HPE Reference Architecture for Microsoft Skype for ... · discusses the set up and lab testing of a...

HPE Reference Architecture for Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 Standard Edition on HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server Virtual and physical deployment use cases for 2,500 users

Reference Architecture

http://www.hpe.com/


Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Why upgrade? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Windows Server 2016 Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Spectre and Meltdown .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6

RA design principles .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 RA capacity sizing and features ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Data center rack layout ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment process flow .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Physical solution overview ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Physical solution components.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Hardware ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Software ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Virtualized solution overview .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Virtualized solution components ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Hardware ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Software ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20

Overall solution highlights ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Basic building block of Skype for Business Server 2015 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 High availability for the network layer........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21

Workload description ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Analysis and recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Implementing a proof-of-concept .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Appendix A: Bill of materials ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix B: Alternate configuration choices ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat multi-server deployment ................................................................................................................................................. 35 Resources and additional links ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37


Executive summary Customer are looking for guidance around virtualizing a real-time application like Microsoft® Skype for Business (SfB) Server 2015. In this Reference Architecture (RA) we assist customers in understanding the uses cases for deploying an optimal Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment, either physical or virtual under normal operational conditions to align with their business needs.

This RA describes the basic building blocks of any Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment, which comprises of Skype for Business Server 2015 server roles such as front-end server, Director Server, Edge server and Office Online server. This RA discusses the impact of the software defined storage offering from Microsoft (Storage Space Direct) in a Skype for Business Server 2015 environment. Additionally, this RA also discusses the set up and lab testing of a single Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server deployment with compliance enabled for up to 2,500 users.

This RA discusses in brief the impact of the disclosed processor vulnerabilities, named Spectre and Meltdown, for Windows and its impact on the Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 server solution. With HPE Gen10 Servers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise offers the first industry-standard servers to include a silicon root of trust built into the hardware. The silicon root of trust provides a series of trusted handshakes from lowest level firmware to BIOS and software to ensure a known good state. From this silicon root of trust server design to specific networking and storage options Hewlett Packard Enterprise has built in security features that help your customers prevent, detect, and recover from cyber-attacks.

The testing performed and documented in this RA is designed to validate that the network, storage, CPU, and memory subsystems can support the selected workload in normal operations for both physical and virtual Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 deployments. The testing was done using the Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool and the Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Persistent Chat Resource Kit Chat Stress Tool. Results of our testing show that when compared to a physical deployment of SfB Server 2015, a virtual deployment of SfB Server 2015 consumes more compute resources at the host hypervisor layer. Hence, it is recommended that the customer size the virtual deployment appropriately so that all key performance metrics for SfB are within the required thresholds.

HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers deliver the performance, expandability, reliability, serviceability and near continuous availability that are key requirements for any real-time communication environment such as Skype for Business Server 2015. The HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server through a partnership with Intel®, offers Intelligent System Tuning (IST), new set of server tuning technologies that enables you to dynamically configure server resources to match specific workloads. IST produces significant performance improvements, real-time, and a more intelligent server environment.

Target audience: This Reference Architecture (RA) is intended to assist IT decision makers, Skype for Business Server 2015 architects and Microsoft Windows® engineers engaged in the planning, deployment and management of a physical or virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 infrastructure using HPE ProLiant servers with HPE networking components.

Document purpose: This RA document demonstrates:

• The advantages and disadvantages of virtualization versus physical implementations, and discusses what makes the HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 an optimal platform for either deployment type for SfB 2015,

• The impact of software defined storage on SfB 2015 Standard Edition server solution,

• Best practice use of HPE networking components and the appropriate use in both virtual and physical environments, and

• The impact of processor vulnerability fixes, Spectre and Meltdown, for Windows.

Introduction This RA provides both physical and virtual test cases for the Standard Edition of Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 to support 2,500 users. This RA tests and compares two deployments as follows:

• Skype for Business Server 2015 with all roles deployed on physical HPE ProLiant DL 380 Gen10 servers

• Skype for Business Server 2015 with all roles deployed on Microsoft Windows Server® 2016 Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs) running on HPE ProLiant DL 380 Gen10 servers

The Skype for Business architecture for both deployments detailed in this document were sized, implemented, and tested to support 2,500 users deployed on either physical servers or virtual machines with the following server roles and networking components.


The following table outlines key components for both physical and virtual deployments.

Table 1. Key components in both physical and virtual deployment models

Key components for physical deployment Key components for virtual deployment

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition front-end server (with Mediation and Monitoring co-located)

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition front-end server (with Mediation and Monitoring co-located)

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard with Latest Service Pack (to support standalone Persistent Chat and Monitoring databases)

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard with latest Service Pack (to support standalone Persistent Chat and Monitoring databases)

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server

Office Online Server Office Online Server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server

HPE Modular Services Router (MSR) / Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Gateway

HPE Modular Services Router (MSR) / Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Gateway

IIS ARR as reverse proxy for Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 server roles

IIS ARR as reverse proxy for Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 server roles

Note Each server that holds SfB application roles is hosted on a physical HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 rack mounted server or within a Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V virtual machine on an HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 rack mounted server.

Both physical and virtual deployment models used in this RA align with Microsoft best practices for standard Skype for Business Server 2015 deployments. The RA testing uses HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers, with internal drive cages for the required storage for both models. The HPE networking hardware design aligns with HPE networking reference designs and includes HPE networking gear such as HPE FlexFabric 7904 data center switches, HPE FlexFabric 5900CP data center switches supporting IRF (Intelligent Resilient Fabric), and Aruba 5406R zl2 mobile campus access network switches.

The hardware products included in this RA are:

• HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers

• HPE data center top of rack and core networking gear

• Aruba branch networking gear

The Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool was used for validation of Skype for Business Server 2015 client workloads in a testing range of 8 to 9 hours. The results of the testing performed showed that the servers, storage and network devices selected for both the physical and the virtual deployments documented in the RA support a Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 implementation during normal operational conditions.

Why upgrade? Why should customers upgrade their server infrastructure to benefit from the pairing Microsoft Windows Server 2016 with HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers?

