It's been a while since we announced an update to Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator.

Yesterday we have updated the calculator to version 13.0. Updates:

  • We have updated the log generation numbers per message profile to be in line with our updated guidance.
  • In v11.8, we decided to list the database cache per mailbox in the Storage Requirements results section.  However this lead to confusion because it was named "Memory Profile / Mailbox" which implied that you would only utilize the associated amount of memory with the message profile (i.e. 5MB with Heavy profile), however that is not always the case. For example, 1200 2GB Light message profile mailboxes only requires 5GB of RAM (1200 * 2MB + 2GB), however the design requires 13 databases, which with SP1 requires 6GB of RAM.  ESE will utilize 4GB of that RAM for the cache.  As a result, 4096MB / 1200 ≈ 3.5MB per mailbox. So to make this clear, we have changed this text to be "Database Cache / Mailbox" which indicates how much cache is available per mailbox.
  • In the scenario where you override the IOPS prediction formula for your mailbox tiers, we have adjusted the "Read:Write Ratio" input to allow you to enter any read percentage you would like, rather than restricting you to a few key ratios.
  • We updated the "Database Reads / Mailbox" calculation description.
  • We updated the Log Replication Requirements worksheet, simplifying the data displayed in the results section.
  • We have included new functionality for log replication requirements.  You now have the input options for entering your network link type and its associated latency.  These options are then used to recommend TCP/IP optimization settings for Windows Server 2003 when utilizing geographically dispersed clustering and/or standby continuous replication.  In addition, if the chosen network link cannot sustain the throughput requirements for log replication, we will recommend an appropriately sized network link and Windows Server 2003 TCP/IP optimization settings.

For full list of updates (per version), go here.

For the explanation of different tabs and how the calculator works, go here. Yup, we updated that too!

Finally, to get the new calculator - go here.

- Ross Smith IV