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Contents

Microsoft Exchange 2010 or


Exchange 2007 on
EMC VNXe Series
Deployment Guide
h8168.4

Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2007 on EMC VNXe Series


Deployment Guide

Contents

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Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2007 on EMC VNXe Series
Deployment Guide
Part Number: h8168.4

Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2007 on EMC VNXe Series


Deployment Guide

Contents

Contents

Chapter 1

Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series ................................. 15

EMC VNXe series overview ............................................................................ 16


Software suites available ..................................................................................... 16
Software packs available ..................................................................................... 16

VNXe application awareness ......................................................................... 16


Advantages of VNXe platforms ............................................................................. 17

VNXe high-availability architecture ............................................................... 18


Active-active clustering ........................................................................................ 18
No single points of failure .................................................................................... 18
RAID group hot spares.......................................................................................... 19
Array-based data replication ................................................................................ 19

VNXe storage pools ....................................................................................... 19


Default storage pools ........................................................................................... 19
Custom storage pools .......................................................................................... 20

Application-based provisioning overview...................................................... 20


Chapter 2

Microsoft Exchange Planning on VNXe ............................... 23

Overview of Microsoft Exchange.................................................................... 24


Storage for Exchange ........................................................................................... 24

Select the VNXe platform .............................................................................. 24


Data replication on VNXe .............................................................................. 25
Array-based snapshots ........................................................................................ 25
Exchange replication ............................................................................................ 25

Data backups on VNXe .................................................................................. 25


Chapter 3

Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools ........... 27

Storage pool overview ................................................................................... 28


Create Exchange storage pool ....................................................................... 28
Chapter 4

VNXe Connectivity Configuration ....................................... 35

VNXe connectivity overview........................................................................... 36


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Contents

Configure iSCSI target ................................................................................... 36


Configure host entry ...................................................................................... 41
Chapter 5

Exchange Storage Provisioning.......................................... 47

Storage provisioning overview ...................................................................... 48


Configure Exchange storage .......................................................................... 48
Chapter 6

Exchange Host Server Connectivity Configuration ............... 57

Set up a Windows host to use VNXe iSCSI storage ........................................ 58


Bind iSCSI IPs to network interfaces ..................................................................... 58
Connect host to VNXe storage .............................................................................. 62
Configure multiple connections per session ......................................................... 65

Volume configuration .................................................................................... 69


Create and configure disk volumes ...................................................................... 69

Chapter 7

Management of Exchange on VNXe.................................... 77

Monitor and manage Exchange environments .............................................. 78


Expand existing deployments ....................................................................... 78
Expand storage pools........................................................................................... 78
Add users to an existing deployment.................................................................... 81

System resource utilization ........................................................................... 82


Monitor system health .................................................................................. 83
System performance ..................................................................................... 85
Alerts ................................................................................................................... 86
System logs ......................................................................................................... 87
Support ................................................................................................................ 88

Appendix A

Adding a Hot Spare ........................................................... 89

Adding a new Hot Spare ................................................................................ 90


Appendix B

Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations................... 95

Storage configuration overview ..................................................................... 96


How the VNXe allocates disks to a Storage Pool ................................................... 96

Using the recommendation tables ................................................................ 97


Exchange 2007 on VNXe3100 recommendations ......................................... 97
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3100 recommendations ......................................... 97
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3150 recommendations ......................................... 98
Exchange 2007 on VNXe3300 recommendations ......................................... 98
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3300 recommendations ......................................... 98

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Appendix C

iSCSI Snapshot Sizing ....................................................... 101

Snapshot overview...................................................................................... 102


Calculate space requirements ..................................................................... 102
Appendix D

CIFS Shared Folder Configuration....................................... 105

Using shared folders ................................................................................... 106


CIFS shared folder configuration overview .................................................. 106
Create a shared folder storage pool ............................................................ 106
Configure a shared folder server ................................................................. 106
Configure a shared folder ............................................................................ 111
Appendix E

Using the Windows Server Backup Utility ........................... 119

Introduction to the Windows Server Backup utility ...................................... 120


Windows Server Backup prerequisites ........................................................ 120
Create a backup in Windows Server ............................................................ 120
Appendix F

System Comparison and Limits ......................................... 127

Model components and limits..................................................................... 128


Software configuration limits ...................................................................... 129

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Figures

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VNXe management dashboard ........................................................... 20


Opening the Storage Pools page ......................................................... 28
Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard .............................................. 28
Selecting the configuration mode ....................................................... 29
Specify pool name .............................................................................. 30
Select Storage Type ............................................................................ 31
Select Amount of Storage ................................................................... 32
Summary ............................................................................................ 33
Results ............................................................................................... 34
iSCSI Server Settings .......................................................................... 36
Add iSCSI Server................................................................................. 37
iSCSI server details............................................................................. 38
iSCSI Server Summary ........................................................................ 39
Results ............................................................................................... 39
iSCSI Server Details ............................................................................ 40
iSCSI Server Details with changes added ............................................ 41
Selecting the Hosts dialog box ........................................................... 41
Hosts window ..................................................................................... 42
Enter name and description ................................................................ 42
Select operating system ..................................................................... 43
Add network address of host .............................................................. 43
iSCSI Access ....................................................................................... 44
Summary ............................................................................................ 45
Results ............................................................................................... 46
Unisphere Dashboard......................................................................... 48
Microsoft Exchange Storage page ....................................................... 48
Microsoft Exchange Wizard Specify Name ....................................... 49
Select Exchange version ..................................................................... 49
Specify Storage Configuration ............................................................ 51
Select advanced allocation options With DAG................................. 51
Select advanced allocation options Without DAG ........................... 52
Configure storage pool ....................................................................... 53
Configure host access ........................................................................ 53
Select snapshot protection ................................................................. 54
Configure protection size .................................................................... 55
Opening the network connections window ......................................... 59
Network Connections window............................................................. 59
Local Area Connection properties ....................................................... 60
Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties dialog box .............. 61

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Figures

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iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box.................................................... 62


Discover Target Portal dialog box ........................................................ 63
iSCSI target added .............................................................................. 63
Connect to a target ............................................................................. 64
Connect to Target dialog box .............................................................. 64
Advanced Settings dialog box with default values .............................. 65
iSCSI target ........................................................................................ 66
Multiple Connected Session (MCS) dialog box .................................... 67
Add Connection dialog box ................................................................. 67
MCS add connection Advanced Settings............................................. 68
New connection added ....................................................................... 69
Devices: iSCSI-connected disks .......................................................... 70
Disk management .............................................................................. 71
Select Initialize Disk ........................................................................... 71
Initialize Disk dialog box .................................................................... 72
Create new simple volume.................................................................. 72
New Simple Volume Wizard ................................................................ 73
Specify Volume Size ........................................................................... 73
Select a drive letter............................................................................. 74
Select drive format settings ................................................................ 74
Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard ....................................... 75
Opening the Storage Pools page ......................................................... 78
Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard .............................................. 78
Add disks to an existing pool.............................................................. 79
Select number of drives to add ........................................................... 79
Summary window ............................................................................... 80
Results window .................................................................................. 81
Exchange expansion options .............................................................. 82
System capacity Storage Resource View ......................................... 82
System capacity Utilization History View ......................................... 83
System health .................................................................................... 84
Storage Resource Health pages .......................................................... 85
CPU, network, and volume activity ...................................................... 85
Show system alerts ............................................................................ 86
System logs ........................................................................................ 87
Support options ................................................................................. 88
Opening the Storage Pools page ......................................................... 90
Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard .............................................. 90
Selecting the configuration mode ....................................................... 91
Select number of spares ..................................................................... 92
Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard .............................................. 93
Results window .................................................................................. 94
Shared Folder Server Settings location ............................................. 107
Shared Folder Settings dialog ........................................................... 107
Shared Folder Server wizard (with advanced fields exposed) ............ 108
Shared Folder Types dialog ............................................................... 109
Server Summary ............................................................................... 110
Results window ................................................................................ 110
Shared Folders Storage location ....................................................... 111
Shared Folders Storage window........................................................ 111
Specify Shared Folder Name ............................................................. 112

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Figures

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Configure Shared Folder Storage ...................................................... 113


Configure Shared Folder Attributes ................................................... 114
Configure Windows Share................................................................. 115
Shared folder protection ................................................................... 116
Summary .......................................................................................... 116
Results ............................................................................................. 117
Windows Server Backup GUI ............................................................. 121
Backup Once Wizard ........................................................................ 121
Select Backup Configuration............................................................. 122
Select Items for Backup .................................................................... 122
Select Items ..................................................................................... 123
Specify Destination Type .................................................................. 124
Specify Remote Folder ...................................................................... 124
Confirmation window........................................................................ 125
Backup Progress............................................................................... 125

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Figures

10

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Tables

Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.
Table 7.
Table 8.
Table 9.
Table 10.
Table 11.
Table 12.

