Overview

On our quest to build mission-critical Exchange servers and deployments, there are many keys and technologies in which we should invest. Understanding the technology, solid management practices, procedures, personnel/staffing, and training, etc., are some of the important points. We must look to all areas of hardware, software, and "peopleware" as we select where to focus our attention and investments. In my humble opinion, the single most significant area in which we can invest and educate ourselves is in the area of storage technology. I believe that storage technology is a fundamental piece (if not the most fundamental piece) of mission-critical Exchange servers.

When I think about storage technology for an Exchange server, I consider it to be central to keeping the server healthy and happy from a client and systems management perspective. The key to a highly available system is access to data with the highest level of performance and the utmost data protection and integrity. After all, if the data isn't available fast and with a guarantee of validity, the system has not served its intended purpose. Thus, storage technology is important in two areas performance and data protection. My theorem is that, without solid storage technology, no Exchange server will rise to mission-critical status. To put it another way, no amount of management, training, and investment in other areas can help you if the underlying storage strategy for your Exchange server and across your entire deployment is weak. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss some...