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Hardware Planning

By et al.
From Deploying Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 with Windows Terminal Server 2003 Terminal Services

Hardware Planning

Hardware planning is the process of selecting and testing the actual computer hardware from which our Windows Server 2003-based Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Servers will operate. Hardware planning is a cyclical operation. Typically, the process involves selecting hardware that is compatible with the operating system, estimating the size of the servers required and then performing adequate load testing. Load testing, or stress testing, involves loading the server with sessions until a bottleneck is reached. Correct the bottleneck and then retest. Repeat this process as necessary until the desired number of connections per server is reached or you have exhausted the capacity of the hardware. The last step would be to plan for future growth, so scale your hardware with an eye on what would be expected of this solution six months, 12 months, and two years from today. We are going to look at hardware planning from an architect s viewpoint. We will look at the big picture pieces such as horizontal vs. vertical scaling and platform deployment options.

Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling

The argument as to whether it is better to scale up or scale out our Citrix Presentation Server farms is nearly as old as the concept of server-based computing itself. Scaling up is the process of servicing more user sessions on the same hardware or increasing session density within the server through internal upgrades, such as four processors instead of two. Scaling out is the process of servicing more user sessions by adding more physically or logically...

Copyright Syngress Publishing, Inc. 2004 under license agreement with Books24x7
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Topics of Interest

Platform Deployment Options Now that we have a basis to assist in selecting our hardware, we will turn our attention to select the appropriate method to deploy the hardware and the operating system...

Summary In this chapter, we examined the aspects of hardware planning, platform deployment options, Windows Server 2003 installation planning, and an introduction to Citrix MetaFrame Presentation...

Solutions Fast Track Hardware Planning Deciding whether to scale up or out is the first step and usually scaling out wins the day. Determining what redundancies to build in.

Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 Initial Farm Planning Now that we have decided how we are going to install Windows Server 2003, we are almost ready to build our MetaFrame Presentation...

Introduction Users and administrators alike quickly realize the value of a Citrix MetaFrame XP server in delivering applications for a variety of needs. However, it does not take long for one of...