Default storage pools ......................................................................... 20


Health status icons............................................................................. 84
Alert severity ...................................................................................... 86
Logging standards .............................................................................. 87
VNXe storage profiles ......................................................................... 96
Exchange 2007 on VNXe3100 examples............................................. 97
Exchange 2010 users on VNXe3100 examples ................................... 97
Exchange 2010 users on VNXe3150 examples ................................... 98
Exchange 2007 on VNXe3300 examples............................................. 98
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3300 examples............................................. 98
VNXe model components and limits ................................................. 128
Software configuration limits ............................................................ 129

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Tables

12

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Deployment Guide

About this Document

This document provides an overview of the deployment options for Microsoft


Exchange with the EMC VNXe series developed by the EMC Solutions Group.
Purpose
This document describes how to use the VNXe wizard-driven provisioning interface to
create storage for Microsoft Exchange. It covers common administrative questions in
an Exchange environment, and provides easy-to-use sizing guidelines for such a
deployment.
Audience
This document is intended for internal EMC personnel, EMC partners, and customers.
The user is expected to have administrative-level knowledge of Microsoft Exchange,
and basic knowledge of IP networking. Knowledge of iSCSI source-target
configuration is helpful but not required.
Scope
This document covers the wizard-driven provisioning interface for Exchange
environments on the VNXe platform, including basic storage sizing and configuration.
It does not cover server-level deployment, infrastructure design, or any non-storage
sizing considerations.
Related documents
The following documents, located on the EMC online support website, provide
additional, relevant information. Access to these documents is based on login
credentials. If you do not have access to the following documents, contact your EMC
representative:

EMC VNXe Series Storage Systems A Detailed Review

EMC VNXe Solutions for Microsoft Exchange Server A Detailed Review

VMware vSphere 4.1 on EMC VNXe Series Deployment Guide

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V on EMC VNXe Series


Deployment Guide

EMC Unisphere for VNXe: Next-Generation Storage Management A Detailed


Review

Sizing Considerations for iSCSI Replication on EMC Celerra Technical Note

Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2007 on EMC VNXe Series


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13

About this Document

Third-party documents
The following articles are available on the Microsoft TechNet website
(http://technet.microsoft.com):

14

Backing Up Your Server

Recovering your Server

Mailbox Server Storage Design

Understanding Mailbox Database and Log Capacity Factors

Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2007 on EMC VNXe Series


Deployment Guide

Chapter 1

Introduction to the
EMC VNXe Series

This chapter presents the following topics:

EMC VNXe series overview ....................................................................... 16


VNXe application awareness .................................................................... 16
VNXe high-availability architecture ........................................................... 18
VNXe storage pools.................................................................................. 19
Application-based provisioning overview ................................................. 20

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

EMC VNXe series overview


The EMC VNXe series delivers exceptional flexibility for the small-to-medium
business user, combining a unique, application-driven management environment
with a complete consolidation for all IP storage needs.
Customers can benefit from the new VNXe features such as:

Next-generation unified storage, optimized for virtualized applications.

Capacity optimization features including file deduplication and compression,


thin provisioning, and application-consistent snapshots and replicas (only
available for VNXe for file).

High availability, designed to deliver five 9s availability.

Multiprotocol support for file and block.

Simplified management with EMC Unisphere for a single management


interface for all file, block, and replication needs.

Software suites available

VNXe Local Protection Suite Practices safe data protection and


repurposing.

VNXe Remote Protection Suite Protects data against localized failures,


outages, and disasters.

VNXe Application Protection Suite Automates application copies and


proves compliance.

VNXe Security and Compliance Suite Keeps data safe from changes,
deletions, and malicious activity.

Software packs available

Total Efficiency PackIncludes all five software suites (not available for the
VNX5100 and VNXe series).

Total Protection PackIncludes local, remote, and application protection


suites (not available for the VNXe3100).

Total Value PackIncludes all three protection software suites and the
Security and Compliance Suite (the VNX5100, VNXe3150, and VNXe3100
exclusively support this package).

VNXe application awareness


The VNXe platform features a simplified user interface that is designed for IT
generalists rather than for storage specialists. Storage is a key component in the
implementation of business-critical applications. Making the deployment and
management of storage straightforward while automatically incorporating best
practices reduces the time required to set up an environment and reduces costly
mistakes.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

At the time of publication, application support is provided for:

Microsoft Exchange

VMware data stores:

Network file system (NFS)

VMware vStorage Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) and Raw Device
Mapping (RDM) using iSCSI

Hyper-V data stores using iSCSI

Shared folders:

Common Internet File System (CIFS) for Windows

NFS for UNIX or Linux


Generic application storage using iSCSI

When combined with simple wizard-driven installation and storage provisioning,


along with EMCs proven track record for reliability and high availability, the VNXe
platform provides a low-cost entry point into the EMC storage family.

Advantages of VNXe platforms


This section covers the major advantages of VNXe platforms.

Accessibility
The VNXe platform provides consolidated access to stored data from multiple hosts,
users, and applications by using existing IP network connectivity and industrystandard protocols, including CIFS, NFS, and iSCSI.

Ease of management
A simple-to-use, web-based user interface controls the VNXe platform operations,
including tools to manage, monitor, and configure storage and system settings.

High-performance and high-density storage


The platform has the ability to store data using high-speed SAS and high-capacity
near-line (NL) SAS storage disk drives. These disk drives accommodate most
organizational and application requirements.

Expandable capacity and flexible upgrades


The platform provides SAS and NL-SAS drives to store and protect files, folders, and
application data. These drives can be expanded to accommodate a variety of
application, host, or organization requirements.

Compliance with application storage best practices


The platform has built-in best practices to provision and manage application data
such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Windows Hyper-V, VMware, and shared folder
storage.

Automatic or manual data protection


The platform has built-in tools to protect valuable data by using snapshot schedules
to create point-in-time images of the data from which data can be restored.
Snapshots can be created manually or by using standard snapshot schedules or
custom schedules.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

Security
Secure system management is provided through HTTPS communication, manageable
system accounts and authentication, and user roles. Secure access to VNXe storage
resources is provided through Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)
for iSCSI storage and compliance with NFS and CIFS access controls for storage
resource security.

Antivirus support
VNXe supports VEE Common Anti-Virus Agent (CAVA). CAVA is a component of the
VNX Event Enabler (VEE) 4.5.1, which is part of the Security and Compliance Suite.
CAVA provides an antivirus solution to clients using the VNXe platform. CAVA uses
third-party antivirus software to identify and eliminate known viruses before they
infect files on the VNXe platform.

File-level retention
The VNXe File-Level Retention (FLR) feature provides a way to set file-based
permissions to limit write access to the files for a specific period of time. FLR can
ensure the integrity of data during that period by creating an unalterable set of files
and directories. On VNXe, the FLR feature can be enabled for shared folders and
VMware NFS data stores. FLR for VNXe is available as part of the Security and
Compliance Suite.

VNXe high-availability architecture


The EMC VNXe family of storage arrays is designed such that there are no single
points of failure. If one hardware or software component fails, the system
automatically takes appropriate action to return to a normal operating condition.

Active-active clustering
The VNXe platform has two identical storage processors in the hardware chassis.
During normal operation, both storage processors are active and serve data. This is
an example of an active-active configuration. If one storage processor fails during
normal operation, the other storage processor will take over the work assigned to
both the storage processors until the failed storage processor is active. Although the
data is available to users at all times, this may impact the overall performance of the
system.
Note

There is a single storage processor variant of the EMC VNXe3100 and VNXe
3150, which is unable to perform active-active clustering.

No single points of failure


The internal hardware of the array is designed such that data is available to users at
all times despite a failure.
The external network is similarly protected. The VNXe platforms support Internet SCSI
(iSCSI) multipathing and Ethernet link aggregation to protect against network link
failures. The design of such a network is outside the scope of this paper.
It is highly recommended that the network settings of the storage processors are
identical such that in case of a failover, the storage processor that is active can
continue to operate.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

RAID group hot spares


A primary feature of the Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) concept is the
ability to automatically rebuild a faulted drive on a spare drive in the array. Drives
allocated for this purpose are called hot spares.

Hot spare recommendations


EMC recommends allocation of one hot spare drive for every 30 active drives on the
system. When more than one type of drive is included in the array (e.g., SAS and NLSAS), a hot spare should be included for each type, even when the total for each type
is less than 30. For example, if there are 14 SAS drives and 12 NL-SAS drives, it is
considered a best practice to have one SAS hot spare and one NL-SAS hot spare.
Appendix A Adding a Hot Spare provides the procedure to create hot spares.

Array-based data replication


Data replication is the process that creates non-active copies of critical data in a
different location for use in case of significant failures such as site-wide disaster.
The VNXe platform provides array-based data replication technologies to create pointin-time copies at scheduled intervals on different storage pools or different storage
arrays. This capability is the enhancement from point-in-time snapshots and provides
added protection in various failure scenarios.
EMC Replication Manager provides the user interface for the VNXe array-based iSCSI
snapshot and replication technology. The operation of the feature is outside of the
scope of this document.

VNXe storage pools


The VNXe platform does not provision storage by using a traditional model, where
users build a RAID group and then build logical disk units in that group. Instead,
VNXe platform creates pools of storage. All the members of this pool have similar
characteristics. Application-based storage provisioning is possible by using this
approach.

Default storage pools


Even though the RAID group and the LUN groupings are not exposed to the user, the
array is still using those mechanisms behind the scenes to ensure that data is
properly protected.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

Table 1 lists the three storage pools that are available by default on VNXe platforms
and it also describes their characteristics.
Table 1.

Default storage pools

Pool name

Disk type

RAID type

Available
capacities

High performance

SAS

RAID 10 (3+3)

300 GB
600 GB

Balanced performance
/Capacity

SAS

RAID 5 (6+1) VNXe3300


RAID 5 (4+1) VNXe3150
RAID 5 (4+1) VNXe3100

300 GB
300 GB
600 GB

Capacity pool

NL-SAS

RAID 6 (4+2)

1 TB
2 TB

Custom storage pools


The default storage pools can be augmented with custom, user-defined storage
pools. It is a best practice to use custom pools for performance-sensitive applications
such as Exchange because the custom pool mechanism enables precise control on
the number of disks used in the pool and prevents other applications from sharing
the disks without explicitly provisioning application storage from the custom pool.

Application-based provisioning overview


The key difference between VNXe and other storage platforms is its awareness of
what applications are using storage and embedding the best practices for those
applications into the provisioning and management process.
Figure 1 shows the first page of the Unisphere Management interface.

Figure 1.

VNXe management dashboard

The dashboard not only displays the usable capacity of the array in terms of the
applications using it; it also provides wizard-driven mechanisms to create additional
application storage using best practices. This guide focuses on provisioning for
Microsoft Exchange.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

The provisioning process has four main steps:


1.

