Western Digital Green vs Black Drive Comparison

In a recent post I described my new blistering fast Windows 8 Server, which includes a parts list.  This server features a 120GB SDD SATA III 6.0Gb/s drive for the operating system and uses a single 2TB Western Digital Green SATA III 6.0Gb/s drive (WD20EARX-00PASB0) for VM and data storage.

It has been suggested by some of my readers that the WDC Green drive will not provide suitable performance compared to a WDC Black SATA III drive.  They also wondered what the true power savings is between the Green and the Black drive.  The Green drive uses less power by spinning at slower RPMs (variable ~5400 RPM vs 7200 RPM for the Black).

I decided to purchase a Western Digital Caviar Black SATA III 6.0Gb/s drive (WD2002FAEX-007BA) to run benchmarks against and compare the two drives side-by-side using HD Tune Pro 5.00 and Microsoft Exchange Server Jetstress 2010 (64 bit).

I ran each set of tests for the Green drive, then replaced it with the Black drive and ran the same set of tests on my new server.  I also ran the the tests while the server was plugged into a P3 Kill A Watt Electricity Load Meter and Monitor to accurately measure power consumption by the kilowatt-hour for comparison.

HD Tune Pro Benchmarks
The following are the benchmark test results for both drives.  The Green drive is on the left and the Black is on the right.

Benchmark Results

The Black drive delivers 17.9% better average transfer speed.  The access time was 17.6ms for the Green vs. 12.0ms for the Black.  I was surprised to see that CPU usage was much higher on the Green (6.0%) vs the Black (2.4%).

File Benchmark Results

The File Benchmark test measures read/write transfer speed using a 500MB file in 4KB blocks.  The Black drive achieved 11.5% better performance using 4KB sequential access and 28.2% better using 4KB random access.

Random Access Results

The Random Access test measures the performance of random read or write operations with varying data sizes (512 bytes - 1MB).  Again, the Black drive performed better across the board with an average 31.2% improved performance.  It also offers much better access times.

It's notable that the Green drive performed this test nearly silently, while the Black drive sounded like a Geiger Counter at Fukushima.  Neither of these drives feature AAM (Automatic Acoustic Management) so this does not impact the results (and cannot be adjusted).

Other Test Results

This benchmark runs a variety of tests which determine the most important performance parameters of the hard drive.  The Black drive offers 35.3% better random seek and 18.3% better sequential read performance.  It also has better transfer speeds from its cache.  Both drives feature a 64MB cache.

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Exchange JetStress
I ran Exchange 2010 JetStress on each drive to get an accurate IOPS profile for Exchange 2010 SP2 use.  JetStress was configured for a two-hour test using a single 1TB database and one thread.

• The Green drive achieved 47.396 IOPS with 10.751ms latency.
• The Black drive achieved 64.57 IOPS with 15.180 latency.

I'm not sure why the Black drive's latency was higher than the Green, given the benchmark tests above, but I ran that test twice and got the same results each time.  Even so, the Black drive delivered 26.6% more IOPS.

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Power Analysis
Green Drive1.10 KW at 27.5 hours
Energy use per hour = (1.1 KWH)/(27.5 hours) = 0.04 KWH per hour of use
Energy use per day = (0.04 KWH/hour)(24 hours/day) = 0.96 KWH over a full day
Cost per day = (0.96 KWH)(18.5 cents/KWH) =  17.8 cents per day

Energy use per year = (0.96 KWH/day)(365 days/year) = 350 KWH/year
Cost per year = (350 KWH/year)(18.5 cents/KWH) = $64.82 per year.

350 KWH = ~700 lbs of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere per year.

Black Drive0.72 at 14.75 hours
Energy use per hour = (0.72 KWH)/(14.75 hours) = 0.049 KWH per hour of use
Energy use per day = (0.049 KWH/hour)(24 hours/day) = 1.18 KWH over a full day
Cost per day = (1.18 KWH)(18.5 cents/KWH) =  21.83 cents per day

Energy use per year = (1.18 KWH/day)(365 days/year) = 431 KWH/year
Cost per year = (431 KWH/year)(18.5 cents/KWH) = $79.74 per year.