1. To strengthen their IT security

Windows Server 2016 has layers of active security built in, giving customers a stronger security and allowing them to detect, protect, and respond to threats. Pairing Windows Server 2016 with HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers—the most secure industry standard servers—your clients get the added benefit of unique hardware security features, down to the silicon. Additional security reasons include:

• Protection from attacks with Silicon Root of Trust

• Better protected admin credentials


• Detection of compromised code or malware with Run-time Firmware Verification

• Improvement of Virtual Machine protection

• Strengthening of threat detection capabilities

2. To improve efficiency and cost for their software-defined data center

With Windows Server 2016 running on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers, customers can solve operational and budgetary challenges. Windows Server 2016 allows users to blend physical and virtual infrastructures together through software-defined compute, storage, and networking technologies. In addition, HPE Gen10 servers offer customers economic control through flexible payment models that are not only aligned with business outcomes, but can also scale based on unpredicted customers demand and:

• Resilient compute

• Improved server density

• Reduced storage costs

• Rapid network scaling

3. For increased agility to innovate faster and more securely

IT Administrators at times are grappling with their ability to manage and update the thousands of apps they currently employ, Windows Server 2016 on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers can make their job significantly simpler through:

• Better securing existing apps

• Optimizing performance with Intelligent System Tuning (IST) that includes Jitter Smoothing, Core Boosting, and Workload Matching

• Moving traditional apps to a modern DevOps environment

• Easily selecting, deploying, managing, and maintaining HPE server infrastructure over the server lifecycle with HPE OneView , HPE iLO, and iLO Amplifier Pack

• Quickly building cloud-native and hybrid apps

For more information on HPE ProLiant Gen 10 server, visit https://www.hpe.com/us/en/product-catalog/servers/proliant-servers/pip.hpe-proliant-dl380-gen10-server.1010026818.html.

For more information on new and changed functionality of Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016 and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/compute/hyper-v/what-s-new-in-hyper-v-on-windows.

For more information on “Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2016 using HPE ProLiant Servers, Storage, and Options”, visit http://h20195.www2.hpe.com/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-5841ENW.

For more information on HPE Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) Version, visit http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/products/service_pack/spp/index.aspx.

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/product-catalog/servers/proliant-servers/pip.hpe-proliant-dl380-gen10-server.1010026818.html

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/product-catalog/servers/proliant-servers/pip.hpe-proliant-dl380-gen10-server.1010026818.html

https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/compute/hyper-v/what-s-new-in-hyper-v-on-windows

http://h20195.www2.hpe.com/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-5841ENW

http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/products/service_pack/spp/index.aspx


Windows Server 2016 Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) Windows Server® 2016 Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) is a software-defined storage solution based on Storage Spaces technology. It uses internal storage drives such as SATA/SAS HDD, SSD, and NVMe disks to create shared disk volumes. Distributed among several cluster nodes, these volumes can withstand disk, node, and cluster failures, and continue to operate normally without downtime. Different levels of resiliency can be achieved using mirror and/or parity combinations. S2D is mainly targeted at cloud applications, Hyper-V, storage for backup and replication, and Hyper-Converged/Converged infrastructures.

Figure 1: S2D Converged and Hyper-Converged environments

For more information of Implementing Windows Server 2016 Storage Spaces Direct using HPE ProLiant servers visit, https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA6-8953ENW.pdf.

Spectre and Meltdown Early January 2018, two security flaws dubbed as Meltdown and Spectre were unveiled by security researchers at Google’s Project Zero in conjunction with academic and industry researchers from several countries. They are referred to as side-channel attacks, as they take advantage of the ability to extract information from instructions that have executed on a CPU using the CPU cache as side-channel. These are hardware bugs. The issues are organized into 3 variants:

• Variant 1 (CVE-2017-5753, Spectre): Bounds check bypass

• Variant 2 (CVE-2017-5715, also Spectre): Branch target injection

• Variant 3 (CVE-2017-5754, Meltdown): Rogue data cache load, memory access permission check performed after kernel memory read

For more information visit, https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.in/.

https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA6-8953ENW.pdf

https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.in/


Since these are hardware vulnerabilities, the side effects of mitigating them through software patches can be more expensive from a performance perspective, than fixing the issue in hardware. In this document, we also look at the performance impact of fixing the above mentioned vulnerabilities for SfB server 2015, in both a physical and virtual deployment.

For guidance to mitigate speculative execution side-channel vulnerabilities, refer the following customer advisories:

• Microsoft Corporation

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise

RA design principles Listed below are the design principles of the physical and virtual deployment for this RA.

• Plan, deploy, test, and verify a single SfB 2015 Standard Edition infrastructure for 2,500 users with Enterprise Voice

• Test and validate a single Persistent Chat front-end deployment

RA capacity sizing and features The following table outlines the capacity sizing of the RA discussed in this document.

Table 2. Solution parameters

Description Value

SfB enabled users 2,500

Active users 100%

Central sites One

Remote sites None

Instant Messaging and Presence Yes

Audio/Video, Dial-in and Web Conferencing Yes

Application Sharing and Data Collaboration Yes

Persistent Chat and Compliance 20%

Reverse Proxy Yes

Office Online Yes

Monitoring Yes

PSTN Gateway Yes

Enterprise Voice-enabled users 30%

PSTN calls per hour 4-12 calls per hour

Phone calls using media bypass 0%

Remote user connectivity / External users Yes / 30%

Physical infrastructure Yes

Skype for Business Server 2015 version Standard Edition

High Availability No

Storage Server internal HDD

Note Video related workloads have not been tested in this RA.

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/advisory/ADV180002

http://h22208.www2.hpe.com/eginfolib/securityalerts/SCAM/Side_Channel_Analysis_Method.html


Data center rack layout The following figure shows the front view rack layout of the hardware components in this RA.

Figure 2. Data center rack layout


Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment process flow The flow diagram in Figure 3 shows the general high-level steps involved in a Skype for Business Server 2015 on premises deployment.

Figure 3. Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment process flow


Physical solution overview The following figure depicts the high-level logical physical server design used in this RA.

Figure 4. High-level logical physical server design


Physical solution components The following table lists the components used in the physical deployment of this RA.

Table 3. Physical deployment solution components

Qty Type Component Description Availability

One Physical Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 front-end server (with Mediation and Monitoring collocated)

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 front-end server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server)

Included in the BOM

One Physical Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Service Pack 1 Standalone (Skype for Business Server 2015 back-end server)

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Service Pack 1 Standalone (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server)

Included in the BOM

One Physical Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server)

Included in the BOM

One Physical Office Online Server Office Online Server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server). Office Online Server delivers browser-based versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote for sharing in Skype for Business 2015.

Included in the BOM

One Physical Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server)

Included in the BOM

One Physical Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server)

Included in the BOM

One Physical Windows Server 2016 running IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 3

Windows Server 2016 running IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 3 used as reverse proxy for external https access.

Included in the BOM

One Physical HPE Modular Services Router (MSR) HPE Modular Services Router (PSTN Gateway / Voice Gateway), MSR3064. This connects the Skype for Business 2015 Mediation server to the PSTN infrastructure.