Create a storage pool (Chapter 3 Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage


Pools)

2.

Configure host connectivity (Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity Configuration)

3.

Use the application-provisioning wizard (Chapter 5 Exchange Storage


Provisioning)

4.

Connect the host to the provisioned storage (Chapter 6 Exchange Host Server
Connectivity Configuration)

The first two steps are independent and can be performed in any order. The third step
requires the first two steps to be completed.

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Introduction to the EMC VNXe Series

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Chapter 2

Microsoft Exchange
Planning on VNXe

This chapter presents the following topics:

Overview of Microsoft Exchange ............................................................... 24


Select the VNXe platform ......................................................................... 24
Data replication on VNXe ......................................................................... 25
Data backups on VNXe............................................................................. 25

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Microsoft Exchange Planning on VNXe

Overview of Microsoft Exchange


Microsoft Exchange is a messaging server application that is widely used in business
environments to provide email and collaboration services. This chapter covers best
practices for configuring storage for Microsoft Exchange. Overall architecture and
deployment best practices are beyond the scope of this document.

Storage for Exchange


The Exchange Server environment consists of multiple components that may appear
in a single deployment, including the hub transport server and client access server
roles (HUB/CAS) server array, the Edge Transport server, several types of
collaboration servers, and the Mailbox server. The Mailbox server, which contains the
user mailboxes, is the primary consumer of storage resources and is the focus of this
guide.
Storage planning for the Mailbox server role requires consideration and balance of
two primary criteria:

Capacity (the amount of data to be stored)

Performance (the speed at which the data is accessed)

Capacity and performance planning for Exchange


A primary benefit of, and reason for choosing, the VNXe platform is its simplified,
application-driven approach to managing shared storage. Fundamentally, all the user
has to do is match the number and size of mailboxes required to the performance
tiers of the VNXe model to be used.
Appendix B Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations provides further details
about the different performance tiers, organized by VNXe model and Exchange
software version. The tables allow the Exchange administrator to quickly determine
an optimal storage pool configuration (Chapter 3 Physical Storage Allocation on
VNXe: Storage Pools) on which the user/mailbox profile can be provisioned (Chapter
5 Exchange Storage Provisioning).
Users and mailboxes
Typically, one user equals one mailbox. However, the concept of the user carries an
implicit performance expectation; business needs are not met if users find their
workflow interrupted by slow response times.
The recommendations described in this guide will yield a generally accepted level of
performance as defined by Microsoft when the VNXe is matched with appropriate
server, network, and other applicable infrastructure elements.

Select the VNXe platform


The VNXe family includes the VNXe3100, VNXe3150, and VNXe3300 models.
Appendix F System Comparison and Limits outlines the differences between the two
models. Broadly speaking, the VNXe3100 scales to a maximum of 1,000 Exchange
users, while the VNXe3300 scales to 3,000 users. These limits are performancebased, not capacity-based.

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Data replication on VNXe


Data replication is the process of creating static copies of critical data in a different
physical location for use in the event of a significant failure or site-wide disaster.

Array-based snapshots
The EMC VNXe series can provide point-in-time snapshots of Exchange data. The
snapshots enable you to immediately recover to the point in time when the snapshot
was created. Snapshots are commonly used to provide an application-consistent
image for backup tools or serve as a primary recovery mechanism.
When planning for snapshots, it is important to understand how to ensure that
sufficient capacity is available to protect the data. Appendix C iSCSI Snapshot Sizing
provides more information about snapshots.
EMC Replication Manager provides the user interface for array-based iSCSI snapshot
and replication technology on EMC VNXe. The operation of this feature is outside of
the scope of this document.

Exchange replication
Exchange also provides native replication mechanisms such as a Database
Availability Groups (DAG) in Microsoft Exchange 2010. An Exchange DAG
configuration provides multiple copies of data across one or more sites that can be
brought online quickly when needed. The VNXe provisioning wizard provides an
option to select DAG replication, and apply the best practices that are specific to a
DAG configuration.
If you plan to implement a DAG configuration, read the appropriate Microsoft
planning guides, and use the DAG option in the provisioning wizard.
Note

This document provides a complete walkthrough of an Exchange storage


deployment on VNXe. If you are deploying a DAG, repeat this process for each
DAG copy that will reside on the array.

Data backups on VNXe


Third-party recommendations are mixed on the use of data backups for Exchange
2010 environments using DAGs, but EMC recommends data backups. Backups
provide a mechanism to recover when live data-correction options have failed. The
recommended backup function for the VNXe series is to target a shared folder using
Windows Server backup. This functionality is available with the volume snapshot
plug-in in Exchange Server 2007 SP2 and later. NL-SAS drives are the most costeffective solution for backup files due to the sequential nature of backup I/O and the
need to keep multiple backups.
Appendix D CIFS Shared Folder Configuration explains how to configure shared folder
servers and shared folders for backups.
Appendix E Using the Windows Server Backup Utility explains how to run a backup of
the Exchange environment.

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Microsoft Exchange Planning on VNXe

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Chapter 3

Physical Storage
Allocation on VNXe:
Storage Pools

This chapter presents the following topics:

Storage pool overview.............................................................................. 28


Create Exchange storage pool .................................................................. 28

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Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools

Storage pool overview


This chapter explains how to use the Disk Configuration Wizard to create a storage
pool for the Exchange databases.
Appendix B Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations provides more information
on disk configuration within a storage pool. This information provides useful
background prior to running the wizard, and describes how to select the correct
storage profile for the deployment.

Create Exchange storage pool


To create a storage pool, complete the following steps:
Appendix B Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations helps identify the
appropriate storage profile for the number and capacity of the mailboxes in the
Exchange deployment.
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select System > Storage Pools (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Opening the Storage Pools page

The Storage Pools window appears (Figure 3).


3.

Click Configure Disks to open the Disk Configuration Wizard.

Figure 3.

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Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard

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The Select Configuration Mode window appears (Figure 4).


4.

Select the storage pool configuration mode:


a.

Select Manually create a new pool.

b.

In the Select application list box, select the appropriate application.

Note

Figure 4.

Although the Automatically configure pools option allows the


implementation of application-specific best practices creating the
storage pool manually provides a higher level of control and workload
isolation for Exchange.

Selecting the configuration mode

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Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools

5.

Click Next. The Specify Pool Name window appears (Figure 5).

6.

Specify a name for the storage pool:


a.

In the Name field, type a name for the storage pool.

b.

In the Description field, optionally type a description for the storage pool.

Figure 5.

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Specify pool name

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7.

Click Next. The Select Storage Type window appears (Figure 6).

8.

Select a disk type for the storage pool:


Select the storage profile identified in Appendix B Storage Pool Overview and
Recommendations.
The profile identified above should be the one with the highest rating, but
that is not always the case.
Note

Figure 6.
9.

NL-SAS drives are not recommended for Exchange deployments.

Select Storage Type

Click Next. The Select Amount of Storage window appears (Figure 7).
For the following step, it is crucial to understand the balance between number
of users, maximum mailbox size, and snapshots.

10. Select the amount of storage to use for the storage pool:

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Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools

Appendix B Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations provides more


information about the recommended amount of storage.
Select the number of disks to use.
Note

Figure 7.

Separate dropdown lists appear for 300 and 600 or 900 gigabyte
drives.

Select Amount of Storage

Note

Table 10 on page 98 shows that the 2x Capacity Pool (R5) storage


pool must be selected for a 3,000-user deployment with 1 GB
mailboxes.
There are two supported methods to achieve this:
1. Select Use 14 Disks on the Select Amount of Storage window.
2. Run the Disk Configuration Wizard twice to create two storage
pools with seven disks each, based on the same storage pool
profile. This method is recommended because it is easier to
manage.
For an Exchange 2010 DAG deployment, provision each DAG copy in a
separate storage pool. The example presented in this document is
sufficient for one DAG copy; repeat this procedure for each additional
DAG copy.

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11. Click Next. The Summary window appears (Figure 8).

Figure 8.

Summary

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Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools

12. Verify the information is correct, and then click Finish. The Results window
appears (Figure 9).

Figure 9.

Results

13. Verify the Disk Configuration Wizard completed successfully, and then click
Close.

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Chapter 4

VNXe Connectivity
Configuration

This chapter presents the following topics:

VNXe connectivity overview ...................................................................... 36


Configure iSCSI target .............................................................................. 36
Configure host entry ................................................................................ 41

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VNXe Connectivity Configuration

VNXe connectivity overview


This chapter describes how to configure the VNXe for connectivity to the Exchange
host. The configuration process requires two independent steps:

Create iSCSI target: Configure the VNXe storage processor network interfaces
to accept connections from the Exchange host.

Create host entry: Identify the intended Exchange hosts to the VNXe.

Configure iSCSI target


The iSCSI Storage Server is the VNXe software component that performs storage
management, and monitors operations associated with the iSCSI-based storage. To
use VNXe iSCSI storage, the system requires that at least one iSCSI server be
configured.
VNXe3100, VNXe3150, and VNXe3300 can each have up to 12 iSCSI servers per
storage processor (SP). The Exchange deployment described in this guide utilizes a
single iSCSI server with redundant network paths configured on SP A. Multiple iSCSI
servers should be balanced across the SPs for load-balancing.
In addition to the public IP address and its associated DNS alias used for login
purposes, two additional IP addresses, their subnet mask, and their VLAN ID (if
applicable) are required. EMC recommends that the IP addresses, subnet mask, and
VLAN ID be in the same IP subnet as the iSCSI initiator addresses that will be
configured on the Exchange host in Chapter 6.
To create an iSCSI server, complete the following steps:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select Settings > iSCSI Server Settings (Figure 10).

Figure 10.