431 KWH = ~860 lbs of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere per year.

Result: The WDC Green drive uses 18.8% less energy than the Black drive.

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Conclusion
It's obvious from the test results above that the Western Digital Caviar Black drive performs better than the Green drive.  At the time of this writing the Green drive costs $139 and the Black is $249.  That's a 44% premium for a drive that performs on average 24% better.

In real-life observations I don't really see that much difference in performance between the two at this time.  However, this Hyper-V server has twice as much RAM as my last server so it will potentially be hosting many more VMs (and will have a higher IO load).  For this reason I decided to keep the Black drive, even though it costs more, it's a bit noisier when it's working hard and uses more energy.  I like muscle cars, too.  :)

If you plan to do RAID, I would most definitely recommend the Black drive because it spins at a consistent 7200 RPM.  Reports say that the variable RPMs on the Green drive can cause read/write errors.

I hope you find this information useful.

How to Disable Lync Mobility for Some Users

The Lync mobile client allows users to connect to Lync using a mobile device.  Microsoft has developed free Lync mobile clients for Windows Phone, Apple IOS, Android and Symbian.  Check your device's marketplace for the free download.

Some organizations may require that Lync mobility is only enabled or disabled for certain users.  Common reasons may be to facilitate a controlled Lync mobile deployment or to prevent non-exempt employees from accessing Lync after hours.  This article explains how to configure this.

First, it is assumed that Lync Mobility is configured and working in your environment.  If you need help with this, see Deploying the Lync 2010 Mobility Service by Lync MVP Jeff Schertz.

By default, all Lync users can access Lync with Lync Mobile once the mobility services are installed.  To change this behavior we will be configuring a new Client Version Policy using the Lync Server 2010 Control Panel. 

You will normally only see a Global client version policy.  This policy displays all the allowed User Agents and the minimum versions allowed by Lync.  Once you install Lync Mobility you will see a new user agent type, MCX, that allows all user agents greater than 4.x.x.x.

If your goal is to enable Lync mobile for certain users:

• Open the Lync Control Panel as a Lync administrator. Select the Clients node on the left and select the Client Version Policy at the top. 
• Change the Global client version policy to disallow Lync mobile connections:
• Edit the Global client version policy by clicking Edit in the menu bar
• Select then MCX user agent (you may need to scroll to locate it) and select Show Details in the menu bar
• Edit the MCX Client Version Rule so that the Major Version is 0 (zero)
• Click OK to close the rule and then click Commit.  At this point Lync Mobile is disabled for all users.
• Create a new User client version policy to allow Lync mobile connections:
• Click New > User Policy to create a new User Client Version Policy.
• Name the new policy Lync Mobile Users and enter a description for the new policy
• Select the MCX user agent and verify that the version is 4.*.*.*
• Click Commit to save the new user version policy
• Assign the Lync Mobile Users client version policy to selected users:
• Click the Users node in Lync Control Panel
• Edit the Lync user(s) who will be enabled for Lync mobile
• Assign the Lync Mobile Users policy as the Client Version Policy, as shown below, and click Commit

If your goal is to disable Lync mobile for certain users:

• Open the Lync Control Panel as a Lync administrator. Select the Clients node on the left and select the Client Version Policy at the top. 
• Create a new User client version policy to disallow Lync mobile connections:
• Click New > User Policy to create a new User Client Version Policy.
• Name the new policy Disable Lync Mobile and enter a description for the new policy
• Edit the Client Version Rule for the MCX user agent so that the Major Version is 0 (zero)
• Click Commit to save the new user version policy
• Assign the Lync Mobile Users client version policy to selected users:
• Click the Users node in Lync Control Panel
• Edit the Lync user(s) who will be disabled for Lync mobile
• Assign the Lync Mobile Users policy as the Client Version Policy and click Commit

[This article was suggested by reader @jshoq. Thanks for the suggestion!]

My Exchange MCM Plaque

I was surprised to receive an Microsoft Certified Master plaque today via UPS.  It was accompanied by a letter from Christina Yoshida, Director of Advanced Certifications for Microsoft Learning.

