MCSA 2012 Lab with Dell PowerEdge 2950 III

PsychoCisco · August 2013

Hi All,

I'm totally new to this whole MCSA certification thing. I'm hoping to get certified by the end of this year. What I would like to know is how do I go about setting up a lab. I've read so many threads on this specific question but still unclear as to what to do.

I've bought a Dell PowerEdge 2950 III to accomplish this task.

Specs are;

2 x Xeon E5410 2.33 GHz Quad Core Processors 2 x 12MB Cache
16 GB RAM
2 x 146 GB SAS HDD 15000 RPM
PERC 6/i Controller
2 x Gigabit Ethernet Ports

Now I can install four more HDDs but not sure if I need more.

Anyway my questions are is it correct if I install Server 2012 as my main OS on the first HDD and create multiple VMs on Hyper-V or other virtualization software. Should I install Standard Edition (as there's many editions) as the main OS?

Also how many VMs do I need?

Should I install a few VMs on the first HDD and the rest on the second HDD?

If I have missed anything please let me know

Any input would be highly appreciated

Asif Dasl · August 2013

Install the VMs on the drive seperate from the OS and then use the OS drive last if you are running out of space (which you shouldn't). If you were to get any more hard drives I would suggest a 256 GB SSD, which should be more than enough space for labs (they are pretty cheap these days too) - You probably don't need it though, you've got some high-speed rpm hard drives so they should be fast enough for you.

As for configuring the OS, it depends on what licensing you've got. If you have a TechNet subscription then installing Server 2012 and then using Hyper-V would be a good way to learn the exam objectives. But if you are using a trial then you probably want something that you don't need to reinstall every 6 months or so - so a TechNet subscription would be a good investment before it disappears before the end of this month. But you could get by using just trials as well.

Server 2012 Standard edition is fine for most labbing. You shouldn't need any more than 3 or 4 VMs for most labbing but it's not a hard set rule, just keep an eye on your available RAM and adjust according to the number of VMs you are running.

Good luck with the studies!

PsychoCisco · August 2013

Thanks Asif, I have access to Dreamspark so I can get full versions of almost every MS OS for free. When I browse through Dreamspark I saw Hyper-V Server 2012 as opposed to Server 2012, is there any difference installing that as the first OS?

Cheers

Asif Dasl · August 2013

For your first OS you'll want to install the full Server 2012 version over the Hyper-V Server. Hyper-V Server is like Server Core it only has the bare minimum services to get you up and running so it would be fine if you had a second PC to connect from but with only 1 server you will need to use the full GUI version to use Hyper-V.

This video will give you an idea of how Hyper-V Server works.

PsychoCisco · August 2013

Thanks mate, so I'm all set to go aye, just downloaded full server 2012 thru Dreamspark and going to install right now on the first hdd

I would also like to know as I've got two NIC ports on the server and also got a few usb to Ethernet adapters and a Cisco Lab setup which consists 3 routers and 3 switches
will I be able to connect these VMs via those NICs and create scenarios such as connecting two servers in two different geographical locations?

Asif Dasl · August 2013

For the lab I would keep it as simple as possible TBH, you will be able to set up seperate domains or forests but there is no need to replicate the cisco routers IMO. At least in VMware you can throttle the connection like it was going over a WAN, not too sure about Hyper-V but I'd be surprised if it wasn't there as well. But yeah you can link seperate NICs to VMs anyway if that's the way you want to do it.

The extra NICs could come in handy if you are playing around with GNS3 as well.

PsychoCisco · August 2013

Cheers Asif, I guess I'm good to go. I really appreciate your help

tecjohnson · August 2013

Asif Dasl wrote: »

For your first OS you'll want to install the full Server 2012 version over the Hyper-V Server. Hyper-V Server is like Server Core it only has the bare minimum services to get you up and running so it would be fine if you had a second PC to connect from but with only 1 server you will need to use the full GUI version to use Hyper-V.

This video will give you an idea of how Hyper-V Server works.

Alternatively, I am doing all my labbing on a Windows 7 computer. I am using Virtual Box, and I am currently running two computers with Server 2012 and a client with WIndows 8 on it. Not been having any problems.

MCSA 2012 Lab with Dell PowerEdge 2950 III

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