Need some info and advice

[saifkhan]

Hi,

I have a couple of DELL servers in production. I am thinking of consolidating using VM. Now, can I VM the current machines already in production? Or do I need to take them offline, format and then prepare VMWare on it?

I am a bit confulsed with the VMWare products. I know I need the VMWare Server right? If yes, then why is it free? What am I paying for then? Can multiple VM boot at the same time with VMWARE Server?

Thanks

[Dave_Mishchenko]

You would typically run a P2V process on the current servers to a 3rd server running the virtualization software. VMware has a free converter product that does this: www.vmware.com/converter.

You can use VMware server which is free, or you might consider their ESX starter edition which runs about $1000 US. It's a more robust and secure product and doesn't require a host OS on which you would install VMware Server.

With VMware Server or ESX you would be able to boot mulitple VMs at the same time. You would only be really limited by the resources of the host machine (basically memory, CPU and disk).

[esiebert7625]

Here's some good VMware Converter info...

Server Migrations with Vmware Converter - http://www.vmware-tsx.com/download.php?asset_id=48

Converter tutorial - http://www.petri.co.il/virtual_convert_physical_machines_to_virtual_machines_with_vmware_converter.h...

Introducing the Next Generation of P2V: Vmware Converter 3.0 - http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac9453.pdf

Converter FAQ - http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/faqs.html

Converter 3.0.1 Manual - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/VMware_Converter_manual301.pdf

Converter 3.0.1 Release Notes - http://www.vmware.com/support/converter/doc/releasenotes_conv301.html

Converter Data Sheet - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/converter_datasheet.pdf

Converter download - http://www.vmware.com/download/converter/

Both Converter and Server are free, if you want to go to a more datacenter type product you would purchase ESX which comes in several editions.

Pricing, Packaging & Licensing Overview - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi_pricing.pdf

Server product comparison - http://www.vmware.com/products/server_comp.html

Vmware Infrastructure Architecture Overview - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi_architecture_wp.pdf

Introduction to ESX 3.0.1 and VirtualCenter 2.0.1 - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_intro_vi.pdf

Fyi…if you find this post helpful, please award points using the Helpful/Correct buttons.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Thanks, Eric

Visit my website: http://vmware-land.com

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[dpomeroy]

Yes VMware Server is free, so you are not paying for anything, unless you want to pay for support or buy VirtualCenter for VMware Server to manage the environment.

If you are looking for a more robust product with more features then there is ESX, this is not free, but starts at $1000 for the Starter Edition for a 2 CPU (Socket) server.

VMware Converter is a free tool that will allow you to convert a physical server into a VM.

There is a lot of good info on the various products in the forums as well as here:

http://vmware.com/products/

[saifkhan]

Thanks for the replies. I now have a clear picture of this VMWARE Maze. I have 2 more questions.

1. Does the same RAID SETTINGS Apply to all VM? (I believe yes but just making sure)

2. How is MS Exchange Server 2003 in a VM? Any issues on performance? I have one server DELL DUAL 2GHZ with 2GB Ram and RAID 5. It runs SQL Server and an accounting package. The SQL Server hosts additional databases. Would it be wise to move my Exchange Server, currently 80 users with a 30GB Store and GFI Mail Security, to a VM on this Dell server?

The Exchange Server is used a lot with an average of 40% processing all the time. The Dell server with Applications and SQL Server reaches 30% processing at any given time and reaches 100% when certain tasks is ran

Thanks

[Dave_Mishchenko]

1. Does the same RAID SETTINGS Apply to all VM? (I believe yes but just making sure)

With ESX or VMware Server, you'd create your RAID array for VM storage and if you're using VMDK files, the VM would have no understanding of the underlying storage. So you the RAID settings would apply to all VM, unless you had them on seperate arrays.

2. How is MS Exchange Server 2003 in a VM? Any issues on performance? I have one server DELL DUAL 2GHZ with 2GB Ram and RAID 5. It runs SQL Server and an accounting package. The SQL Server hosts additional databases. Would it be wise to move my Exchange Server, currently 80 users with a 30GB Store and GFI Mail Security, to a VM on this Dell server?

You can run them as VMs (ESX would be much better performance wise). You just have to consider whether or not the host ESX server will have the resources to handle for VMs. For example, if at peak load your exchange server need 8 disks in a RAID 10, and SQL needs 6 disks in a RAID 10 array, then you'd need an ESX host with 16 disks, unless you're willing to take a performance hit. Likewise for CPU resources.

[DSwarm]

Take a look at this Exchange 2003 on ESX 3 whitepaper:

It is also hosted on www.vmware.com at:

Also, for more reference check out:

As for your consolidation question with E2k3 and SQL Server, CPU utilization is just one metric to consider. You really need to examine all the four underlying subsystems- CPU, memory, disk and network with your apps running. For instance, check your memory utilization because if you don't have enough for both Exchange and SQL's need- you may end up with more memory pages which in turn increases your host server's CPU utilization . In addition, if your disk storage subsystem is not properly sized for your apps, your disk latencies and Q-depths will increase and this leads to longer response times on user tasks and queries. This can really kill the end-user experience.

KYang

Dell Inc.

[saifkhan]

Is it not recommended to run any application in the host? This would cost me 3 license for Windows Server 2003 instead of 2.

Thanks

[hutchingsp]

I would say running Exchange and SQL on the same box (physical or virtual) isn't a good idea.

You can do it, but both will generally grab as much RAM as they can get unless you manually configure limits.

Plus both can be disk I/O heavy with the amount of transaction logs etc.

[saifkhan]

Thanks for the replies. I'll go with the ESX. The information you provided, so far, is excellent.

Thanks