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iSCSI Server Settings

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The iSCSI Server Settings window appears (Figure 11).


4.

Click Add iSCSI Server.


Note

Figure 11.

Add iSCSI Server is available only for administrators.

Add iSCSI Server

The iSCSI Server Wizard appears (Figure 12).


5.

Specify the network details for the iSCSI server:


a.

Click Show advanced to expose all fields.

b.

In the Server Name field, type a name specific to this iSCSI server.
Note

c.

Since the server is associated with a specific SP, it may be


helpful to use that SP in the name. For example, Exc2010-spA-1
for the first instance of an iSCSI server for Exchange 2010 on
storage processor A.

In the IP Address field, type the IP address of the iSCSI Server.

Note

The address entered here is dedicated for iSCSI storage connectivity.


Do not use the public (logon) address.

d.

In the Subnet Mask field, type the subnet mask.

e.

In the Gateway field, type the gateway address.

f.

In the Storage Processor list box, select the storage processor for the
iSCSI server.
Ensure consideration is given to current and expected processor loads.

g.

In the Ethernet Port list box, select the desired port.

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h.

If VLAN tagging is in use, click click to edit to expose the entry:


i.

Acknowledge the warning popup.

ii.

In the VLAN ID field, type the VLAN.

Note

Figure 12.

38

The associated VLAN ID for iSCSI server ranges from 0 to 4095.


The default value is 0.

iSCSI server details

6.

Click Next. The Server Summary window appears (Figure 13).

7.

Verify the iSCSI Server settings, and then click Finish.

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Figure 13.

iSCSI Server Summary

The Results window appears (Figure 14).


8.

Verify the iSCSI server was created successfully, and then click Close.

Figure 14.

Results

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VNXe Connectivity Configuration

The iSCSI Servers window reappears.


9.

Select the new server, and then click Details to begin steps for adding a
redundant network interface.
The iSCSI Server Details window appears (Figure 15).

10. Click Add Network Interface (red arrow) to expose the fields to enter
secondary network information:
a.

In the IP Address field, type a secondary IP address.

b.

In the Subnet Mask field, type the subnet mask.

c.

Click Show advanced.

d.

In the Ethernet Port list box, select an Ethernet port that is different from
the one selected in step 5.g on page 37.

e.

If VLAN tagging is in use, click click to edit:

f.

i.

Acknowledge the warning popup.

ii.

In the VLAN ID field, type the VLAN.

Click the Apply Changes button.


Note

Figure 15.

40

No confirmation window will appear after the new interface


information is added Unisphere returns to the iSCSI Server
Details window with the new changes (Figure 16).

iSCSI Server Details

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Figure 16.

iSCSI Server Details with changes added

The iSCSI Server creation process is complete.

Configure host entry


In the previous section, an iSCSI server, also known as an iSCSI target, was
configured to receive incoming requests from an Exchange mailbox server.
This section provides steps for identifying an Exchange server as a valid user, or iSCSI
initiator, of the VNXe.
Note

The process for configuring the Exchange server to access the VNXe storage is
covered in Chapter 6 Exchange Host Server Connectivity Configuration.

To configure a host on the VNXe platform, complete the following steps:


1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select Hosts > Hosts (Figure 17).

Figure 17.

Selecting the Hosts dialog box

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The Hosts window appears (Figure 18).


3.

Click Create Host. The Specify Name window appears (Figure 19).

Figure 18.
4.

Hosts window

On the Specify Name window, type a name and description for the host
configuration:
a.

In the Name field, type a name for the host configuration.

b.

In the Description field, optionally type a description for the host


configuration.

Figure 19.

Enter name and description

5.

Click Next. The Operating System window appears (Figure 20).

6.

Specify the host operating system. For Microsoft Exchange deployments,


different versions of Microsoft Windows are available to choose from:
In the Operating System list box, select a version of Windows.

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Figure 20.

Select operating system

7.

Click Next. The Network Address window appears (Figure 21).

8.

Specify the host network interface:


Note
a.

Select Network Name or IP Address.

b.

In the appropriate field, type the network name or IP address.

Note

Figure 21.
9.

If you are using VLANs to isolate traffic, specify the interface that is
visible from the VNXe platform.

In this example, the public (login) IP is used. The IP identifies the host
to the VNXe; dedicated addresses will be configured on the host for
actual iSCSI connectivity.

Add network address of host

Click Next. The iSCSI Access window appears (Figure 22).

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10. Specify the iSCSI access details:


a.

In the IQN field, type the host IQN. To obtain the IQN:
i.

Log on to the Exchange host.

ii.

Type iSCSI Initiator in the Start > Search programs and files field.

iii. Click the program to start it.


A prompt to start the service will appear on first access.
iv. The iSCSI Initiator Properties window appears.
v.

Click the Configuration tab.

vi. Copy the IQN from the Initiator Name field.


vii. Paste the IQN into the IQN field.
b.

In the CHAP Secret field, type the password (12 to 16) characters if CHAP
is configured.
In the Confirm CHAP Secret field, re-type the CHAP password.

Note

Figure 22.

Optional CHAP authentication may require additional infrastructure


resources, and is not covered in this guide.

iSCSI Access

11. Click Next. The Summary window appears (Figure 23).


12. Verify the details and then click Finish.

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Figure 23.

Summary

The Results window appears (Figure 24).

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VNXe Connectivity Configuration

13. Verify the host configuration was successful, and then click Close.

Figure 24.

46

Results

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Chapter 5

Exchange Storage
Provisioning

This chapter presents the following topics:

Storage provisioning overview ................................................................. 48


Configure Exchange storage ..................................................................... 48

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Exchange Storage Provisioning

Storage provisioning overview


This chapter provides steps for configuring Exchange storage utilizing the storage
pool and Exchange host entry created in Chapter 3 Physical Storage Allocation on
VNXe: Storage Pools and Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity Configuration.

Configure Exchange storage


To configure storage for Exchange, complete the following steps:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select Storage > Microsoft Exchange (Figure 25).

Figure 25.

Unisphere Dashboard

The Microsoft Exchange Storage window appears (Figure 26).

Figure 26.
3.

48

Microsoft Exchange Storage page

Click Create. The Microsoft Exchange Wizard appears (Figure 27).

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Exchange Storage Provisioning

4.

Specify a name and description for this instance:


a.

In the Name field, type a name for the Exchange storage resource.

b.

In the Description field, optionally enter a description for the Exchange


storage resource.

Figure 27.

Microsoft Exchange Wizard Specify Name

5.

Click Next. The Select Exchange Version window appears (Figure 28).

6.

Specify the Exchange version details:


a.

Select Exchange 2007 or Earlier or Exchange 2010.

b.

For Exchange 2010, select Member of a High Availability Data Availability


Group (DAG) if the DAG functionality will be used in this deployment.

Figure 28.

Select Exchange version

Note

Choosing the DAG membership setting affects the provisioning best


practices that will be applied and, in turn, the size and number of
databases created. Use this option carefully to avoid inappropriate
sizing in the Exchange environment. Note that the example used
here includes DAG provisioning.

Note

If there is a question about DAG membership, do not select it.

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Exchange Storage Provisioning

7.

Click Next. The Specify Storage Configuration window appears (Figure 29).

8.

Specify the number and size of the mailboxes:


a.

In the Requested Mailboxes field, specify the number of mailboxes to


create

b.

In the At Average Mailbox Size field, type the average size of the
mailboxes, and select a unit of measure from the list box to the right
Note It is important that the number of users / mailbox size combination
used to create that allocation is used here as Exchange is
provisioned on that storage pool. Review the recommendations
for the number and size of the mailboxes in Appendix B Storage
Pool Overview and Recommendations.

c.

Click Preview Allocation.


Clicking Preview Allocation shows how the logical disk objects will be
allocated for the Exchange deployment. For a 1,000 user DAG
deployment, the wizard provisions two databases (Figure 30) in
accordance with Microsoft guidelines for DAG configurations. If DAG is
not selected, a different set of best practices is applied when the
databases are configured (Figure 31).

50

Note

The allocation can be modified from this window; this is an


advanced option beyond the scope of this guide. The displayed
allocations are driven by EMC best practices and should be
modified only with full understanding of ramifications to the
overall Exchange environment.

Note

For planning purposes, it is important to note the size and the


number of Exchange databases provisioned. Each database
requires a certain amount of space for background maintenance.

Note

It is important to note that the deployment wizard only provisions


one DAG copy. For additional copies, provision for additional
resources.

Note

For Exchange 2007 deployments set up the size of the public


folders in this step.

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Figure 29.

Specify Storage Configuration

Figure 30.

Select advanced allocation options With DAG

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Figure 31.
9.

Select advanced allocation options Without DAG

Click Next. The Configure Storage Pool window appears (Figure 32). This
window displays the recommended storage pool configuration.

10. Specify the storage pool for the Exchange deployment:


a.

If the storage pool created for the Exchange deployment in Chapter 3


Physical Storage Allocation on VNXe: Storage Pools is not listed as the
recommended storage pool:
i.

Click Change Storage Pool

ii.

Select the correct storage pool

Note
Note

52

In the example in Figure 32, the correct storage pool is shown as


the recommended storage pool.

If required, select the Thin: Enabled option to provision storage ondemand for the Exchange resource. In this mode, the array creates all
the proper objects to support the required users and their full
allocated space. However, only a small amount of that space is
actually consumed. This option is not recommended for Exchange.

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Figure 32.

Configure storage pool

11. Click Next. The Configure Host Access window appears (Figure 33). This
window displays a list of the currently configured hosts.
12. Specify the host access for this deployment:
In the Access list box for the Exchange host, select Virtual Disks.
Note

Figure 33.

The Virtual Disks and Snapshots option in the Access list box is
covered later in this document.

