Activity 6.2: Using Active Directory Sizer

In this activity you will use Active Directory Sizer to determine the number and location of domain controllers and global catalog servers for an organization that is planning its Active Directory infrastructure. To complete this activity, you will need to download and install Active Directory Sizer from http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/library/resources/reskit/tools/new/adsizer-o.asp.

Scenario: Margo Tea Company

Throughout this chapter we have used the scenario for Margo Tea Company as an example for defining sites, placing domain controllers, defining a replication strategy, and placing global catalog servers and operations masters within a forest. We performed these tasks manually to create a site topology plan. When you're creating a site topology plan, it's also a good idea to use the Active Directory Sizer tool to consider a more conservative estimation of the hardware required for deploying Active Directory. Active Directory Sizer uses data you input to estimate the

• Number of domain controllers per domain per site
• Number of global catalog servers per domain per site
• Number of CPUs per machine and type of CPU
• Number of disks needed for Active Directory data storage
• Amount of memory required
• Network bandwidth utilization
• Domain database size
• Global catalog database size
• Intersite replication bandwidth required

The procedures below walk you through the use of Active Directory Sizer to determine the number and placement of domain controllers and global catalog servers for Margo Tea Company.

To determine the number of domain controllers and global catalog servers

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Active Directory Sizer, then click Active Directory Sizer.
2. Click File, then select New.
3. In the Active Directory Sizer Wizard, enter Margo Tea Co. as the name for the domain, then click Next.
4. On the User Accounts screen, enter 2720 for the total number of users and 80% for the percentage of users active during peak hours. Use 25 for additional attributes. Click Next.
5. On the second User Accounts screen, use 7 for the average number of groups a user will belong to. Enter 45 days for password expiration frequency. For the average logon rate per second during peak hours, type 100 for interactive, 10 for batch, and 10 for network, then click Next.
6. On the Computers And Other Objects screen, enter 2720 for the number of Windows 2000 computers, 270 for the number of other computers, and 300 for the number of other objects to be published in Active Directory, then click Next.
7. On the second Computers And Other Objects screen, use the defaults for desired average CPU utilization and preferred CPU type. Click Next.
8. On the Administration screen, use Weekly as the time interval. For the average number of objects, type 55 for objects you plan to add, 25 for objects you plan to delete, and 500 for objects you plan to modify, and then click Next.
9. On the Exchange 2000 screen, select Yes to plan to use Microsoft Exchange 2000. Then use 25 for the average number of messages sent per day and the default for the average number of recipients for each message. Click Next.
10. On the Services Using Active Directory screen, select Yes to indicate that you plan to use Active Directory enabled DNS, 270 for the number of dial-in connections, and the defaults for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease and NoRefreshInterval. Click Next.
11. On the second Services Using Active Directory screen, leave each of the estimates boxes blank (default). To actually complete this section, you must consult the documentation for Active Directory-enabled applications you want represented in the Sizer's estimates. Click Next.
12. On the Conclusion screen, click Finish.

The number of domain controllers and global catalog servers needed for this domain are displayed in the right pane.

NOTE

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In Active Directory Sizer, bridgehead servers are also domain controllers and global catalog servers.

Use the Active Directory Sizer tool with caution. Because Active Directory Sizer indicates only the number of domain controllers needed to satisfy logon, authentication, and replication requirements of the organization, it does not reflect the best practice of placing redundant domain controllers in each site.

To determine the location of domain controllers and global catalog servers and to plan sites

1. Right-click Site Configuration in the left pane, and then click Add Site.
2. In the New Site dialog box, in the Site Name box, type Cincinnati, and then click Apply. Do the same for the Toledo, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Charleston, and Louisville sites. Then in the Site Name box, type Lexington and click OK.
3. Right-click Default-First Site in the left pane, and then click Distribute Users.
4. In the Distribute Users dialog box, click Default-First Site in the Source Site window, and then type 1000 in the Users To Move box. Click Cincinnati in the Destination Site window, and then click Apply.
5. Repeat the previous step for each of the remaining sites as indicated in the following table:

   Users to move	Destination site
   100	Toledo
   130	Columbus
   800	Pittsburgh
   15	Charleston
   600	Louisville
   75	Lexington

6. Click OK.

The new server distributions for each site are located in the right pane.