Help setting up Voice LAB - Server with VMware ESX
nellocon
Member Posts: 25 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hello all,
So I want to get my lab up and running soon so I can get going on CCNP Voice.
I am looking specifically for information in regards to server setup and how to run CUCM. I think running it in VMware is probably the best and easiest way to do so (particularly for management purposes), except I am clueless when it comes to ESX etc and what it will run on...
Could someone advise on a good small server that I can purchase in order to run ESX and a few VMs (CUCM, CUPS, Uunity Conn etc)? I am not looking for anything expensive, just enough to get me going.
Also, in the next few months, I will have access to 2 7845 servers which were used for our production call manager but are being replaced. Would it be possible to use these as a call manager in the lab? Is it possible for me to install VMware ESX on these so that I can use VMs?
Sorry for the noob style questions. Appreciate all and any responses.
So I want to get my lab up and running soon so I can get going on CCNP Voice.
I am looking specifically for information in regards to server setup and how to run CUCM. I think running it in VMware is probably the best and easiest way to do so (particularly for management purposes), except I am clueless when it comes to ESX etc and what it will run on...
Could someone advise on a good small server that I can purchase in order to run ESX and a few VMs (CUCM, CUPS, Uunity Conn etc)? I am not looking for anything expensive, just enough to get me going.
Also, in the next few months, I will have access to 2 7845 servers which were used for our production call manager but are being replaced. Would it be possible to use these as a call manager in the lab? Is it possible for me to install VMware ESX on these so that I can use VMs?
Sorry for the noob style questions. Appreciate all and any responses.
Comments
-
sratakhin
Member Posts: 818
You can buy a used server for about $500, just make sure it's compatible with ESX 5. I would buy something like this - Dell PowerEdge 2950 Server 2x 3.2GHz 5060 Dual Core 8GB 4x73GB PERC 5i DVD 1PS | eBay
Only $200, but you'll probably need to upgrade memory to at least 16 or 32GB.
Installing ESXi is easy, you can use a USB drive. The whole process takes about half an hour.
As far as Voice lab... I have no clue
-
Mrock4
Banned Posts: 2,359 ■■■■■■■■□□
The list of what hardware platforms are supported for ESX are at ESX / ESXi 4.0 Whitebox HCL - bear in mind just because it's not on there doesn't mean it won't support it.
Really the biggest thing is making sure you A) Have a 64-bit processor,
plenty of memory, and C) your processor supports Intel VT (Virtualization Technology).
As the above poster said, the 2950 would work. 32GB is overkill though. I run 16GB on my macbook pro and have deployed 2x instances of ESXi 5, nexus 1000v, 2x CUCM instances (pub/sub) along with a couple of windows 7 VM's...and it still didn't come near to maxing 16GB out. -
cuuloco10
Member Posts: 38 ■■□□□□□□□□
Agreed with Mrock4 suggestion - And I'd suggest the dell 1950 DC (3.0 CPU) 16gb of ram, Dual 500Gb HD's or plus - the requirements for Unity Connec is 250Gb for 8.0 version
--
My lab is a bit too much ( 2 Dell 1950 QC, and 2 Dell 1950 DC, NAS Servers, etc) but i decided to learn the Virtualization Field. Good luck with your lab !