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BP1013 Best Practices for Enhancing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Data Protection and Availability 20
6 Testing the impact of Smart Copy snapshots
The goal of this set of tests was to establish the impact we should expect from creating Smart Copy
snapshots of mailbox database volumes under user load in the simulated test environment.
First, we evaluated the resource utilization of a single Smart Copy snapshot taken under varying and
increasing user workloads. We kept the simulation active before and after taking the snapshot to verify
any behavioral changes in the key indicators.
Test Details for one snapshot of one volume of an active mailbox database, with increasing workload:
Workload Increasing workload of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of the reference 5000
concurrent users (Outlook 2007 online clients, heavy profile)
Duration 60 minutes, from the snapshot creation onwards
Key indicators Time taken, host resources impact
Second, we evaluated the trend of a series of cumulative Smart Copy snapshots taken under the same
user workload. We kept the simulation consistent for the entire duration of the test. We focused on the
heaviest workload defined, to position the results in the worst scenario.
Test Details for cumulative snapshots of one volume of an active mailbox database, with same
workload:
Workload Steady workload of the reference 5000 concurrent users (Outlook 2007
online clients, heavy profile)
Duration One snapshot every 60 minutes for a total of eight cumulative smart Copy
snapshots. Snapshots series kept intact until the end of the test
Key indicators Time taken, host resources impact
Last, we verified the behavior of creating Smart Copy snapshots under load when we simulated an
operative critical situation. We took down one of the two nodes of the DAG, reproducing a business
scenario where, for administrative or unpredictable reasons, the remaining node would have to bear
the load of the entire active databases. This condition would likely be temporary in a real world
environment, but we recorded it as proof point of the ability of creating Smart Copy snapshots as
expected under different conditions.
Test Details for cumulative snapshots of one volume of an active mailbox database, with same
workload, single host online:
Workload Steady workload of the reference 5000 concurrent users (Outlook 2007
online clients, heavy profile). One node of the DAG was running all the 4
active databases.
Duration One snapshot every 60 minutes for a total of eight cumulative Smart Copy
snapshots. Snapshots series kept intact until the end of the test.
Key indicators Time taken, host resources impact