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Sanithsadananda
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Can anyone guide me how to build a real virtual infra

Hello Team,

       Can anyone guide me how to build a new real virtual infra , I am expecting comments on vmware license , hardware specs , storage spec , Its not for lab purpose , for real infra designing .

Suppose If I want to build a infra with 60 linux vms , how to build . expecting more comments and guidance , I have gone through VMware TCO Comparison Calculator ,

If anyone having like this infra please share me your infra details with

1) vmware product edition

2) Hosts hardware / Model name / RAM / Processor

3) which type of SAN you are using / SAN model name

4) How you are taking backups

5) how you are monitoring vm's

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greco827
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Expert

Is 60 VM's the limit of the overall vision, or is just a starting point?  This will set a lot of the direction/recommendations.

Are there any apps on these VM's which need a lot of CPU/RAM?

What is the biggest VM you have (ex, 8vCPU/16GB RAM)?

          Do you have vROps to see if this VM with is the most "wide" is wasteful? (i.e. Does it need to be that big/wide?)

Are these Red Hat Linux?  How are you licensed?  (per core, per socket pair, etc)

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Sanithsadananda
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Hello ,

    Yes its maximum of 60 vm's . Redhat linux preferred . My question is for new infra designing . If all can share their existing infra details we can get idea for cost effective as well as mostly using specs.

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greco827
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With only 60 VM's, assuming they are of a reasonable size, I would probably go with either a standalone server environment or hyperconverged.  Standard converged, such as HP or Cisco blades would be a waste of hardware with the FI's (Cisco) and OA/VC (HP).

My personal preference is to use Cisco compute hardware.  If standalone, I would use 4 x C220 M4's or 4 x C240 M4's.  Depending on the size of the VM's, I would probably use an 8/10/12 core proc, with at least 2.6GHz clock speed.  I would also have at least 256GB RAM, but possibly more depending on the needs of those VM's.  You an go as high as 1.5TB in these servers, but those are 64GB DIMM's and cost quite a bit more.

If hyperconverged, I would stick with Cisco hardware and use vSAN.  You can go the EVO:RAIL route or build your own.  Again, I would have four nodes.

Run vSphere 6.0 U1, VCSA, embedded PSC (as I assume this is one single environment).

I'd really need much more data to make recommendations beyond that.

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greco827
Expert
Expert

For SAN, if hyperconverged the question is answered.  If not, you can probably just use NetApp storage using iSCSI or NFS for such a small environment, unless they are high I/O.  If so, maybe a VNX appropriately sized with the right blend of Flash/SAS/SATA.

For backups I personally like Netbackup, but for such a small environment you could probably use Veeam or VCB or something.  I'm not very familiar with those products though.  If on hyperconverged I believe it comes with VDPA, which is an Avamar based appliance.

Based on the little I know about your environment, and the fact that it is small, I would probably go EVO:RAIL and use VDPA.

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Sanithsadananda
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Hello Team ,

    Any other suggestion with IBM / Dell / HP servers for hosts and other servers for storage .

    Monitoring vms ??

     Backup of vm .

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knudt
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Hot Shot

I may be a bit biased (I work for SimpliVity), but I believe that a hyperconverged infrastructure would be the best approach for a green-field implementation (which is why I chose to work for SimpliVity).

With SimpliVity specifically, you will get compute, storage, backup/restore, replication, and multi-site management all rolled up into one product and managed solely through vCenter (no additional interfaces to learn, no need to learn how to manage storage).

To answer your specific topics (both generically and SimpliVity specific):

1) vmware product edition - Depends on the feature set you find most useful and number of hosts (and budget).  Essentials Plus is very cost effective, but limited to 3 hosts. Enterprise Plus gives you everything you could ever want with regard to vSphere features.  Huge difference in price, with 2 other tiers in between.  Edition makes no difference to SimpliVity, we'll work with all of them.

2) Hosts hardware / Model name / RAM / Processor - Many people debate server vendors preferences like politics or religion.  Between that and the lack of details, there is no solid guidance I can give. I have been happy with Cisco and HP servers in my 15+ years. Others like IBM/Lenovo, Dell, SuperMicro, etc.  SimpliVity deploys as an appliance (OEM Dell server) or integrated into Cisco or Lenovo servers.

3) which type of SAN you are using / SAN model name  - Again, lots of religion and lack of details to make any recommendations. A cloud service provider may highly recommend a SolidFire array, but that probably isn't the right choice for you.  Or you could go hyperconverged and not worry about evaluating/choosing/purchasing/learning/maintaining a separate storage array and SAN. Smiley Happy

4) How you are taking backups - More of the same.  Many people happy with Veeam, Avamar, NetBackup, HP Data Protector, etc.  Most of SimpliVity's customers do not run external backup applications and instead rely on the built-in data protection offered within the platform.

5) how you are monitoring vm's - Many customers rely on the monitoring capabilities built into vCenter, while other utilize external tools like vRealize Operations, Xangati, Solarwinds, etc.  SimpliVity does provide additional storage performance statistics into vCenter via our plug-in.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if I can provide any more information.

~If you find this or any other post helpful, please award points. Also mark thread as answered if question was answered successfully.~ Brian Knudtson vExpert, VCP, VCAP
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greco827
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With only 60 VM's, I'd tend to agree on going hyperconverged.  SimpliVity, Nutanix, EVO:RAIL, or my personal preference, "Build-your-own" vSAN.

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Sanithsadananda
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Hello Knudt,

    Can you please suggest which hardware model

For esxi - If I m going with Dell , what will be your choice.

For Shared storage - If I m going with Dell , what will be your choice.

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knudt
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Hot Shot

I have no direct experience with Dell hardware, other than what SimpliVity utilizes in our OmniCube platform, so I don't feel I can give you any specific recommendations.  My experience is primarily with HP, Cisco and EMC hardware.

~If you find this or any other post helpful, please award points. Also mark thread as answered if question was answered successfully.~ Brian Knudtson vExpert, VCP, VCAP
mohdhanifk
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Enthusiast

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