Designing Servers

When designing your servers, consider load ¾ specifically the number of users each server will host and the users' e-mail usage patterns. Also consider the effect of additional loads on the server and whether you plan to use many low-end servers or a few high-end servers.

If you expect significant load, use more powerful servers. The following table shows possible configurations:

Server type	Processors	RAM	Disk configurations	Users
Low-end	1 Intel Pentium	32 MB	2 - 2 GB	100 - 300+
Middle	1 Intel Pentium	64 MB	5 - 2 GB	250 - 600+
High-end	3 Intel Pentiums	256 MB	8 - 2 GB	500 - 1,000+

Note   Systems with reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors may require more memory than Intel systems.

The number of users per server type may vary, depending on your definition of acceptable performance. For example, a low-end server might be able to support 320 users with average client response times of one second, as shown in the following graph: