We're running Exchange 2003 on NetApp and plan to transition to Exchange 2010. We will continue to use SnapManager for Exchange and from what I understand, the more LUNs you have, the longer your backups will take (due to the longer enumeration process). With SnapManager for Exchange in place, is there a recommend limit on the number of LUNs you should have?

I am not familiar with NetApp software. So I just talk about Exchange LUN. One LUN per database Single LUN per database architecture means that both the database and its corresponding log files are placed on the same LUN. To deploy a LUN architecture that only uses a single LUN per database, you must have a database availability group (DAG) that has two or more copies, and not be using a hardware-based Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) solution. Two LUNs per Database With Exchange 2010, in the maximum case of 100 databases, the number of LUNs you provision will depend upon your backup strategy. If your recovery time objective is small, or if you use VSS clones for fast recovery, it may be best to place each database on its own transaction log LUN and database LUN. This approach will exceed the number of available drive letters; therefore, volume mount points must be used. You can know detail from this link. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee832794.aspx

No hardware based VSS protection technology allows you to put the database and the logs on the same LUN. Snapshots are always done at the volume level so snapping a volume containing the database and logs only allows you to restore to the last backup, not the point of failure (or your decision point). SnapManager for Exchange will insist you move things (and will do it for you based on your inputs) so that the logs are on different FlexVols. One database in one LUN in one FlexVol. All logs MAY** go into a single LUN in a single FlexVol. Remember to leave enough space for SNAPINFO in the logs LUN. Remember to have sufficient space in the FlexVol to retain the snapshots you need. ** the word is MAY, not must, or shall, or should. You can do pretty much what you need. I have man customers who assign one LUN in one FlexVol for 6-10 databases and then rinse/repeat for the next 6-10. Very flexible. Did your NetApp partner reseller not give you any of this information? You can contact me offline (marnold at netapp dot com) to discuss if you need to elaborate or require some additional advice. "Terence Yu" wrote in message news:509771c5-3805-4c41-97bb-b107cee02994... I am not familiar with NetApp software. So I just talk about Exchange LUN. One LUN per database Single LUN per database architecture means that both the database and its corresponding log files are placed on the same LUN. To deploy a LUN architecture that only uses a single LUN per database, you must have a database availability group (DAG) that has two or more copies, and not be using a hardware-based Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) solution. Two LUNs per Database With Exchange 2010, in the maximum case of 100 databases, the number of LUNs you provision will depend upon your backup strategy. If your recovery time objective is small, or if you use VSS clones for fast recovery, it may be best to place each database on its own transaction log LUN and database LUN. This approach will exceed the number of available drive letters; therefore, volume mount points must be used. You can know detail from this link. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee832794.aspx Mark Arnold, Exchange MVP.

Hi Thanks for sharing your experience.