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matheenl
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ESXi- From Hardware selection to support, backup (consulting type question)

Hi all

I am going

to throw a consulting question which I think will be useful for me and also for

anyone looking to implement a virtual solution like us (small/medium business

solution). I hope your answers will be a guide from start to end for anyone

looking to virtualise and I am sure we can build our based on your comments.

We are

looking to virtualise 3 servers (Web, DB and file server) initially with the future

potential of adding 3 more servers (including Exchange (40 GB mailbox store) and AD). The existing loads on these servers are as follows

Web server – Data size :10 GB, Processor usage: 20% normal

and peak at 70% (peaking for 30 minutes daily)

DB server - Data size

:15 GB, Processor usage: 50% normal and peak at 90% (Peaking for an average 3

hours daily)

File server - Data size

: 100 GB, Processor usage: 60% normal and peak at 80% Peaking for an average 3

hours daily)

The budget we have

currently available to buy a server, virtualise (ESX3) or ESXi, SAN, backup or

DR solution is £6000. (Plus an

addition of £1000 in case..)

Please find the list of questions below. I just split the

questions to make it clear. Please let me know the approximate pricing for each

component as well.

1. Do you think the above budget will be enough for this project?

2. What spec of servers we will be looking for based on the above requirements?

3. Is it wise to put all the above servers into one physical server or go for 2 physical servers?

4. What type of SAN you will recommend (max size we are looking for is 2TB)? (what manufacturer do you recommend?)

5. What connectivity on the SAN (Iscsi or Fibre)?

6. What gigabit switch to use to connect the SAN to the host?

7. Can we use our existing layer3 switch?

8. What platform to use (ESX3 or ESXi)

9. What backups and recovery method to choose? (we would like to have both Vm machine level and file level backup and restore, I don’t know which hypervisor (ESXi or ESX3)

fits for this purpose?

10. What kind of monitoring tools we use for the Vm’s?

11. What support we need to purchase from Vmware (since this is going to be a live production environment?)

Regards

Matheen

Message was edited by: Dave.Mishchenko - cleaned up formatting

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hstagner
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Hello matheenl,

I am going to approach this question with a blanket recommendation because I do not know the specs of the existing servers (you told us the processor utilization, but not the types of processors that are being utilized).

"1. Do you think the above budget will be enough for this project?"

- Not if you want a highly available fault tolerant system. You can come close if all you want is VMware HA. However, if you want to take advantage of VMware DRS, VMotion, Etc. you will need more in your budget.

"3. Is it wise to put all the above servers into one physical server or go for 2 physical servers?"

- No, it is not wise. You should have some redundancy.

Here is the outline of a possible solution with just HA:

-[Servers|http://www.stikc.com/dell-poweredge-2850-2u-rackmount-server-pe2850-p29966.html]: Dell PE2850 3.2 GHz, 800MHz FSB w/8GB RAM (you can add up to 16GB) x2 = approx. $3000

-[Storage|http://www.stikc.com/dell-powervault-220s-3u-rackmount-u320-p29805.html]: Dell PV220S w/14 x 36GB 15K Drives (approx. 460GB usable storage across 14 drives = pretty fast) x2 = approx. $2000

-[Storage Software|http://www.datacore.com/products/prod_SANmelody_buy.asp]: Datacore Sanmelody- this will virtualize your storage. Basically you will set up a VM on your host servers with a Raw Device Map to your ESX Direct Attached Storage (PV220S). The datacore software inside the VM will turn this storage into an iSCSI array. You do the same on the other ESX host and mirror the storage. This will give you a highly redundant solution without the expense of an external FC storage array and dual fabric. Any VM accesssing the same storage as its local ESX host would be doing so at memory speed Smiley Happy . I'm not sure about the software cost. The starter kit for Sanmelody without the mirroring is $995 per server (I believe mirroring might be an additional $500). You will have to contact Datacore for specifics.

-[VMware HA Kit|http://store.vmware.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=vmware&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=83629500]: 6 proc. license of VMware VI3 w/HA and VirtualCenter Foundation (capable of 3 hosts) and 1 year of Platinum Support = approx. $7500

The above scenario should address a few of your questions. Here are the rest.

"6. What gigabit switch to use to connect the SAN to the host?"

