NHSmail - Largest Exchange 2007 Server in the World

Vanilla · 12 May 2008 at 09:47

The thing is they wont get better uptime with 250 servers than they would with 10 servers. You need more servers for performance....but they have 10 times the servers of the biggest current 2007 deployments from a performance perspective.

They'd be better off saving the money and taking the torrent of abuse they'd get anyway.

EvilGrin · 12 May 2008 at 09:56

Craziness, I run an exchange 2007 server on our SAN here, it's hosted on VMWare ESX server and have roughly 200 mailboxes, the SAN/Fileserver combined hosts 4 virtual servers, Exchange, Antivirus, a hosted application server and of course the main fileserver. Have capacity out the ass for more mailboxes - NHS are going way way way overboard there, that isn't just futureproofing.

Anyway, I really think we could use a server forum on these boards, anyone else agree? As a server engineer myself, i'd love to have a forum on here with like-minded people that we could bounce ideas around with, rather than the odd thread in various different forums!

Vanilla · 12 May 2008 at 09:59

EvilGrin said:
Anyway, I really think we could use a server forum on these boards, anyone else agree? As a server engineer myself, i'd love to have a forum on here with like-minded people that we could bounce ideas around with, rather than the odd thread in various different forums!

Defo, I think an Enterprise Storage forum is needed for discussion around apps, storage, servers, virtualisation, etc.

Muffin` · 12 May 2008 at 10:05

EvilGrin said:
As a server engineer myself, i'd love to have a forum on here with like-minded people that we could bounce ideas around with, rather than the odd thread in various different forums!

I do second that

EvilGrin · 12 May 2008 at 14:55

Hm, is there anywhere we can post this as a suggestion to the powers that be?

Mikey · 12 May 2008 at 14:59

I assume that's the nhs.uk accounts. What about all the exchange implementations at the local level. I know Portsmouth NHS/PCT and NHS Direct have Exchange 2003 implementations. But this to me just sounds like doubling up and chaos.

Who is doing the install?

pitchfork · 12 May 2008 at 15:14

I'd love to go into an NHS datacentre with a huge magnet and hold their data hostage

Blue Cypher · 12 May 2008 at 15:27

pitchfork said:
I'd love to go into an NHS datacentre with a huge magnet and hold their data hostage

"Big Geeky nerd destroyers NHS data!! NHS waste money and yet dont spend enough on security, also their IT systems dont work"

That would be the dail mails headline

oddjob62 · 12 May 2008 at 15:29

EvilGrin said:
Hm, is there anywhere we can post this as a suggestion to the powers that be?

It has been suggested in the past but iirc didn't get much support

Surfer · 12 May 2008 at 15:39

Whats 200,000 x 200mb ? (cba)

Dunks · 12 May 2008 at 15:43

Vanilla said:
Defo, I think an Enterprise Storage forum is needed for discussion around apps, storage, servers, virtualisation, etc.

I can't really see a specific forum for Enterprise Storage being used all that much.

Raumarik · 12 May 2008 at 16:21

pitchfork said:
I'd love to go into an NHS datacentre with a huge magnet and hold their data hostage

You'd like to cause the death of several, possibly hundreds of people?

You say it as a joke but NHSmail is vital as it's the only approved secure method for Doctors and other medical staff to send documents and in many cases test results.

Not so funny now.

Visage · 12 May 2008 at 16:25

Surfer said:
Whats 200,000 x 200mb ? (cba)

40Tb

EvilGrin · 12 May 2008 at 17:12

DunK1 said:
I can't really see a specific forum for Enterprise Storage being used all that much.

On the other hand I would say that a General Servers + Server Technology forum would be used a heap.

Vanilla · 12 May 2008 at 17:37

DunK1 said:
I can't really see a specific forum for Enterprise Storage being used all that much.

Sorry, I meant to say Enterprise IT forum, not storage

Domo · 12 May 2008 at 17:51

Visage said:
Except that if a bank loses its servers you may be slightly inconvenienced. If that happens in the NHS people may die.

Financial institutions will always have better infrastructure than the health industry. Sadly, the reality is money's much more important than saving lives. Its a shrewd world out there.

Surfer · 12 May 2008 at 18:41

Visage said:
40Tb

ahh. cheers. Its 200mb per user account.

edit: bit of useless info for you there.... nhsmail is crud btw so any upgrade has to be good

Energize · 12 May 2008 at 18:58

EvilGrin said:
On the other hand I would say that a General Servers + Server Technology forum would be used a heap.

People thought the same thing about the optical and the sff forum, look at them now...

SexyGreyFox · 12 May 2008 at 19:08

Surfer said:
ahh. cheers. Its 200mb per user account.

edit: bit of useless info for you there.... nhsmail is crud btw so any upgrade has to be good

My Outlook tells me I'm full when I've got about 100 emails in my Inbox and I get at least 100 NHS emails a day.
I'm forever deleting.

I'll tell you what is crud, the NHS internal post.
I've just received an invoice today that was sent on April 24th.
I have to get work experience ID badges out to wards and I've decided to hand deliver them so they get there.

Muban · 12 May 2008 at 19:43

Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail
or take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful.

Naughty

I'm not surprised your account is still open either, I would expect that to be the case for the majority of leavers. It shouldn't be of course but thats just another failing of the system.