Specifications

SAN usage

Storage area network (SAN) devices are the standard configuration for larger storage requirements

such as SQL databases that require backup and maintenance. SAN storage is a valid method for

storing your SQL database, but adds a potential layer of complexity to your SQL implementation that

should be understood.

A SAN engineer might maintain the SAN and not be familiar with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator and its

heavy I/O requirements. If you deploy the McAfee ePO server SQL database on a SAN you must have

your SAN engineer involved early in the process to assist in planning your architecture.

Many SANs are grouped into a generic classification known as tiers. The three tiers are:

• Tier 1 SAN — The most expensive, fastest, and redundant storage array. If you have 75,000 nodes

or more, use a tier 1 SAN to store your SQL database.

• Tier 2 SAN — Used to store critical data that requires redundancy. Plus, this data is accessed often

but does not perform excessive transactions on the SAN.

• Tier 3 SAN — Used for databases that do not require much space and have little I/O.

Refer to the following articles that describe putting the SQL database on a SAN:

• Deploying SQL Server 2005 with SAN #1

• Deploying SQL Server 2005 with SAN #2

• Deploying SQL Server 2005 with SAN #3

Determining the server hardware needed

The critical questions to ask are, how many McAfee ePO servers and SQL Servers do I need and what

hardware should I use? Remember, the primary job of the McAfee ePO server is to distribute policies

and collect events.

The McAfee ePO server does not have to distribute any McAfee software or content. You might think

you need one McAfee ePO server for each major geographical region for efficient bandwidth utilization,

but that is not true. Many McAfee ePO server users with large and small offices dispersed all over the

world use only one McAfee ePO server. These users have repositories, which are simple file shares, at

each office to handle the distribution of content. See Repositories.

There is no technical limit on how many nodes can be managed by one McAfee ePO server. The key

concept to remember about McAfee ePO servers is less is better. The fewer McAfee ePO servers you

have the easier it is to maintain your environment. There are many McAfee ePO server users with

200,000 nodes being managed by one server.

The theoretical limit of McAfee ePO servers in relationship to managed

nodes is even higher with the new Agent Handler technology added to

the ePolicy Orchestrator software version 4.5.

When choosing the operating systems for your servers, use 64-bit versions, where applicable, for

improved performance. This means the operating system for both the SQL Server application and SQL

database requires 64-bit versions where possible, if the hardware supports it.

ePolicy Orchestrator product architecture

SAN usage

McAfee

ePolicy Orchestrator

4.0 and 4.5 Best Practices Guide