1. Chapter 2 Chapter 2: Planning for Server Hardware

2. Chapter 2 Learning Objectives n Explain the hardware requirements for Windows 2000 Server n Explain the importance of using Microsoft’s hardware compatibility list n Determine specifications for your server in terms of the right processor type, bus type, and advanced bus features

3. Chapter 2 Learning Objectives (continued) n Select the right network interface card (NIC) for your server n Calculate the amount of memory needed for your server n Plan disk capacity, disk architecture, and fault tolerance n Plan a backup system and CD-ROM specifications

4. Chapter 2 System Requirements n Use the Windows 2000 Server basic system requirements as a starting point from which to develop server computer specifications

5. Chapter 2 Windows 2000 Server Hardware Requirements Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to Install Windows 2000 Server

6. Chapter 2 Windows 2000 Server Hardware Requirements (continued) Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to Install Windows 2000 Server

7. Chapter 2 Windows 2000 Professional Hardware Requirements Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to Install Windows 2000 Professional

8. Chapter 2 Windows 2000 Professional Hardware Requirements (continued) Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to Install Windows 2000 Professional

9. Chapter 2 Windows 2000 Server Compatibility n Check the Microsoft hardware compatibility list (HCL) before selecting computer hardware for a server

10. Chapter 2 Hardware Listed in the HCL n Single-processor computers n Multiprocessor computers n Processor upgrades n PCMCIA hardware n SCSI adapters and drives n Video adapters

11. Chapter 2 Hardware listed in the HCL (continued) n Network adapters n Audio adapters n Modems n Printers n Tape devices n Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)

12. Chapter 2 CPU Sizing n Select a fast processor n Choose a processor that has a fast clock speed

13. Chapter 2 Pentium Computers n Processor cache: A data storage area that is only used by the system processor. u Level 1 (L1) cache, usually 8 - 64 KB, built into the processor u Level 2 (L2) cache that supplements L1 cache and is usually 256 KB to 1 MB.

14. Chapter 2 L2 Cache in Different Pentium Processors n Pentium processor: L2 cache is usually an SRAM chip on the mother board n Pentium Pro: L2 cache is built into the chip n Pentium II and III: L2 cache is on a daughter board n Celeron processor: has no L2 cache n Xeon processor: has special L2 caching for extra speed

15. Chapter 2 Multiprocessor Computers n n Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP): employs two or more processors, including some computers that can support up to 32 processors

16. Chapter 2 Clustering Computers n Shared disk model: Linking two or more servers to operate as one and to equally share resources

17. Chapter 2 Shared Disk Clustering Figure 2-1 Shared disk clustering model

18. Chapter 2 Clustering Computers n Shared disk nothing model: Linking two or more servers to operate as one, but with each owning particular disk, CD- ROM, and tape resources

19. Chapter 2 Shared Nothing Clustering Figure 2-2 Shared nothing clustering model

20. Chapter 2 Bus Architectures n Industry Standard (ISA): 8-bit and 16-bit bus architecture dating to the early 1980s n Extended Industry Architecture (EISA): 32-bit bus built on the ISA architecture with faster throughput by means of bus mastering

21. Chapter 2 Bus Architectures (continued) n Micro channel Architecture (MCA): 32- bit bus proprietary to IBM computers and having a slightly faster transfer rate than EISA n Peripheral Computer Interface (PCI): 32-bit and 64-bit bus with the fastest data transfer rate and local bus capability

22. Chapter 2 I 2 O Architecture n Intelligent input/output (I 2 O): A computer communications architecture that removes some of the I/O processing activities from the main processor to I 2 O processors on peripherals designed for I 2 O architectures, such as hard disks. I 2 O devices use one general device driver for all I 2 O-compliant devices.

23. Chapter 2 I 2 O Communications Figure 2-3 I 2 O communications architecture

24. Chapter 2 Plug and Play n Plug and Play: Ability of added computer hardware, such as an adapter or modem, to identify itself to the computer operating system for installation

25. Chapter 2 USB n Universal serial bus: A bus standard that enables you to attach all types of devices – keyboards, cameras, pointing devices, telephones, and tape drives, for example – to one bus port on a computer. Up to 127 devices can be attached to one port and it is not necessary to power off the computer when you attach a device. USB was developed to replace the traditional serial and parallel bus technologies on computers.

26. Chapter 2 Choosing NICs n Network interface card: n Network interface card: An adapter board designed to connect a workstation, server, or other network equipment to a network medium.

27. Chapter 2 NIC Components n A connector for the network medium n A transceiver n A controller for MAC protocol communications and addressing n Protocol control firmware

28. Chapter 2 NIC Duplex Modes n Half duplex: ability to send or receive signals, but not simultaneously n Full duplex: capacity to send and receive signals at the same time

29. Chapter 2 Setting the Duplex Mode Figure 2-4 NIC Duplex Mode setting

30. Chapter 2 Memory Sizing Guidelines Table 2-3 Memory Guidelines

31. Chapter 2 Memory Type n Make sure that the memory used in a server is error checking and correcting (ECC) u EEC: Memory that can correct some types of memory problems without causing computer operations to halt

32. Chapter 2 Troubleshooting Tip n Microsoft generally recommends a minimum of 128 MB on all versions of Windows 2000 Server (unless there are 5 or fewer users), however, they also recommend that you use at least 256 MB or more for best performance.

