Server for Lab

[BobSimon]

After having used free VMware Server 2 running on Vista for over a year, I want to learn VSXi and virtual networking. I especially want to practice building port groups and VLANs using the Nexus 1000v switch. With vSphere Hypervisor, a host server, a laptop, and an external 802.1Q switch, will I have all the necessary components?

I'll be spending my own money for the host so while I certainly want it to be adequate I don't want to overbuy. I looked at low-end Dell servers and wonder if the PowerEdge T110 maxed out with 16GB RAM will allow me to run three VM clients (XP and/or Windows 7) plus one Server 2003 VM with (at least marginally) acceptable performance.

I also am considering spending $90 to upgrade the processor from the Xeon 3430 to the X3440. The Intel website says the X3430 has 4 cores and supports 4 simultaneous threads, while the X3440 supports 8 threads. Can XP or W7 use the extra threads? What about Server 2003 with one user? vSphere?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Bob Simon

[amalanco8]

Hi bob, the X3440 processor is the way to go + cores and it has HT (hyperthreading), vSphere WILL use those extra threads. the t110 server is a very good one for a home lab.

also take a look at hp's ML11x servers in my home lab i have 2 Ml115 AMD Quad core opteron.

regards.

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[BobSimon]

Amalanco8,

Thanks for suggesting that I select a processor that supports 8 threads. Have you read anything about the performance impact of increasing the number of threads from 4 to 8 (with only 4 cores)?

I have not yet been able to determine if vSphere Hypervisor will let me work with the Nexus vSwitch. Do you know?

Also, will any additional equipment be needed to set up my practice lab?

Bob

[amalanco8]

bob, take a look at this http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/buy/small_business_editions_comparison.html you will see the vSphere free hypervisor limitations, about increasing the threads (using Hyperthreading) currently in vsphere it is a best practice to turn it on on BIOS. to use cisco nexus 1000v you need to have ESX/ESXi with enterprise plus licensing.

I suggest you to install ESXi on evaluation mode (60 days) that way you will have 2 months of practice because in evaluation mode you have all features enabled.

regards.

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[MentholMoose · Accepted solution]

The 1000V is a distributed vSwitch and thus only available in vSphere Enterprise Plus, so ESXi alone won't do it. You can get an 60-day evaluation of this here:

Download VMware vSphere Evaluation

For a lab machine I think you are better off spending money on faster hard drives instead of CPU cores. With a single standard hard drive, four VMs may or may not work OK depending on what you are doing on those VMs. Since you want to use the 1000V, you will need a dedicated Linux-based VM, plus a 64-bit Windows VM for vCenter, in additional to whatever else you want to do. The vCenter server has a database back-end which is taxing on hard drives.

I would recommend spending an extra $150-250 on an SSD. The performance you get from a single consumer SSD is fantastic, and chances are you won't suffer from a performance limit before you run out of space. I did a little test a while ago... using a 5 year old desktop with dual-core Athlon 4400+, 2GB DDR RAM, and a 40GB SSD, I was able to run three 2003 x64 VMs: a Domain Controller, one with SQL Server 2005, and one with vCenter, and performance was fine.

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MCITP: EA / VA / EDA7, VCP 4

[amalanco8]

MentholMoose is correct you should take a look at ssd with one single drive you can have all your vms working, ocz ssd's are at a very good price and have great performance. i think you should stick to a t110 server or a hp ml11x and spend a few xtra bucks for the ssd, you will have a very good lab.

regards.

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[BobSimon]

Kirk,

I'm disheartened to learn that the 1000v switch is only available in the Enterprise Plus edition. I need to develop skills with the Nexus because the 5000 and 7000 models are fast becoming standards within datacenters, where I'm looking for jobs. While I might consider purchasing VMware Essentials for $500, Enterprise Plus at $3500 is out of the question for me. What happens after 60 days are up on the eval?

I found a 64 GB SSD for $130. What would be a good way to utilize both a small SSD and a much larger SATA or SAS drive?

[amalanco8]

in my opinion you should go for the ssd and create all vms with thin provision so you can manage your space wisely, men you have 2 months to learn free in evaluation mode . you should start working with Cisco IOS also using GNS3.

regards.

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[amalanco8]

in GNS3 you can use the cisco 7200 ios to do almost everything.