Included in the BOM

One Physical Arcatech Emutel Harmony PSTN simulator The Arcatech Emutel Harmony PSTN call simulator simulates end user PSTN, and is very useful in testing incoming and outgoing PSTN calls.

Additional hardware required

One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool servers

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool servers. The stress application is used to simulate internal SfB endpoint load to stress test Skype for Business Server 2015 servers.


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 server) to run the client stress load. The stress application is used to simulate Skype for Business external endpoint load to stress test Skype for Business Server 2015 servers.


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 PSTN Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 server) to run the PSTN client stress load test.


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 server) to run the Persistent Chat client stress load test.


Two Physical HPE data center core networking switches that are IRF compliant

The HPE FlexFabric 7904 switches IRF paired provide high availability network connections to the other data center components outside the rack.

Included in the BOM

Two Physical HPE data center Top of Rack networking switches that are IRF compliant

The HPE FlexFabric 5900CP switches IRF paired provide high availability network connections between various Skype for Business Server 2015 roles.

Included in the BOM

One Physical Aruba 5406R zl2 Client networking OpenFlow compliant

Used for end-user client connectivity to the Skype for Business server client simulation 2015 roles

Included in the BOM


Hardware The following hardware configuration was used for the setup of this RA. It assumes 20% of users will be enabled for Persistent Chat and at least 30% of users will be enabled for Enterprise Voice. High-level descriptions of each of the HPE products used in this RA are in the following sections.

Servers – HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 The HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers used in this RA included the following components:

• The HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 Controller is an enterprise-class RAID controller that increases performance in messaging, database, or general server applications and delivers 12 Gb/s SAS connectivity on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers when connected to 12 Gb/s internal storage devices.

• Two sockets, using Intel® Xeon® Gold 6126 processor with 2.6 GHz, 12 cores, and 125W, provide the performance required for Skype for Business workloads.

• The HPE iLO Management Engine on the servers contains HPE Integrated Lights-Out 5 features a complete set of embedded management features for HPE Power/Cooling, Agentless Management, Active Health System, and Intelligent Provisioning which reduce node and cluster level administration costs.

Figure 5. HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10

Server network connectivity The HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562SFP+ Adapter features the latest Intel controller. It is a low-cost, low-power dual port PCIe v3.0 x8 adapter designed for HPE ProLiant servers. The HPE 562SFP+ addresses the demanding needs of the next-generation data center by providing unmatched features for virtualization and scalability that complement the HPE server platform.

Figure 6. HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562SFP+ Adapter


Server hardware used for Skype for Business Server 2015 roles The following tables list the server hardware components used for different server roles.

Table 4. Server hardware used for each front-end server with collocated Archiving Services, Monitoring Services and Mediation server role

Hardware component Description

CPU x64

Two sockets, using Intel Xeon Gold 6126 processor with 2.6 GHz, 12 cores, and 120W

Memory 32 gigabytes (GB) –Two HPE 16GB 2Rx8 PC4-2666V-R Smart Kit

Disk Internal drives in DL380 Gen10 configured as the following volumes:

System (OS) Volume: RAID1 – 2 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 278 GB

Program Volume: RAID1+0 – 8 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 1.09TB

HPE 96W Smart Storage Battery Kit to back up the write cache content onto flash memory on the HPE Smart Array Gen10 controller

Network One HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt with two ports teamed using Windows Teaming

One HPE Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T Adapter

Security HPE Trusted Platform Module 2.0 Gen10

Additional settings Hyper-Threading Disabled in the BIOS

Power Management setting “Maximum Performance”

Table 5. Server hardware used for each Persistent Chat front-end, Office Online Server and Director


CPU x64





Data Volume: – 1 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 278 GB








Table 6. Server hardware used for each IIS-ARR and SfB Edge Server


CPU x64





Data Volume: – 1 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 278 GB


Network One HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt with two ports teamed using Windows Teaming –Internal

One HPE Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T Adapter with two ports teamed using Windows Teaming – External




Table 7. Server hardware used for Backend SQL database server


CPU x64





Database Volume: RAID1+0 – 4 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 558 GB

Log Volume: RAID1+0 – 4 x 300GB HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD– usable capacity 558 GB







Software The following table lists the software components for the physical solution in this RA.

Table 8. Software components of the physical solution

Product Update* Vendor Licenses required

Skype for Business Server 2015 (Standard) Latest Microsoft Yes

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard SP1 or later Microsoft Yes

Office Online Server Latest Microsoft Yes (only for editing)

Microsoft Office 2013 Professional or Enterprise / Microsoft Office 2016 Professional

Latest Microsoft Yes

Windows Server 2012 R2 Latest Microsoft Yes

Windows Server 2016 Standard Edition Latest Microsoft Yes


* In table 8, the reference to “latest” in the Update column refers to the most up-to-date patch available at the time of testing in Feb 2018.


Virtualized solution overview The following figure shows the high-level logical virtualized design used in this RA.

Figure 7. High-level logical virtualized design


Virtualized solution components The following table lists the components used in the virtual deployment of this RA.

Table 9. Virtual deployment solution components

Qty Type Component Description Availability

Three Physical Hyper-V Host Windows Server 2016 Datacenter edition

Hyper-V Host Windows Server 2016 Datacenter edition server (HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers)

Included in the BOM

One Virtual Machine

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 front-end server pool (with Mediation, Monitoring collocated)

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 front-end server (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host)

N.A

One Virtual Machine

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Service Pack Latest Standalone (Skype for Business Server 2015 back-end servers)

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Service Pack latest Standalone (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host)

N.A

One Virtual Machine

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Edge server (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host)

N.A

One Virtual Machine

Office Online Server Office Online Server (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host). Office Online Server delivers browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote for sharing in Skype for Business 2015.

N.A

One Virtual Machine

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host)

N.A

One Virtual Machine

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server

Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Director server (Virtual machine running on Hyper-V host)

N.A

One Physical HPE Modular Services Router (MSR) HPE Modular Services Router (PSTN Gateway / Voice Gateway), MSR3064. This connects the Skype for Business 2015 Mediation server to the PSTN infrastructure.

Included in the BOM

One Physical Arcatech Emutel Harmony PSTN simulator The Arcatech Emutel Harmony PSTN call simulator simulates end user PSTN, and is very useful in testing incoming and outgoing PSTN calls.


Two Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool servers

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool servers. This application is used to simulate internal SfB endpoint load to stress test Skype for Business Server 2015 servers


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server to run the client stress load. This application is used to simulate Skype for Business external endpoint load to stress test Skype for Business Server 2015 servers.


