When I build a server, I prefer it to be a single use machine. That means it is not a Domain Controller, not used for user profiles, not a file server, not a SQL Server, nothing but an Exchange Server. I will assume you are installing on a blank machine. That is you have no operating system. I prefer to install NT/2000 myself, rather than count on a machine that may have a problem unrelated to anything I do. I realize this is not always possible, but I do it whenever I can.

We all know how important email is to users and an organization, so I insist on some form of redundancy. I prefer hardware RAID. It is easier, and stronger. If the organization cannot afford hardware RAID, they MUST use software RAID. I prefer the multi-channel RAID boards that are out. They work great. They typically give you 3 channels to work with. This allows different sections to be built on different spindles. I will get into that shortly. All major manufacturers sell a board like this. I also like them to be hot swappable. (This is sometimes a function of the motherboard as well. Ask your supplier before you get the equipment, they can usually help you with this.)

I prefer to mirror the OS. This is the first channel of the RAID board. Next, I mirror the logs and software. I use the second channel for this. Then I put the Information Store and the Directory Store (IS/DS) on a RAID-5 drive. The exact order will change from time to time, but I try to break them up that way. Unfortunately, that take up at least 7 drives plus one for a spare. Many companies don't like to use so many drives. (Three of them are used for redundancy.) So, if they balk, I maneuver things. I will put the logs on the OS drive, and the IS/DS on the RAID-5 drive. Before you start to yell, understand that I am looking at hardware mirroring. As such, when I get to the OS, I can make several partitions on these drives. If I use two 9 GB drives, practically the minimum these days, when I install the OS, it will limit me to a 2-4 GB partition depending upon the version of NT I use. This allows me anywhere from 5-7 GB to work with. That means I can setup a GB or two for software. This is where I will install Exchange, and store any source files, service packs, etc. I will put the logs on the remaining space.

Once the OS is installed, I apply the service packs. I am currently using service pack 6a for NT. I held off until I had a chance to test things and listen to my colleagues to see if there were problems, and I haven't heard any major problems with it. I typically expand the service pack on the software partition. This allows me to re-apply it as needed. With the OS in and the service packs applied, I create all of the partitions. These of course depend upon the amount of space and the hardware supplied. If I have the seven drives discussed earlier, great. If not, I make due with what I have. I try to use the following guidelines:

Separate the logs, the DS, and the IS.

Separate all of the above from the swap file.

Separate the MTA. (Message Transfer Agent)

Separate the IMS files. (Internet Mail Service)

Separate the page files.

So, at this point, I've built my partitions. Usually the OS is mirrored, and the IS/DS is on a RAID drive. It would be typical to have the OS on a 3 GB C: drive, I'll assume D: for the CD, 2 GB for software on E:, the balance (at least 4 GB) for logs on F:. If possible, I like to separate the IS and DS logs on separate partitions. Either way, I give the IS a minimum of 2-2.5 GB for the logs and at least 1 GB for the DS logs.

On the RAID drive, I separate them into different partitions for the IS and DS if possible. I'll call the IS partition G: and the DS partition H:. For that matter, you can place the Private and Public ISes on a separate partition as well, but this is more nit picking than anything else. Please make the partition as large as you need. The larger partition by far is the Private IS. In a non-enterprise version of Exchange, you are bound to 16 GB for your IS. If you need more space, you will have to put them on another server.

One quick note about partitioning drives. Windows 2000 is coming. (It's really here already.) As such, dynamic disks are coming. The pros and cons of dynamic disks are beyond the scope of this article, but I prepare for it now. Any time I partition a disk, I leave several MB (usually around 10) unpartitioned for the conversion. Microsoft says if you don't have at least 1 MB unpartitioned, your disk will crash when you convert. I take it a step further and leave several MBs free. The effect is negligible, and it pays off in the long run.

On install, I place the software on the software partition, and don't worry about the databases or logs until I run the optimizer. I place the swap file on the RAID 5 drive. Prior to doing the install, be sure to go into the options and remove the components you don't need. If you have no CC:Mail systems or MS Mail systems that you are connecting to, remove those connectors before you do your install. It's easier than trying to clean it up later. Typically, I add the minimum number of components.

