When can you virtualize your Exchange 2010 Servers? Basically when the virtulization solution is certified in the Windows Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP):
You can virtualize all Exchange 2010 Server roles, except for the Unified Messaging server role. Because of the resource sharing in a virtualization platform in combination with the real time nature of voice processing you can get strange results. Especially when you have quite a number of inbound connections, or when you have multiple other Virtual Machines running on this platform. Be carefull, it does work on a virtualization platform, but it is not supported by Microsoft, just like virtualizing OCS 2007 R2.
There are a number of issues you have to be aware of:
- Virtualization will cost approx. 10% additional processor utilization;
- Use a maximum virtual:logical processor ratio larger than 2:1;
- Do not mix a DAG with live migration or vmotion (not supported);
- Do not use snapshots as a backup solution (not supported);
- Use max. 4 virtual processors;
- Use pass through or dedicated disks for best performance;
- Design your virtual Exchange servers with the same specs as your physical Exchange server;
- Use Jetstress and Loadgen to validate your virtual environment;
When you follow these guidelines and create a normal Exchange 2010 design you should be safe, and supported!
