New HyperV based test server

OnlyMe

OnlyMe

OnlyMe

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13 Mar 2010
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So I upgraded to Exchange 2013 on a VM on my current c2q based test rig with 8GB RAM, and it recommends 8GB just for the exchange server. Installed no problem but as expected memory usage is at 98% constantly as the exchange VM tries to grab all the ram and the other VMs and desktop running slow slow slow... capped the VM to 6GB and now its just running at 93% but at least the other VMs are managing :D

Time for an upgrade then. Decided to keep my games machine running the trusty bloomfield 930, and upgrade the server directly. Waiting for:

£216.66 x 1 - Kingston HyperX Beast 32GB (4x8GB) PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Quad Channel Kit (KHX16C9T3K432X)
£199.99 x 1 - Intel Core i7-4771 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
£79.99 x 1 - Gigabyte Z87-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
£69.99 x 1 - Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gbs Solid State Drive - Na'Vi Limited Edition (SH103S3120G-NV)
£62.46 x 1 - Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black
£108.29 x 1 - Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020032-UK)


Also have 2x1.5TB WD green and 1x500MB WD black for data and VMs respectively, and existing DVD drives. Intending to use the 4600 video built into the chip, rather than recycle the GF9500 I currently use in the server, I'm guessing the performance is similar if I ever wanted to run games on the server (very occasionally run Diablo III on it for dual play when my mate is over).

So, what do people think about disk options and use of the SSD? I'm thinking of just install the host Win 2012 server on the SSD, and leaving the guest HDs on the 500GB disk, and having a RAID 1 1.5TB data/snapshot disk. Or would the Z87 caching thing allow me to cache the raid array and the VM disk? Is that even a good idea given the lack of write caching?

Anyway I've just noticed there are no PATA ports listed on that MB, so looks like I'll be ripping the blueray out of the games machine to get the server OS installed. Now, if only I had enough posts on here to get free shipping I'd order a new SATA DVD writer too, maybe a trip to pc world is in order! :o
 
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ThaReaperGuy said:
Have you bought those parts already?
Do you need a massive PSU?

Haswell likes really fast RAM, so you could have went for 32GB 2400mhz RAM?
Click to expand...

I already had that PSU actually, ordered it a while ago to replace my other one which turned out not to be faulty, so its going into this build. PSU is something I don't usually scrimp on, and that machine will be running 24/7 so I'm hoping it will be pretty efficient. Mind you, if I don't put a graphics card in it ever, then you are probably right.

Yes I've ordered it now. I'm not planning on overclocking, so would 2400mhz RAM actually run at that without an overclock? If so, looks like I missed a trick :(
 
OnlyMe said:
I already had that PSU actually, ordered it a while ago to replace my other one which turned out not to be faulty, so its going into this build. PSU is something I don't usually scrimp on, and that machine will be running 24/7 so I'm hoping it will be pretty efficient. Mind you, if I don't put a graphics card in it ever, then you are probably right.
Click to expand...

If you're interested in efficiency then it's almost always better to run a PSU near it's capacity rather than overspeccing. A 400 W unit would be much less wasteful than an 850 W one for this machine. But never mind ;)
 
joeyjojo said:
If you're interested in efficiency then it's almost always better to run a PSU near it's capacity rather than overspeccing. A 400 W unit would be much less wasteful than an 850 W one for this machine. But never mind ;)
Click to expand...

Oh well, when I need more than 32GB of RAM in the server and I upgrade to (haswell+2) then use this box as my workstation then at least I can just throw 2 graphics cards in it and be happy :D
 
You can change the Exchange RAM usage, I've successfully used this method on a couple of our servers.

To set the maximum size of the database cache in Exchange 2010
Start ADSI Edit. (Click Start, click Run, and then type adsiedit.msc.)

On ADSI Edit, right click and then click Connect to.

In Connection Settings, under Connection Point, click Select a well known Naming Context, and then select Configuration from the corresponding list.

Under Computer, click Select or type a domain or server, and then in the corresponding box, select or type the name of your domain controller.

Click Advanced.

In Advanced, select Specify Credentials, and then type your user name and password in the corresponding boxes.

In the Port Number box, type 389.

Under Protocol, click LDAP.

Click OK to close the Advanced dialog box.

Click OK to close the Connection Settings dialog box.

In ADSI Edit, you are connected to the Configuration container of your domain controller.

Navigate to the following object: Configuration/Services/Microsoft Exchange/<Your Organization>/Administrative Groups/<Your Administrative Group>/Servers/<Server Name>/Information Store.

Right-click Information Store, and then click Properties.

On the Attribute Editor tab, click msExchESEParamCacheSizeMax, and then click Edit.

In Integer Attribute Editor, type the maximum size of the database cache, specified as the number of 8-kilobyte pages, and then click OK.

For example, to set the database cache size to 14 GB, divide 14 GB (14,680,064 KB) by 8 to get a value of 1,835,008 8-KB pages. In the Integer Attribute Editor dialog box, type this value without using commas or periods.

Click OK to close Information Store Properties.

Close ADSI Edit, and then restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service.
Click to expand...

You'll also have to set the Min size too otherwise it tends to ignore your settings.

Another note, the divide by 8 rule is for 2007. Exchange 2010 works on 32KB pages.
 
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Nice tip thanks, that will help if/when I co-host another app on that virtual server.

Currently just limiting the actual server to 6GB helps, once it's migrated to the new machine I'll give it 8gb again. There will only be a couple of hundred k test data on that system anyway, unless I try testing migrations or something later.

The new system is built and running win8 just to test the new hardware. Big problem at the moment it wont boot with more than 2 dimms, so only 16GB in it. I'm seeing some issues on the web about gigabyte boards, i7-4471 and 4 dimms being problematic, but right now it just wont take ANY memory in channel A... Doesn't bode well, might need a support ticket with ocuk, I hope it doesn't need RMAing cause its cased and working nicely now except for that.
 
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