HelpDesk Module

Question

We are looking into implementing the Service Manager Module of SCCM 2012 (for the HD features).  How many servers should we have for that?  My reading has suggested between 1 and 3 servers.  We are also looking at using the Self-Service
Portal: Web Content Server with SharePoint Web Parts as well.

Answer 1

it really depends on how big your environment is. the smallest possible implementation is two servers:
management group, SharePoint, Portal web services, Active databases, SharePoint Databases
Data Warehouse and DW databases.
that being said, the smallest production implementation I usually suggest is four:
Management Group server
Sharepoint foudation 2010 and Portal web services
Data Warehouse
SQL for Active, SharePoint, and DW databases.
there are a couple of rules of thumb I use when planning:
for every 40 users, add an additional management group server. more then 80 analysts and you should move workflows to a separate server so workflows do not impact analyst performance.
Splitting Active and DW databases between multiple SQL servers is almost always better. Active databases are very memory hungry, and DW analysis services are very CPU hungry, and both data sets are very IO sensitive.
Memory on the SQL server should be generously added. small environments can get away with 8 GB on the SQL instance, but most require 16GB or more. watch SQL Page Buffer Lifetime for the first clue you need more memory.
Large environments should split sharepoint from portal web services, and add multiples of each with load balancing.
network performance between servers in the Service Manager environment should be as high as possible. almost everything is stored in the SQL DB, so other servers need fast access to the SQL instance.
take a look at
The Planning Guide for Service Manager 2012 for more info.