Configuration Recommendations for Large Active Directory Environments

The major factor of evaluating the configuration requirements for SQL Server is the total number of effective users who can access the computers that are joined to zone in the Active Directory environment. You can estimate the total number of effective users by multiplying the number of computers joined to the zone by the average number of users who can access the computer.

Below lists the recommended configurations for SQL Server for some sample Active Directory environments.

Active Directory environment Sample #1:

Number of computers joined to a zone	1000
Average number of users who can access the computer	500
Total number of effective users	500 * 1000= 500,000
90% of user profiles and role assignments are explicitly defined at the zone level

Active Directory environment Sample #1 configuration recommendations :

SQL Server edition	SQL Server Express Edition with Advanced Services
SQL Server memory	8 GB
SQL Server disk space	30 GB

Active Directory environment Sample #2:

Number of computers joined to a zone	5,000
Average number of users who can access the computer	3,000
Total number of effective users	3,000 * 5,000 = 15,000,000
90% of user profiles and role assignments are explicitly defined at the zone level

Active Directory environment Sample #2 configuration recommendations :

SQL Server edition	SQL Server Standard Edition or above
SQL Server memory	64 GB
SQL Server disk space	80 GB