-Whatever you like. With iSCSI, usually the less bells and whistles, the better. You are looking for raw throughput. Little non-managed HP Procurves have worked well for me in the past.

"7. Can we use our existing layer3 switch?"

-Sure you can. I would VLAN it. There are design considerations that go beyond this quick post.

"8. What platform to use (ESX3 or ESXi)"

-For now I would go with ESX3 for the most flexibility.

"9. What backups and

recovery method to choose? (we would like to have both Vm machine level

and file level backup and restore, I don’t know which hypervisor (ESXi

or ESX3)

fits for this purpose?"

-Take a look at vRanger Pro with VCB integration or esXpress. I have heard good things about both.

"10. What kind of monitoring tools we use for the Vm’s?"

-On a limited budget, VirtualCenter does pretty good. For larger environments or more in-depth monitoring vFoglight is pretty snazzy.

I could not be as in-depth as I would like in person. However, this should spark some ideas to get you started. I hope this helped.

Don't forget to use the buttons on the side to award points if you found this useful (you'll get points too).

Regards,

Harley Stagner

----------------------------------------- Don't forget to mark this answer "correct" or "helpful" if you found it useful (you'll get points too). Regards, Harley Stagner VCP3/4, VCAP-DCD4/5, VCDX3/4/5 Website: http://www.harleystagner.com Twitter: hstagner

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hstagner
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Hello matheenl,

I am going to approach this question with a blanket recommendation because I do not know the specs of the existing servers (you told us the processor utilization, but not the types of processors that are being utilized).

"1. Do you think the above budget will be enough for this project?"

- Not if you want a highly available fault tolerant system. You can come close if all you want is VMware HA. However, if you want to take advantage of VMware DRS, VMotion, Etc. you will need more in your budget.

"3. Is it wise to put all the above servers into one physical server or go for 2 physical servers?"

- No, it is not wise. You should have some redundancy.

Here is the outline of a possible solution with just HA:

-[Servers|http://www.stikc.com/dell-poweredge-2850-2u-rackmount-server-pe2850-p29966.html]: Dell PE2850 3.2 GHz, 800MHz FSB w/8GB RAM (you can add up to 16GB) x2 = approx. $3000

-[Storage|http://www.stikc.com/dell-powervault-220s-3u-rackmount-u320-p29805.html]: Dell PV220S w/14 x 36GB 15K Drives (approx. 460GB usable storage across 14 drives = pretty fast) x2 = approx. $2000

-[Storage Software|http://www.datacore.com/products/prod_SANmelody_buy.asp]: Datacore Sanmelody- this will virtualize your storage. Basically you will set up a VM on your host servers with a Raw Device Map to your ESX Direct Attached Storage (PV220S). The datacore software inside the VM will turn this storage into an iSCSI array. You do the same on the other ESX host and mirror the storage. This will give you a highly redundant solution without the expense of an external FC storage array and dual fabric. Any VM accesssing the same storage as its local ESX host would be doing so at memory speed Smiley Happy . I'm not sure about the software cost. The starter kit for Sanmelody without the mirroring is $995 per server (I believe mirroring might be an additional $500). You will have to contact Datacore for specifics.

-[VMware HA Kit|http://store.vmware.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=vmware&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=83629500]: 6 proc. license of VMware VI3 w/HA and VirtualCenter Foundation (capable of 3 hosts) and 1 year of Platinum Support = approx. $7500

The above scenario should address a few of your questions. Here are the rest.

"6. What gigabit switch to use to connect the SAN to the host?"

-Whatever you like. With iSCSI, usually the less bells and whistles, the better. You are looking for raw throughput. Little non-managed HP Procurves have worked well for me in the past.

"7. Can we use our existing layer3 switch?"

-Sure you can. I would VLAN it. There are design considerations that go beyond this quick post.

"8. What platform to use (ESX3 or ESXi)"

-For now I would go with ESX3 for the most flexibility.

"9. What backups and

recovery method to choose? (we would like to have both Vm machine level

and file level backup and restore, I don’t know which hypervisor (ESXi

or ESX3)

fits for this purpose?"

-Take a look at vRanger Pro with VCB integration or esXpress. I have heard good things about both.

"10. What kind of monitoring tools we use for the Vm’s?"

-On a limited budget, VirtualCenter does pretty good. For larger environments or more in-depth monitoring vFoglight is pretty snazzy.

