Help please: A new i7 PC or an old server to run CUCM/UCCX/UCCE

Hi guys,

My Dell PowerEdge PE840 server is really out of stream running CUCM pub, CUCM sub and UCCX. Eventually I need to run 5 VMs simultaneously: CUCM, UCCX/IPIVR, Router+Logger+PG+AW, clients on XP. It seems I can either buy a recent powerful PC or an old/refurbished Dell/HP server (budget $800). Would you share some experience?

i7 CPU, 32G DDR3 RAM (dirty cheap), 1T or more HDD. Should be cool and fast;
PE1950 or 2950, 2 x quad core CPU, 32G ECC RAM, 500G HDD. Will it be very noisy?

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azaghul

I'm running ESXi v5 on an i7-870 with 16GB RAM, HDD0=40GB (boot and ISO images) HDD1&2 are 1TB so I can divide up CUCM/CUC/CUPS, Server 2008 for AD/Exchange, and 3 XP clients (I need more NICs). RAM and HDD are usually the bottlekneck for an ESXi build.
All seems to run OK, just takes a little time to "settle".

Roguetadhg

a powerful pc, atleast you'd be able to transform into a personal computer if you'd need.

joehalford01

Old servers are power hungry and very noisy. I would stick with an i7 pc for labs.

Flyingput

azaghul wrote: »

I'm running ESXi v5 on an i7-870 with 16GB RAM, HDD0=40GB (boot and ISO images) HDD1&2 are 1TB so I can divide up CUCM/CUC/CUPS, Server 2008 for AD/Exchange, and 3 XP clients (I need more NICs). RAM and HDD are usually the bottlekneck for an ESXi build.
All seems to run OK, just takes a little time to "settle".

Wow, I didn't know a single i7-870 CPU is THAT powerful. I thought I need 2 quad-core CPU.... Let me think about it. Thx!

Flyingput

joehalford01 wrote: »

Old servers are power hungry and very noisy. I would stick with an i7 pc for labs.

That's another valid point. I don't want a big surprise from next electricity bill.

azaghul

Roguetadhg wrote: »

a powerful pc, atleast you'd be able to transform into a personal computer if you'd need.

It was originally an i5 with 8GB. But saw 16GB RAM cheap, then thought maybe now for an i7, THEN thought...what a waste having an i5 and 8GB in a draw, better buy an LGA1156 motherboard to sit them on

so ended up with an extra PC out of the process.

joehalford01

I'm running an i7 with 16Gb of ram. Right now I'm at 12 virtual machines for my virtual network with a little bit of room left. The CPU is fine, it's the hard drives that slow it down if I start doing more then 2-3 resource intensive things.

Timber Wolf

I currently use my home pc to run my cucm lab. I7 920 with 24 gigs of ram and i say its great. I also have an old hp server and man is it loud. I would just go with an I7.

skinsFan202

I would get the PC. server is loud and will probably suck up a lot of electricity. I'm running an i5-2400, 32GB RAM, 500GB HD and it's just fine. I'm considering getting like a 60GB SSD to see how that helps the performance. The other good thing is that I'll be able to use this to get more familiar with nexus 1000v, and other vmware stuff

shodown

The servers do run up electricity. There are a few guys who have gotten they suite to run on Mac Mini's maybe you can give that a try.

pitviper

Pros and cons to both, but honestly either would more than suffice. I ended up getting a Cisco UCS C200M1 loaded (dual quad Xeon E5520s, 24GB RAM, 6x GBe NICs, 2TB) for under $1k last year. It’s running ESX 5 and in the lab doesn’t break much of a sweat. With only 1 PSU on it’s not much louder than the Dell PowerEdge server that it replaced. I like the remote management options that you get on a true server (Cisco CIMC in this case).

I say go with whatever is cheaper

Flyingput

That's true. I heard the VM bottleneck is usually at hard drive, not CPU. SSD is still too expensive for TB size.

joehalford01 wrote: »

I'm running an i7 with 16Gb of ram. Right now I'm at 12 virtual machines for my virtual network with a little bit of room left. The CPU is fine, it's the hard drives that slow it down if I start doing more then 2-3 resource intensive things.

Flyingput

Thank you for all replies.

Holly!
"a Cisco UCS C200M1 loaded (dual quad Xeon E5520s, 24GB RAM, 6x GBe NICs, 2TB) for under $1k last year".
Man, under 1K that was a steal. Was it new or used? I don't care if it's used at all.

I ended up with a Dell Precision T5400, 2 x quad-core CPU, 24GB memory and 1TB HDD, total under $700. But, but, but right after I pulled the trigger, Dell announced 50% off refurbished servers!! (from fatwallet):
Dell Financial Services Coupon: Extra 50% Off Any Dell Server Starts 10am CST

pitviper wrote: »

Pros and cons to both, but honestly either would more than suffice. I ended up getting a Cisco UCS C200M1 loaded (dual quad Xeon E5520s, 24GB RAM, 6x GBe NICs, 2TB) for under $1k last year. It’s running ESX 5 and in the lab doesn’t break much of a sweat. With only 1 PSU on it’s not much louder than the Dell PowerEdge server that it replaced. I like the remote management options that you get on a true server (Cisco CIMC in this case).

I say go with whatever is cheaper

pitviper

Flyingput wrote: »

I ended up with a Dell Precision T5400, 2 x quad-core CPU, 24GB memory and 1TB HDD, total under $700. But, but, but right after I pulled the trigger, Dell announced 50% off refurbished servers!! (from fatwallet):
Dell Financial Services Coupon: Extra 50% Off Any Dell Server Starts 10am CST

Should have no problems now!

Flyingput wrote: »

Man, under 1K that was a steal. Was it new or used? I don't care if it's used at all.

It was used but must not have been in production very long as the stamped manufactured date is 2010. If I was going to use it for production I would have replaced all of the hard drives but for the lab it’s fine!

Funny thing is, I don’t think a lot of people look for the UCS servers on ebay. It’s hit or miss, but I’ve seen a few sell even lower since I picked up mine.