Chapter 2: Planning for Server Hardware

1
Chapter 2 Planning for Server Hardware
2
Learning Objectives

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

3
Learning Objectives (continued)

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

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System Requirements

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

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Windows 2000 Server Hardware Requirements
Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to
Install Windows 2000 Server
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Windows 2000 Server Hardware Requirements
(continued)
Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to
Install Windows 2000 Server
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Windows 2000 Professional Hardware Requirements
Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to
Install Windows 2000 Professional
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Windows 2000 Professional Hardware Requirements
(continued)
Table 2-1 Minimum Hardware Requirements to
Install Windows 2000 Professional
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Windows 2000 Server Compatibility

• Check the Microsoft hardware compatibility list
  (HCL) before selecting computer hardware for a
  server

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Hardware Listed in the HCL

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

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Hardware listed in the HCL (continued)

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

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CPU Sizing

• Select a fast processor
• Choose a processor that has a fast clock speed

13
Pentium Computers

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

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L2 Cache in Different Pentium Processors

• Pentium processor L2 cache is usually an SRAM
  chip on the mother board
• Pentium Pro L2 cache is built into the chip
• Pentium II and III L2 cache is on a daughter
  board
• Celeron processor has no L2 cache
• Xeon processor has special L2 caching for extra
  speed

15
Multiprocessor Computers

• Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) employs two or
  more processors, including some computers that
  can support up to 32 processors

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Clustering Computers

• Shared disk model Linking two or more servers to
  operate as one and to equally share resources

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Shared Disk Clustering
Figure 2-1 Shared disk clustering model
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Clustering Computers

• Shared disk nothing model Linking two or more
  servers to operate as one, but with each owning
  particular disk, CD-ROM, and tape resources

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Shared Nothing Clustering
Figure 2-2 Shared nothing clustering model
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Bus Architectures

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

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Bus Architectures (continued)

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

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I2O Architecture

• Intelligent input/output (I2O) A computer
  communications architecture that removes some of
  the I/O processing activities from the main
  processor to I2O processors on peripherals
  designed for I2O architectures, such as hard
  disks. I2O devices use one general device driver
  for all I2O-compliant devices.

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I2O Communications
Figure 2-3 I2O communications architecture
24
Plug and Play

• Plug and Play Ability of added computer
  hardware, such as an adapter or modem, to
  identify itself to the computer operating system
  for installation

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USB

• 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.

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Choosing NICs

• Network interface card An adapter board designed
  to connect a workstation, server, or other
  network equipment to a network medium.

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NIC Components

• A connector for the network medium
• A transceiver
• A controller for MAC protocol communications and
  addressing
• Protocol control firmware

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NIC Duplex Modes

• Half duplex ability to send or receive signals,
  but not simultaneously
• Full duplex capacity to send and receive signals
  at the same time

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Setting the Duplex Mode
Figure 2-4 NIC Duplex Mode setting
30
Memory Sizing Guidelines
Table 2-3 Memory Guidelines
31
Memory Type

• Make sure that the memory used in a server is
  error checking and correcting (ECC)
• EEC Memory that can correct some types of memory
  problems without causing computer operations to
  halt

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Troubleshooting Tip

• 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.

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Disk Capacity

• Estimate disk capacity to include
• Operating system files
• Software files
• Data and database files
• User files
• General public files
• Utility files
• Server management files

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Example Disk Capacity Calculation
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Example Disk Capacity Calculation (continued)
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Disk Drive Design Issues that Affect Disk
Contention

• Speed of the individual disks
• Speed of the disk controllers
• Speed of the data pathway to the disks
• Number of disk pathways
• Disk caching

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Disk Drive Interfaces

• Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) An
  inexpensive hard disk interface that is used on
  Intel-based computers from the 80286 to Pentium
  computers
• Enhanced Small Device Interface (ESDI) An early
  device interface for computer peripherals and
  hard disk drives
• 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

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Simple Disk Controller Architecture
Figure 2-5 Disk controller connecting a disk
drive
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SCSI Architecture
Figure 2-6 Ultra SCSI adapter connected to two
disk drives and a tape drive
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SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates
Table 2-5 SCSI Interface Data Transfer Rates
41
Troubleshooting Tip

• 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.

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Design Tip

• 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.

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

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

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Disk Mirroring

• 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.

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Disk Mirroring Architecture
Figure 2-8 Disk mirroring
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Disk Duplexing

• 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.

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Disk Duplexing Architecture
Figure 2-9 Disk duplexing
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RAID Fault Tolerance

• RAID level 0 Disk striping with no redundancy
• RAID level 1 Disk mirroring or duplexing
• RAID level 2 Disk striping across an array of
  disks in which all disks store error-correction
  data in case of a disk failure

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RAID Fault Tolerance (continued)

• RAID level 3 Similar to RAID level 2, but
  error-correcting data is stored on only one disk
• RAID level 4 Similar to RAID level 2, but an
  added feature is checksum verification data
  stored on one disk
• RAID level 5 Similar to RAID level 4, but
  error-correction and checksum data are spread
  over all disks

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RAID Supported by Windows 2000

• RAID level 0
• RAID level 1
• RAID level 5

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Features of the Windows 2000 Disk Management
Snap-in

• Status information about drives
• Ability to create and format partitions
• Ability to change drive letter assignments
• Support for FAT and NTFS drives
• Ability to create mirrored, striped, RAID-5, and
  spanned volumes

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Disk Management Snap-In
Figure 2-10 Windows 2000 Disk Management snap-in
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Analysis Issues Affecting Disk Fault Tolerance
Selection

• Importance of the data
• Tolerance for down time when a failure occurs
• Amount of data that must be stored
• How fast the data must be accessed
• Budget for equipment purchases and support

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Software RAID and Hardware RAID Compared

• Hardware RAID is more expensive
• Hardware RAID is generally faster for read and
  write access
• Ability to place boot and system files on all
  configurations of hardware RAID
• Hardware RAID can include the ability to hot
  swap disks
• Hardware RAID generally has more setup and
  configuration options

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Planning Tip

• 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.

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Backup Media

• 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.

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Design Tip

• Attach tape backup systems to adapters or
  controllers that do not also have disk storage
  attached.

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Tape Drive Architecture
Figure 2-11 Connecting a tape drive to a
separate adapter
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CD-ROM Drive

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

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Example CD-ROM Jukebox
Figure 2-12 CD-ROM jukebox
62
Implementation Tip

• Fully set up and test all server components
• Allow for a burn-in period

63
Chapter Summary

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

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Chapter Summary

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

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Chapter Summary

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