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 PSTN Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server to run the PSTN endpoint stress load test.


One Physical Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat Stress and Performance Tool server

Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool server to run the Persistent Chat endpoint stress load test.


Two Physical HPE data center core networking switches that are IRF compliant

The HPE FlexFabric 7904 switches IRF paired provide high availability network connections to the other data center components outside the rack.

Included in the BOM

Two Physical HPE data center Top of Rack networking switches that are IRF compliant

The HPE FlexFabric 5900CP switches IRF paired provide high availability network connections between various Skype for Business Server 2015 roles.

Included in the BOM

One Physical Aruba 5406R zl2 Client networking OpenFlow compliant

Used for end-user client connectivity to the Skype for Business server client simulation 2015 roles

Included in the BOM

One Virtual Windows Server 2016 running IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 3

Windows Server 2016 running IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 3 used as reverse proxy for external https access.

Included in the BOM


Hardware The following hardware configuration was used for the setup of this RA. It assumes 20% of users will be enabled for Persistent Chat and at least 30% of users will be enabled for Enterprise Voice. High-level descriptions of each of the HPE products used in this RA are in the following sections.

Servers – HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 The HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers used in this RA included the following components:

• The HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 Controller is an enterprise-class RAID controller that increases performance in messaging, database, or general server applications and delivers 12 Gb/s SAS connectivity on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers when connected to 12 Gb/s internal storage devices.

• Two sockets, using Intel Xeon Gold 6126 processor with 2.6 GHz, 12 cores, and 125W, provide the performance required for Skype for Business workloads.

• The HPE iLO Management Engine on the servers contains HPE Integrated Lights-Out 5 features a complete set of embedded management features for HPE Power/Cooling, Agentless Management, Active Health System, and Intelligent Provisioning which reduce node and cluster level administration costs.

Figure 8. HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10

Server network connectivity The HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562SFP+ Adapter features the latest Intel controller. It is a low-cost, low-power dual port PCIe v3.0 x8 adapter designed for HPE ProLiant servers. The HPE 562SFP+ addresses the demanding needs of the next-generation data center by providing unmatched features for virtualization and scalability that complement the HPE server platform.

Figure 9. HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562SFP+ Adapter


Hyper-V host server configuration The following table lists the server hardware components used for the Hyper-V hosts in this RA.

Table 10. Standalone Hyper-V host server with direct attached storage configuration used for hosting the virtual machines for Skype for Business Server 2015


CPU x64


Memory 256 gigabytes (GB) –Eight HPE 32GB 2Rx4 PC4-2666V-R Smart Kit


System (OS) Volume: RAID1 – 2 x HPE 1.2TB SAS 10K SFF SC DS HDD – usable capacity 278 GB

Program Volume: RAID5– 3 x HPE 1.2TB SAS 10K SFF SC DS HDD – usable capacity 1.09TB

2 HPE 400GB NVMe x4 MU SFF SCN SSD


Network One HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt with two ports





Table 11. Clustered two Hyper-V hosts with Storage Spaces Direct configuration used for hosting the virtual machines for Skype for Business Server 2015


CPU x64


Memory 256 gigabytes (GB) –Eight HPE 32GB 2Rx4 PC4-2666V-R Smart Kit


System (OS) Volume: RAID1 – 2 x HPE 1.2TB SAS 10K SFF SC DS HDD – usable capacity 278 GB

Program Volume: RAID5– 3 x HPE 1.2TB SAS 10K SFF SC DS HDD – usable capacity 1.09TB

2 HPE 400GB NVMe x4 MU SFF SCN SSD


Network One HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpter





Virtual machine general configuration In this RA, the following configuration is common for all virtual machines:

• Virtual Machine Generation: Hyper-V Generation 2 virtual machines are used in this RA as the underlying virtual machines that run Windows Server 2016. They boot faster and have less emulated hardware devices loaded, which translates to better performance.

• Virtual Machine Memory: Fixed – Most applications are designed to use a fixed amount of memory. It is recommended to give the VM exactly the amount of memory it needs instead of using dynamic memory whenever possible.

• Virtual Machine Disk: Fixed VHDX – A Fixed VHDX performs slightly better when compared with a dynamic VHDX due to the additional storage overhead related to the dynamic VHDX file growth.

• Virtual Machine Processor: NUMA – The virtual machine processors use the default virtual NUMA topology of the underlying hardware, thus helping to utilize the underlying hardware capabilities.


Virtual machine configuration used for Skype for Business Server 2015 roles The following tables list the virtual machine configurations used for different server roles.

Table 12. Virtual machine configuration used for each front-end server with collocated Archiving Services, Monitoring Services and Mediation server role

Virtual compute component

Description

Processor 12 virtual processors

Sockets: 2

NUMA nodes per socket: 1

Virtual processors per NUMA node: 6

Memory 32 gigabytes (GB) static memory

Disk 2 internal drives in the virtual machine configured as the following volumes:

System (OS) Volume: 300 GB VHDX Dynamically Expanding

Program Volume: 500 GB VHDX Dynamically Expanding

Network 2 virtual network adapters

Each virtual network adapter is connected to one port on the HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt and the virtual network adapter is assigned to a virtual network switch. On the virtual machine configuration, two virtual NICs are created with one connected to each virtual switch. Within the virtual machine, the two virtual NICs are teamed together with Windows Network Teaming.

Additional settings Power Options setting in the OS “High Performance”

Table 13. Virtual machine configuration used for each Persistent Chat front-end, Office Online, Director Server and Edge server roles

Virtual compute component

Description


Sockets: 2




Disk 1 internal drive in the virtual machine configured as the following volume:



Each virtual network adapter is connected to one port on the HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt and the virtual network adapter is assigned to a virtual network switch. On the virtual machine configuration, two virtual NICs are created with one connected to each virtual switch. Within the virtual machine, the two virtual NICs are teamed together with Windows Network Teaming.

The Edge server requirements for network interfaces in this configuration:

4 virtual network adapters

Each virtual network adapter is connected to a virtual network switch created using one port on the HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt and HPE 4-port 331T adapter.

Network team is done within Windows inside the virtual machine.



Table 14. Virtual machine configuration used for Backend SQL database server

Virtual compute component Description


Sockets: 2




Disk 2 internal drives in the virtual machine configured as the following volumes:


Program Volume: 500 GB VHDX Dynamically Expanding


Each virtual network adapter is connected to one port on the HPE FlexFabric 10GbE 2 port 556FLR-SFP+ adapter and the virtual network adapter is assigned to a virtual network switch. On the virtual machine configuration, two virtual NICs are created with one connected to each virtual switch. Within the virtual machine, the two virtual NICs are teamed together with Windows Network Teaming.