The welcome letter says, "Congratulations on earning your Microsoft Certified Master certification! Enclosed in this Welcome Kit are tools to acknowledge your new level of certification, the highest level of technical certification currently granted by Microsoft."

It includes a number of MCM benefits, those most important of which is access to the MCM community distibution list.

Microsoft Exchange PST Capture Tool

It's time to harvest those PST files

PST files are the plague of most managed networks and the bane of most email administrators.  It also clearly demonstrates that if you don't have an email policy (and an email management strategy to back it up), users will follow the path of least resistance.

In the not-so-long-ago days, email storage was expensive and growing exponentially.  The common reaction to this was to enforce mailbox quotas to keep mailboxes from growing so large.  When you put a barrier in place it's human nature to try going around it, so when users run up against their mailbox quota they look for alternate ways to store their emails.

Enter Outlook PST (personal storage) files.  PSTs allow users to archive emails out of their Exchange mailbox into a discrete file.  There are several problems with this:

• PSTs are not governed by company email retention policies or legal discovery
• PSTs cannot be accessed from Outlook Web App (OWA) or mobile devices
• PSTs are usually stored on local computer drives that are rarely, if ever, backed up
• If users store their PSTs on a network drive you haven't really solved the storage issue, have you?
• PSTs are normally not password protected.  Anyone who can access the PST can read the emails.
• PSTs are typically difficult for end-users to manage

Now that storage is cheaper and more abundant, companies are looking to harvest those PST files back into Exchange so they can be managed by corporate retention and discovery policies.  Older emails can also be archived using native Exchange Online Archiving (aka Personal Archives) or other third-party solutions.

Today, Microsoft delivered the Microsoft Exchange PST Capture Tool.  This new tool allows you to import the contents of PST files into a user's mailbox, into an Office 365 online mailbox, or directly into an Exchange Online Archive.  By optionally installing PST Capture Agents on target machines, administrators can determine where .PST files are located and who their file owner is via the PST Capture Console.

Read the Exchange Team blog, .PST, Time to Walk the Plank, to read a bit more and watch a video about the tool with Ann Vu and Ankar Kothari.  BTW, Ann was the one who came up with the "That's right. My theme is Super Sparkle Happy" Exchange t-shirts at least year's TechEd.  :)

Blistering Fast Windows Server - Parts List and Video!

Walk with me now, as we take a stroll down Geek lane.  :)

I decided it's time to replace my old Hyper-V server at home with a new one that's faster and can run more VMs.  I've decided again to build it myself from OEM parts so I can get exactly what I want at a right price.  This article contains my parts list and my reasons for choosing what I did.  Hopefully, this will help you with your own home lab.

I host my private cloud network on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V host server.  Hyper-V is perfect for my environment because it allows me to run workgroup applications (Exchange Edge Transport and IIS) directly on the host, as well as host my virtual domain servers.

My current Hyper-V server is an AMD x64 dual core rig with 16GB RAM and two SATA drives, one for the OS and another for VMs.  I built it about 3 years ago when I was on the Windows Server 2008 TAP and it has served me well.  But with Windows Server 8 and Exchange 15 right around the corner, I wanted to be sure I had the capabilities of running these new versions.

My Design Requirements

As with most customers, I have competing requirements for this new server:

• Minimum of 4 cores
• Windows Server 8 capable.  Hyper-V for Windows 8 requires hypervisor-ready processors with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), as reported by Microsoft at BUILD.
• 32GB of fast DDR3 RAM
• Must support SATA III 6Gb/s drives
• Must have USB 3.0 ports for future portable devices
• Must be quiet.  This server is sitting next to me in my office (aka, the sunroom) and I don't want to hear it at all.
• Low power requirements
• Small form factor
• Budget: ~$1,000 USD

My RAM requirements drove most of this design.  Since this would be based on a desktop motherboard (server mobos are too big and ECC RAM is too expensive), I first looked for 4x8GB (32GB) DDR3 RAM.  Then I looked for a small mobo that would accept that much RAM, then a processor for that mobo.