Configure host access

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Exchange Storage Provisioning

13. Click Next. The Configure Protection window appears (Figure 34).
Optionally, configure snapshots for the Exchange storage. Snapshots allow
the array to maintain a point-in-time view of the storage. This is very useful for
various recovery options. The mailbox sizing guidance explained earlier does
not account for snapshots. If snapshots are desired in the environment, the
pool creation step accounts for the space required.
Note

The Configure Protection page states external software products are


required to manage the snapshots and replication sessions. EMC
Replication Manager can be used. Replication Manager provides
application-aware consistency and a common management interface
across all EMC product families.

14. Specify the protection options for the storage pool:


a.

If snapshots are desired, select Allow snapshots for this storage


resource.
Appendix C iSCSI Snapshot Sizing provides more information about
snapshots.

b.

Figure 34.

54

If snapshots will not be used, select Do not configure protection settings


for this storage resource.

Select snapshot protection

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15. Click Next. The Summary window appears (Figure 35).


16. Verify the details, and then click Finish.
The proper logical disk objects are created and provisioned to the Exchange
Mailbox server. Proceed to Chapter 6 Exchange Host Server Connectivity
Configuration to configure the Exchange host to connect to the newly created
storage.

Figure 35.

Configure protection size

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Exchange Storage Provisioning

56

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Chapter 6

Exchange Host Server


Connectivity
Configuration

This chapter presents the following topics:

Set up a Windows host to use VNXe iSCSI storage .................................... 58


Volume configuration............................................................................... 69

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Exchange Host Server Connectivity Configuration

Set up a Windows host to use VNXe iSCSI storage


In Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity Configuration, an iSCSI server (also known as an iSCSI
target) was configured to receive incoming requests for stored data. This chapter
describes configuration of the corresponding iSCSI initiator, which connects the
Exchange host to the target over Ethernet.
The steps in this section have the following dependencies:
1.

The Exchange host is running Windows Server 2008 R2.


Note

2.

3.

The overall procedure is applicable to other versions of Microsoft


Winodws, however other versions may have different interfaces. The
Microsoft product documentation for iSCSI configuration provides
more information.

Two network connections on the Exchange host (in addition to the public user
login connection) are dedicated to iSCSI connectivity.
Note

EMC recommends assigning either dedicated gigabit Ethernet NICs or


TCP offload adapters (ToE adapters) to handle iSCSI traffic. It is not
advisable to share the user-facing network connection for storage
traffic.

Note

This procedure assumes the VNXe is configured with two connections,


which is the minimum requirement for high availability. However, the
VNXe supports 1 to 4 connections.

Two IP addresses in the same subnet as the addresses configured on the


VNXe iSCSI target in Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity Configuration.
Note

Ideally, the iSCSI connections are on a separate, private network


dedicated to storage traffic. By placing storage traffic on its own
network that is routed separately from the main network, the overall
security of the storage infrastructure increases, and the overall
configuration is simpler

Bind iSCSI IPs to network interfaces


To bind the Exchange host iSCSI initiator addresses to network interfaces, complete
the following steps:

58

1.

Log in to the Windows Server 2008 R2-based Exchange host with


administrator rights

2.

Start Server Manager and then click View Network Connections (Figure 36).

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Figure 36.

Opening the network connections window

The Network Connections window opens (Figure 37).


3.

Right-click the appropriate network connection and select Properties.


Note

Figure 37.

Local Area Connection 2 is the appropriate connection in this


example.

Network Connections window

The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box opens (Figure 38).
4.

Open the appropriate Internet Protocol Version properties. This guide


assumes IPv4 is in use.
a.

Clear Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).

b.

Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)

c.

Click Properties.

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Figure 38.

Local Area Connection properties

The Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties dialog box opens


(Figure 39).
5.

60

Specify iSCSI storage network information as shown


a.

Click Use the following IP address

b.

In the IP Address field, type the IP address.

c.

In the Subnet Mask field, type the subnet mask.

d.

In the Default Gateway field, type the default gateway.

e.

Specify DNS information if desired (static IP addresses are used


throughout this guide).

f.

Click OK.

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Figure 39.

Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties dialog box

If a private subnet (differing from the public user login subnet) is used for iSCSI
connectivity, a warning dialog box will appear concerning multiple default
gateways. Click Yes to accept and return to the Local Area Connection
properties dialog box.
6.

Click Close to complete the process.

7.

If applicable, steps 5 and 6 to configure another network with the second


iSCSI address.
Note

Local Area Connection 3 is the second connection in this example.

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Exchange Host Server Connectivity Configuration

Connect host to VNXe storage


To connect the Exchange host to VNXe storage configured in Chapter 5 Exchange
Storage Provisioning, complete the following steps:
1.

Open iSCSI Initiator from the Start menu.


Note

When accessing the iSCSI initiator for the first time, a popup will
appear noting that the service must be started. Click Yes to start the
service.

The iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box appears (Figure 40).


2.

Click the Discovery tab, and then click Discover Portal.


The Discover Target Portal dialog box appears (Figure 41).

Figure 40.

iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box

The Discover Target Portal dialog box appears (Figure 41).


3.

Specify the target portal information:


a.

In the IP address or DNS name field, type one of the IP addresses of the
VNXe iSCSI server configured in Chapter 4.

b.

Click OK.

A popup will appear if the iSCSI initiator is unable to reach its intended target.
Although the wizard will add the intended target to the Target portals list, it is
recommended that the issue be resolved before continuing. Troubleshooting
failed network connections is beyond the scope of this guide.

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Figure 41.
4.

On the Discovery tab of the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box, verify the
following information (Figure 42):
a.

The Address column displays the address entered for the iSCSI Target in
step 3.a.

b.

The Port column displays 3260.

c.

The Adapter and IP Address columns display Default.

Figure 42.
5.

Discover Target Portal dialog box

iSCSI target added

Click the Targets tab, select the VNXe target in the Discovered targets pane
and then click Connect (Figure 43).

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Figure 43.

Connect to a target

The Connect to Target dialog box appears (Figure 44).


6.

Click Advanced.

Figure 44.

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The Advanced Settings dialog appears (Figure 45).


7.

Specify the advanced settings for the iSCSI target:


a.

In the Local adapter list box, select Microsoft iSCSI Adapter.

b.

In the Initiator IP list box, select the IP address configured for Local Area
Connection 2.

c.

In the Target portal IP list box, select one of the two IP addresses
configured for the iSCSI server in Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity
Configuration.

Figure 45.

Advanced Settings dialog box with default values

8.

Click OK. The Connect to Target window reappears (Figure 44).

9.

Click OK to return to the iSCSI Initiator Properties window.

10. Verify the status of the iSCSI target is Connected.

Configure multiple connections per session


To increase storage availability by configuring multiple connections per session,
complete the following steps:
1.

Open the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box from the Start menu, or
continue from Step 9.

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2.

On the Targets tab, select the VNXE target in the Discover targets pane
(Figure 43) and verify the status is Connected.

3.

Click Properties.
The Properties dialog box appears (Figure 46).

4.

Edit the properties of the VNXe iSCSI target:


a.

In the Identifier pane, select the session ID.

b.

Click MCS.

Figure 46.

iSCSI target

The Multiple Connected Session (MCS) dialog box appears (Figure 47).
5.

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Click Add.

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Figure 47.

Multiple Connected Session (MCS) dialog box

The Add Connection dialog box appears (Figure 48).


6.

Click Advanced.

Figure 48.

Add Connection dialog box

The Advanced Settings dialog box appears (Figure 49).


7.

Complete the following steps:


a.

In the Initiator IP list box, select the second ISCSI initiator IP, typically
bound to Local Area Connection 3.

b.

In the Target portal IP list box, select the second IP configured on the
iSCSI server in Chapter 4 VNXe Connectivity Configuration.

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8.

c.

Verify Data digest, Header digest, and Enable CHAP logon are not
selected.

d.

Click OK to return to the Add Connection dialog (Figure 48).

Click Connect on the Add Connection dialog box to establish the connection
and return to the Multiple Connected Session (MCS) dialog box.

Figure 49.

MCS add connection Advanced Settings

The Multiple Connected Sessions dialog box appears displaying two


connections (Figure 50):
MCS policy may be left as Round Robin.
Note

68

Testing shows Round Robin is best in an environment with equivalent


network paths. For other configurations, the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
software documentation provides more information.

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Figure 50.
9.

New connection added

Click OK. The Properties dialog box reappears (Figure 46).

10. Click OK. The ISCSI Initiator Properties window reappears.


11. Click OK.

Volume configuration
After the iSCSI connection with the VNXe target is established, the VNXe storage
appears to the Windows host as two or more new, uninitialized disks. This section
explains the procedures to create and configure volumes on the new disks,
completing the Exchange deployment setup.

Create and configure disk volumes


The Windows Disk Manager sees the Exchange storage provisioned in Chapter 5
Exchange Storage Provisioning as two or more new, uninitialized disks: a larger disk
for each database and a smaller one for the corresponding log file. Thus, if four

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databases were created in Chapter 5 Exchange Storage Provisioning, Disk Manager


sees eight new, uninitialized disks.
Complete the following steps to prepare the uninitialized disks for use:
1.

To verify the number of disks to be formatted, complete the following steps:


a.

From the Start menu, select Administrative Tools > Open iSCSI Initiator.

The iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box appears.


b.

Click the Targets tab.

The list of available targets appears in the Discovered targets area.


c.

Click Devices.

The Devices dialog box appears (Figure 51).


2.

Verify the number of disks and the disk names are correct, and then click OK.

Figure 51.

Devices: iSCSI-connected disks

3.

Click OK to exit the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box.

4.

On the Windows host, open Server Manager.

5.

In the left pane, expand Storage and select Disk Management.


The Disk Management window appears.
Each new disk displays as Unknown and Offline (Figure 52). Note the
correlation of disk names to the names shown in Figure 51.