I could not be as in-depth as I would like in person. However, this should spark some ideas to get you started. I hope this helped.

Don't forget to use the buttons on the side to award points if you found this useful (you'll get points too).

Regards,

Harley Stagner

----------------------------------------- Don't forget to mark this answer "correct" or "helpful" if you found it useful (you'll get points too). Regards, Harley Stagner VCP3/4, VCAP-DCD4/5, VCDX3/4/5 Website: http://www.harleystagner.com Twitter: hstagner
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matheenl
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Hi Harley

Thank you very much for your prompt and detailed answer. I understand now what needs to be done a broader level. I just wanted to get clarified on a few points you mentioned. please feel free to put your repsonse

-Servers: Dell PE2850 3.2 GHz, 800MHz FSB w/8GB RAM (you can add up to 16GB) x2 = approx. $3000

I had a look at the spec on the server and the processor is Dual Intel Xeon3.2. Instead of this dual processor can I go for 1 Quad core 3.2ghz processor? As you know Vmware licesing works on number of physical processors, If we go for one 1 quadcore per physical server, Won't it save buying liceses only for 2 processor instead of 4? If I am right in saying that then can I go for this price here.

What kind of hard drive we need to go for the physical server ? (do we need to have RAID setup on the host or is it enough only to do on PV220s?

Apart from the above questions I am looking ok. I will put my hands on my project in the next few weeks and will update you on how did it go? Thanks again

Regards

Matheen

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hstagner
VMware Employee
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Hello matheenl,

I am glad that I could help. It is true that VMware is licensed per processor socket. However, if you buy ESX server you do not get VirtualCenter with it. You would need to purchase it separately. That would come out to around $4500 for ESX and VC Foundation. In the long run, the package is the much better deal, but I certainly understand the need to spread costs over time.

As for the physical server. I would go with two internal drives in a RAID 1 (Mirrored). I hope this helps.

Don't forget to use the buttons on the side to award points if you found this useful (you'll get points too).

Regards,

Harley Stagner

----------------------------------------- Don't forget to mark this answer "correct" or "helpful" if you found it useful (you'll get points too). Regards, Harley Stagner VCP3/4, VCAP-DCD4/5, VCDX3/4/5 Website: http://www.harleystagner.com Twitter: hstagner
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matheenl
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Hi

Thanks for the answers. What do we miss if we don't buy Virtual centre now? Could you please list out or send me the link about the differences? I don't know the real difference between these two.

Regards

Matheen

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hstagner
VMware Employee
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Hello matheenl,

If you don't have Virtual Center, you cannot use HA, VMotion, DRS, Cloning, Templating, etc.

Don't forget to use the buttons on the side to award points if you found this useful (you'll get points too).

Regards,

Harley Stagner

----------------------------------------- Don't forget to mark this answer "correct" or "helpful" if you found it useful (you'll get points too). Regards, Harley Stagner VCP3/4, VCAP-DCD4/5, VCDX3/4/5 Website: http://www.harleystagner.com Twitter: hstagner
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matheenl
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Hi Harley

Thanks for your answers. I convinced my manager to increase the budget and will be going for the 4 processor + virtual centre license. But in regards to getting the hardware, I had a look at Stallard tech(the link you sent, they are based in US and we are in UK. I doubt my manager will agree to buy from them. I had a look at Dell website and couldn't find PV220S and the PE2950 server looks very expensive (coming around £2700 for one server)

Do you have any thought for us where could we buy these servers and the PV220S or a SAN device. The current budget has been increased from £7000 to £10000. please let me know your thoughts. Also how many hard drives we need to go on the host (with RAID??), if we decided to use DAS or SAN

Regards

EXG

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hstagner
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Hello matheenl,

I do not know any vendors in the UK. I would look for a used Dell Dealer, which is essentially what the vendor I suggested is. As far as the internal storage goes, it will just be used to install the ESX Host software. This should be RAID 1 (mirrored). I hope this helps.

Don't forget to use the buttons on the side to award points if you found this useful (you'll get points too).

Regards,

Harley Stagner

----------------------------------------- Don't forget to mark this answer "correct" or "helpful" if you found it useful (you'll get points too). Regards, Harley Stagner VCP3/4, VCAP-DCD4/5, VCDX3/4/5 Website: http://www.harleystagner.com Twitter: hstagner
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