Windows 2000 Server can drastically reduce the cost of enterprise networking -- but only if your servers are properly configured. In this book, Windows 2000 expert Curt Aubley walks you through every aspect of setting up Windows 2000 Server for your custom environment, stress-testing it to evaluate performance, and sizing hardware to achieve maximum value. Aubley doesn't just show you how to make your current Windows 2000 Server-based solutions run quickly and cost-effectively: he covers the "whys" you'll need to address any Win2K performance challenges. You'll find specific, detailed recommendations for sizing and tuning both Windows 2000 software and hardware, including CPU, memory, disk subsystem, network, and other potential bottlenecks. Aubley presents detailed coverage for maximizing performance and scalability in each leading Windows 2000 server application, including: optimizing file servers, IIS 5-based web servers, database servers running SQL Server 7 or 2000, messaging servers running Exchange 5.5 or 2000, backup systems, and domain controllers. He also offers insight into the performance overhead associated with security on Windows 2000 Servers. The book includes practical "Rules of Thumb" for identifying bottlenecks; management scripts for tracking performance and availability, and much more.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'If you administer NT servers, buy this book. It is thorough, accurate, and presents a methodology that you can use in your day-to-day work, as well as for planning for the future.' - L.J. Johnson, The Development Exchange
From the Inside Flap
Preface
After spending many years working in various UNIX environments, I began working concurrently with a new operating system called Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1b. Windows NT generated some initial excitement, but it started relatively slow. That has changed. With the release of NT 4.0, this operating system has really built up steam. While researching, testing, benchmarking, and developing new solutions on NT from the workgroup to enterprise level, I am continually collecting troves of information on tuning and sizing NT Server. Developing NT Server-based solutions either as a Senior System Architect for NCR or as Chief of Technology for OAO, the same questions about NT Server arise again and again. Can NT actually be tuned? What size server is required? Will it scale as needed? How do we size it correctly? Why does system performance appear sluggish? How do you determine if NT has run out of resources? How can we help our solution to scale? Anyone developing NT solutions has commonly run into these questions. This book addresses these questions and more.
The goal of this book is to provide a practical approach to tuning and sizing NT Server so that you can immediately begin to maximize your server's overall performance. This book's approach is to discuss server technologies and then explain how NT Server takes advantage of these server technologies. Once this knowledge base is in place it will eliminate the guess work that revolves around tuning and sizing. This enables you to make more intelligent decisions regarding your NT Server's performance and optimization. Instead of providing lists of registry or other NT Server variables that can possibly be changed (or found in the NT Server documentation), specific “rules of thumb” are provided to help you get a jump start in the tuning and sizing of your NT solution.
To help with the integration of all the information provided in this book, the final chapter incorporates in-depth sizing and tuning case studies for Microsoft Exchange, NT File Server, and Microsoft Internet Information Server. These case studies utilize the strategies, methodologies, rules of thumb, bottleneck detection, tuning, and sizing techniques presented throughout this book to highlight the improvements that are possible in an NT Server environment. Again, specific recommendations and results are provided. It is important to note that although numerous specific recommendations are provided, the concepts and principles discussed throughout this book are applicable even as new NT Server versions are released and server technology continues to mature. Of course the tools used to implement these concepts and principals will change. To aid you in keeping up with the new tools that can help your performance improvement efforts, periodically visit TuningAndSizingNT. This web site will also provide a location to share information surrounding the performance of NT Server.
Audience
Tuning and Sizing NT Servers primarily targets System Architects, System and Network Administrators, System Engineers, developers and other IS professionals who develop solutions using NT Server. Tuning and Sizing NT Servers' focus is performance. Everyone wants a high-performing server that is big enough to get the job done well, will efficiently use the resources that are available, and is not so overly configured such that they will never use what they have purchased. With these thoughts in mind, performance should always be a consideration when developing a computer-based solution. This book helps those developing and managing NT Server solutions to acquire a better understanding of performance concepts with a focus on actually implementing specific solutions.