33. Chapter 2 Disk Capacity n Estimate disk capacity to include: u Operating system files u Software files u Data and database files u User files u General public files u Utility files u Server management files

34. Chapter 2 Example Disk Capacity Calculation

35. Chapter 2 Example Disk Capacity Calculation (continued)

36. Chapter 2 Disk Drive Design Issues that Affect Disk Contention n Speed of the individual disks n Speed of the disk controllers n Speed of the data pathway to the disks n Number of disk pathways n Disk caching

37. Chapter 2 Disk Drive Interfaces n Integrated Device Electronics (IDE): An inexpensive hard disk interface that is used on Intel-based computers from the 80286 to Pentium computers n Enhanced Small Device Interface (ESDI): An early device interface for computer peripherals and hard disk drives n Small Computer System Interface (SCSI): A 32- or 64-bit computer adapter that transports data between one or more attached devices, such as hard disks, and the computer

38. Chapter 2 Simple Disk Controller Architecture Figure 2-5 Disk controller connecting a disk drive

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

40. Chapter 2 SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates Table 2-5 SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates

41. Chapter 2 Troubleshooting Tip n Omitting the cable terminator is a common problem when connecting several devices to one SCSI adapter. If you experience difficulty recognizing hard disk storage during the Windows 2000 Server installation, check to make sure the terminator is connected to the last device on the SCSI cable.

42. Chapter 2 Design Tip n One method to significantly increase performance on a server is to purchase two or more hard disk drives and divide the flow of data between two or more data pathways by placing drives on different adapters.

43. Chapter 2 Setting Up Multiple Disk Pathways Figure 2-7 Using two SCSI adapters to create separate data paths for hard disk drives

44. Chapter 2 Fibre Channel n For disk intensive applications, consider using Fibre Channel as an alternative to SCSI. u Fibre Channel is a high-speed method for connecting computer peripherals, such as disk drives, to servers and other host computers through copper and fiber-optic cable. Current implementations of Fibre Channel in Windows 2000 servers provide data transfer rates of up to 1 Gbps.

45. Chapter 2 Disk Mirroring n Disk mirroring: A fault tolerance method that prevents data loss by duplicating data from a main disk to a backup disk. Some operating systems also refer to this as disk shadowing.

46. Chapter 2 Disk Mirroring Architecture Figure 2-8 Disk mirroring

47. Chapter 2 Disk Duplexing n Disk duplexing: A fault tolerance method similar to disk mirroring in that it prevents data loss by duplicating data from a main disk to a backup disk; but disk duplexing places the backup disk on a different controller or adapter than is used by the main disk.

48. Chapter 2 Disk Duplexing Architecture Figure 2-9 Disk duplexing

49. Chapter 2 RAID Fault Tolerance n RAID level 0: Disk striping with no redundancy n RAID level 1: Disk mirroring or duplexing n RAID level 2: Disk striping across an array of disks in which all disks store error-correction data in case of a disk failure

50. Chapter 2 RAID Fault Tolerance (continued) n RAID level 3: Similar to RAID level 2, but error-correcting data is stored on only one disk n RAID level 4: Similar to RAID level 2, but an added feature is checksum verification data stored on one disk n RAID level 5: Similar to RAID level 4, but error-correction and checksum data are spread over all disks

51. Chapter 2 RAID Supported by Windows 2000 n RAID level 0 n RAID level 1 n RAID level 5

52. Chapter 2 Features of the Windows 2000 Disk Management Snap-in n Status information about drives n Ability to create and format partitions n Ability to change drive letter assignments n Support for FAT and NTFS drives n Ability to create mirrored, striped, RAID- 5, and spanned volumes

53. Chapter 2 Disk Management Snap-In Figure 2-10 Windows 2000 Disk Management snap-in

54. Chapter 2 Analysis Issues Affecting Disk Fault Tolerance Selection n Importance of the data n Tolerance for down time when a failure occurs n Amount of data that must be stored n How fast the data must be accessed n Budget for equipment purchases and support

55. Chapter 2 Software RAID and Hardware RAID Compared n Hardware RAID is more expensive n Hardware RAID is generally faster for read and write access n Ability to place boot and system files on all configurations of hardware RAID n Hardware RAID can include the ability to “hot swap” disks n Hardware RAID generally has more setup and configuration options

56. Chapter 2 Planning Tip n Purchase hardware RAID from a vendor that does not use all proprietary components so you can use disk drives, cables, and various parts from other vendors.

57. Chapter 2 Backup Media n Plan your server so that it can be backed up using removable media such as tapes, Zip/Jaz disks, CD-ROMs, CD- Rs, and CD-RWs.

58. Chapter 2 Design Tip n Attach tape backup systems to adapters or controllers that do not also have disk storage attached.

59. Chapter 2 Tape Drive Architecture Figure 2-11 Connecting a tape drive to a separate adapter

60. Chapter 2 CD-ROM Drive n Equip your server with a fast CD-ROM drive from which to load the Windows 2000 Server operating system, device drivers, and application software n Implement a CD-ROM “jukebox” in situations where users will access CD-ROM resources over the network

61. Chapter 2 Example CD-ROM Jukebox Figure 2-12 CD-ROM “jukebox”

62. Chapter 2 Implementation Tip n Fully set up and test all server components n Allow for a “burn-in” period

63. Chapter 2 Chapter Summary n Server hardware comes in a full range of sophisticated options including fast processors and fault-tolerant disk drives. n Plan server hardware to meet or exceed the needs of the intended implementation. n Begin the selection process by consulting the Microsoft HCL.

64. Chapter 2 Chapter Summary n Select a fast bus architecture and other features that enable you to expand the server as needed. n Implement disk storage using fast channel technology such as SCSI or Fibre Channel and include fault tolerance in your planning.

65. Chapter 2 Chapter Summary n Implement at least one CD-ROM drive to load software and drivers. n Plan to test the server hardware before you install Windows 2000 Server.