End to End Performance - Digging into your SharePoint Server and WSS Network Perf Issues

If you've ever tried to deploy an application to a global company and had to determine where to deploy your servers I empathize with you.

I came up with a basic model based on someone elses model for having network and client performance discussions with both the technical and non technical types such as the remote IT guy off in Singapore.  (Sorry I think I saw some diagram that made me think of this, but can't give credit cause I can't remember where).

I think it works really well to have a framework for discussing global deployments and understanding for troubleshooting where problems may be stirring.

If you are considering centralizing your deployment, read this whitepaper on geographically dispersed sites which weighs out pros and cons. The WAN will essentially control the experience for your end users.  Client performance will still be a major factor, but server performance will essentially disappear from the picture as a large component as it is on a LAN based deployment.

At Microsoft we have 3 large deployments, in Redmond, the central deployment, in Dublin for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and finally in Singapore for Asia, FarEast and SouthPacific.  Details on our perf config in an IT note. Andre Heymann provides details in a recent webcast.

I was part of a customer deployment with users distributed globally with a central SharePoint medium farm backed by a SQL cluster.  It was the accelerators that allowed us to provide services from a single central deployment in this circumstance. 

Improvements in Vista and Longhorn server around optimizing network throughput will help us transfer bits faster, but it won't allow us to consolidate 100% by any means.  Both software on the client and server will have to take greater steps.  Smaller compressed file sizes are an interesting proposition to the network, but do pose some new challenges.

See the attachment for examples of how misconfiguration plays into performance.  It also poses some interesting questions into what happens to perf when you add "acceleration devices" such as caching and compression devices from companies such as Tacit Networks and Certeon.  The calculator on Tacit's site has some before and after latency calculator on it.  Very cool.  Certeon's edge is it supports SSL.

Before you think that you're problems are solved with offline solutions in Groove 2007, or Outlook 2007 and jump to the conclusion that you can consolidate your servers to a single datacenter and have people access their servers in San Francisco over a 256K DSL line from India, think again.  It's more than user experience you're giving up in this situation.