This book assumes a general knowledge of NT Server planning, design, and administration. Because of this assumption, this book is targeted for medium to advanced NT experience levels. For some, much of this information will be new. Others may not feel comfortable with some of the advanced “Thinking Outside the Box” sections, while advanced NT gurus may gravitate towards these sections. Working through the book in a sequential manner from Chapter 1 through 8 is recommended since each chapter adds to your overall performance knowledge base. Regardless of your experience level, if you do not work through this book in this manner, review Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 8 and then select the other material as it relates to your particular environment.
Organization
Tuning and Sizing NT Servers jumps right in, with Chapter 1 providing a series of quick tips and ideas that can be implemented immediately. (I became tired of picking up those thick NT Server books and having to read half the book before getting some good, practical hands-on suggestions.) These quick tips are ready to use as is, but are not thoroughly explained in Chapter 1. Chapter 1 does provide those familiar with NT a great place to start in the tuning process, while the beginner should consider this chapter as a prelude of what is to come and then move directly to Chapter 2. Continue reading the subsequent chapters to learn when to really use the quick tips, what they do, how and when to implement them, and more advanced techniques. A structured performance methodology is reviewed in Chapter 2, “Tuning Strategies and Measurement Gathering.” In Chapter 3, Capacity Planning of NT Servers is explored and provides a structured sizing methodology that discusses leveraging NT Server tools and industry standard benchmarks. From there, the chapters follow a general information flow of investigating the server resources (CPU, Memory, Disk, and Networks), how NT Server utilizes these resources, how to size the specific subsystems, detect bottlenecks, and then explores specific tuning recommendations. Leading by example is something I consider important, thus Chapter 8, “Putting Theory into Practice—Sizing and Tuning Case Studies” utilizes the methodologies and recommendations developed throughout this book to develop NT Server solutions based on Microsoft Exchange, File Server, and Internet Information Server.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Use this book for quantifiable NT performance results.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tuning & Sizing NT Server (Paperback)
I obtained Curt Aubley's book because I had a performance problem on one of my NT File Servers. I'm glad I did because my end users are loading programs in 14 seconds that used to take 186 seconds. They may not thank me, but they're not complaining.The book included a CD-ROM that had some scripts that were easily customized for my environment so that I could collect some baseline performance information (this was really easy with the scripts). Also, the CD included some performance monitor workspace templates that helped me to easily turn on the important metrics that needed to be tracked. There are many sections in the book that give definite recommendations about what to, and what not to, do. There was one section of the book where the author said to "never, ever, ever" do something that I had done - I undid it. The book also helped me by identifying several third party products that proved to be useful in analyzing and fixing my problems. My recommendation to anyone considering this book is that it should not be purchased when you have a problem - buy it before you have the problem. But if you have a problem, this book will help you.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Resource for NT Admins,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tuning & Sizing NT Server (Paperback)
Mr. Aubley's book is an excellent technical resource which addresses the difficult task of correctly sizing NT Server implementations and also how to tune NT for maximum performance with regards to various hardware and software considerations. Mr. Aubley explains the complex tasks succinctly and concisely and draws on many obvious years of experience to present hands-on solutions and case studies for reference. I would recommend this book to any NT admin that is responsible for scaling NT beyond humble file and print services. It has presented approaches to the tasks at hand that I have successfully used to effect client solutions.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tuning & Sizing NT Server (Paperback)
This is an excellent book! The information on tuning and sizing in the NT Resource Kits is scattered and haphazard. Also, the Resource Kits have a profound reluctance to discuss real figures, and to give examples of reasonable values for counters. That's exactly what Curt's book comes to the rescue. It gives concrete examples, methodologies, and tips. Tuning and Sizing is really where it's at. Anyone can install an NT server, but to know whether a server is running optimally is much harder.Well done Curt! Excellent value!!
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