Software The following table lists the software components for the virtualized solution in this RA.

Table 15. Software components of the virtualized solution

Product Update* Vendor Licenses required

Skype for Business Server 2015 (Standard) Latest Microsoft Yes

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Sp1 or later Microsoft Yes

Office Online Server Latest Microsoft Yes (only for editing)

Microsoft Office 2013 Professional or Enterprise / Microsoft Office 2016 Professional

Latest Microsoft Yes

Windows Server 2012 R2 Latest Microsoft Yes

Windows Server 2016 Datacenter edition Latest Microsoft Yes


* In table 15, the reference to “latest” in the Update column refers to the most up-to-date patch available at the time of testing in Feb 2018.

Overall solution highlights Skype for Business Server 2015 is dependent on many components to deliver the features selected to serve your organization’s communication needs. This solution was designed to meet Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise best practices for the deployment of Skype for Business.

• Basic building block of Skype for Business Server 2015 on Windows Server 2016

• High Availability (HA) is available at the Skype for Business Server 2015 network layer


Basic building block of Skype for Business Server 2015 This RA focuses on the basic building block of Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment by deploying Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition on Windows Server 2016 Standard Edition. This will serve as an ideal reference point for further exploration of Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment on Windows Server 2016. Availability can be achieved at the front-end server by deploying a second Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition in pool paring configuration. For more information on availability using Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition, refer to Front End pool disaster recovery in Skype for Business Server 2015.

High availability for the network layer Skype for Business Server 2015 depends heavily on the network that it is installed on, to deliver the required functionality and to meet the desired Service Level Agreement (SLA). Some network dependencies are apparent, such as connectivity and sufficient bandwidth. The other dependencies such as DHCP, DNS requirements, network site definitions, load balancing and configuration of network switches are required for Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment.

HPE Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF) HPE Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF) is the innovative HPE Ethernet fabric solution for enterprise data centers. HPE IRF delivers enterprise resiliency that enables customers to build agile networks that are simpler to manage, and ready for cloud deployments and software defined networking. For information on HPE Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF), visit https://h17007.www1.hpe.com/docs/reports/irf.pdf.

NIC Teaming What happens if the network card of the server itself fails? Most likely the network administrator has to shut down the server and replace the network card. Until then there would be application or functionality loss. In the solution discussed in this RA, all the servers are set up with Windows Server 2016 NIC Teaming.

NIC Teaming is a load balancing and failover feature that allows multiple network adapters on a computer to be placed into a team for either bandwidth aggregation or traffic failover to prevent connectivity loss in the event of a network component failure or both.

For information on NIC Teaming in Windows Server 2016 visit, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/networking/technologies/nic-teaming/nic-teaming.

Workload description This section describes the SfB workloads available as part of this RA for 2,500 users.

• IM and presence

IM and presence is a default feature enabled when Skype for Business Server 2015 is deployed. Instant messaging (IM) enables real time text-based communication for users from their computers or mobile devices. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951370.aspx.

• Audio and Web Conferencing

The conferencing feature in Skype for Business Server 2015 enables meetings and conferences by using instant messaging, desktop sharing, application sharing and interactive white boards with or without a full audio and video experience. The conferencing features also allow participants to dial in to a conference from a phone. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/dn705229.aspx.

• Monitoring

The monitoring feature enables the Skype for Business Server 2015 administrators to collect Quality of Service (QoS) data, usage data, and trends for the communication sessions within their Skype for Business Server 2015 environment. The monitoring service is not enabled by default in Skype for Business Server 2015. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/jj204937.aspx.

• Enterprise Voice

Enterprise Voice offers a software/hardware based Voice over IP (VoIP) solution and integration with PBX, this includes rich integration with Outlook and Exchange, and features such as Response Groups, Call Park, Team Calling, Group Call Pickup, and Enhanced Emergency E9-1-1 support. Enterprise Voice users can use an audio device such as a headset connected to their computer, or a VoIP-enabled phone. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/gg413081.aspx.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-in/library/jj204697.aspx

https://h17007.www1.hpe.com/docs/reports/irf.pdf

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server-docs/networking/technologies/nic-teaming/nic-teaming

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951370.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/dn705229.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/jj204937.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/gg413081.aspx


• Persistent Chat and Persistent Chat Compliance

Persistent Chat Server is an optional role; it allows chat data persistency over a period of time for chat rooms with multiple users. The user can thus view and search all content of the chat room of which they are a member. To comply with regulations for the Persistent Chat role, an organization can deploy the Persistent Chat Compliance service. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/dn951390.aspx.

• External user access

Skype for Business Server 2015 enables external user access in the form of Remote Users, Federated Users, Mobile Users and Anonymous Users who can attend your organization’s hosted meetings or gain regular client connection from outside of the corporate network. For additional details, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/mt346417.aspx.

Analysis and recommendations The Skype for Business Server 2015 solution discussed in this RA has incorporated the Skype for Business Server 2015 roles described in the Physical solution components and Virtualized solution components sections of this document. The PSTN environment was set up using HPE MSR3064 Media Gateways and PSTN environment simulators. The Skype for Business Server 2015 users were simulated using the Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool. The tool-generated load on the Skype for Business Server 2015 environment consisted mostly of the Skype for Business Server 2015 workloads that the tool supported. The performance parameters were recorded on each of the Skype for Business 2015 servers and the SQL servers for overall system performance.

The following table lists the Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool settings used in the RA.

