Introduction

This blueprint provides comprehensive design guidance that covers all areas of server planning in an enterprise environment.

Windows Server System Reference Architecture (WSSRA) enterprise scenarios require computing devices that can support the high manageability needs of complex data center environments such as centralized, extranet, and Internet data centers. However, the needs of smaller, less complex data centers such as branch, departmental, and satellite offices must also be met.

A number of technologies are used to satisfy the needs of these disparate types of data centers. Primarily, these technologies offer increased availability, manageability, or scalability. For example, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) configurations and multiprocessor systems provide increased availability and allow for scale up solutions. Dual network adapters, redundant power supplies, error-correcting code (ECC) memory, and RAID memory configurations further increase the availability of the computing hardware. Onboard management solutions offer out-of-band manageability of the computing device.

Detailed information about many of these technologies is provided in this blueprint, along with information about the different classes of servers that can meet the needs of enterprise organizations.

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	Who Should Read This Blueprint
	Knowledge Prerequisites

Who Should Read This Blueprint

This blueprint is intended for computer systems engineers who have the responsibility of specifying, building, and maintaining the organization’s server hardware.

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Knowledge Prerequisites

The reader of this blueprint is expected to be familiar with the fundamentals of personal computer hardware and technologies. These fundamentals should include an understanding of the following technologies:

For information on storage technologies, refer to the Storage Architecture Blueprint and Storage Devices Implementation Guides.

For information on networking technologies, refer to the Network Architecture Blueprint and Network Devices Implementation Guides

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