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Figure 52.
6.

Disk management

Right-click the first uninitialized disk, then click Online (Figure 53).
Repeat this for all offline disks.

Figure 53.
7.

Select Initialize Disk

Once the disks are online, right-click one and select Initialize Disk.

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The Initialize Disk dialog box appears (Figure 54).


8.

To initialize the disks, complete the following steps:


a.

Select the disks to initialize.

b.

Select MBR (MBR Boot Record).

c.

Click OK.

Figure 54.
9.

Initialize Disk dialog box

Right-click the online raw disk, and select New Simple Volume (Figure 55).

Figure 55.

Create new simple volume

The New Simple Volume Wizard appears (Figure 56).

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Figure 56.

New Simple Volume Wizard

10. Click Next. The Specify Volume Size window appears (Figure 57).
11. Verify the simple volume size matches the maximum disk space, and then
click Next.

Figure 57.

Specify Volume Size

The Assign Drive Letter or Path window appears (Figure 58).


12. Select a drive letter, and then click Next.
Note

NTFS mount can also be used. In this case, mount a local drive to an
empty folder on an NTFS volume by using a drive path instead of a
drive letter.

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Figure 58.

Select a drive letter

The Format Partition window appears (Figure 59).


13. Complete the following steps:
a.

Select Format this volume with the following settings.

b.

In the File system list box, select NTFS.

c.

In the Allocation unit size list box, select 64K.

d.

In the Volume label field, type a name for the volume.


Note

e.

Figure 59.

74

Remember that smaller volumes will contain logs when deciding


naming conventions.

Verify Perform a quick format is selected.

Select drive format settings

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14. Click Next. The Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard window appears
(Figure 60).

Figure 60.

Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard

15. Verify the details, and then click Finish.


A new volume is created.
16. Repeat steps 7-12 for each new, uninitialized disk.
The storage is prepared for Exchange. The Microsoft Exchange product
documentation provides more information about how to setup Exchange on
VNXe storage.

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Chapter 7

Management of
Exchange on VNXe

This chapter presents the following topics:

Monitor and manage Exchange environments........................................... 78


Expand existing deployments................................................................... 78
System resource utilization ...................................................................... 82
Monitor system health ............................................................................. 83
System performance ................................................................................ 85

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Monitor and manage Exchange environments


After the Exchange storage is deployed, it must be managed and monitored to
diagnose and fix problems, and to manage growth. This chapter explains how to
expand existing deployments and monitor the status of the VNXe.

Expand existing deployments


As a company grows, users are added. However, this growth can cause problems if
new users do not have the resources they require. It is a best practice to initially
provision Exchange environments with some room for immediate growth. For
example, if there are 200 users now and 300 users are expected to join by the end of
the year, it is a best practice to provision for 300 users.
Expanding the storage for the Exchange deployment extends the total amount of
storage available to Exchange. It does not lead to a performance increase.
VNXe also provides the ability to expand the deployment beyond the original scope.

Expand storage pools


To expand storage pools, perform the following:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select System > Storage Pools (Figure 61).

Figure 61.

Opening the Storage Pools page

The Storage Pools window appears (Figure 62).


3.

Click Configure Disks to open the Disk Configuration Wizard (Figure 62).

Figure 62.

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The Select Configuration Mode window appears (Figure 63).


a.

Select Manually add disks to an existing pool.

b.

In the Select Pool list box, select the storage pool where the disks will be
added.

Figure 63.
4.

Add disks to an existing pool

Click Next. The Select Amount of Storage window appears (Figure 64).
Note

Figure 64.

On the VNXe platform, drives are added to storage pools in multiples


of the base RAID group size. For example, if the initial RAID group was
five drives, the pool can be expanded by 5, 10, or 15 drives

Select number of drives to add

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5.

Click Next. The Summary window appears (Figure 65).

Figure 65.
6.

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Summary window

Verify the details, and then click Finish.

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The Results window appears (Figure 66).

Figure 66.
7.

Results window

Click Close to return to the Storage Pools window.

Add users to an existing deployment


The decision process for adding mailboxes to an existing group, or adding a group to
the pool, is highly dependent on the Exchange architecture and is beyond the scope
of this document.
To add users to an existing deployment, navigate to Storage > Microsoft Exchange >
Exchange Details (Figure 67).

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Figure 67.
Note

Exchange expansion options

After expanding the storage resource available to the Exchange server,


expand the Windows volume to take advantage of the extra space. Expand
storage pools on page 78 provides more information.

The VNXe storage arrays provide a simple dashboard interface to examine the health
of the system. This section describes some of the features.

System resource utilization


Select System > System Capacity.
The Storage Resource View in the System Capacity page shows the system utilization
graph (Figure 68). This graph shows the percentage of storage in use, broken down
by application.

Figure 68.
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System capacity Storage Resource View

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Click the Utilization History View tab.


The System Utilization History graph shows the history of the storage utilization
(Figure 69). Moving the cursor over the top of the plot line shows the usage by
specific date.

Figure 69.

System capacity Utilization History View

These graphs help administrators identify and understand trends and patterns in
capacity needs in advance so there is sufficient time to plan for the future. Examine
these graphs periodically to observe trends, and conduct resource planning.

Monitor system health


Select System > System Health.
The System Health window (Figure 70) displays the state of the array components. It
provides both an interactive graphical interface, and an expandable list of hardware
components. Select a component to display a description and health information.
The GUI displays a graphical carousel, where selecting the various components
brings them to the front.
The carousel contains:

Front and rear view of the disk processor enclosure (DPE)

Front and rear view of the disk-array enclosure (DAE)

If more than one DAE is present, all DAEs appear in the carousel. To display
information about a particular system component, click one of the following:

An element of the hardware graphic

An element in the expandable component list

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If the component is faulted or has any issue, a pop-up window appears with
descriptive information.

Figure 70.

System health

A detailed description of the selected component is provided in the Component


Description pane.
Table 2 lists the icons for various health status levels.
Table 2.

Health status icons

Select System > Storage Resource Health.


The Storage Resource Health window (Figure 71) provides an up/down status of
existing storage resources. Select a resource to display additional information.

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Figure 71.

Storage Resource Health pages

System performance
Select System > System Performance.
The System Performance window displays array activity over time (Figure 72). Click
Timeframe in any pane and adjust the slider to change the 24 hour default timeframe.

Figure 72.

CPU, network, and volume activity

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Alerts
Select System > System Alerts.
The System Alerts window (Figure 73) displays the alerts reported by the VNXe.
Select an alert to view the details and severity in the Alert Information pane.

Figure 73.

Show system alerts

Table 3 lists the icons for the various severity levels.


Table 3.

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Alert severity

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System logs
Select System > Logs.
The Logs window displays the logs saved in the system (Figure 74). Login attempts
promoted to alerts are also listed.

Figure 74.

System logs

Table 4 lists the logging standards for various icons.


Table 4.

Logging standards

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Support
The VNXe interface has integrated support features. Select the help options directly
from the user interface (Figure 75).

Figure 75.

Support options

VNXe online documentation is accessible from the array interface. Use this interface
to attend online training sessions, participate in the VNXe community, and search for
EMC Support.

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Appendix A

Adding a Hot Spare

This appendix presents the following topic:

Adding a new Hot Spare ........................................................................... 90

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Adding a Hot Spare

Adding a new Hot Spare


Complete the following steps to add a new drive to the hot spare pool:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Select System > Storage Pools (Figure 76).

Figure 76.

Opening the Storage Pools page

The Storage Pools window appears (Figure 77).


3.

Click Configure Disks to open the Disk Configuration Wizard (Figure 77).

Figure 77.

Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard

The Disk Configuration Wizard appears (Figure 78).


4.

90

Select the storage pool configuration mode:


a.

Select Manually add disks to an existing pool

b.

In the Select pool list box, select Hot Spare Pool box

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Adding a Hot Spare

Figure 78.

Selecting the configuration mode

5.

Click Next. The Configure Spares window appears. This window shows all
types of drives in the system (Figure 79).

6.

Select the number of hot spares to configure from each list box. The
recommended number of hot spares is indicated with an asterisk.

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Adding a Hot Spare

Figure 79.

Select number of spares

The Summary window appears (Figure 80).

92

7.

Click Next. The Summary page appears.

8.

Click Finish. The Results page appears (Figure 81).

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Adding a Hot Spare

Figure 80.

Opening the Disk Configuration Wizard

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Adding a Hot Spare

9.

Click Close. The Storage Pools page appears.

Figure 81.

94

Results window

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Appendix B

Storage Pool
Overview and
Recommendations

This appendix presents the following topics:

Storage configuration overview ................................................................ 96


Using the recommendation tables ............................................................ 97
Exchange 2007 on VNXe3100 recommendations ...................................... 97
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3100 recommendations ...................................... 97
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3150 recommendations ...................................... 97
Exchange 2007 on VNXe3300 recommendations ...................................... 98
Exchange 2010 on VNXe3300 recommendations ...................................... 98

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Storage configuration overview


The application-driven approach to storage management used on the VNXe series
provides wizards to configure physical storage and apply application-specific best
practices. While this approach isolates the Exchange administrator from most of the
complexities of architecting shared storage, it is important to make appropriate
selections when using the Disk Configuration Wizard.
The combinations shown in the tables are tested and approved.

How the VNXe allocates disks to a Storage Pool


To create a storage pool, a predetermined number of disks are configured into a RAID
group based on information supplied through the Disk Configuration Wizard.
Together, the type, number, and RAID configuration of disks in the pool constitute a
storage profile (Table 5). The Disk Configuration Wizard presents and recommends
available profile options based on the number and type of disks installed.
It is very important to understand that each storage profile will present a minimum,
fixed capacity based on the disk size and RAID configuration, and the pool space can
be increased (or decreased) only in RAID-dependent multiples, as shown in Table 5.
In general, the recommended options will fit in this minimum capacity1, but a simple
calculation of the number of users multiplied by the mailbox size should be done,
and the result should fit in the space reported for the pool2.
Table 5.

