Building the 'Perfect' SharePoint 2010 Farm; Best Practices from the Field. Compilation of best practice infrastructure guidance for SharePoint 2010 from Michael Noel, author of SharePoint 2010 Unleashed.

1. Building the ‘Perfect’ SharePoint 2010 FarmBest Practices from the Field Michael Noel Convergent Computing (CCO.com) @MichaelTNoel

2. Michael Noel Author of SAMS Publishing titles “SharePoint 2010 Unleashed,” “SharePoint 2007 Unleashed,” “SharePoint 2003 Unleashed”, “Teach Yourself SharePoint 2003 in 10 Minutes,” “Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed,” “Exchange Server 2010 Unleashed”, “ISA Server 2006 Unleashed”, and many other titles . Partner at Convergent Computing (www.cco.com / +1(510)444-5700) – San Francisco Bay Area based Infrastructure/Security specialists for SharePoint, AD, Exchange, Security

3. What we will cover Examine various SharePoint 2010 farm architecture best practices that have developed over the past year Examine SharePoint Best Practice Farm Architecture Understand SharePoint Virtualization Options Explore SharePoint DR and HA strategies using Database Mirroring Explore other common best practices (RBS, SSL, NLB) Learn how to Enable Kerberos for Best Practice Security A large amount of best practices covered (i.e. Drinking through a fire hose), expectation is that you can take away 2-3 useful pieces of information that can be used in your environment

4. Architecting the Farm

5. SharePoint 2010 ArchitectureSmall Farms ‘All-in-One’ (Avoid) DB and SP Roles Separate

6. SharePoint 2010 Architecture“Smallest Highly Available Farm” 2 SharePoint Servers running Web and Service Apps 2 Database Servers (Clustered or Mirrored) 1 or 2 Index Partitions with equivalent query components Smallest farm size that is fully highly available

7. SharePoint 2010 Architecture“The Six Server Farm” 2 Dedicated Web Servers (NLB) 2 Service Application Servers 2 Database Servers (Clustered or Mirrored) 1 or 2 Index Partitions with equivalent query components

8. SharePoint 2010 ArchitectureLarge Farms Multiple Dedicated Web Servers Multiple Dedicated Service App Servers Multiple Dedicated Query Servers Multiple Dedicated Crawl Servers, with multiple Crawl DBs to increase parallelization of the crawl process Multiple distributed Index partitions (max of 10 million items per index partition) Two query components for each Index partition, spread among servers

9. SharePoint 2010 Virtualization Architecture

11. Allows for separation of the database role onto a dedicated server

13. All components Virtualized

16. Content Database and Site Admin Architecture

17. Content Database and Site Collection Planning Start with a distributed architecture of content databases from the beginning, within reason (more than 50 per SQL instance is not recommended) Distribute content across Site Collections from the beginning as well, it is very difficult to extract content after the face Allow your environment to scale and your users to ‘grow into’ their SharePoint site collections

19. Remote BLOB Storage (RBS) First version was known as EBS, now RBS SQL level technology that moves the BLOBs to different storage location, thus reducing Content DB size by 80-90%. Note this is primarily a Data Management tech, not so much a performance technology. Typically used with third-party product, though MS does provide for limited native FILESTREAM options

20. SQL Database Optimization

21. SQL Database OptimizationContent Databases Distributed Between Multiple Volumes Volume #1 Volume #2 Volume #3 Volume #4 DB-A File 1 DB-B File 1 DB-A File 2 DB-B File 2 DB-A File 3 DB-B File 3 DB-A File 4 DB-B File 4 Tempdb File 1 Tempdb File 2 Tempdb File 3 Tempdb File 4

22. SQL Database OptimizationContent Databases Distributed Between Multiple Volumes Break Content Databases and TempDB into multiple files (MDF, NDF), total should equal number of physical processors (not cores) on SQL server. Pre-size Content DBs and TempDB to avoid fragmentation Separate files onto different drive spindles for best IO perf. Example: 100GB total Content DB on Four-way SQL Server would have four database files distributed across four sets of drive spindles = 25GB pre-sized for each file.

23. SQL Database OptimizationTempDB Tips TempDB is critical for performance Pre-size to 20% of the size of the largest content database. Break into multiple files across spindles as noted Note there is a separate TempDB for each physical instance Note that if using SQL Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) for any databases in an instance, the tempDB is encrypted.

