Successfully Deploy Project Server on VMware with Shared Infrastructure (Level 200) Virtualizing Microsoft Project Server 2010 provides many benefits, but there are a number of decisions that you must carefully consider. This webcast highlights the key decision points around architecting a Project Server 2010 deployment utilizing VMware on shared infrastructure. Audience: IT Decision Maker and IT Generalist Running Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Host: Sacha Cohn, CTO – Corporate Project Solutions Webcast: https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032493923 About the presenter: Sacha Cohn is Chief Technology Officer of Corporate Project Solutions. A Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft SharePoint architect for over 10 years, Sacha has architected global-scale Project Server and SharePoint solutions. As a Microsoft Certified Scalability tester for the past 5 years, Sacha has focused on pioneering load and performance testing of Project Server and SharePoint solutions, to achieve the best value from VMware, Hyper-V, and physical infrastructure.

1. “Successfully deploy Project Server
on VMware with shared
infrastructure”
Sacha Cohn, CTO of CPS
29th September 2011
A Project Server and SharePoint
Architect for over 10 years, Sacha
has architected many global scale
Project Server and SharePoint
solutions. As a Microsoft Certified
Scalability tester for the past 5
years, Sacha has focused on
pioneering load and performance
testing of Project Server and
SharePoint solutions, to achieve the
best value from VMware, Hyper-V
and physical infrastructure.

2. Contents
• About CPS
• Business process considerations
• Technological considerations
• Example Architecture Process
• Summary

3. Who are we?
• Experts in Microsoft Project Server, SharePoint, Resourcing, P3M
Consulting and training
• Established 1995
• Microsoft Gold Competency Partner
• Client list of over 700 organisations
• The only UK APMG accredited consulting organisation that can provide
Microsoft Project Server solutions & P3M consulting.
• Over 11,000 delegates trained

4. Project Server Architecture
Methodology
• The aim of CPS’s architecture methodology is to produce an Project
Server architecture which fits the client’s business requirements as well
as their infrastructure capabilities:
– Technical Workshop
• Business Architecture Questionnaire (Sizing, usage etc..)
• Infrastructure Questionnaire (Security, Infrastructure etc..)
– A Living Architecture Review Document, addressing the client’s:
• Architecture requirements, both business and IT
• Security, Logical, Network, Physical, Virtual and Specification designs
• Key concerns driving the architecture design

5. Why is Virtualisation different ?
You have to
Share
It’s Virtual, it’s
Simple
It’s good for us
• Our approach is to understand:
– Organisation
– People
– Process
– Technology

6. Organisation
• Why have you deployed VMware?
– Disaster Recovery
– Failover
– Simplification
– Cost savings
– Standardisation
• How will the use of Project Server work with the above goals?

7. People and Process
• Who will own Project Server?
– Business Owner?
– Infrastructure (IT) Owner?
– Is there more than one?
• What is your technology experience with Project Server?
• How is a new system deployed on VMware?
• How is the new system maintained?
• What is your VMware resource allocation model?

8. artm ents
Different Dep
Different Teams
People and Process

9. Technology
VMware can Project Server is
scale not just a Web
application
Project Server is not
Change resource just single Planning
requirements quickly tool
Project Server is an online toolset encompassing: demand
management, scheduling, resourcing, time sheeting, project
management – it’s living, it’s dynamic

10. Technology
• Project Server has a heart, a Queue, if you constrict it, everything slows .. it stops.
• It is a resource intensive application
When a Project Manager updates their plan…
A plan is stored in 4 Main Databases…
It’s referenced in circa 10 databases
Every time you publish it; it triplicates it
The databases are used for very different purposes, e.g. from Published to
Reporting is a ETL process, very CPU and Disk IO intensive, Microsoft know this
so they use memory to “Cache” these transactions.

11. Technology
• What is VMware sitting on?
– Storage – SANs
• Have they got space?
• How are they designed?
– Fault redundancy
– Performance
• Is it over-utilised?
• Is bandwidth constrained?
– Network
• Too many hops?
• Bandwidth
– Hosts
• Over allocated?
• Old or poor hardware specification (low CPU core speed)?

12. Technology
Processor
Data centre Memory
Storage

13. Technology
Processor

14. Processor
Resource
Allocation
No. of Cores

15. Technology
Processor
Data centre Memory
Storage

16. Memory
Resource
Allocation
Windows
Memory Size
and Ballooning

17. Technology
Processor
Data centre Memory
Storage

18. Storage
• SAN performance is fundamental to how Project Server will perform. There are 2
main reasons:
– Project Server relies heavily on SQL server, as discussed
– Project Server it’s self is continually writing to the ULS log, which can rapidly
grow in size.
• The correct SAN driver, sounds minor, but in our experience in deploying the
manufacturer’s SAN Driver can significantly improve Disk IO performance
– Dell EqualLogic SAN, went from 45mb’s to 90mb’s per second

19. Technology
Processor
Data centre Memory
Storage

20. Cluster
• When purchasing or calculating the Physical host specification, it is important to
take into account the requirements for the Host overhead of running a Virtual
Machine. The scale is not linear, below are some examples

21. Technology

22. Example – Architecture
Process

23. More information
There are many great resources out there to help you scale correctly your deployment
for the Virtual infrastructure you are deploying on.
VMware Microsoft
Setting the number of Cores per Processor (need to Microsoft Project Server best practise when
be used when going over 4 CPU, with Windows virtualising, a great source of links to other MS articles
Server 2008 R2 standard edition) in relation to virtualisation
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=dis http://blogs.technet.com/b/projectadministration/archive/2011/04/14/microsoft-
playKC&externalId=1010184 project-server-2010-virtualization.aspx
Guide to VMware resource management, special Guide to SharePoint virtualisation
interest are: Visio (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=195021)
• Page 18 – Virtualisation overhead of CPU PDF (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=195022)
virtualisation XPS (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=195023)
• Page 30 – Host memory overhead
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_resource_mgmt.pdf
Disabling the Balloon driver Quick reminder checklist
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=disp http://blogs.technet.com/b/projectadministration/archive/2011/06/21/project-
layKC&externalId=1002586 server-best-practices-for-virtualization.aspx

24. Summary
• Conduct an Architecture Review to ensure:
– Business and IT are fully engaged
– An appropriate architecture is recommended
– Underlying infrastructure investment is highlighted
– VMware infrastructure investment is highlighted
• Do not over commit hosts
• Do not limit Processor or Memory, to less than has been allocated to the Guest
• If your Project Server deployment is of a medium to large size, you will need to
invest in dedicated hosts
• Appoint the appropriate system owners
Contact me at:
sacha.cohn@cps.co.uk