Table 16. Stress tool settings for load usage

SFB workload Stress tool setting Setting description Load

Instant messaging Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour. 5

Audio Conferencing Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour. 5

Application Sharing Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour. 5

Data Collaboration Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour. 5

Address Book Web Query ABSQueries per hour Number of Address Book web-queries per user per hour. 22

VoIP

UC Conversations per hour The number of UC to UC calls placed by each user per hour. 6

PSTN Conversations per hour The total number of UC to PSTN calls made to all users per hour. 45

Web App

Audio Conferencing Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour using WebApp. 5

Application Sharing Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour using WebApp. 5

Data Collaboration Conversations per hour The number of conversations each user will create during each hour using WebApp. 5

General settings for a test scenario By using the Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool we simulated load on the SfB server roles with each test scenario running for a span of eight hours. The solution discussed in this RA is for 2,500 active users. We ran the Skype for Business Server 2015 Stress and Performance Tool with all of the users enabled for Enterprise Voice with 40% MPOP (multiple point of presence). We tested based on the frequently deployed models for Skype for Business Server 2015 discussed below. We also tested the performance with update to fix processor vulnerability installed to understand the impact of processor vulnerability for Spectre on Skype for Business Server 2015 virtual deployment. The test results shown in the graphs are an average of the performance counters collected for the duration of the test.

https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/dn951390.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/mt346417.aspx


Skype for Business Server 2015 server deployment model The predominant Skype for Business Server 2015 server deployment model based on the workload is as follows:

• Instant Messaging with Application sharing, Peer to Peer Audio/Video and Conference

• Enterprise Voice with Instant Messaging, Application sharing and Audio/Video and Conference

Key performance parameters To evaluate the performance of application servers, the system performance counters that help provide a good overview are as follows:

• % Processor Time: The percentage of elapsed time that the processor spends executing a non-idle thread. This counter is the primary indicator of processor activity, and displays the average percentage of utilization observed during the sample interval.

– The threshold for this counter is less than 80%.

• Hyper-V Hypervisor Root Virtual Processor – %Guest Run Time: For guest VMs, this is the percentage of time the guest Virtual Processor (VP) is running in non-hypervisor code on a Logical Processor (LP) or for the _Total - the total across all guest VPs. For the root this is the percentage of time the root VP is running in non-hypervisor code on an LP or for _Total, the total across all root VPs. If you sum the _Total for both the guest VPs and root VPs this will equal the % Guest Run Time _Total of the Logical Processor counter set.

– The threshold for this counter is less than 80%.

• Avg. Disk sec/Read, Avg. Disk sec/Write: Represents the average time (in seconds) of either disk read or write latency. It starts measuring the average amount of time from when a request leaves the Partition Manager until the time it returns. The value is the average of all current I/O requests that happen between two sample points.

– The threshold for this counter is less than 0.025 seconds.

• Available Mbytes: Represents the amount of memory available to the server.

– The threshold for this counter is more than 2048 MB.

• Network Interface – Output Queue Length: Measures the packet queue length of the output packet queue. This performance counter is used to gauge if a network interface is overwhelmed.

– The ideal threshold for this counter is 0.

• Network Interface – Inbound/Outbound Packets Discarded: Represents incoming/outgoing packets not in error that have been discarded.

– The threshold for this counter less than 100.

Table 17 explains the chart acronyms used in charts that show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results.

Table 17. SfB performance chart acronyms

Chart acronym Description

PNS Physical server SfB deployment without Spectre update

PS Physical server SfB deployment with Spectre update

VNSNS Virtual Machine SfB deployment without Spectre update without Storage Space Direct

VSNS Virtual Machine SfB deployment with Spectre update without Storage Space Direct

VNSS Virtual Machine SfB deployment without Spectre update with Storage Space Direct

VSS Virtual Machine SfB deployment with Spectre update with Storage Space Direct

Note In the charts below for each SfB Server 2015 role showing “Available Memory”, the threshold is a minimum threshold so that in the representation the measured values need to be higher than the threshold line. Also the processor utilization for the virtual machine is sum of the averages of % Processor Time inside the VM and Hyper-V Hypervisor Root Virtual Processor – %Guest Run Time at virtualization host.


Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition front-end server The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the front-end server role.

Figure 10. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Front-end server

Comparing the test results against the Key Health Indicator thresholds, all the system counters are within the required limit. However when comparing the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server directly with the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server we see the quantifiable results for processor utilization and disk latency.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

PNS PS VNSNS VSNS VNSS VSS

SfB front-end Processor Utilization

% Processor Time Threshold

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000


SfB front-end Available Memory

Available Mbytes Threshold in Mbytes

0

20

40

60

80

100

120


SfB front-end Network Performance

Network Interface(*)\Output Queue Length

Network Interface(*)\Packets Outbound Discarded

Network Interface(*)\Packets Received Discarded

Output Queue Length Threshold

Packets Outbound Discarded Threshold

Packets Received Discarded Threshold

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3


SfB front-end Disk Latency

PhysicalDisk(*)\Avg. Disk sec/Read

PhysicalDisk(*)\Avg. Disk sec/Write

Threshold


The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the front-end server role for the CPU and disk key performance counters.

Figure 11. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – CPU and disk

From the Processor Utilization graph, we can see that though the VM processor utilization seems lower at the host hypervisor layer, a virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server consumes more hardware resources due to the additional hypervisor layer. From the Disk Latency graph, we see the disk latencies are higher for the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

The following chart shows Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the front-end server role for the database key performance counters.

Figure 12. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Front-end database

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


SfB front-end Processor Utilization

% Processor Time

0

0.001

0.002

0.003

0.004

0.005

0.006

0.007

0.008

0.009


SfB front-end Disk Latency

PhysicalDisk(*)\Avg. Disk sec/Read PhysicalDisk(*)\Avg. Disk sec/Write

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9


SfB Front-end collocated SQL Database Performance

DBStore\Usrv - Queue Latency (msec)

DBStore\Usrv - Sproc Latency (msec)

REGDBStore\Usrv - Queue Latency (msec)

REGDBStore\Usrv - Sproc Latency (msec)

SharedDBStore\Usrv - Queue Latency (msec)

SharedDBStore\Usrv - Sproc Latency (msec)


Every Skype for Business Server 2015 server runs a local copy of the SQL database (RTCLocal). Also in Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition the Real Time Collaboration (RTC) backend database is collocated on the Skype for Business Server 2015 front-end server.

To track the performance of the back-end SQL Server database software instance used by the front-end pool, we monitor the following performance counters:

• LC:USrv – 00 – DBStore\Usrv – 002 – Queue Latency (msec)

• LC:USrv – 00 – DBStore\Usrv – 0 04– Sproc Latency (msec)

The test results show that we are within the threshold of less than 100 ms latency values for both the physical and virtual deployments. However, in the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server the Queue Latency and Sproc Latency are higher when compared to the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

The following chart shows Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the front-end server role for the average SIP holding time performance counter.

Figure 13. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Front-end server SIP holding time

To track the processing time at the front-end server, we use the average processing time (LC:SIP-07-Load Management\SIP-000-Average Holding Time For Incoming Messages) on the server. If this value exceeds six seconds, then the server goes into throttling mode and only gives users one outstanding transaction per client connection. Once the processing time drops to three seconds, then the server drops out of throttling mode and gives users up to 20 outstanding transactions per client connection. Whenever the number of transactions on a specific connection exceeds the threshold above, the connection is marked as flow controlled. The virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server takes a slightly longer time to process the SIP message when compared to the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

1.15

1.2

1.25

1.3

1.35

1.4

1.45

1.5


SfB front-end SIP - Average Holding Time For

Incoming Messages


Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition Director Server The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the Director server role.

