Will ESX 3.5/4 run on Intel Xeon i7 Quad Core?

[Jumbolieya]

I am new to this forum so please forgive me if I am asking a question in the wrong location.

I am thinking of purchasing a server with an Intel Core i7 Quad core processor, (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37147), to be used to install VMWare ESXi, 3.5 and eventually 4.0.

I did a search of the forum and did not find any documentation indicating VMWare is supported on this CPU.

Currently most support is for Intel Xeon 5400's and below and since the i7 is new, I want to make sure VMWare is supported.

Thanks for your assistance.

Jim

Enclosed is the system I am looking at.

Message was edited by: Jumbolieya

[wizdude2]

Hi Jim,

i couldn't see the specifications of the machine you were talking about, so perhaps you may care to repost.

the most important thing that I think you need to do first is actually clarify the processor you are referring to. There is an "Intel Core i7" and an Intel Xeon processor based on Nehalem, but there isn't a "Xeon i7".

could you please post the actual intel part number of the CPU you are considering to use.

cheers, wizdude

[wizdude]

i wouldn't classify this machine as a "server". the core i7 is a desktop product and it's not officially listed in the compatibility guides.

a server running with one of the Xeon 55xx series of processors (nehalem - the same core as the core i7), however, is supported in ESX 3.5 since update 4.

i think you might find, however, that your greatest barrier will be the hard drive controller and network card support on this "server". i'll quickly check it up now, but I wouldn't hold my breath. the advert mentions SATA2 RAID5 which might be using hostraid or a software raid implementation.

i'll see what I can find about the supermicro board it uses now.

cheers, wizdude

[Jumbolieya]

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

[wizdude]

i checked out the supermicro board being used - it's the X8SAX based on the Intel X58 Express chipset.

as I suspected, the RAID is ICH10R - just a simple chipset hostraid, and is not supported under ESX. your first step would be to purchase a suitable supported SATA RAID controller.

i'm not sure what your intent of this server is - for a hobby/test lab, or for a production environment. if you are planning to use this in full production, i would not recommend this server as so many of the components it uses are not on the supported list. for a hobby/test lab, you'd probably be better off purchasing one of the older quad core processors - it would be far cheaper and give similarish speeds.

for ESX 3.5 and 4, production usage would drive you toward a server based on a Xeon 55xx CPU, some SCSI or SAS storage using a supported RAID adapter. some of the new (specific) features in vSphere 4 do require the newer Xeon CPU and nothing I have been provided in any presentation has mentioned core i7 as an alternative.

if you are not already aware of the compatibility list, this should be your first stop for all future checks. it's available via http://www.vmware.com/go/hcl

cheers, wizdude.

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[Jumbolieya]

Wizdude,

Thanks for your help.

I want to use the server to test virtualization installs, both VMWare and XenServer. I will be installing XenApp 5.0 on top of both. I need it to be as close as possible to a business class server so I am familiar with controller setups and any other configurations normally required to setup the system.

I am currently out-of-work and most openings I apply to are looking for virtualization experience. I am a Citrix Admin, with little experience setting up and configuring VM's, subsequently, my desire to build a business class test environment.

I would like to get a new full featured server that supports the latest virtualization software, unfortunately, being new to the game, the requirements for all the VM software vary considerably.

VMWare seems to be the defacto choice for businesses today, so I am heading in that direction and will most likely purchase one that will support it.

Again, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

Jim

[wizdude]

if you are trying to do this on a budget but wish to use proper "server grade" style hardware, i could recommend that you get out to a local pc swap meet or second hand equipment sale and see what you might be able to get second hand and cheap.

this is exactly what we some of us did during study for the VCP. i already had a test dual core box that I was using with ESXi, but I required multiple ESX hosts to work with vmotion and HA.

another option would be to see if a friendly client needs to get rid of some old server equipment.

remember that if this is all about training, self knowledge and experience, the older hardware is going to give you better compatibility at a reduced price. while a new Xeon 55xx server with RAID and SAS and heaps of RAM looks attractive, it's also very expensive. you could obtain the same knowledge and experience with lower grade machines.

i hope it all goes well for you. VMware certainly is a good horse to bet on. 100% of fortune 100 can't be wrong

cheers, wizdude

[Jumbolieya]

Wizdude,

Thanks, good advice.

Jim

[TomHowarth]

Xeon is not a term used with the i7, that said ESX 3.5 will work very well and vSphere been enhanced to take advantage of some of the newer features of the chip

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Tom Howarth VCP / vExpert

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Contributing author for the upcoming book "[VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment|http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780136083214]”. Currently available on roughcuts

[depping]

EPT! i7 is a beast, and your VMs will be so quick you won't even have the time to log in

Duncan

VMware Communities User Moderator | VCP | VCDX

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[NWhiley]

If you are just looking at installing ESX to get a handle on how it works, you could do it all within server, which will work fine on your proposed hardware.

Don't think you have to launch into buying a server for educational purposes, use the free stuff first, such as server and the 60 day ESX trails.

There is a bit of fiddling that needs to be done, but you can get an ESX 3.5 cluster up inside server.

You can also then run up a VIC on a Windows vm inside server to give you an insight into the whole deal.

This will give you the steps needed for 3.5

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/203886?tstart=0

I haven't tackled 4 within server yet as my main PC is still on XP (32bit), I know I'm old school

[admin]

Hi Duncan,

That's comforting to know because I'm opting to get one of the ASUS motherboard and core i7. Hopefully it'll serve both purposes... gaming and VMWare. There are few worries I have though,, ,whether there'll be the sata driver for this motherboard, NIC driver and whether it'll run as VM in VMWare workstation 6.5 on linux. I've chosen this spec because I was hoping it'll run 32-bit and 64-bit for vSphere. It's purely for testing. Here's the core items. Any comment and input I'll really appreciate. Thank you.

ASUS Rampage II Extreme iX58 Socket 1366 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Me

XFX GTX295 1792MB DDR3 Dual DVI HDMI PhysX and Cuda ready PCI-E Graphics Card

Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

+ Dell 2408WFP 24"

[PhilHill]

Hi haloChief

Does the system you specified work with the free version of ESX? I'm looking for a m/board compatible with the new Xeon i7 Quad core and can see that a lot of Folk have had a lot of problems.

Regards

Philip