Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 – Solution Overview and System Elements

Michael JordanLead Architect (EPM Global Practice)Microsoft Corporationmichjor@microsoft.com

Webcast SeriesWhat to expect

• Solution Overview and System Elements• Solution Elements and Data Flow• Workload Scenarios and Reference Architecture• Network Communication• Server Administration• Maintenance and Monitoring• Deployment into a SharePoint Server Intranet Farm• Disaster Recovery• Virtualization

Prerequisite Knowledge

• Deployed Microsoft® Office Project Server 2007 as a proof of concept (POC)

• Reviewed these TechNet and Microsoft® Developer Network (MSDN®) sites:– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc3033

99.aspx

– http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905469.aspx Level 300

What We Will Cover

• Introduce the solution and the main components

• Describe key concepts • Discuss main considerations when planning

for deployments that require high availability: when to scale up and out, points of failure, and software/hardware boundaries.

Agenda

• Concepts• Consolidation• Solution overview• System elements

REN

DERI

NG

CO

MPL

EXIT

Y

DATA

CO

MPL

EXIT

Y

FARM

ConceptsContainment Hierarchy

PROJECT PROFESSIONAL

ENTERPRISE OBJECTS

LOCAL OBJECTS

SCHEDULE RELATIONSHIP

SYSTEM

PROJECT MANAGER PROFILE

Master/sub projects, Dependencies, Constraints, Ext Links

Win32®, Office 200(x)

C/Field, Resource, Duration, Calendar, Baseline, #Task/Assn

Cache, CBS (Visual reports), MLU, Macros

Network environment, OS, Memory, CPU, AV

Operations, Workload scenarios, Concurrency, Location

PROJECT WEB ACCESS

SITE COLLECTIONS

WORK SPACES

VIEWS

SYSTEM

TEAM USER PROFILE

Web parts, Aspx, OWC, ActiveX®, Outlook® add-in

Team site, Templates

Instances, Projects, Issues, Risks, Documents

Project views, Workspace views, Security

Browser, Network environment, OS, Memory, CPU, AV

Operations, Workload scenarios, Concurrency, Location

SYSTEMPlatform, Network, Multiple NICs, Storage, Logs, Load balancing

SERVERSWFE, PSI, SQL, AS, SSRS, MOSS

DATABASESConfig, Admin, SSP, Content, Project, Reporting, Cubes, Custom, TempDB

APPLICATIONSCentral admin, Shared service provider, Site, Web services, Queue, IIS, Security, AVS

ConceptsHigh Availability/Scalability

High Availability

Scal

abili

ty

Single point offailure for all

WorkloadScenarios

Web ServerApp ServerDatabase

Offloaded SQL for performance

WorkloadScenarios

Database

Web ServerApp Server

High availability with clustering, scaling out, and load balancing

WorkloadScenarios

Clustered or Mirrored Database

Web ServerApp Server

Load balance

High availability with clustering, scaling out, distribution, and load balancing

WorkloadScenarios

Clustered or Mirrored Database

Web Server

Load balance

Firewall

App Server

IT Resources – E.g.:SkillsHelp Desk

Budget – E.g.:HardwareSLA

Cross technology – E.g.:Load balancingVirtualization

Other increases

Agenda

• Concepts• Consolidation• Solution overview• System elements

ConsolidationCharacteristics

• Help desk• Billing, charge backs, and service level agreement (SLA)• Project, work, content, and search management• Reduce application redundancy

• Business Process

• Physical coexistence (MOSS/EPM)• Virtualization• Outsourcing management• Cost reduction – Watts * BTU * Rack Space

• Infrastructure

• Work, content, and search management• Subscription models + Software as a Service (SaaS)• Software licensing cost reduction• Coexistence, MOSS/WSS/PWS + Instance enumeration

• Applications (Rationalization)

Agenda

• Concepts• Consolidation• Solution overview• System elements

Executives Portfolio AnalystsProject Managers

Application Managers

Line-of- business systems

Line-of- business systems

Project Managers

Executives Resource Managers

Team Members

Project Server

Gateway

Solution Overview

Solution OverviewThe Farm• Servers have roles

– App servers have all services installed– Web front ends are always mirrors– Database is farm agnostic

• Config DB: Heart of the farm– Takes place of registry - 1 per farm– Maintains server farm integrity

• SPTimer Service: Heartbeat of farm (2 tier)• Shared Services

– Grouped, high-value, resource-intensive services– One to many per farm– Inter-farm capable (SharePoint Server only)