Figure 14. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Director server

The comparison of test results against the Key Health Indicator thresholds shows that all the system counters are within the required limit. However, when comparing the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server directly with the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server for Disk Latency, we see the disk latencies are higher for the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


SfB Director Processor Utilization


0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000


SfB Director Available Memory


0

20

40

60

80

100

120


SfB Director Network Performance







0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3


SfB Director Disk Latency



Threshold


Skype for Business Server 2015 Standard Edition Edge server The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the Edge server role.

Figure 15. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Edge server


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


SfB Edge Processor Utilization


0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000


SfB Edge Available Memory


0

20

40

60

80

100

120


SfB Edge Network Performance







0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3


SfB EdgeDisk Latency



Threshold


The following chart shows Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the Edge server role for the Average Holding Time for Incoming Messages performance counter.

Figure 16. Skype for Business Edge Server Key Health Indicator test data – SIP – Average Holding Time for Incoming Messages

To track the processing time at the front-end server, we use the average processing time (LC:SIP-07-Load Management\SIP-000-Average Holding Time For Incoming Messages) on the server. If this value exceeds six seconds, then the server goes into throttling mode and only gives users one outstanding transaction per client connection. Once the processing time drops to three seconds, then the server drops out of throttling mode and gives users up to 20 outstanding transactions per client connection. Whenever the number of transactions on a specific connection exceeds the threshold above, the connection is marked as flow controlled. The virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server takes a slightly longer time to process the SIP message when compared to the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8


SfB Edge SIP - Average Holding Time for

Incoming Messages


Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the Persistent Chat front-end server role.

Figure 17. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Persistent Chat front-end server


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


SfB Pchat Processor Utilization


0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000


SfB Pchat Available Memory


0

20

40

60

80

100

120


SfB Pchat Network Performance







0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3


SfB PchatDisk Latency



Threshold


Skype for Business Server 2015 back-end SQL Server 2014 The following charts show Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data results for the back-end SQL Server 2014 role.

Figure 18. Skype for Business Server Key Health Indicator test data – Back-end server

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


Backend SQLProcessor Utilization


0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000


Backend SQLAvailable Memory


0

20

40

60

80

100

120


Backend SQLNetwork Performance







0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3


Backend SQLDisk Latency



Threshold


Comparing the test results against the Key Health Indicator thresholds, all the system counters are within the required limit. However when comparing the physical Skype for Business Server 2015 server with the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server we see that the disk latencies are higher for the virtual Skype for Business Server 2015 server.

Summary Skype for Business Server 2015 is a heavily network-dependent application. Hence sizing and configuring the network appropriately is very important. The key in any SfB deployment is provisioning the network to guarantee a maximum end-to-end delay (latency) of 150 milliseconds under peak load. Storage Space Direct deployment does seem to have very significant impact on virtualized deployment of Skype for Business Server 2015

Understanding the use cases for any deployment of a Skype for Business Server 2015 server begins with understanding the business needs that we are addressing with our solution.

Use cases for virtual deployment of Skype for Business Server 2015:

• Ideal for medium and small business scenarios (including the disaster recovery scenario); the logic is as the number of users increases, the disk latencies too will increase.

• Ideal for an environment where the latest drivers and patches are updated regularly

• Virtual deployment would provide the following characteristics:

– For an enterprise scale deployment, provides the virtual machine with additional compute resources and appropriate settings, such as processor, memory, power setting, etc., so that the “Average Holding Time For Incoming Messages” and other relevant performance counters are within the acceptable limits

– Provides flexibility for dynamic changes in the supported number of users in an environment

– Provides average performance when handing media workloads

Use cases for physical deployment of Skype for Business Server 2015:

• Ideal for enterprise scale deployment as there is no hypervisor overhead

• Physical deployment would provide the following characteristics:

– Compute, networking, etc. must be overprovisioned at times considering the future growth rate

– Rigid in handling dynamic changes in the supported number of users in an environment

– Provides good performance when handing media workloads

This Reference Architecture describes the solution testing performed in February 2018.

Implementing a proof-of-concept As a matter of best practice for all deployments, HPE recommends implementing a proof-of-concept using a test environment that matches as closely as possible the planned production environment. In this way, appropriate performance and scalability characterizations can be obtained. For help with a proof-of-concept, contact an HPE Services representative (hpe.com/us/en/services/consulting.html) or your HPE partner.

http://www.hpe.com/us/en/services/consulting.html


Appendix A: Bill of materials

Note Part numbers are at time of publication and subject to change. The bill of materials does not include complete support options or other rack and power requirements. If you have questions regarding ordering, please consult with your HPE Reseller or HPE Sales Representative. For more details, visit hpe.com/us/en/services/consulting.html.

Table A-1. Bill of materials

Qty Part number Description

42U Rack

1 BW908A HPE 42U 600x1200mm Enterprise Shock Rack

Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Datacenter edition with Hyper-V 3 hosts

3 868703-B21 HPE DL380 Gen10 8SFF CTO Server

3 826862-L21 HPE DL380 Gen10 6126 Xeon-G FIO Kit

3 826862-B21 HPE DL380 Gen10 6126 Xeon-G Kit

24 815100-B21 HPE 32GB 2Rx4 PC4-2666V-R Smart Kit

3 826690-B21 HPE DL38X Gen10 Premium 8SFF HDD Bay

3 826689-B21 HPE DL38X NVMe 8 SSD Express Bay

6 765034-B21 HPE 400GB NVMe x4 MU SFF SCN SSD

15 872479-B21 HPE 1.2TB SAS 10K SFF SC DS HDD

3 873732-B21 HPE DL38X Gen10 4p Slim SAS 2nd Riser

3 727054-B21 HPE Ethernet 10Gb 2-port 562FLR-SFP+Adpt

3 733660-B21 HPE 2U SFF Easy Install Rail Kit

3 804331-B21 HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 Ctrlr

3 875241-B21 HPE 96W Smart Storage Battery 145mm Cbl

3 864279-B21 HPE TPM 2.0 Gen10 Kit

3 867809-B21 HPE Gen10 2U Bezel Kit

6 865438-B21 HPE 800W FS Ti Ht Plg LH Pwr Sply Kit

3 878192-B21 HPE 6+2 NVMe Instr Spec FIO

3 867810-B21 HPE DL38X Gen10 High Perf Fan

3 873770-B21 HPE DL3xx Gen10 Rear Serial Cable Kit

3 647594-B21 HPE Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 331T Adapter

