Additional Disk Partitions

If you plan on using BitLocker drive encryption or the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), you’ll need to create two primary partitions. On master boot record (MBR) disks, primary partitions are type 0x27, and on globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT) disks, they are type GUID: {DE94BBA4-06D1-4D40-A16A-BFD50179D6AC}.

For BitLocker, this separate partition is used to store the unencrypted boot partition, while the second stores the encrypted OS. For WinRE, the first partition stores the recovery environment and the second stores the OS. Using two partitions for WinRE lets you recover broken system disks. If you combine BitLocker and WinRE, then you will need to store WinRE on the same partition as the OS because it should be encrypted to protect the system. For both BitLocker and WinRE, the partitions they are stored on need to be set as active. WinRE partitions should also be set as hidden to protect them from accidental deletion.

Also, if you are creating database servers, or any server that will run a client-server database, you should create a special partition to store the log files separately from the data files.

three drives. Rely on your shared storage system to help you select the best possible configuration for the drives.

You should also use a random array of inexpensive network (RAIN) cards. They are similar to a RAID disk system in that they are composed of two network cards using the same resources. When one fails, the other automatically takes over using the same Media Access Control (MAC) address. Make sure the drivers for such cards are compatible with WS08.

• Storage strategy The hardware protection system you choose will also depend on your storage strategy. If you’re building a multipurpose regional virtual server, you’ll probably want to focus on local storage. But the host servers should share drives. Many manufacturers are delivering innovative all-in-one boxes that include two host servers with shared storage, all in a convenient cooling casing for regional networks. For central servers, you should implement shared storage based on your organizational needs. Small to medium organizations will often opt for Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, whereas larger organizations will need Storage Area Networks (SANs). WS08 will work with several different types of shared storage; just make sure you select something that is on the hardware compatibility list (HCL) Microsoft publishes.

• Physical location The physical location, the actual physical space the server will occupy, will help you determine whether you will choose a rack-mounted or tower server configuration. In most cases, regional servers are tower servers and centralized servers are rack-mounted because they are concentrated in a single physical space. If you opt for rack-mounted servers, then consider the blade server. Blade servers offer much more compact footprints, often saving as much as 70 percent of rack space, 50 percent power consumption, 80 percent cabling, and 20 percent heat generation compared to other rack-mounted servers.

Remember, your physical location should be lockable and offer temperature controls. • Backup method Once again, the physical location of the server will help determine

the backup method selected. Regional servers often used tape drives for backup, but this is no longer supported by WS08 by default. Depending on the speed and available bandwidth of your wide area network (WAN) connection, you might just back up all data to a central location. WS08 includes a delta-compression replication engine, which makes it really simple to create centralized backup strategies. This strategy can also be used to create offsite copies of data. You’ll quickly learn that WS08’s backup strategy is disk-oriented. It also has the ability to do backup snapshots—time-based images of the hard disk drives that are then used to create the backup, allowing the server to

continue with other operations. More on this topic will be covered when discussing business continuity strategies.

• Operating system Are there any special requirements for the operating system this server will host? For Windows Server 2008, it’s easy. Everything—hardware and software—has to be certified. Microsoft has made great advances in stability with its operating systems, but these advances depend on products that follow strict

guidelines. In a high-quality network, only certified products are allowed. If you have existing hardware that is not certified, you’ll have to weigh the risk of using it on a critical component, such as a server, against the cost of buying replacement parts.

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If you’re buying new hardware or software, make sure it is certified for WS08. Since your host systems will be running 64-bit processors, you should make sure each component is certified. Then, for guest operating systems, you won’t have to worry so much, because they will be addressing virtualized hardware and will use the certified drivers Microsoft provides in WS08.

• Growth potential Finally, you don’t want to be replacing this system six months after you put it in place, so make sure that it has a lot of capacity for growth. All systems should have the ability to add more processors, more memory, and more disk space. As such, you’ll need to consider the server life expectancy—when the server was introduced by the manufacturer, when it will be retired, what its projected growth potential by the manufacturer is, and so on. If you plan carefully, you’ll be able to implement servers that will have a rich lifecycle that meet your expectations. In some conditions, this lifecycle can last up to five years or more. Do this for host servers. Guest operating systems can be provided with more resources as they need them, so they are less of a concern.

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This exercise helps you identify the generic size of each server (see Figure 4-1). Special service offerings, such as domain controllers, Microsoft Exchange, or SQL Server, will require different sizing parameters. Microsoft offers sizing tools for most of its server family. All are available on the Microsoft Servers web site at www.microsoft.com/Servers. In addition, Compaq, Dell, HP, and IBM all offer sizing tools for their servers on their respective web sites.

Sizing Recommendations for Resource Pools

The most complicated configuration you will need to set up is for the host systems. You already know that these should be 64-bit systems using shared storage. They should also be blade servers, if possible, because blades can be implemented faster than other server types once the casing has been configured. They should include multiple network interface cards (NICs) so that they will provide sufficient throughput for the multiple virtual machines (VMs) they will run. The OS should be stored on the shared storage, as this will facilitate provisioning. Data—the storage space for the VMs—should also be on shared storage and should form the bulk of the disk space allocated to this server. Another smaller partition should be used to store the snapshots that will be required to back up the virtual machines.

Table 4-3 outlines hardware recommendations for host servers.

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(www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/howtobuy/licensing/calculator.mspx) to determine which license best suits your needs.