Application/PSI ServerWeb Service Tier Business Logic Tier

Solution OverviewLogical Architecture

Remote Access

• Terminal Services

• VPN

Domain

• Firewall• Active Directory• DNS• Exchange

Logs

• Web• ULS• Perf Counter• Event• PSConfig

Services

• Project • WSS • NT

Patch Management

• Binaries• Data schema

Platform

• Virtualization• 32/64-bit• IIS

Sub-System

• Network• Processor• Memory• Disk

SystemFault Tolerance

• Load balancing• Clustering• Mirroring• Backup• Disaster

recovery

Client

Scheduling EngineDesktop ReportingLocal CacheSoap ClientSerializer

Project Professional

IE Browser LevelSecurity ZoneActiveX ControlsOffice Web CompOutlook Addin

Project Web Access

Custom LogicImpersonationLocal access to SSP

3rd Party Client

Web Server

Auth

entic

ation

PSI ForwarderLocal Server Cache

PSI Proxies

ASPX

Master Pages

Web PartsPr

ojec

t Use

r Con

text

Database Server

Central AdminContent Database

Web ApplicationContent Database(n)

Shared ServicesService Database

Shared ServicesContent Database

Project ServerDraft Database(n)

Project ServerPublished Database(n)

Project ServerReporting Database(n)

Project ServerArchive Database(n)

Farm Configuration Database

Exte

rnal

Web

Ser

vice

s

Inte

rnal

Web

Ser

vice

s

ASM

X D

efini

tion

Project User Context

Data

Acc

ess L

ayer

Serializer

Filt

er D

ata

Acce

ss L

ayer

Bus

ines

s Obj

ects

Server-Side Scheduling

QueuingService

EventingService

User session state

Root SiteWeb AppPWA and WSS content pages

CentralAdmin

Web Apphttp://ServerName:56737/SSPName/psi/*.asmx

All servers in farm (Timer Service)

http://ServerName/InstanceName/_vti_bin/psi/*.asmx

SSPWeb App

Agenda

• Concepts• Consolidation• Solution overview• System elements

System ElementsGeneral

RemoteAccess

Domain

Logs

Services

Unapproved appsLatency/WAN usersCache profile – load balancedCache share: network latencyVirtualized (CPU/memory)CPU burn – IE users

Domain accountsAppropriate permissions

SSP: AD Sync, OLAPTimer Service - WSS “Queue”

Use SSP accountMulti-instance shares threads

Exchange/SMTPWSS and Project Setting

DNS and AD “burst activity”AD (Reduce latency)Host files –DNS roundtrips

Firewalls/SecuritySystem clocks synced

IIS Web Logs: WebService callsUnified Logging System (ULS)

WFE + PSI: Load balanceEvent ViewerPerformance CountersPCDiagnostic

System ElementsSub System – Cost Analysis

Network

Disk

CPU

2.8Ghz

Memory

• PWA - HTTP Payload (objects)• WinProj – Bandwidth (cache)• Inter-farm communication• Client latency• Virtualization (Virtual:Physical)

• Ratio – Host::Guest

• Storage – SAN or DAS• Shared SAN?

• Speed – spindles and striping• Tolerance - RAID• Virtualization

• VHD vs. disk pass through

• Sockets vs. Cores (Caching)• Ratio - Front End::SQL• Application behavior E.g.:

• WSS: WFE security trimming and payload

• Project: PSI RDSSync• Virtualization (Virtual:Physical)

• 32/64-bit (Virtual/Physical)• Ratio – CPU::RAM

• 32-bit - 1:2• 64-bit – 1:4

• Application behavior• WFE, APP, SQL, and SSRS

• Virtualization (Virtual:Physical)

System ElementsSub System – Disk• IO Characteristics

– Reads/Writes– Index seek/creation– Backups/Checkpoints– OLAP/OLTP

• Disk Topology– SAN– DAS – OS + App + Logs

• Physical Topology– Bus bandwidth– Memory– Cache– Network + HBA + Log share

• Storage Design– LUNs

• Volume alignment, # spindles• Shared (Exchange/MOSS)

– File and group isolation• Data• Log (Presize)• TempDB (Presize) - 1 file per CPU• Indexes

– RAID Level• 0 – Striping• 1 - Mirroring• 5 – Striping + parity• 10 – Striping + mirroring (Best)

C:\ OS

Web and PSI

D:\ AppsD:\Logs

RAID: 1RAID: 1

Logs: Web, ULS

\\External Share

C:\ OS

SQL

D:\ AppsD:\Logs

RAID: 1RAID: 1

Logs

RAID: 10

ConfigAdmin

SSP ServicesSSP Content

WSS Content (n)Project Draft (n)

Project Published (n)Project Reporting (n)

Project Archive (n)

Data

RAID: 10

ConfigAdmin

SSP ServicesSSP Content

WSS Content (n)Project Draft (n)

Project Published (n)Project Reporting (n)

Project Archive (n)

TempDB

RAID: 10

1 X 20Mb file::CPU

Stor

age

LoadBalancing

Clustering

DisasterRecovery

Backup

System ElementsFault Tolerance

• Web front end• Hardware appliance• Software NLB

• Application/PSI• SSP Internal Round Robin

• SQL Server® application level• Appears as single server• Automatic failover• SAN storage

• Database mirroring• Transaction log shipping

• DB Snapshots SQL/Third Party• SharePoint BUR• Admin BUR (Enterprise Objects)• SSBR• Versioning and Recycle Bin