Skype for Business 2015 Standard Edition front-end server &

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard Edition Persistent Chat backend





20 870753-B21 HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD




2 870549-B21 HPE DL38X Gen10 12Gb SAS Expander

http://www.hpe.com/us/en/services/consulting.html


Qty Part number Description


2 864279-B21 HPE TPM 2.0 Gen10 Kit

4 865408-B21 HPE 500W FS Plat Ht Plg LH Pwr Sply Kit


Skype for Business 2015 Standard Edition Director server, Office Online server,

Skype for Business 2015 Persistent Chat front-end server, Windows Server 2016 IIS-ARR &

Skype for Business 2015 Standard Edition Edge server





15 870753-B21 HPE 300GB SAS 15K SFF SC DS HDD





5 864279-B21 HPE TPM 2.0 Gen10 Kit

10 865408-B21 HPE 500W FS Plat Ht Plg LH Pwr Sply Kit


Network components

2 JG682A HPE FlexFabric 7904 Switch

2 JG838A HPE FlexFabric 5900CP (48XG-4QSFP+) Switch

1 J9821A Aruba 5406R zl2 Switch

1 JC691A HPE 5830AF-48G Management Switch

2 JG683B HPE FlexFabric 7900 12-port 40GbE QSFP+ FX Module

2 JG845A HPE FlexFabric 7900 24-port 1/10GbE SFP+ FX Module

1 J9996A HPE Aruba 2-port 40GbE QSFP+ v3 zl2 Module

1 J9993A HPE 8-port 1G/10GbE SFP+ MACsec v3 zl2 Module

1 F5-BIG-LTM-10200v F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager 10200v

Telephony components

1 JG404A HPE MSR3064 Router

6 JG456A HPE MSR 2p T1/CT1/PRI HMIM Mod

6 JG450A HPE MSR 2p E1/CE1/PRI HMIM Mod

Rack and Infrastructure options

2 Q0Q04A HPE C13/C14 WW 10A 2m Blk 6pc Lckng PC

2 P9S15A HPE G2 Mtrd/Swtd 4.9kVA/L6-30P NA/J PDU

1 BW930A HPE Air Flow Optimization Kit

1 BW909A HPE 42U 1200mm Side Panel Kit

20 JC784C HPE X240 10G SFP+ 7m DAC Cable

2 Q0Q04A HPE C13/C14 WW 10A 2m Blk 6pc Lckng PC


Appendix B: Alternate configuration choices Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat multi-server deployment In a single site, we can deploy a SfB Persistent Chat Pool with multiple front-end Persistent Chat and back-end Persistent Chat SQL servers to support High Availability. The SQL AlwaysOn Availability Group feature is not supported for hosting Persistent Chat Server databases. A single Persistent Chat Server front-end server supports up to 20,000 active users. Hence a Persistent Chat Server pool with up to four active Persistent Chat front-end servers supports a total of 80,000 concurrent users.

Table B-1. Capacity parameters for Persistent Chat server deployment

Description Value

Active Persistent Chat service instances (front-end ) 4

Persistent Chat service instance (front-end ) 8 (only a maximum of 4 can be active; 4 must be inactive)

Active users connected 80,000

Total provisioned users 150,000

Number of endpoints 120,000

Figure B-1. Skype for Business Server 2015 Persistent Chat multi-server single site deployment


In a multi-site scenario, a single SfB Persistent Chat pool is stretched across two data centers. There are two variants of stretched pool topologies based on network bandwidth and latency between the two data centers:

• Stretched Persistent Chat Server pool when data centers are connected with high bandwidth/low latency

• Stretched Persistent Chat Server pool when data centers are connected with low bandwidth/high latency

For more information, refer to Plan Persistent Chat Server topology.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg398500.aspx


Sign up for updates

© Copyright 2018 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for Hewlett Packard Enterprise products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, and Skype are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intel, Xeon, and Intel Xeon, are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.

a00046455enw, May 2018

Resources and additional links HPE and Microsoft, hpe.com/partners/microsoft

HPE Reference Architectures, hpe.com/info/ra

HPE ProLiant servers, hpe.com/servers/proliant

HPE ProLiant server adapters, hpe.com/us/en/product-catalog/servers/server-adapters.html

HPE Networking resources, hpe.com/networking

HPE Software Defined Networking, hpe.com/networking/sdn

HPE Sizer for Microsoft Skype for Business Server 2015, https://sizersllb.itcs.hpe.com/sb/installs/HPE_Sizer_Microsoft_Skype_2015.zip

Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2016 using HPE ProLiant Servers, Storage, and Options, http://h20195.www2.hpe.com/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-5841ENW

Technical diagrams for Skype for Business Server 2015, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn594589.aspx

Plan for your Skype for Business Server 2015 deployment, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951427.aspx

Deploy Skype for Business Server 2015, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn933893.aspx

Install Skype for Business Server 2015, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951362.aspx

Upgrade to Skype for Business Server 2015, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn951371.aspx

Manage Skype for Business Server 2015, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn933922.aspx

To help us improve our documents, please provide feedback at hpe.com/contact/feedback.

http://www.hpe.com/info/getupdated

http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.hpe.com/h20195/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=a00046455enw

http://twitter.com/home/?status=HPE%20Reference%20Architecture%20for%20Microsoft%20Skype%20for%20Business%202015%20Standard%20Edition%20on%20HPE%20ProLiant%20DL380%20Gen10%20server+@+https://www.hpe.com/h20195/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=a00046455enw

http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&ro=true&url=https://www.hpe.com/h20195/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=a00046455enw&title=HPE%20Reference%20Architecture%20for%20Microsoft%20Skype%20for%20Business%202015%20Standard%20Edition%20on%20HPE%20ProLiant%20DL380%20Gen10%20server+&armin=armin

http://www.hpe.com/

http://www.hpe.com/partners/microsoft

http://www.hpe.com/info/ra

http://www.hpe.com/servers/proliant

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/product-catalog/servers/server-adapters.html

http://www.hpe.com/networking

http://hpe.com/networking/sdn

https://sizersllb.itcs.hpe.com/sb/installs/HPE_Sizer_Microsoft_Skype_2015.zip

http://h20195.www2.hpe.com/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-5841ENW







http://www.hpe.com/contact/feedback

HPE Reference Architecture for Microsoft Skype for ... · discusses the set up and lab testing of a...

Documents

Transcript of HPE Reference Architecture for Microsoft Skype for ... · discusses the set up and lab testing of a...