setting up a PC for labbing need VM advice

reppgoa

Hey all,

I am going to be setting my second PC up for VM labbing. The specs are as follows:

core 2 duo Q6600
8gb ram
7200 RPM 500gb HDD
decent video card

how many servers do you think I can run with this hardware? at least 2 servers will be actual, daily use servers, while the others would be for labbing purposes.

I am looking to run server 2008r2 and red hat server. What VMware program should I use to get the most exposure to VMware technology. I know most people will say virtualbox for cost, but I want experience with VM software I will see in real world situations. Assume that I can get any version of VMware.

Essendon

Welcome to the fun world of labbing!

You can go with this free version or you can spend $133 on this better version. This better version quite resembles the real world version (vSphere etc).

That processor I am sure supports virtualisation, so you are good to install 2008 R2. Ensure you install a 64bit host OS (Windows 7 Ultimate does just fine), so you can run 64bit guests. 2008 R2 is 64 bit only, I am sure you know.

With 8GB RAM, you can run a few servers. 2008 R2 needs a gig of RAM, so you can comfortably run 6 2008 R2 VM's without issues and still leave enough for the host OS. I havent run Red Hat so I'll leave that to someone else.

What do you want to lab for anyway? I mean what certs?

reppgoa

well, I want to get exposure to server environment. I am currently a desktop support tech. I want to mess with AD and exchange. I am tentatively planning on doing MCITP:SA. I want to be in a network admin position in about a year. I want exposure to red hat as I want to get the red hat certs as well, but they aren't a priority.

jibbajabba

To be fair, if you want to work with VMware software to reflect real world scenarios then you'd need to start working with at least the free ESXi Hypervisor and not VMware workstation. That however means dedicating a physical machine for virtual machines. So if the above system isn't an all da system but can be solely used for labbing, I'd go with ESXi free.

jibbajabba

I meant *all day system

(phone skin here doesn't let me edit my post hence the double post)

reppgoa

is the esxi version what most companies use? Seems like they wouldnt use a free version but I could be wrong. I just want to use the version that is going to be most like what I see in real world jobs.

cyberguypr

Gomjaba wrote:

To be fair, if you want to work with VMware software to reflect real world scenarios then you'd need to start working with at least the free ESXi Hypervisor and not VMware workstation. That however means dedicating a physical machine for virtual machines. So if the above system isn't an all da system but can be solely used for labbing, I'd go with ESXi free.

+1. I agree 100%. This is how I started and just knowing a little ESX opened a big door for me. I got a cheap machine off eBay and learned a lot this way. Right now I am planning a full blown lab capable of doing High Availability, Fault Tolerance, etc. Be warned: this stuff is HIGHLY addictive.

reppgoa wrote: »

is the esxi version what most companies use? Seems like they wouldnt use a free version but I could be wrong. I just want to use the version that is going to be most like what I see in real world jobs.

From what I've seen out there many companies start with the free ESXi as a proof of concept to convince higher ups of the feasibility of virtualization. Once they see how solid it is, budget is allocated and the projects become a reality. It may be a higher learning curve than Workstation but totally worth it if you ask me. Dedicate time now and it will pay off.

jibbajabba

We are a hosting company and we run around 120 ESX hosts of which half of them are clustered. Out of 120 ESX hosts I would say 60-80% are ESXi .. Some of them are licensed (in order to use them in a cluster) and some of them are free. Depending on what the customer wants to spend ... Plus a lot of customer choose to install ESXi rather than ESX because you can install and boot ESXi on / from USB sticks (although we are as a hosting company can't provide the free ESXi version, that is solely the customers responsibility)..

Having said all that - I wouldn't say that ESXi is what "most" companies use. This differs from case to case .. we have customer who would never use anything but Hyper-V - then we have Linux gurus who wouldn't even go anywhere near ESX or Hyper-V but use XEN ...

You should not use a hypervisor based on what "most companies" use because that won't work ... work with something you are interested in .. If you don't know / haven't seen either - try them all ... If you ultimative goal is a certification then you will have a chance to get one on either technology .. Every technology (Hyper-V / VMWare / XEN) has its place in the industry.

My point is, in order to be successful with a product you need to work with it on daily basis and more importantly, you have to enjoy it ...

If you don't care and all you want is knowledge in something which might secure you a job, then don't do virtualization because you will find as many jobs where ESX is required, as you can find jobs where Hyper-V and XEN or other is essential ... And you can't know them all ... companies won't believe you that you do

VMWare is no doubt market leader and out of my own experience, in order to pass the exam (I got VCP 3+4), you NEED working experience. And starting from scratch means hard work .. long hard work ..

So again, depending who you ask, most companies will use either Hypervisor product, there won't be a clear answer ... You are proficient in Windows and love it : Go Hyper-V, you love Linux and it is your second nature, go XEN, you want something completely different, go VMWare ...

Daniel333

Depends on what you do with it.

Maybe I misread the post but you never said your goals? Either way I got my MCSE and MCITP:SA using Vmware workstation in a similar setup. So you are probably fine there.

Ideally you sould bounce back and forward from ESXi 4.1 free edition and Hyper-V as your platform of choice. Both are great and should run.

reppgoa

my goal is to get exposure to both the OS that I am labbing with as well as experience in using VMsoftware. So I want to make sure I am using a VM software that is in wide use.

jibbajabba

Like I say - it depends who you ask But VMWare is Market leader so it can't hurt .

reppgoa

so with esxi, I install it as the host OS or what? or is it just a program like workstation and virtualbox?

edit: ooo, i see. I set it up on my second PC, and then remote in to use the GUI. Very cool

certhelp

reppgoa wrote: »

so with esxi, I install it as the host OS or what? or is it just a program like workstation and virtualbox?

edit: ooo, i see. I set it up on my second PC, and then remote in to use the GUI. Very cool

Hypervisers like Hyper-V Server and VMWare ESX(i)/vSpehere are like mini OS unto themself... at least for installation purposes. You install them on the computer like you install any other OS like Windows 7.

Virtualization software like VMWare Workstation and Server, MS Virtual PC, VirtualBox run on top of an OS. You run them like any other app like office application. You run virtual machines/OSs inside them.

Hypervisors are suitable if you can dedicate a machine for the hypervisor itself. When it is running you can only access the virtual machines (win 2008, 7, vista, Linux) and hypervisor itself. There won't be a separate host OS to use for browsing or reading email. You will need another machine for that. Of course, you can always use a Window client OS VM to do that.

When you are using workstation based virtualization software, you have your VMs available as well as the host OS on which your virtualization software runs.

You can also dual/multi boot switching between say Windows 7 OS and Hypervisor depending on what you want to do.

Initial setting up and getting used to all this can take up more time than anticipated. Of course, you start with VMware or Virtual PC and switch to ESXi or Hyper-V Server later when you get up to speed.

Microsoft's Virtual PC, Hyper-V Server 2008 are free. So are VMWare ESXi and Server. VMWare workstation is not free but can also be obtained free via academic institutions if you enroll in one.