24. SQL Database Mirroring

25. Single Site HA Mirrored Farm Single Site Synchronous Replication Uses a SQL Witness Server to Failover Automatically Mirror all SharePoint DBs in the Farm Use a SQL Alias to switch to Mirror Instance

26. Cross-Site Mirrored HA Farm Two Sites 1 ms Latency 1GB Bandwidth Farm Servers in each location Auto Failover

27. Two Farm / Mirrored Content DBs Two Sites Two Farms Mirror only Content DBs Failover is Manual Must Re-index

28. Mirroring Database Supportability Matrix (1 of 2)

29. Mirroring Database Supportability Matrix (2 of 2)

30. Hardware/Software

31. Hardware Planning ConsiderationsDisk, Memory, and Processor SQL Database role requires a great deal of space, especially if versioning is turned on in Document Libraries. Don’t underestimate! Servers running the Search Service Application Index or Query need hard drive space to store the Index files, which can be 5%-30% of the size of the items being indexed. The more memory and processor cores that can be given to SharePoint the better, in the following priority: Database Role Search Service Application Role Other Service Application Roles Web Role

32. Operating System Best practicesVersions Highly recommended: Windows Server 2008 R2 (with SP1) for security, performance (client/server traffic improvements), and ease of setup. Windows Server 2008 RTM is also possible, but requires some custom configuration (Kerberos, etc.) Enterprise Edition of Windows only required for very large SQL instances (More than two cluster nodes, high transaction volume, etc.) Standard edition of Windows is adequate in nearly all other cases.

33. Operating System Best practicesSQL Server SQL Server 2008 R2 Recommended, particularly if you have high security requirements, as it allows for transparent encryption of databases and PowerPivot (R2 only) SQL Server 2005 x64 also supported Enterprise edition of SQL only required for more than two nodes in a cluster, Asynchronous database mirror replication, TDE, RBS with non-local BLOB storage, or other advanced scenarios Separate Reporting Services server may be required for intensive reporting Separate Analysis Services server may be required for PowerPivot Create exception in Windows Firewall policy for port 1433

34. SharePoint Installation

35. SharePoint InstallationSample Service Accounts

36. SharePoint InstallationInstallation Process For most flexibility, choose ‘Complete’ Installation, even if not installing all of the roles on the server. This will allow for the addition of roles in the future as needed. Be sure not to select ‘Stand-Alone’, unless you plan on having a very small farm with a limited database (SQL Server Express)

37. SharePoint InstallationInstallation Process Highly recommended to choose the final destination for the Index/Query to live (i.e. if it’s on a different drive, enter that during installation). It’s difficult to change index location later. Remember, after installing the binaries, the server is not a farm member yet…it can be added to any farm. Good concept to use to pre-stage servers.

38. SharePoint InstallationCommand-line Installation of SharePoint Good to understand how to install SharePoint from the command-line, especially if setting up multiple servers. Allows for options not available in the GUI, such as the option to rename databases to something easier to understand. User PowerShell

39. Script: http://tinyurl.com/SPFarm-Config Function Configure-SPSearch { PARAM($AppPool, $FarmName, $SearchServiceAccount) $searchServiceInstance = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceInstance -local Start-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceInstance -Identity $searchServiceInstance $dbName = $FarmName + "_SearchServiceApplication" $searchApplication = New-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceApplication -Name "$FarmName Search Service Application" -ApplicationPool $AppPool -DatabaseName $dbName $searchApplicationProxy = New-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceApplicationProxy -name "$FarmName Search Service Application Proxy" -SearchApplication $searchApplication Set-SPEnterpriseSearchAdministrationComponent -SearchApplication $searchApplication -SearchServiceInstance $searchServiceInstance $crawlTopology = New-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlTopology -SearchApplication $searchApplication $crawlDatabase = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlDatabase -SearchApplication $searchApplication New-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlComponent -CrawlTopology $crawlTopology -CrawlDatabase $crawlDatabase -SearchServiceInstance $searchServiceInstance while($crawlTopology.State -ne "Active") { $crawlTopology | Set-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlTopology -Active -ErrorActionSilentlyContinue if ($crawlTopology.State -ne "Active") { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 } } $queryTopology = New-SPenterpriseSEarchQueryTopology -SearchApplication $searchApplication -partitions 1 $searchIndexPartition = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchIndexPartition -QueryTopology $queryTopology New-SPEnterpriseSearchQueryComponent -indexpartition $searchIndexPartition -QueryTopology $queryTopology -SearchServiceInstance $searchServiceInstance $propertyDB = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchPropertyDatabase -SearchApplication $searchApplication Set-SPEnterpriseSearchIndexPartition $searchIndexPartition -PropertyDatabase $propertyDB while ($queryTopology.State -ne "Active") { $queryTopology | Set-SPEnterpriseSearchQueryTopology -Active -ErrorActionSilentlyContinue if ($queryTopology.State -ne "Active") { Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 } } }