VNXe storage profiles

Storage profile
(storage pool type)

Disk type
(available sizes)

Balanced
Perf/Capacity
(Performance Pool)

SAS
4+1 RAID 5 (VNXe3100)
(300, 600, 900 GB) 4+1 RAID 5 (VNXe3150)
6+1 RAID 5 (VNXe3150
and VNXe3300)

5 (VNXe3100)
5 (VNXe3150)
7 (VNXe3150 and
VNXe3300)

High Performance
(Custom Pool)

SAS
3+3 RAID 1/0
(300, 600, 900 GB)

High Capacity
(Capacity)

NL-SAS
(1, 2 TB)

RAID configuration

4+2 RAID 6

Disks assigned in
multiples of

The recommendations do not include space for snapshots. Appendix C iSCSI Snapshot
Sizing provides additional information for snapshot planning.
2
The usable space on a given disk will be less than its raw capacity. Usable space in a
storage pool can be affected by factors beyond the scope of this guide, so planning should be
based on space reported by the VNXe as opposed to manual calculations.

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Using the recommendation tables


The following tables indicate the recommended storage profile for given
combinations of number of users, mailbox size, Exchange version, and VNXe model.
Locate the desired number of users and maximum mailbox size in the appropriate
table for the Exchange version and VNXe model. Select the indicated storage profile
at step 3 of the Disk Configuration Wizard.
Deviating from the recommendations outlined in the tables may result in poor
performance. Exceeding the maximum number of users shown in any of the tables,
regardless of mailbox size, is likely to degrade performance.
Note

The tables do not allow space for snapshots. If snapshots are desired,
Appendix C iSCSI Snapshot Sizing provides more information.

Exchange 2007 on VNXe3100 recommendations


Table 6.

Exchange 2007 on VNXe3100 examples


Maximum mailbox size

Users

300 GB
Disks

350

1 GB

2 GB

400

937 MB

1.875 GB

450

800 MB

1.6 GB

500

750 MB

1.5 GB

650

625 MB

1.25 GB

750

500 MB

1 GB

900

400 MB

800 MB

1,000

375 MB

750 MB

600 GB Disks

Recommended storage profile


Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)
or
High Performance (R10)

High Performance (R10) only

Exchange 2010 on VNXe3100 recommendations


Table 7.

Exchange 2010 users on VNXe3100 examples


Maximum mailbox size

Users

300 GB
Disks

600 GB Disks

300

1.25 GB

2.5 GB

350

1 GB

2 GB

400

875 MB

1.75 GB

500

750 MB

1.5 GB

600

750 MB

1.5 GB

800

625 MB

1.25 GB

1,000

375 MB

750 MB

Recommended storage profile


Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)
or
High Performance (R10)

Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5) only

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Exchange 2010 on VNXe3150 recommendations


Table 8.

Exchange 2010 users on VNXe3150 examples


Maximum mailbox size

Users

300 GB
Disks

600 GB Disks

900 GB Disks

300

1.67 GB

3.33 GB

5.00 GB

350

1.43 GB

2.86 GB

4.29 GB

400

1.25 GB

2.50 GB

3.75 GB

500

1.00 GB

2.00 GB

3.00 GB

600

0.83 GB

1.67 GB

2.50 GB

800

0.62 GB

1.25 GB

1.86 GB

1,000

0.50 GB

1.00 GB

1.50 GB

1250

0.40GB

0.80 GB

1.20 GB

1500

0.33 GB

0.67 GB

1.00 GB

Recommended storage profile


Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)
or
High Performance (R10)

Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5) only

2x High Performance (R10)*

* Select 12 disks in step 4 of the Disk Configuration Wizard.

Exchange 2007 on VNXe3300 recommendations


Table 9.

Exchange 2007 on VNXe3300 examples


Maximum mailbox size

Users

300 GB
Disks

600 GB Disks

500

750 MB

1.5 GB

750

500 MB

1 GB

1000

375 MB

750 MB

1500

250 MB

500 MB

2000

375 MB

750 MB

3000

250 MB

500 MB

Recommended storage profile


Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)
or
High Performance (R10)
High Performance (R10) only
2x High Performance (R10)*

* Select 12 disks in step 4 of the Disk Configuration Wizard.

Exchange 2010 on VNXe3300 recommendations


Table 10.

Exchange 2010 on VNXe3300 examples

Maximum mailbox size*

98

Users*

300 GB Disks 600 GB Disks

Recommended storage profile

500

750 MB

1.5 GB

High Performance (R10)

500

1.625 GB

3.25 GB

Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)

750

1 GB

2 GB

1,000

750 MB

1.5 GB

1,250

625 MB

1.25 GB

1,500

500 MB

1 GB

2,000

750 MB

1.5 GB

3,000

500 MB

1 GB

2x Balanced Perf/Capacity (R5)*

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Storage Pool Overview and Recommendations

* To support the highest two tiers, select 14 disks in step 4 of the Disk Configuration
Wizard.

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Deployment Guide

Appendix C

iSCSI Snapshot
Sizing

This appendix presents the following topics:

Snapshot overview .................................................................................. 102


Calculate space requirements .................................................................. 102

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101

Snapshot overview
A snapshot is a point-in-time view of an iSCSI data store. It is a foundation element of
data recovery in the event of data corruption or system failure. For planning purposes,
snapshots require the same amount of space as currently used by the data store plus
additional space for new or changed data. The amount of storage pool space
occupied by the iSCSI data store and snapshot depends on how much data changes
from the time when the oldest snapshot is taken.
It can be difficult to determine the space required for a snapshot. The VNXe snapshot
provisioning wizard recommends a reasonable protection size suitable for a wide
variety of situations.
Note

While the VNXe application-driven wizards help allocate space for snapshots,
the actual capability to take and schedule snapshots is provided by
additional software.

Calculate space requirements


Consider the following aspects to calculate the space required in a pool:

The size of the LUN. For a 100 GB LUN, the minimum pool size starts at 100
GB.

For the first snapshot, provision enough space to ensure that the system
stays stable and the data is protected even in a worst-case scenario. For
example, if every single block of data in the LUN is changed while the
snapshots are active, the pool requirement is doubled, that is, 200 GB.

Enough space is required to accommodate subsequent snapshots, each with


a variable amount of changed data. If you create snapshots every day for a
week and about 10 percent of the data is expected to change, then the pool
requirement becomes 270 GB (after adding the extra 10 percent multiplied by
7).

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iSCSI Snapshot Sizing

Snapshots may be used at some point in time. If read-only access is required


to the snapshot, then no additional space is required. However, to get write
access to the snapshot, an additional amount of space that is proportional to
the amount of data change is required. Therefore, if 1 percent of the data will
change in the writeable copy, the required space for the pool is 271 GB for a
100 GB LUN.
A single snapshot presents the largest cost in terms of space reservation. As
the number of snapshots grows, the amount of storage required changes by
the data change rate for that snapshot.
Note

The VNXe platform uses the same underlying technology as the EMC
Celerra product family. For a complete discussion of sizing
considerations in a wide variety of use cases, The Sizing

Considerations for iSCSI Replication on EMC CelerraTechnical Note

available on the EMC Powerlink website provides more information.


Note

The sizing information presented in this section is only applicable to


iSCSI LUNs. The shared folder snapshots on the VNXe platform use a
different set of technologies that have different sizing requirements.

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Deployment Guide

Appendix D

CIFS Shared Folder


Configuration

This appendix presents the following topics:

Using shared folders ................................................................................ 106


CIFS shared folder configuration overview ................................................ 106
Create a shared folder storage pool .......................................................... 106
Configure a shared folder server ............................................................... 106
Configure a shared folder ......................................................................... 111

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105

Using shared folders


Shared folders, or simply shares, have many uses. In context of this guide, a share
is created as a backup location for Microsoft Exchange data, but the same procedure
can be used to create shared folders for home directories or group shared folders.

CIFS shared folder configuration overview


This section describes the process for configuring a Windows file share on VNXe
utilizing the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol and the VNXe applicationdriven wizards.
There are three broad steps in creating a shared folder:
1.

Create a shared folder storage pool

2.

Configure a shared folder server

3.

Configure shared folder storage

Create a shared folder storage pool


Follow the steps described in Chapter 3 to allocate a storage pool for a shared
backup folder with the following adjustments:
1.

In step 5b, select the Manually create a new pool radio button and Shared
folders Backup for the application.

2.

In step 7, select the highest-rated disk type with sufficient maximum capacity.

Configure a shared folder server


To configure a shared folder server, complete the following steps:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Click the Settings tab, and then click Shared Folder Server Settings
(Figure 82).

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Figure 82.

Shared Folder Server Settings location

The Shared Folder Server Settings dialog box appears (Figure 83).

Figure 83.
3.

Shared Folder Settings dialog

Click Add a Shared Folder Server.


The Shared Folder Server wizard appears (Figure 84).

4.

Specify naming and connectivity information for the shared folder server:
a.

In the Server Name field, type a name for the shared folder server.

b.

In the IP Address field, type the IP address for the new share.

c.

In the Subnet Mask field, type the subnet mask for the new share.

d.

In the Gateway field, type the gateway for the new share.

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e.

Click Show Advanced to expose storage processor, Ethernet port, and


VLAN ID list selection options:
i.

In the Storage Processor list box, select the default storage


processor.

Note

ii.

The selected storage processor will service requests to the


shared folder. It is a best practice to balance overall array activity
between the two storage processors on the system.

In the Ethernet Port list box, select an unused port.

iii. If VLAN tagging is in use, click the click to edit, and in the VLAN ID
list box, specify a VLAN ID for the new share.

