Hello All,
I have spent several days pricing out options for building a virtualization computer so that I can sharpen my Active Directory skills at home. I want to be able to run six or seven instances of Server 2008 R2 (some of them will be DCs) with several roles installed, as well as a few client computers. I'm building a mock network infrastructure so I can test out and break things and try to fix them. I have narrowed down my list of parts and it would be appreciated if anyone could tell me if there are any potential pitfalls with this particular combination:
$1,250
1) Motherboard ASUS 990FX AMD AM3+ TUF
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=618836&sku=A455-3019
2) CPU AMD FD8150FRGUBOX FX-8150 8-Core CPU (8MB L3, 8MB L2, 3.6GHz, 125 W)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1308191&sku=A79-8150
3) RAM 32 GB Corsair CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10 Vengeance RAM (PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-Pin DIMM)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1610526&sku=C13-5708
4) PSU Ultra X4 750 Watt Modular Power Supply (135mm Fan, ATX, 80+ Bronze, Active PFC)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4558896&sku=U12-40504
5) Case Thermaltake VN300M1W2N Chaser MK-I Full Tower Gaming Case (ATX)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=419876&sku=T925-3082
6) For an HDD, I was going for something SATA 6.0GB/s with no RAID.
I doubt that this combination matches anything that you will find on the HCL. Since VMWare is virtualizing hardware, combatible hardware is key. They have done a pretty good job at ensuring a wide variety of servers are compatible. You can find compatible systems here
I would suggest something like the Dell T110-II which is an entry-level system that is on the HCL. There is one right now on Dell outlet for $699.00 which gives leaves you some dough to upgrade another SATA drive and bump up the RAM to 32 GB.
I doubt that this combination matches anything that you will find on the HCL. Since VMWare is virtualizing hardware, combatible hardware is key. They have done a pretty good job at ensuring a wide variety of servers are compatible. You can find compatible systems here
I would suggest something like the Dell T110-II which is an entry-level system that is on the HCL. There is one right now on Dell outlet for $699.00 which gives leaves you some dough to upgrade another SATA drive and bump up the RAM to 32 GB.
Here is the link to the server I mentioned.
I use "whiteboxes" for my lab at home, and more often than not, your cpu/ram will not much matter, so the more cores and RAM, the better. What will usually get you is either the NIC or the SCSI/SATA controller. Those are a little more tighter in terms of driver support. There are a few sites that contain working configs for the whiteboxes. NICs are cheap enough where you can add that to your shopping list as well, go with an intel based one and you usually can't go wrong.
www.vm-help.com/Whitebox_HCL.php
-KjB
Thanks for all your input to the both of you! This project will definitely pay off in the long run. It's one thing to watch training videos and read tutorials and it's something completely different to actually do it in a virtualized environment.
