BU 2010/Exchange 2010 Performance

[david_abowitt]

We currently have a BUEXEC 2010 server on Windows Server 2003 that does not support our Exchange 2010 deployment.  As such I setup a VMware VM as Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter configured with 1VCPU and 4GB Ram with BuExec 2010.  It has two partitions hosted on a SATA high performance SAN. 

I have setup a Disk-2-Disk backup of our test Exchange 2010 DB currently hosting 3 Mailboxes that have a combined 4GB.  The backup performance in BuExec 2010 of this Exchange 2010 database was dismal at best.  Its speed was 65MB/Min. 

Our Disk to tape backup speed of Exchange 2003 using BuExcec 2010 on the above physical 2003 server is well over 300MB/Min.

Any configuration changes I'm missing that can improve performance?

[teiva-boy]

Since you virtualized your new install, it's not an apples to apples comparison.

It could be a bandwidth issue, a driver issue, a vCPU issue...

You should just look to installing a 64bit OS on your existing server, install BE 2010 R2, and restore your catalog and data folders.  There are some well documented KB docs on this migration.  Not a fun one in the time involved, but a worthwhile one in the end.

[david_abowitt]

I would install a 64bit OS on existing physical server but its a HP ML530G2 purchased in 2003.  It does not support 64bit and I checked HP's support page and they  don't have Windows 2008 support for this server.  I don't have budget to purchase server that will also support existing tape library.

Just checking if anyone knows of any optimization techniques for a VMware VM in this environment?

[teiva-boy]

Technically your server supports 16GB of RAM, thus it should be 64bit compatible..  However, being that it was a server created and began selling in 2002, and you yourself said purchased in 2003, it doesnt make much sense in upgrading it...

That said, VMware environments will always be a bit slower.  My typical VM builds have dual quad cores, 32-64GB of RAM, two dual port NiC's, and two single port Fiber HBA's.  Gosh the Xsigo virtual connect sounds really appealing right now...  But I digress..

If I'm upgrading critical pieces of my infrastructure, I have to make sure that other dependencies are also factored in to the equation.  aka, the backup infrastructure is evaluated for compliance, compatibility, and above all capacity.  

A little trick I learned in negotiating with board members or the check writers...  "How much is email worth to you?  Can you be down with out it?"  Explain why you cant protect the current application, and what is needed.  

A cheaper alternative may be to just get BackupExec System Recovery 2010 for just your Exchange server.  It'll be a one off, but if you really cant get a new server, this is about 5x cheaper.