As you end the install, the system attempts to run the Optimizer. Don't do it. If you are using this machine for a connector or IMS machine, add them at this point. Next, run the service pack. Most of my experience is on SP 3. I am experimenting with SP4. I haven't found any problems yet. If you have, let me know, and I'll publish any problems in a future article.

After I install the service packs, I run the optimizer. There are several screens that matter. If I am not using the verbose mode, the only screens I care about are the "role" page and the "file location" page. On the "role" page, you are asked how many users you plan on putting on this server. You can increment from under 25 users to over 500 users. Use the radio buttons. Next you add check marks for each of the services you are using on this server. If you have mailboxes, and/or public folders check those options. If you have Site Connectors or an IMS on this server, check off the option for a connector/directory import option.

The multiserver option is used to reserve enough resources for the MTA and directory replication messages within the site. The last box in the center column is "POP3 only." This box is used if you connect with Outlook Express, Outlook in "Internet Mail Only" mode, or with any IMAP4, POP3, or NNTP client only. Most clients on a corporate network use Outlook in the "Corporate/Workgroup" mode. This uses an RPC connection. (The MAPI connection.) If you do not connect this way, then you can add the "POP3 only" check. It will effectively reduce the number of RPC connections and make more resources available for the other protocols. (NNTP, POP3, IMAP4) OWA users should not check this box. (The bottom line is very few people will ever check this box.) The last box is how many users are in the entire organization. You can check off anything from under 100 to over 100,000.

There is a check box at the bottom to limit the memory to a certain amount. Do not check this box off. This was for previous version of Exchange that did not handle releasing memory very well. Exchange 5.5 is designed to use all available memory. If you monitor the services, you will find the Store.exe using almost all of your memory. This is by design. Leave it alone! If another application needs memory, the IS will release it's resources and reclaim them as needed.

The next screen is the "fun" one. First of all, it will take several minutes to get to this screen. The Optimizer tests your system to determine the "best" configuration. Unfortunately, the Optimizer doesn't account for hardware RAID very well. As such, you should plan to make your own adjustments as to where you want the files. I use the following:

Private IS RAID Drive

Public IS RAID Drive

IS Store logs Mirror Drive

DS RAID Drive

DS logs Mirror Drive

MTA RAID Drive

IMS files RAID Drive

The next page has a check box to move the files automatically. Only use this area to move the files. Please do not try to move them on your own. If you do, it will sever the connection between the databases and the checkpoint files. Your system will probably become either unstable or unusable. It is much easier to move the files here. You can also move them within the Exchange Admin program, but I prefer to move them here.

After the Optimizer runs, I turn off Circular Logging. This is a very controversial checkbox. I will give you my opinion on it. To understand what Circular Logging is, you need to understand how Exchange writes transactions. Similar to SQL and other databases, Exchange does not write its transactions directly to disk. Instead it writes them to logs and then later commits the logs to the database. While you take a performance hit writing every transaction twice, it is really much faster. By using transaction logs, the transactions are available immediately, and in the event of a hardware failure, the logs can be replayed to restore any missing events.

What Circular Logging does, is over-write the log files after there are four logs. (Each log has a max size of 5 MB.) Well, kind of. What it does is, write each log as something happens. Once the log file reaches 5 MBs, it closes that log and opens another. Once there are four log files, with Circular Logging on, it over-writes the old log files. It does this on purpose. If you don't delete the old log files, you will eventually run out of space on the disk. So, if disk space is an issue, you could enable Circular Logging, and it would prevent you from running out of disk space. Unfortunately, if you over- write the logs, you can't replay the transactions. As such, your ability to recover from a disaster is compromised. All backup programs delete old log files when they backup the databases. So, if your backups are working, you should not have a problem. If not, you have bigger problems.

The short answer is, backup your server and disable Circular Logging. This is done by going to the "Advanced" page of the properties for the server. It needs to stop and start the services when this is done.

At this point, I add in any third party software. This is virus scanners, backup agents, etc. This usually requires several restarts. Once this is done, the server is ready. I try to leave it running with a few mailboxes on for a few days to make sure nothing weird happens, then it is ready for service.