1 Product architecture

In order to achieve the desired objectives for a quality level solution of the product it is important to look after a good architecture. For this system the following scenario has been designed:

The system is compounded of four physical servers: Active Directory Domain Controller, one Application/Web Server (SERVER1), a Database Server and the Exchange Server. The Application/Web Server (SERVER1) runs the Microsoft SharePoint Application Server, the Microsoft Project Server and a Web Front-End Server. Active Directory Domain Controller A Domain Controller is the server responsible for allowing host access to Windows domain resources. The Domain Controller in a network is the centerpiece of the Active Directory service. It stores user account information, authenticates users and enforces security policy for a Windows domain.

A server which its only role is Domain Controller does not need very though hardware requirements. The most common requirements for a small-medium deployment are the following:
Component Processor RAM Hard Disk Drive Description 64 bit Dual-core 1 GB (2 GB Recommended) 1 GB for System Logs + 2 GB (recommended) for OS + User Data. An 80 GB Hard Disk has been chosen.

About the software requirements, the Active Directory Domain Controller is an integrated service of the Microsoft Server OS. In that case the Microsoft Server 2008 R2 version has been chosen for the deployment. All the hardware requirements have been taken under consideration for not interfering with the operating system requirements. Database Server (SQL Server) The Database Server actually is a very delicate part of the architecture because of the amount of considerations that have to be borne in mind. Probably, the first thing we think about when we talk about Databases is its capacity. Approximately, for a mediumsized collaboration environment (200.000 documents, 250Kb average size), the storage space required by a database is about 100GB. At this we have to add many other databases that Sharepoint Services will need like Search Services, User Profiles, etc For this reason, an estimated 600 GB Hard Disk Drive is chosen. Other consideration that has to be borne in mind is the memory. memory required is directly related to the content databases hosted.
Component Processor RAM Hard Disk Drive Description 64 bit 4 core 32 GB 600 GB

The amount of

The Database server will run the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Operating System.

Application/Web Server (SERVER1) This server is a single phyisical server which must host three different servers. For this reason it is important to be careful about the hardware requirements. First of all, lets take a look at every single server: Microsoft SharePoint Server The minimum software requirements for a Microsoft Sharepoint Server deployment are the following:
Component Processor RAM 64 bit 4 core 4 GB for developer/evaluation 8 GB for production 80 GB for installation Description

Hard Disk Drive

It would be dangerous to configure the arquitecture with this values so it is important to upgrade it a bit. Microsoft Project Server The Microsoft Project Server minimun hardware requirements are exactly the same as the Microsoft SharePoint Servers, so the same guideline has been followed in order to choose the values. Web Front-End Server As the Microsoft Sharepoint Server and the Microsoft Project server, the Web Front-End Server has the same minimum hardware requirements. So, with this information of every single server the global hardware requirements of the physical server are approximately defined. Of course, as its done with the Sharepoint Server its important not to choose only the minimum considering that it will cause several issues in a future. The following values for the Application/Web Server, SERVER1, are chosen:
Component Processor RAM Hard Disk Drive Description 64 bit 8 core 32 GB 600 GB

The operating system that will run this server is Windows Server 2008 R2. As Sharepoint Server, as Project Server, as the Web Server must run over this operating system. Exchange Server To run the Exchange Server these are the minimun requirements needed: A 64 bit arquitecture-based computer Minimum 4 GB of RAM per server plus 5 MB for each mailbox. Minimum 1.2 GB of Disk Space is used for installation. Additional 500 MB will be needed for each Undefined Messagin language pack that would be installed. In addition, 200 MB of avaliable disk space on the system drive.

Bearing this in mind and dont satisfying with the minimum, the following values have been choosen for the Exchange Server:
Component Processor RAM Hard Disk Drive Description 64 bit 4 core 8 GB 300 GB

The operating system, as the other servers is Windows Server 2008 R2.