My larger client has 4 EQL boxes, and we have 2 running all VMDK and 2 running all RAW. Performance seemed just fine we had Exchange on the RAW and then VMDK for the o/s. We recently upgraded them to Veeam Backups, and wanted to take advantage of all that and migrated the Exchange into a vmdk and performance doesnt seem to have changed from the end user perspective. Our backup windows shrank by days not hours :) so we are pretty happy .
We are running @ 750 users, 1.5TB across 4 storage groups. Exchange 2007 latest sp/hotfixes as of Dec 2010. -----Original Message----- From: Jon D [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 10:22 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Exchange Database -- VMDK or RAW? Thanks for everyones replies so far. More details: Exchange 2010(all roles). FC to SAN Around 300 users. I want to increase mailbox limits putting the total databases at around 750MB - 1TB combined. Thanks, Jon On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 10:06 AM, Paul Hutchings <[email protected]> wrote: > Which version of Exchange? > > I'm currently planning our move from 2003 to 2010 and really you want > to run Jetstress to ensure you get the IOPS you want within acceptable > latency etc. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kim Longenbaugh [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 14 March 2011 14:04 > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Exchange Database -- VMDK or RAW? > > Ok, if it helps, we're using iSCSI over Ethernet, on 1 Gbps > connections, with about 900 users > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ken Schaefer [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 9:00 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Exchange Database -- VMDK or RAW? > > Without knowing the parameters of your environment, this isn't really > that useful. E.g. if you are using iSCSI over Ethernet, then it makes > a big difference if you are using 1gbps vs 10gbps (depending on the > environment size). If you only have 100 users, it doesn't matter if > you are using VMDK vs RAW and iSCSI vs FC. If you have 100,000 users, > it does. > > Cheers > Ken > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kim Longenbaugh [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, 14 March 2011 9:42 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Exchange Database -- VMDK or RAW? > > We use the MS iSCSI initiator to attach all the Exchange data and log > drives. There have been no observable performance issues doing so in > our environment. > > Use Dell's "extpart.exe" for 2003, or the W2008 native "diskpart", > we've been able to grow the drives on the fly when we needed to add > space for some reason. I know you can do the same with VMDK files, > but don't have any experience with RAW drives. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jon D [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 8:31 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Exchange Database -- VMDK or RAW? > > For those who have your Exchange boxes inside of VMWare, did you put > your databases inside VMDK files, or did you go RAW? > VMDK seems like it would be easier to manage, but I'm wondering about > size issues, performance, etc. > > > > Thanks, > Jon > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > -- > MIRA Ltd > > Watling Street, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 0TU, England Registered > in England and Wales No. 402570 VAT Registration GB 100 1464 84 > > The contents of this e-mail are confidential and are solely for the use of the intended recipient. 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You should not copy, forward or otherwise disclose the content of the e-mail as this is prohibited. > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
