Need Help with 70-680 Lab Setup

I am preparing for my 70-680 exam and would like to setup my study lab. I have a read a few topics on this forum about the lab setup. My question is how many physical PC do I actually need. I currently have the following

Dell desktop
Pentium 4 HT 3.06Ghz
2GB Ram
250GB HDD
Windows 7 Pro
Office 07

My second PC is my personal one, which I could use as a server and run vmware or other Virtual PC on it. or I could get a nice average Server and configure it as DC, DNS and run a couple of Virtual PC on it that I could configure and play around it.

Dell Vostro 260s
Core i3 3.30Ghz
500GB HDD
8GB Ram
Win 7 Pro 64bit
Office 10.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks to all

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skysparkles

It can be done with one desktop PC - you don't mention if it is a 32 bit or a 64 bit - you will need a 64 bit pc.

My set up is 3 Virtual PC's - two with Windows 7 Enterprise and one with Server 2008 R2.

It will work with 2GB RAM but it will be slow - set your Virtual PC's to each use 256 Mb of RAM

ForeverIT27

Both my PC are running Win7 pro. I will have to get a Win 7 ent. Edition. Where can I download Vmware workstation? also, I would want to get a cheap server that I can configure. I saw a nice Dell Poweredge 840 on Ebay for about $70, with Xeon dual core 2.40Ghz and takes up to 8GB ram.

ally_uk

Ditch the Dell and get a Quad core

, if your on a budget go for the Q6600 this chip is a few years old but still a beast ran everything I threw at it failing that if you want something more modern go for a Sandy bridge which is mid range don't see the point of going I7 when you can OC the I5, saving you a heap of cash, then get yourself some decent DDR-3 and you are all set :0

ForeverIT27

This sounds pretty, I am looking at a few other PC/Servers. I am thinking of turning my Core i3 into a server and get myself a core i5 or core i7 desktop or laptop during the holidays sales. My main goals is to set up my lab for my next certifications. I currently have my A+ and N+, I have done a few Win7 deployment at work, right now I would like to do more stuff on the server and Win7 networking side. Would my Vostro with the Core i3 handle this project?

universalfrost

get sun virtual box cost is free (the host os must be 64 bit if you want to run 64bit VM's)
download the 2008r2 evaluation copy for free (180day trial license that can be extended up to 4 times) from microsoft
download the win7 enterprise evaluation copy for free (90 day trial that can be exteneded) from microsoft

cram a lot of ram into your host machines i ran 16gb in one box and 8gb in the other. host as many virtual machines as you can , but remember you will need a couple of the VMs for the 2008r2 images.

i have an old dell inspiron 530 desktop with a core 2 duo 4400 that is running fine as the host with only 8gb of ram and a 160gb hdd. so no need for high end gear and a dell precision m6500 laptop (basically a desktop in a laptop form) with the 16gb ram and 500gb drive with a core2 extreme.

my other boxes are actual servers (dell 2850) and dell sc1425 (this takes sata drives so it is dirt cheap for HDD). the servers are over kill (but i used them as domain controllers and deployment boxes for the win7 labs and I normally use them for my MCITP EA labbing. and most folks can get by with a newish (last 3 or so years) laptop or desktop. and max RAM and virtual box.

whatthehell

Installed Win Sever 2k8 R2 Sp1 on my Mac Mini and setting it up as a DC as we speak remotely through logmein

ForeverIT27

I appreciate all your advice/comments and suggestions. I am going to go ahead and set up my Vostro 260s as my main training pc. I will start with the Sever 08 R2 install set it up as the main DC and go on from there. I will keep taking in more comments and advice at the same time keepoing you all up to dates. As a matter of facts, I'm very excited about this new experience and I'm looking forward to positive energy throughout my WIN7 Study/Training. Remember people, IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING! your dedication and perseverance will lead you through anything you would like to accomplish.

universalfrost

here are some free virtual labs from microsoft for win7

Windows 7 Virtual Labs

ForeverIT27

I downloaded Virtualbox yesterday and was browsing MS site for the Server 2008 R2 download. I was unluck with it and was wondering if anyone has a good link to the download. Thanks

universalfrost

took me 2 seconds to find it using google and the keywords 2008r2 trial .... was the 1st result on the list....your googlefu is weak my friend!!

Try Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial

cyberguypr

universalfrost wrote: »

took me 2 seconds to find it using google and the keywords 2008r2 trial .... was the 1st result on the list....your googlefu is weak my friend!!

Try Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial

Heck, I misspelled it as "windows server 2008 trisl" and it still was the 1st result.

ForeverIT27

hahaha. how can I forget google.com you got me man. Thanks though, by the way, should I get the original version or get the VHD version instead?

Thanks

universalfrost

ForeverIT27 wrote: »

hahaha. how can I forget google.com you got me man. Thanks though, by the way, should I get the original version or get the VHD version instead?

Thanks

get the one with hyperV.......

Longhair

I picked up a Dell PowerEdge SC1425 (dual xeon, 12GB RAM) off of ebay for cheap (under $300). Keyboard, mouse and monitor is only required for the first operatiing system to be installed and to configure remote desktop. The downsize is the noise. Youtube videos do not capture the volume that is generated by the one million and one 1" fans going at the speed of light. Good for a test machine, bad for mice, cats, dogs and small to medium farm animals. Buy some ear plugs, your pets will than you for it.

When you install the operating system(s), do not enter a serial number so you are able to use it in Trial Version mode. Who wants to go through the activation process too many times to the point you have to call just to get it activated?

universalfrost

Longhair wrote: »

I picked up a Dell PowerEdge SC1425 (dual xeon, 12GB RAM) off of ebay for cheap (under $300). Keyboard, mouse and monitor is only required for the first operatiing system to be installed and to configure remote desktop. The downsize is the noise. Youtube videos do not capture the volume that is generated by the one million and one 1" fans going at the speed of light. Good for a test machine, bad for mice, cats, dogs and small to medium farm animals. Buy some ear plugs, your pets will than you for it.

When you install the operating system(s), do not enter a serial number so you are able to use it in Trial Version mode. Who wants to go through the activation process too many times to the point you have to call just to get it activated?

ummmm.... ok....

now for a bit of perspective. an sc1425 is a very small (1U) server. imagine having 100's of these in a server room plus all the other associated equipment and you are in a normal IT environment at the network/infrastructure level. I keep my sc1425, 2x 2850 and IBM 345 in a rack in my garage along with my CCNA/CCNA-V/CCNP rack of equipment. even that setup is not loud (my electric bill is a bit steep when i keep it all up and running) when compared to a normal work environment you would encounter at a NEC/NOC .

also with the trial versions