Perimeter network SMTP cleaning
– Non-domain joined

10. Fundamentals
Exchange 2013 Roles
Client Access
– “Just a proxy”
Mailbox
– Alle business logic; SMTP, HTTP, UM, Database
Best practice: Multi role
Edge Transport
– Perimeter networkSMTP cleaning
– Non-domain joined

11. Fundamentals
Exchange 2016 Roles
There is just one role
– However,the conceptof Client Access Proxy is still presentin
Exchange 2016.
– Consider 2016 an automatic 2013 multi-role
Edge Transport
– Perimeter network SMTP cleaning
– Non-domain joined

12. Fully on-premises
(documents stored in SharePoint 2016)
On-premises
Exchange Server
2016
Office Web Apps
Server
2016
Hybrid
(documents stored in Office 365)
On-premises
Exchange Server
2016
Office 365
Office Web Apps
Server
2016
OneDrive
for Business
SharePoint Server
2016

13. Infrastructure
Database Availability Group (DAG)
“Clustering” for High Availability and Disaster Recovery
There is always one Active Copy
There can be multiple Passive Copies of a database
Max 16 (Mailbox) servers in a DAG
– Theoreticallymax16 copiesof DB (includingActive)
Lagged DB
Recommended max 2TB per DB in DAG
– I prefer smaller databasesizes evenin a DAG (~300GB)
File Share Witness
– Tie breaker:the majority of votesof interconnected serverswins

14. DAG

15. Preferred Architecture

16. Preferred Architecture
What is the Preferred Architecture (PA)?
“The PA is the Exchange Engineering Team’s prescriptive approach to what
we believe is the optimum deployment architecture for Exchange 2013,
and one that is very similar to what we deploy in Office 365”
There are two versions, one for 2013 and one for 2016
My advice: stay as close as possible to PA with your design. Describe any
deviations and why this deviation is required.

18. DAG design

19. Sizing

20. Sizing
Design and validate your Exchange
environment according to business
requirements and usage.
What informationdo you need?
User activity
Business requirements
– High available and disaster recovery? RTO/RPO
– Growth and lifecycle of environment
– Physical or virtual?

21. Sizing
What steps are involved?
Gather user statistics
– Generate-MessageProfile.ps1
Have a general design idea including server resources
– Find SPECInt 2006 rate of the CPU of your choice
Use the Exchange Server Role Requirements Calculator
– Note: version and update specific
– Input user statistics
– CPU information
– Other

23. Server Configuration
/ Primary Datacenter Server
(Single Failure)
Recommended RAM Configuration 24 GB
Number of Processor Cores Utilized 2
Server CPU Utilization 18%
Server CPU Megacycle Requirements 4821
Server Total Available Adjusted Megacycles 26430
Possible Storage Architecture RAID
Recommended Transport Database Location System Disk
Host IO and Throughput Requirements / Database / Server / DAG
Total DatabaseRequired IOPS 1 66 133
Total Log Required IOPS 0 15 29
DatabaseReadI/O Percentage 60% -- --
Background DatabaseMaintenanceThroughput Requirements 1.0 MB/s 58 MB/s 116 MB/s

24. Sizing
What steps are involved?
Adjust your design
– Other processor(or server)
– More Exchange servers
– Different quota’s
– Etc.
Use the sizing calculatoragain
– Evaluate, repeat, evaluate, repeat…
– Choose your optimal supported sizing

25. Sizing
And then?
Build your servers up until installing Exchange
– including all patches/updates,Exchange requirements,
antivirus, back-up agent etc..
Validate your storage with Jetstress
– This can take several days
Resolve any issues
Remove Jetstress and install Exchange
Monitor

26. Sizing

27. Sizing

28. Virtualization

29. Virtualization
What to consider when virtualizing?
Design as if physical, but…
Hypervisor is validated in SVVP
No dynamically expanding disks
– Exception VHDX on Hyper-V
No dynamic memory
No overcommit of memory on host
Maximum CPU overcommit ratio of 1:2 of host
– Every 1 physical coreis assigned 2 times max

30. Virtualization
Hyper Threading doesn’t count
Loosened heartbeat
– If there is a requirementfor migration of the host while
running etc.
Anti affinity rules
– Don’t put Exchange serversand supporting infrastructureon
the same host
No save state moves
No snapshot back-up (Only VSS)

31. Virtualization
Take NUMA boundary into account
– non-uniformmemory access (NUMA)
– Fastest complex of processingunit and memory
Sometimes more smaller servers is a better fit with
virtualization
– This is also true when physical. Find your acceptable optimal
point.

32. Virtualization
Don’t deploy more Exchange VMs than Hypervisor
hosts
Consider capacity management for your
virtualization environment
– I’ve seen a lot of issues when CPU ratio was higher than 1:2
Consider physical deployment
– Total cost of ownership/operation could be lower than with
virtual

33. Questions?

34. 2016
Dave Stork
OGD ICT Services
Solution Architect
Thank You!
Twitter: @dmstork
Blog: https://dirteam.com/dave
Podcast: @theucarchitects /
www.theucarchitects.com
Mail: dave.stork@ogd.nl
Other sessions 14 September (tomorrow):
9:00 - Exchange 2016 Architecture and Sizing (Zurich)
9:50 - Current State of Exchange On-Prem Overview, Updates
and Future (London)

35. Microsoft Ignite 2015 sessions
Meet Exchange Server 2016
Exchange Server Preferred Architecture
Deploying Exchange Server 2016
Exchange on IaaS: Concerns, Tradeoffs, and Best Practices
https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Ignite/2015