Acknowledgments
Microsoft and Intel would like to acknowledge the special contributions of the following companies to this document:
Compaq Computer Corporation
Dell Computer Corporation
Fujitsu Siemens Computers
Hewlett-Packard Company
International Business Machines Corporation
NEC Corporation
Chapter 1
Overview of Server Design Issues
This chapter is an introduction to the system classes and issues related to server hardware guidelines for systems designed to work with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family of operating systems. This document addresses design issues for commodity servers; in general, these servers contain up to eight microprocessors and use a variety of industry-standard technologies.
Introduction to Design Issues
The intent of this guide is to provide information about designing servers, hardware, and software that take best advantage of the Windows 2000 Server operating system.
This guide represents a collection of system definitions and requirements for bus and device design. The requirements and recommendations emphasize features and attributes of a system that can perform extremely well under Windows 2000 Server. These guidelines emphasize the following areas:
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Performance. The ideal way to specify performance capabilities would be to specify performance against specific benchmark tests. However, the available benchmark tests do not allow directly comparing systems unless tests are conducted with identical client setup and software configurations, which are not currently defined. Wherever possible, requirements in this guide are defined according to the benchmark performance goals. When reliable benchmark tests are not available, specific hardware configurations are defined for servers so they achieve the performance capabilities necessary to meet the requirements defined in this guide.
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Reliability. To fulfill its function, the server system must run all the time, with fault-tolerance capabilities and features that smoothly replace a failed drive. High availability is an extremely important feature for all servers, although this feature can be manifested differently according to how the server is used. However, certain baseline goals are desirable for each class of server, so various elements of these requirements address reliability and high-availability needs for servers.
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Robustness and capacity. For many server applications, good scalability and serviceability become extremely important. This guide specifies some requirements related to components, such as RAM expansion capabilities, to address robustness issues. Additional requirements or recommendations provide for expansion capabilities in the server system.
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Ease of use and ease of maintenance. Various requirements seek to address issues related to ease of use and ease of maintenance — two factors that strongly affect the TCO for servers.
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Security. Some requirements ensure security of user data or access to system components.
When working to meet these requirements and when choosing to support additional hardware design recommendations, the designer must continually weigh cost versus performance. In defining these guidelines, extra attention has been given to this concern.
Intel and Microsoft are dedicated to strategic industry relationships that deepen and strengthen support for evolving the platform. Both companies work with industry groups to define standards for new technologies. In support of this evolution of server platforms, Microsoft has become involved in the following efforts:
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Designing operating system support for new bus and device classes to ensure that new technologies can quickly reach a broad market.
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Enhancing the Windows 2000 Server and later operating systems to make it easy for both hardware and software developers to exploit operating system capabilities.
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Offering the HCL and other programs to help customers identify hardware and software designs that take advantage of the Windows 2000 Server operating system.
The system design requirements defined in this guide support a synergy among server hardware, the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system, and Win32-based and Win64-based software. These requirements for systems and components are based on the following goals:
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System platforms, buses, and devices meet industry standards and specifications for each bus type and device class.
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Systems and devices meet minimum performance requirements.
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Systems and devices meet ease-of-use and physical design guidelines.
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Systems and devices are supported by device drivers that follow guidelines defined in the Windows 2000 DDK for behavior, installation, and removal.
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Systems and devices support Plug and Play configuration and OnNow power management for configuring and managing all system components under the Windows 2000 Server operating system.
Server Classes and Operating System Editions
Servers perform a huge variety of tasks and combinations of tasks, resulting in many configurations. To specify requirements in a meaningful way, this guide first defines a basic set of requirements for a generic (or basic) server platform. This guide then provides additional recommendations and requirements for the server usage models described here:
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Basic server. This server can be used in any environment. This server is described by a set of requirements and recommendations that seek to define a well-rounded, general-purpose server platform used solely as a server. Such a server can be used in small businesses or for a variety of uses in larger businesses, ranging from departmental use to clustered applications in the enterprise. Administration can be local or remote.
This server’s baseline capabilities include high availability, serviceability, scalability, ease of use, and ease of administration. This platform and its requirements are used as a basis for other types of servers defined by this guideline.
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Small office/home office (SOHO) server. Although it can be used in any environment, this server platform has features that increase its ease of use and deployment in small businesses, which usually do not have great experience using and deploying server systems. This general-purpose platform handles file, print, and client-server application requirements. This server must have a broad set of attributes to handle all typical server tasks in a limited environment. Quick recovery is required, because downtime will immediately impact the small office’s ability to conduct business.
The system must be easy to set up and manage from a remote location, such as the headquarters for a value-added retailer (VAR), or directly by the server owner, who may have little or no computer knowledge. To increase ease of use and availability, the system should be capable of exploiting the reliability features of Windows 2000, such as disk mirroring and clustering. The system should have low entry costs and low recurring costs, because cost is often a driving issue in SOHO environments.
The SOHO server has additional requirements driven by the usage and deployment model for this platform. The SOHO server could also serve as a client workstation, while simultaneously performing its normal role as a server. This dual usage imposes additional requirements for power management and configuration.
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Enterprise server. This server can also be used in any environment, but is frequently deployed as the building block for a large organization where it often performs special-purpose tasks, such as handling and routing e mail, or storing financial data. Because this server is an indispensable part of the organization, it must be highly available. Therefore, software and hardware mechanisms must be in place to eliminate unplanned downtime.
The Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system is available in four editions:
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Windows 2000 Server: The successor to Windows NT Server 4.0, it is a multipurpose network operating system for businesses of all sizes.
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Windows 2000 Advanced Server: The successor to Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition, it is the operating system for e-commerce and line-of-business applications, providing load balancing and clustering services as well as enhanced symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) capabilities.
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Windows 2000 Datacenter Server: The newest member of the Windows Server family, it is the operating system for business solutions that demand the highest degree of scalability, availability, and reliability.
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Microsoft Small Business Server: Provides small businesses with essential tools, including file and printer sharing, business-critical applications, e-mail and scheduling, and support for Internet and communications services such as Internet, remote access, and fax.
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