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[BobSimon]

I have a 3550 physical switch in my lab and GNS3 loaded on one of my Server 2 VMs. However, I need to practice setting up port groups and applying them to uplinks and VEMs. I believe that GNS3 is not capable of emulating NX-OS. Have you heard otherwise?

[amalanco8]

you are right just ios not nx-os, well just stick to the 2 months and practice with cisco 1000v .

regards.

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[MentholMoose]

What happens after 60 days are up on the eval?

Critical functionality will be turned off, such as (I think) the ability to boot VMs. You can export configs and data before the 60 days is up, then wipe and reload it to reset the evaluation. You can build and export OS templates so you can create VMs in a few minutes, and once you are familiar with the necessary vSphere components, it won't take long to set up.

I found a 64 GB SSD for $130. What would be a good way to utilize both a small SSD and a much larger SATA or SAS drive?

I'd install ESXi on the regular SAS drive, and use it for a few VMs, plus data storage (such as ISOs and virtual disks dedicated to data storage, if any). The large size of a regular drive isn't really beneficial for virtualization since you will typically run out of performance far before you run out of space (kind of the opposite of an SSD, where you will run out of space before performance).

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Kirk Kosinski !http://www.kirkkosinski.com/li.png!

MCITP: EA / VA / EDA7, VCP 4

[BobSimon]

Kirk,

What happens after 60 days are up on the eval?

Critical functionality will be turned off, such as (I think) the ability to boot VMs. You can export configs and data before the 60 days is up, then wipe and reload it to reset the evaluation. You can build and export OS templates so you can create VMs in a few minutes, and once you are familiar with the necessary vSphere components, it won't take long to set up. >

Can the evaluation be reinstalled any number of times so I can continue using it in my lab indefinitely? If so, that sounds workable.

I found a 64 GB SSD for $130. What would be a good way to utilize both a small SSD and a much larger SATA or SAS drive?

I'd install ESXi on the regular SAS drive, and use it for a few VMs, plus data storage (such as ISOs and virtual disks dedicated to data storage, if any). The large size of a regular drive isn't really beneficial for virtualization since you will typically run out of performance far before you run out of space (kind of the opposite of an SSD, where you will run out of space before performance).-----

Sorry, I didn't get that. Are you saying to put all the vSphere components including the 1000v linux VM plus the vCenter VM and its database on the slower drive, then put all the application VMs on the faster drive? If I got that right, would you mind explaining why this is recommended?

Also (revisiting my initial question about threads) with a solid state drive I presume the system will be way less I/O limited. So in that case, is it even more favorable to spend the money to upgrade from 4 cores/4 threads to 4 cores/8 threads? Or would that $90 be better spent buying a larger SSD?

Bob

[MentholMoose]

Can the evaluation be reinstalled any number of times so I can continue using it in my lab indefinitely? If so, that sounds workable.

When you install ESX(i) or vCenter, it is in evaluation mode, and there is no evaluation license that you need to install that would have a fixed expiration date like some other products have. So yes, you can wipe and reinstall the server after 60 days to start a new evaluation.

Are you saying to put all the vSphere components including the 1000v linux VM plus the vCenter VM and its database on the slower drive, then put all the application VMs on the faster drive? If I got that right, would you mind explaining why this is recommended?

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant install ESXi on the slower drive, along with static data, such as ISOs, that don't really need a high performance disk. If you have a VM running as a file server you could put the shared files on a separate virtual disk stored on the slow drive. A SAS drive can handle a few VMs as long as they aren't too active, so you can put some on it to how well it works (e.g. a domain controller for your lab should be fine). The database and most VMs (including the one running vCenter) should be on the SSD. I'm not sure where the 1000V VM should go as I haven't used it much.

Also (revisiting my initial question about threads) with a solid state drive I presume the system will be way less I/O limited. So in that case, is it even more favorable to spend the money to upgrade from 4 cores/4 threads to 4 cores/8 threads? Or would that $90 be better spent buying a larger SSD?

Ideally you would balance the various resources, so the extra cores/threads would be a good match to the SSD. However, for a lab the CPU usage probably isn't going to be maxed out too often. Personally I would spend the money on more SSD space. Another option would be to buy the better CPU and smaller SSD, then later add an additional SSD if necessary (they are getting cheaper every day).

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Kirk Kosinski !http://www.kirkkosinski.com/li.png!

MCITP: EA / VA / EDA7, VCP 4