40. SharePoint InstallationSome Manual Service Apps Still Required Due to bugs in SharePoint, certain Service Apps will need to be manually configured, they won’t work in PowerShell yet, hopefully fixed in later versions This includes the following: PerformancePoint Service Application User Profile Service Application Web Analytics Service Application

41. Configuring the Farm

42. Configuring the FarmRunning the Config Wizard to Install Servers (If used) Consider using an easy to remember port for the Central Admin service (i.e. 8888). Change to 443 later. You are welcome to change the Config Database name to match a common naming convention Your database access account is the SP Service account, which only needs DBCreator and Security Admin rights on SQL. Don’t give it more! Run the wizard on additional servers as necessary

43. Configuring the FarmSQL Alias A SQL Alias will help you if you need to change your DB location. For example, if your SQL server name is ‘SQL1’, use something like ‘SPSQL’ to connect, and have DNS point to the proper server location. This makes it MUCH more flexible. Use the SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration (32bit) node to create the alias

44. Install SQL Client Tools, including the Backwards Compatibility Client Tools. Launch the SQL Server Configuration Manager and create three SQL aliases using the 32bit Alias section: spdbcontent.companyabc.com spdbsearch.companyabc.com spdbservices.companyabc.com Point all to the SQL server name, port 1433. Launch the SQL Server Client Network Utility (ystem32liconfg.exe) and create the same 3 aliases as above using TCP/IP and port 1433. Make sure to map the alias to the SQL netbios name (or cluster netbios name) as above Configuring the FarmSQL Alias

45. Configuring the FarmNetwork Load Balancing Hardware Based Load Balancing (F5, Cisco, Citrix NetScaler – Best performance and scalability Software Windows Network Load Balancing fully supported If using Unicast, use two NICs on the server, one for communications between nodes. If using Multicast, be sure to configure routers appropriately Set Affinity to Single (Sticky Sessions) If using VMware, note fix to NLB RARP issue (http://tinyurl.com/vmwarenlbfix)

46. Configuring the FarmNetwork Load Balancing Best Practice – Create Multiple Web Apps with Load-balanced VIPs (Sample below) Web Role Servers sp1.companyabc.com (10.0.0.101) – Web Role Server #1 sp2.companyabc.com (10.0.0.102) – Web Role Server #2 Clustered VIPs shared between SP1 and SP2 (Create A records in DNS) spnlb.companyabc.com (10.0.0.103) - Cluster spca.companyabc.com (10.0.0.104) – SP Central Admin spsmtp.companyabc.com (10.0.0.105) – Inbound Email VIP home.companyabc.com (10.0.0.106) – Main SP Web App (can be multiple) mysite.companyabc.com (10.0.0.107) – Main MySites Web App

47. Configuring the FarmSecurity Considerations Infrastructure Security and Best Practices Best Practice Service Account Setup Kerberos Authentication Data Security SharePoint Security ACLs and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) of SQL Databases Transport Security Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) from Server to Client IPSec from Server to Server Inbound Internet Security (Forefront UAG/TMG) / Certs Rights Management

48. Configuring the FarmSSL Certificates External or Internal Certs highly recommended Protects Transport of content 20% overhead on Web Servers Can be offloaded via SSL offloaders if needed Don’t forget for SPCA as well!

49. Configuring the FarmUser Profile Sync (UPS) Setup Most complex part of a SharePoint installation Uses the Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) subcomponent on the server to synch My Site Profiles with external directory source such Active Directory Would take an entire session to describe the process, but best blog on the topic is SharePoint MVP Spencer Harbar’s (harbar.net)

50. Configuring the FarmEnabling Diagnostic Logging and Usage and Health Data Collection To configure diagnostic logging On the Central Administration Home page, click Monitoring. In the Reporting section, click Configure diagnostic logging. On the Diagnostic Logging page, verify that Enable Event Log Flood Protection is selected. If not, click the corresponding check box to enable this feature. Leave default values for other items Click OK to save your changes. To configure usage and health data collection: On the Central Administration Monitoring page, click Configure usage and health data collection. Click the check box to Enable Usage Data Collection. Click the check box to Enable Health Data Collection. Name database Leave all other settings at default Click OK.