Here's my parts list, including links to where I purchased each item and the price I paid:

Part Number	Description	Price	Source
B004EBUXIK	Intel Core i5-2400S Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 65W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52400S	$193.00	Amazon
N82E16813121506	Intel BOXDH67BLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard	$85.99	NewEgg
B00698WMYO	Komputerbay 32GB DDR3 (4x 8GB) PC3-10600 10666 1333MHz DIMM 240-Pin RAM Desktop Memory 9-9-9-25	$225.00	Amazon
N82E16820227726	OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)	$129.99	NewEgg
N82E16822136891	Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 64MB Cache SATA III 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive	$114.99	NewEgg
N82E16827135204	ASUS 24X DL-DVD Burner SATA II	$19.99	NewEgg
M40-BK- BK	AeroCool M40 Cube Computer Case - Micro ATX, LCD Display, 2x 5.25 Bays, 3x 3.5 Bays, 4x Fan Ports, Black	$79.99	TigerDirect
N82E16817371033	Antec EA-380D Green 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply	$44.99	NewEgg
N82E16811999199	ENERMAX UC-8EB 80mm Case Fan	$9.99	NewEgg
N82E16820132029	nMEDIAPC ZE-C268 3.5" All-in-one USB Card Reader with USB 3.0 Port	$16.99	NewEgg
N82E16817997013	Rosewill RX-C200P 2.5" SSD / HDD Plastic Mounting Kit for 3.5" Drive Bay	$4.99	NewEgg
		Total:  $925.91

I was a little worried about the Komputerbay RAM.  I've never heard of them before, but they offer a lifetime warranty and 32GB DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) RAM was $54 cheaper than what I could find at NewEgg.  In the end I'm very pleased with my decision.

I chose different sources for the best price.  NewEgg is my go-to vendor for most items.  They charge sales tax in California, but I have a ShopRunner account that gives me free 2-day shipping on all these items.  Amazon was the smart choice for the bigger ticket items since they don't charge tax and I could get them delivered with a 30 day free trial of Prime 2-day shipping.  Not to mention the fact that I had a $500 Amazon gift card that I won at TechEd 2011 from my good friends at Vision Solutions!  TigerDirect was the only source for this great AeroCool micro ATX cube computer case.

All the items were delivered the same day and started putting it together that night.  Careful assembly took about 90 minutes and everything went together perfectly. 

It's a Geek Christmas!

All the parts freed from their cardboard prisons

The only other item I added was a dual port Intel PRO/1000 MT Server Adapter that I already had.  I also used L-bend right angle SATA cables instead of the two that came with the Intel motherboard, due to the short clearance between the PSU and the back of the drives (I knew this going in).

The innovative AeroCool M40 micro ATX case opens up likea book for easy access.  The power supply, hard drives and DVD drive(s) are in the top half and everything else is down below.  It includes a nearly silent 120mm front fan and has room for one more on the top rear section and two 80mm fans on the bottom rear section.  I added a single silent 80mm fan on the bottom to push warm air out.  The case temperature has never gone above 26.4C and it's completely silent.

View from above showing the Antec PSU, the 3.5" and 5.25" drive cages and the unused PSU cabling

View from the hinged side, showing motherboard placement

I'm using the OCZ 120GB SATA III SSD drive for the operating system and pagefile, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise for now.  I'll upgrade the server to Windows Server 8 when it goes RTM.  In the meantime, I'll build and test beta versions as VMs.  I have to say that this SSD drive was one of the best choices for my new system.  It's blistering fast!  Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 installed in just 6 minutes!!  Take a look at the video below to see that it takes only 20 seconds to get to a logon screen from a cold start, and half of that time is the for the BIOS POST!

The Intel I5 4-core Sandy Bridge processor has amazing graphics built in.  I'm able to run Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Aero theme at 1920x1080 HD resolution with no difference in performance.  It's possible to overclock this system, but it's plenty fast for me and I value stability over speed.  I love the fact that it draws only 65W!  This not only saves electricity, it keeps the case cool which lowers the cooling requirements.

The bottom half with the case split open. The I5-2400s CPU came with this huge low profile CPU cooler.