Figure 84.

Shared Folder Server wizard (with advanced fields exposed)

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5.

Click Next. The Shared Folder Types window appears (Figure 85).

6.

To select the services for the shared folder server, complete the following
steps:
a.

Select Windows shares (CIFS).


Note

You can use both the NFS and CIFS protocols to access shared
folders on the VNXe platform. For Exchange, only CIFS is required.

b.

In the Windows Domain field, type the Windows domain name.

c.

In the field below the DNS Servers field, type an IP address.

d.

Click Add.
The IP address appears in the DNS Servers field.

e.

In the User Name field, type a user ID with domain administrator rights in
the target domain.

f.

In the Password field, type the password.


Note

Figure 85.

It is a best practice to join the CIFS server to a domain and use


Active Directory authentication instead of setting up local users
on the storage array.

Shared Folder Types dialog

7.

Click Next. The Server Summary window appears (Figure 86).

8.

Verify the information is correct, and then click Finish.

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Figure 86.
9.

Server Summary

The Results window appears (Figure 87).

10. Verify success of each step and then click Close.

Figure 87.

Results window

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The shared folder server appears in the Shared Folder Server Settings page.

Configure a shared folder


After a shared folder server is configured, you can create a shared folder on it.
To configure a shared folder, complete the following steps:
1.

Log in to Unisphere as an administrator.

2.

Click the Storage tab, and then click Shared Folders (Figure 88).

Figure 88.

Shared Folders Storage location

The Share Folders Storage window appears (Figure 89).

Figure 89.
3.

Shared Folders Storage window

Click Create. The Specify Shared Folder Name window appears (Figure 90).

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4.

Specify the folder naming details:


a.

In the Name field, type a name for the shared folder.

Note
b.

Figure 90.

Provide an appropriate share name so that you can identify it later.

In the Description field, optionally type a description for the shared


folder.

Specify Shared Folder Name

5.

Click Next. The Configure Shared Folder Storage window appears (Figure 91).

6.

Configure the folder settings:


a.

Select the storage pool created in the first section of this chapter.

b.

In the Size field, type a size for the shared folder, and select the unit of
capacity from the list box to the right.

c.

If desired, select Thin: Enabled.

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Figure 91.

Configure Shared Folder Storage

7.

Click Next. The Configure Shared Folder Attributes window appears


(Figure 92).

8.

Specify the shared folder attributes:


a.

Verify Windows shares (CIFS) is selected.

b.

Optionally, click Show advanced and select other options as needed.


OpLocks is selected by default.

Note

The deduplication feature increases file storage efficiency by


eliminating redundant data from stored files, thereby saving storage
space and cost.

Note

The VNXe FLR feature provides a way to set file-based permissions to


limit write access to the files for a specific period of time. Use this if
there are regulatory compliance restrictions on the file system. EMC
does not recommend this option unless it is required, because the
implications of such policy are extensive.

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Note

Figure 92.
9.

Opportunistic file locks (OpLocks) allow CIFS clients to buffer file data
locally before sending it to a server. CIFS clients can work with files
locally and periodically communicate changes to the VNXe platform
rather than communicate every operation over the network to the
VNXe platform. OpLocks is selected in the wizard by default for
Windows (CIFS) shared folders. Unless the application handles critical
data or has specific requirements that make this mode or operation
unfeasible, EMC recommends selecting OpLocks.

Configure Shared Folder Attributes

Click Next. The Configure Windows Share window appears (Figure 93).

10. In the Name field, type a name for the share.


Users will use this name to connect to the shared folder.

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Figure 93.

Configure Windows Share

11. Click Next. The Configure Protection window appears (Figure 94).
12. Specify the protection storage size:
Note

In this example, a backup target is not required. Therefore, the Do not


configure protection storage for this storage resource option is
selected. However, for other cases, snapshots and a snapshot
schedule can be enabled.

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Figure 94.

Shared folder protection

13. Click Next. The Summary window appears (Figure 95).


Note

The number of steps changes from eight to seven as a result of


skipping the protection configuration dialog box.

14. Verify the details, and then click Finish.

Figure 95.

Summary

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The Results window appears (Figure 96).

Figure 96.

Results

15. Verify success of folder and share creation and then click Close.
The share is now ready for use.

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Appendix E

Using the Windows


Server Backup
Utility

This appendix presents the following topics:

Introduction to the Windows Server Backup utility .................................... 120


Windows Server Backup prerequisites ...................................................... 120
Create a backup in Windows Server .......................................................... 120

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Introduction to the Windows Server Backup utility


The Windows Server Backup utility is a snap-in for the Microsoft Management
Console (MMC). It provides a wizard-driven backup and recovery interface to protect
data. For the purposes of this guide, it will be installed on the Exchange mailbox
server and used to back up the Exchange databases.

Windows Server Backup prerequisites


Windows Server Backup is an installable feature of the Windows Server 2008
operating system. While Windows Server 2008 roles and features administration is
beyond the scope of this guide, the following outline steps will enable the backup
feature:
1.

Log in to the Exchange mailbox server as an administrator.

2.

Start Server Manager.

3.

Under Customize This Server, click the Add Features link to open the Add
Features Wizard.

4.

In the Select Features dialog box of the wizard, locate and expand the
Windows Server Backup Features feature:
a.

Select (check) both Windows Server Backup and Command-line Tools.

b.

Click Next.

5.

On the Confirm Installation Selections dialog box, confirm choices and then
click Install.

6.

On the Installation Results dialog box, confirm successful installation and


then click Close.

7.

Close Server Manager.

Create a backup in Windows Server


This section explains how to use the Windows Server Backup wizard to create a
backup for a sample Exchange environment. Complete instructions for all available
options, including the wbadmin command line interface, are provided in the Windows
Server Backup Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server 2008 on the Microsoft TechNet
website (technet.microsoft.com).
Note

The following steps describe a single-instance backup, which should be


executed to ensure that all paths and selections are correct. Thereafter, apply
scheduled backup to provide ongoing protection.

To create a backup, complete the following steps:


1.

Click Start > Administrative Tools > Windows Server Backup. The Windows
Server Backup window appears (Figure 97).

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Figure 97.
2.

Windows Server Backup GUI

Click Action > Backup Once. The Backup Once Wizard appears (Figure 98).
Note

For information on scheduled backups, consult the step-by-step guide


referenced at the top of this section.

No choices are available.

Figure 98.
3.

Backup Once Wizard

Click Next. The Select Backup Configuration screen appears (Figure 99).

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4.

Specify the backup options:


Select Custom.

Figure 99.

Select Backup Configuration

5.

Click Next. The Select Items for Backup window appears (Figure 100).

6.

Click Add Items. The Select Items dialog box appears.

Figure 100. Select Items for Backup

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7.

Select the volumes to be backed up and then click OK (Figure 101).


Note

For Exchange backup, select only the data and log drives that are part
of the Exchange installation. Do not select any non-Exchange drives.
Follow Exchange best practices by unmounting the Exchange
databases before backing them up

Figure 101. Select Items


The Select Items for Backup window reappears, populated with volumes to be
backed up.
8.

On the Select Items for Backup window, click Next.


The Specify Destination Type window appears (Figure 102).

9.

Select Remote shared folder, and then click Next.

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Figure 102. Specify Destination Type


10. On the Specify Destination Type window, The Specify Remote Folder window
appears (Figure 103).
11. Specify the remote folder details:
a.

In the Type the path to the remote shared folder field, enter the path to
the remote shared folder created in Appendix D CIFS Shared Folder
Configuration (Export Path in the Summary screen as shown in Figure
95).

b.

In the Access Control area, select Inherit or Do not Inherit based on the
security needs of the environment.

Figure 103. Specify Remote Folder


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12. Click Next. The Confirmation screen appears (Figure 104).


13. Click Backup to begin the backup process.

Figure 104. Confirmation window


The Backup Progress window appears (Figure 105).
14. Click Close when the backup is complete.

Figure 105. Backup Progress

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Appendix F

System Comparison
and Limits

This appendix presents the following topics:

Model components and limits .................................................................. 128


Software configuration limits ................................................................... 129

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Model components and limits


The VNXe3100, 3150 and VNXe3300 run the same core software. However, the
models use different hardware.
Table 11 compares the VNXe3100 and VNXe3300.
Table 11.

VNXe model components and limits

Component

VNXe3100

VNXe3150

VNXe3300

System memory
(per storage
processor)

4 GB

4 (single SP)

12 GB

Connectivity
options

12 x 1 GbE

8 (dual SP)
6 x 1 GbE(single SP)

16 x 1 GbE

2x 10 GBaseT(single
SP)

8 x 1 GbE and 4 x 10
GbE

12 x 1 GbE(dual SP)
4x 10 GBaseT(single
SP)
48 (single SP)

50 (single SP)

96 (dual SP)

100 (dual SP)

Allowed drive
types

300 GB 15k SAS

100 GB Flash

100 GB Flash

600 GB 15k SAS

200 GB Falsh

200 GB Falsh

1 TB NL-SAS

300 GB 15k SAS

300 GB 15k SAS

2TB NL-SAS

600 GB 15k SAS

600 GB 15k SAS

900 GB 10K SAS

900 GB 10K SAS

1 TB NL-SAS

1 TB NL-SAS

2 TB NL-SAS

2 TB NL-SAS

3TB SAS

3TB SAS

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Maximum
number of disks

System Comparison and Limits

Software configuration limits


Table 12 describes the VNXe operating system limits.
Table 12.

Software configuration limits

Parameter

Limit

Hosts connected

500

Snapshots per virtual disk

2,000

Virtual disks

256

Snapshots per shared folder

96

Shared folders

500

Maximum virtual disk size

1.999 TB

Maximum shared folder size

15.533 TB

Open files

200,000

Concurrent connections

20,000

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