Terminal Services

VIP: 192.168.0.98Dynamic: Observed

Virtual Server:ProjIntranet

Default HTTP Profile

HTTP Profile:ProjInHTTP

tcp-lan-optimized

TCP Profile:ProjInTCP

Cookie Insert ‘0’

Cookie Persistence Profile: ProjInCookie

IP Pool: ProjInWFE192.1.1.1192.1.1.2192.1.1.3

VIP: 192.168.0.99Dynamic: Observed

Virtual Server:ProjRAS

VS Type:

tcp-lan-optimized

TCP Profile:ProjRASTCP

Timeout: 3600s

RDP Persistence Profile: ProjRASCookie

IP Pool: RASServers192.6.25.45192.6.25.46192.6.25.47

Performance L4

VIP: 192.168.0.97Dynamic: Observed

Virtual Server:ProjExtranet

http-wan-optimized-compression-caching

HTTP Profile:ProjExHTTP

tcp-lan-optimized

TCP Profile:ProjExTCP

Cookie Insert ‘0’

Cookie Persistence Profile: ProjExCookie

IP Pool: ProjExWFE192.1.1.1192.1.1.2192.1.1.3

System ElementsFault Tolerance – hardware load balancing

Public URL Virtual Server Virtual IPhttp://foo.bar.com ProjExtranet 192.168.0.97http://intranetuser ProjIntranet 192.168.0.98http://remoteacess.foo.bar.com ProjRAS 192.168.0.99

Alternate Access Mapping Table

Web Server

192.1.1.3

Web Server

192.1.1.2

Web Server

192.1.1.1

Load-balancing Methods (Required)

• Round Robin (Default): BIG-IP sends new connection to the next server in the pool.

• Ratio (member/node): BIG-IP distributes connections based on defined weight ratios. E.g.: 32-bit and 64-bit WFE - define a ratio for 64-bit WFE to receive more traffic.

Static:

• Least Connections: BIG-IP sends new connection to server with least current connections. Can cause clumping with short bursts of connections.

• Fastest: BIG-IP sends new connection to server responding the fastest and allows slower servers to recover.

• Observed: BIG-IP uses a combination of Least Connections and Fastest. Great for short burst activity – Project Server recommendation.

• Predictive: BIG-IP uses observed as well as trending to identify which servers trend towards saturation – Project Server recommendation.

Dynamic:

Persistence (Optional)• Source Affinity Address (SAA): Persists connection based on the source IP. If

behind NAT’ing device (Proxy/TS farm), all users appear from same address and BIG-IP sends all users to the same server – clumping.

• Cookie: BIG-IP persists connection based on cookie in HTTP header. Priority choice when load balancing HTTP stateless applications and WebParts - Project Server recommendation with Cookie Insert ‘0’ (expiration value).

• * Note on persistence:1. BIG-IP bypasses the load-balancing algorithm and sends user to the prior

server connection.2. If BIG-IP Health Monitor detects clumping, it overrides persistence and

uses load-balancing algorithm to determine best connection.

** Please test optimal settings that will apply to your configuration

F5 HealthMonitor

AppPools

32/64-Bit

Virtual(Hyper-V)

PatchMgmt

System ElementsPlatform

• Ratio – AppPool::WebApp• .NET Framework loads/app pool• Account access to DB resources• 32-bit memory pressure (800Mb)

• Memory hungry• WSS uses more kernel memory• 64-bit apps on 64-bit OS• WSS/MOSS data heavy• SQL and reporting• Performance parity

• WSV vs. VMware• Host container characteristics• Ratio – Guests::Host• Saturation - Disk IO/Network• CPU/Memory allocation• Shared agility environments

• Hotfix:5000/Service Pack:1000• Binaries / Data Schema• Upgrade against schema version• WSS, MOSS, and Project• Client, Active X, and SMS scripts• Install/Uninstall sequence

Session Summary

• Deploying Project Server 2007 is an enterprise undertaking

• Consider the platform elements as carefully as the application itself

• Be aware of the many integration points to external applications required for business continuity

Webcasts SeriesWhat to expect next

• Solution Overview and System Elements• Solution Elements and Data Flow• Workload Scenarios and Reference Architecture• Network Communication• Server Administration• Maintenance and Monitoring• Deployment into a SharePoint Server Intranet Farm• Disaster Recovery• Virtualization

For More Information…• Project Server TechCenter

– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/projectserver • Project Developer Portal

– http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905469.aspx • Microsoft® Enterprise Project Management (EPM) University

– www.msepmu.com • EPM Connect

– www.epmconnect.com • The Microsoft® Office Enterprise Project Management (EPM)

Solution– www.microsoft.com/epm

Next Steps

1. View other EPM-related webcasts– www.microsoft.com/events/series/epm.asp

2. Check the latest download and content available for Project Server– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/projects

erver

Questions and Answers

• Submit text questions using the “Ask” button. • Don’t forget to fill out the survey.• For upcoming and previously live webcasts:

www.microsoft.com/webcast • Got webcast content ideas? Contact us at:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=41781