The Microsoft Systems Architecture (MSA) is a program developed by Microsoft with the goal of architecting, developing, validating, and documenting a set of IT infrastructure architectures. These architectures will consist of servers, storage, networking infrastructure, software, and other tools and scripts.
The MSA scenarios include:
- Departmental Data Center (DDC) - Basic IT infrastructure solution for departmental intranet and collaboration requirements
- Enterprise Data center (EDC) - Large scale IT infrastructure consisting of multiple interconnected sites and departments
- Internet Data center (IDC) - Web-enabled infrastructure designed to support scalable, mission-critical e-Business solutions
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The goal for the MSA is to serve as a foundation upon which other solution offerings (Microsoft Solution for Internet Business, Supplier Enablement, etc) can be built. To that end, each MSA solution consists of a set of guidelines and blueprints to provide organizations with access to the knowledge and resources necessary to deploy an MSA solution quickly.
The Internet Blueprint for the Microsoft Systems Architecture is the first Microsoft Qualified Partner Prescriptive Architecture Guide (PAG). The Internet Blueprint was designed to speed and secure the development of the Internet Data Center
Internet Data Center. This prescriptive solution architecture was developed by leading Microsoft technology partners Avanade, Brocade, Dell, EMC, Emulex, and Nortel Networks and has been qualified by the Microsoft MSA Qualification Program, ensuring that it meets or exceeds the standards for documentation, performance and support set by the MSA Program. From networking components to servers to storage systems, each of the partners brings a valuable component to this customer solution. The Internet Blueprint was developed to serve as a foundation for .NET solutions, leveraging best practice architectural guidelines to deliver a rapidly deployable, secure, tested, and integrated architecture solution that ensures today's investment in infrastructure will serve the business needs of tomorrow.
View the Internet Blueprint solution data sheet (Adobe Acrobat format)
Internet Blueprint for the Microsoft Systems Architecture
Prescriptive Architecture Guide
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Installing Network Devices
Chapter 3 - Building the Storage Architecture
Chapter 4 - Building the Servers
Chapter 5 - Building the SQL Server 2000 Clusters
Chapter 6 - Deploying the Content Management Solution
Chapter 7 - Deploying the Remote Management Infrastructure
Chapter 8 - Deploying the Firewalls
Chapter 9 - Deploying Operations Manager
Chapter 10 - Deploying NetIQ AppManager
Chapter 11 - Implementing Security Policy
Chapter 12 - Testing your Implementation
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: This chapter is suitable for all the implementation personnel and should be required reading since it provides an overview of the whole building and deployment process.
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: This chapter describes the implementation process for installing networking devices for the Internet Data Center. Included with this chapter are appendixes that provide technical details, such as network diagrams and device configurations. This chapter is designed for a qualified network engineer experienced with the network equipment used within the Internet Data Center environment. Knowledge of Windows 2000 or the programs being used is not necessary, although would be beneficial for troubleshooting.
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: This chapter describes the process for configuring the prescribed storage architecture of the MSA Internet Data Center to include the recommended EMC Enterprise Storage hardware and software, Connectrix DS-16B2 switches and Dell servers. This includes installing and initializing software, configuring volumes and zoning. This documentation requires an understanding of switched fabrics and zoning.
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: This chapter describes the methods of Microsoft Windows 2000 deployment used in the Internet Data Center architecture and describes in detail the automated, unattended installation process used to ensure rapid deployment of the architecture and to provide consistency between the test and production environments. However, because an automated procedure may not be suitable for every implementation, detailed step-by-step, manual instructions are also provided in Appendix 4.1. Building the Servers. The implementer should be a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) or have equivalent knowledge and experience with Windows 2000 and Active Directory. In addition, a strong knowledge of Windows 2000 networking and a basic understanding of the hardware used are required.
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: This chapter describes setting up Windows clustering with the Windows 2000 operating system and failover clustering with Microsoft SQL Server. This complex process involves the installation of software components in a strict sequence and also involves detailed hardware and network planning. This chapter requires an understanding of Microsoft clustering technologies and experience in deploying Microsoft SQL Server. In addition, the documentation requires an understanding of the Storage Area Network (SAN) technologies used in the Internet Data Center environment.
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: The base Internet Data Center is designed to allow additional components to be installed as required. The content management solution detailed in this chapter is the first of these additional components. This chapter provides the step-by-step instructions required to successfully deploy a content management infrastructure using Microsoft Application Center 2000 for staging Web and COM+ applications. This chapter requires an understanding of, and experience in, implementing Microsoft Application Center 2000.
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: This chapter describes the installation and configuration of remote management technologies in the Internet Data Center environment, and focuses in detail on Windows 2000 Terminal Services and Dell Remote Assistant Cards (DRAC). This chapter assumes a basic understanding of Terminal Services. In addition, familiarity with Dell remote assistant hardware would be useful.
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: This chapter describes the process for installing the various firewalls used for security in the Internet Data Center architecture, and provides details on the implementation of the various firewall configurations used in the architecture. The implementer should have a strong networking background and a high level of Windows 2000 knowledge. The processes described in this chapter require experience with implementing Virtual Private Networking (VPN) solutions by using Nortel Networks Contivity products with particular emphasis on setting IPSec Tunneling.
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: The ability to monitor and track the status of the Internet Data Center architecture hardware and software is an important area that should be integrated into the base architecture. This chapter details how such a monitoring and alerting infrastructure can be integrated into the Internet Data Center architecture. It covers the complete installation procedure for Microsoft Operations Manager 2000, including initial sizing, agent deployment, agent configuration, and rules customization. The implementer should have experience with Microsoft Operations Manager deployment.
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: The implementation of NetIQ AppManager is a natural extension to the features provided by the monitoring and alerting infrastructure detailed in Chapter 9. This chapter describes the installation process of NetIQ AppManager, including customizations that were made specifically for the Internet Data Center environment. This chapter requires experience with and knowledge of deploying NetIQ AppManager alongside Microsoft Operations Manager.
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: This chapter describes the implementation of the Internet Data Center security and authentication solutions and explains the various policies and detailed steps required to secure servers in the perimeter network. Details are also given on the steps required to install and configure components used to implement security and authentication in the Internet Data Center architecture. This chapter requires an in-depth understanding of Windows 2000 and security policy deployment. In addition, the implementer should have a good understanding of all the products concerned and be able to call upon the skills of the individual application specialists within the organization.
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: This chapter describes the steps that need to be taken to verify that a deployment of a base Internet Data Center is correctly done and performs to the required base specifications. The procedures in this chapter may be modified to accommodate any departures from the base configuration as needed, or a base environment may be built and tests may be performed on it before deviations are made. The processes described in this chapter require experience with implementing and managing a testing environment.
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