Exchange 2010 Mailbox Role Calculator 14.2

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Michel de Rooij

After releasing version 14.1 this week, the Microsoft Exchange Team released a small update of the Exchange Mailbox Role Calculator, bringing it to version 14.2.

This version includes the following fixes since 14.1:

Fixed two-node stretched DAG scenario that resulted in calculator not reporting results due to new copy validation check.

You can download the calculator here, consult the changeblog here or read through the usage instructions here.

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Role Calculator 14.1

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Michel de Rooij

The Microsoft Exchange Team released an important update of the Exchange Mailbox Role Calculator, bringing it to version 14.1.

This version includes the following fixes since 12.8:

Fixed the Activation Results Scenarios to no longer display #NAME when dealing with dedicated lagged copy servers;
Fixed 2 LUNs / Backup Set formula for the 11th database grouping set in the DB and Log LUN Design / Server table to display the correct number of databases in the grouping set;
Fixed “Number of Active Databases / SDC Server (After First PDC Server Failure)” calculations to take into account stretched Single DAG without dedicated DR servers;
Fixed “Number of Required Mailbox Processor Cores (Primary Datacenter)” formula to respect when site resilience is disabled and A/A (Single DAG) is selected;
Fixed formatting for scenario that resulted in more HA database copies being deployed in the secondary datacenter than in the primary datacenter and also improved validation checks;
Updated “Custom Number of Databases” (Input Section) and “Number of Databases” (Role Requirements section) text to indicate in standalone situations that the “Custom Number of Databases” is per server and “Number of Databases” is for the environment;
Fixed 2nd PDC failure formula to enable site resilient scenarios that have 3 copies in PDC to allow double server failure event;
Optimized Number of Mailboxes per Database (I/O Driven) to not round up odd numbers to the next even number;
Fixed text in various comment fields.

This version also contains the following enhancements:

Added conditional formatting for Exchange Native Data Protection input factor to alert when you are deploying with less than the recommended number of HA copies;
The calculator now includes the ability to select different disk types and capacities for the storage architecture being deployed in the secondary data center.

Consult the changeblog here.You can download the calculator here. Usage instructions can be found here.

Exchange Processor Query Tool

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Michel de Rooij

For aiding people in sizing their Exchange 2010 mailbox server configuration you can use the Mailbox Role Calculator. As of version 12.3 you can use the Intel SPECint2006 rate value to make calculations regarding the CPU. Unfortunately, not everyone owns a specific configuration shown on the SPECint2006 list.

The Exchange Product Group has come up with a tool (XLS) that calculates the average rate value for a specific CPU, using online SPECint information of configurations with the same CPU. Although not exact, it should provide you with guidance on the megacycles per core value to use in the Mailbox Role Calculator.

You can download the Exchange Processor Query Tool here.

Exchange Toolkit

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Michel de Rooij

I did a write up on the Exchange toolkit, you can find it here or access it through the menu.

If you got feedback, want to report inaccuracies or think something must be added to the list, please send me an e-mail.

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Role Calculator 12.8

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Michel de Rooij

The Microsoft Exchange Team released an important update of the Exchange Mailbox Role Calculator, bringing it to version 12.8.

This version includes the following fixes since 12.3:

Fixed total number of databases/server calculation to deal with Active/Active (Single DAG) scenario correctly with respect to dedicated DR servers
Fixed storage design disk calculations formulas for Active/Active (Single DAG) scenario, i.e., don’t recommend JBOD in scenario where only single copy is deployed (e.g., lagged copy deployed in secondary datacenter without dedicated hardware)
Fixed Number of Active Mailbox Servers in DC2 calculation to not double count lagged copies when deploying Active/Active (Single DAG) scenario and deploying lagged copy in both Primary and Secondary Datacenters
Fixed # of Target Lagged Copy Log Stream calculations to not double count lagged copies when deploying Active/Active (Single DAG) scenario and deploying lagged copy in both Primary and Secondary Datacenters
Fixed second DAG Member Layout Table to show number of servers for both Active/Active scenarios

Consult the changeblog here.You can download the calculator here. Usage instructions can be found here.