51. Configuring the FarmBest Practices For Email enabled content, create a dedicated OU for Email enabled contacts and distribution lists and give the SP Admin account rights to create and modify contacts and groups in that OU. Don’t forget Alternate Access Mappings if connecting to the content in more than one way (i.e. https://home.companyabc.com vs. just http://home) If using SSL on a web app, it must have a dedicated IP address, not just a host header Don’t forget to install Antivirus (MS Forefront Protection for SharePoint recommended) Don’t forget a comprehensive backup solution (MS System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 or 3rd party)

52. Kerberos

53. KerberosBest practice: Enable Kerberos! When creating any Web Applications for Content, USE KERBEROS. It is much more secure and also faster with heavy loads as the SP server doesn’t have to keep asking for auth requests from AD. Kerberos auth does require extra steps, which makes people shy away from it, but once configured, it improves security considerably and can improve performance on high-load sites.

54. KerberosStep 1: Create the Service Principal Names Use the setspn utility to create Service Principle Names in AD, the following syntax for example: Setspn.exe -A HTTP/mysite.companyabc.com DOMAINNAMEYSiteAppAccount Setspn.exe -A HTTP/mysite DOMAINNAMEYSITEAppAccount Setspn.exe -A HTTP/home.companyabc.com DOMAINNAMEOMEAppAccount Setspn.exe -A HTTP/sp DOMAINNAMEOMEAppAccount

55. KerberosStep 2: Enable Kerberos from SP Servers to SQL Use setspn to create SPNs for SQL Service Account SPNs need to match the name that SharePoint uses to connect to SQL (Ideally SQL Alias, more on this later) Syntax similar to following: Setspn.exe -A MSSQLSvc/spsql:1433 COMPANYABCRV-SQL-DB Setspn.exe –A MSSQLSvc/spsql.companyabc.com:1433 COMPANYABCRV-SQL-DB MSSQLSvc = Default instance, if named instance, specify the name instead In this example, SRV-SQL-DB is the SQL Admin account

56. Kerberos Step 3: Allow User and Computer Accounts to Delegate (Optional) Required for Excel Services and other impersonation applications. On all SP Computer accounts and on the Application Identity accounts, check the box in ADUC to allow for delegation. In ADUC, navigate to the computer or user account, right-click and choose Properties. Go to the Delegation tab Choose Trust this user/computer for delegation to any service (Kerberos)

57. KerberosStep 4: Enable Kerberos on Web Application Go to Application Management – Authentication Providers Choose the appropriate Web Application Click on the link for ‘Default’ under Zone Change to Integrated Windows Authentication - Kerberos (Negotiate) Run iisreset /noforce from the command prompt If creating Web App from scratch, this step may be unnecessary if you choose Negotiate from the beginning

58. Logon to SharePoint Web Front-End as the setup account Launch the SQL Management Studio At the Connect to Server screen, connect to one of the alias names (spdbcontent, sbdbservices, spdbsearch) Make sure you are able to connect to the SQL server instance Login to the SQL server as SQL Admin account Launch Server Manager View Security event log under Diagnostics Look for Event ID 4624/Logon Open the event and look under the Detailed Authentication Information section which should read Kerberos for both Logon Process and Authentication Package for the Setup account KerberosStep 5: Validate Kerberos Functionality

59. KerberosBonuses for SPCA – Kerberos, NLB, SSL, and Default Port Bonus #1: Enable Kerberos Add the SPNs for SPCA HTTP/spca.companyabc.com, HTTP/spca (Add to App Pool Identity Account for SPCA) Configure Kerberos as defined in this presentation Bonus #2: Configure for SSL Encrypts traffic and Admin passwords Create and install Web certs for spca.companyabc.com Bonus #3: Load Balance SPCA Install SPCA on multiple web role servers Enable either Hardware NLB or Software Windows Network Load Balancing Requires DNS A record (spca.companyabc.com), registry key and AAM modification (below) Bonus #4: Setup SPCA on port 443/80 Delete default IIS Web Site Assign dedicated IP (VIP if load balancing) to SPCA Web App Change Port to 80 and 443 in IIS, Assign Cert (if using SSL) Modify SPCA URL on SP Servers - “HKLMOFTWAREicrosofthared Toolseb Server Extensions4.0SSentralAdministrationURL” (REG_SZ) = https://spca.companyabc.com/ Change your default AAM to https://spca.companyabc.com

60. Session Takeaways Use multiple service accounts, definitely don’t mix Application Pool identity accounts with the farm admin accounts Use Kerberos when at all possible Use a SQL DB Alias for greatest flexibility with a SP Farm Consider DB Mirroring as a DR option A four server farm is the smallest that is highly available Contact us at cco.com for help

61. Your Feedback is Important Please fill out a session evaluation form drop it off at the conference registration desk. Thank you!

62. Thanks for attending!Questions? Michael Noel Twitter: @MichaelTNoel www.cco.com