As a desktop motherboard, the Intel DH67BL motherboard came with drivers that did not work out of the box with Windows Server 2008 R2.  I downloaded the latest drivers from Intel and most installed fine.  The only items I had trouble with were the built-in Intel 82579V Gigabit network adapter and the integrated Intel HD Graphics drivers.  Intel "crippled" the NIC driver installer so that it won't install on a server platform.  See this article which explains how to re-enable it.   The video driver installed most of the way, but the installer crashed when trying to register a DLL.  It was able to install again fine after a restart.

I also used a Western Digital Green 2TB SATA III drive for storage of my Hyper-V VMs.  I've always used Western Digital drives and I've never had a problem with them.  The WD Green line saves power, runs cool and quiet, and delivers 6 Gb/s performance.

Photo of the completed server.  I placed a DVD on top to for scale.

This is by far the fastest sever I've ever worked on, bar none.  I'm extremely happy with it.  I haven't bothered running any benchmarks* on it – I just know that it's fast enough for my needs and has plenty of RAM so I can run more VMs.

I hope this article helps you to build your own home lab server.   Please let me know if you have any questions.

* There are lies, damn lies, and benchmarks.

Exchange 2010 Microsoft Certified Masters (MCM) Training & Certification Overview

Are you interested in becoming an Exchange Microsoft Certified Master?  You think you have what it takes?  Join Exchange MCM Program Manager David Bjurman-Birr for a detailed online overview of the program for potential candidates and their sponsors.

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Session Objectives:

• Understand the goals and offerings of the Exchange 2010 MCM program
• Understand the program value proposition
• Plan preparation for Exchange 2010 MCM

Agenda:

• Program Mission & Vision
• Program Contents
• Training Experience
• Application & Preparation Process
• Pricing Model
• Value Proposition
• Q&A

For additional information:

• Microsoft Certified Master Programs
• Exchange 2010 MCM
• Email Us

Exchange 2010 support for host-based failover clustering and migration

Some Exchange-supported virtualization platforms, such as Hyper-V and VMware include features that support the clustering or portability of guest virtual machines across multiple physical root machines.  Examples of host-based failover clustering and migration include Hyper-V Live Migration and VMware ESX vMotion.

Microsoft support for host-based failover clustering and migration virtualization with Database Availability Groups (DAGs) depends on the Exchange 2010 service pack level.  Per the Exchange 2010 System Requirements:

With Exchange 2010 RTM:

Microsoft doesn't support combining Exchange high availability solutions (such as DAGs) with hypervisor-based clustering, high availability, or migration solutions that will move or automatically failover mailbox servers that are members of a DAG between clustered root servers. DAGs are supported in hardware virtualization environments, provided the virtualization environment doesn't employ clustered root servers, or the clustered root servers have been configured to never failover or automatically move mailbox servers that are members of a DAG to another root server.

With Exchange 2010 SP1 (or later) deployed:

Exchange server virtual machines (including Exchange Mailbox virtual machines that are part of a DAG), may be combined with host-based failover clustering and migration technology, as long as the virtual machines are configured such that they will not save and restore state on disk when moved, or taken offline. All failover activity must result in a cold boot when the virtual machine is activated on the target node. All planned migration must either result in shutdown and cold boot, or an online migration that makes use of a technology like Hyper-V Live Migration. Hypervisor migration of virtual machines is supported by the hypervisor vendor; therefore, you must ensure that your hypervisor vendor has tested and supports migration of Exchange virtual machines. Microsoft supports Hyper-V Live Migration of these virtual machines.

In summary, Exchange 2010 SP1 or better supports hypervisor migrations such as Hyper-V Live Migration and VMware ESX vMotion for DAG member servers.  Host-based failover cluster migrations, such as Hyper-V Quick Migration, is supported only if the virtual Exchange DAG server is restarted immediately after the quick migration completes.  Exchange 2010 RTM is not supported with either migration technology.  RTM only supports the native Exchange high availability features present in DAGs.

Other Exchange Server 2010 roles (CAS, Hub Transport, Edge Transport, and Unified Messaging) fully support host-based failover clustering and migration because they do not employ native Exchange high-availability solutions.

For a list of the virtualization platforms supported by Exchange, visit the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program website.