[ale] almost OT: Hardware for virtualization

JD jdp at algoloma.com
Wed Aug 17 13:25:06 EDT 2011


On 08/17/2011 12:09 PM, Boris Borisov wrote:
> I never done any installation of virtual servers and I want to start experimenting with the technology. Whats is the minimum CPU+MB that I can buy in Microcenter ( I work nearby ) for my needs. Bear in mind is going to be only for tests learning purpose not for production :)
> 
> Thank you for all suggestions !

Key things are:

* Lots of RAM - You need enough RAM for the host OS AND all the
clientOSes that will run at the same time. This may be 1GB if you are
cheap, but you'll be much happier with 6-16GB of RAM. I have 6GB and 8GB
machines with

* Virtualization support built into the CPU.  Intel called it "VT-x".
Unfortunately about half the CPUs Intel makes do not support this still.
The only way to be certain is to look up a specific CPU model and
submodel number on the Intel web site.  AMD calls this something
different. For awhile, AMD shipped 90% of their CPUs with this built-in.
Something happened and they don't anymore. Check the AMD website.

* CPUs with 2 or more Cores.  I get good results from fast C2D CPUs, but
the Core i5-2500K seems like the sweet spot on capabilities and price.
I'm extremely impressed with a 3 yr old Core i5-750 still.  AMD systems
with 4-6 cores probably work really well too.  More cores probably means
more power required.

* You may want a CPU/motherboard with VT-d support. Look up what that
means, then get out your wallet.

* Disk storage for each VM.  MS-Windows seems to need 20-30GB per VM.
Ultimate wants 45GB.  Linux distros use much less, from 50MB for
TinyCore to 10GB for a full Ubuntu desktop install with every bell and
whistle possible.  I usually give each server VM 4GB of storage and my
desktop VM just outgrew a 10GB allocation after 3 yrs of daily use.

There are different types of virtualization - desktop and servers.
Server virtualization hardware can be extremely picky, so if that's
really what you want to learn, you would be well served by using the
VMware ESX Hardware Compatibility List http://www.vmware.com/go/hcl to
select hardware. I haven't looked in a while, but there was a time when
none of my systems could load ESXi due to the disk controller and
networking chipsets. It is THAT picky.

For server-based virtualization, forget about the graphics card. It
doesn't matter beyond being able to show an 80x25 text console.

Desktop virtualization is a little more forgiving, but don't expect to
play Windows games under a VM and be happy.  Don't expect hardware
passthru to work very well.  Graphics performance is fine for office
productivity apps, not so good for gaming or video editing.

I'll be at the ALE-central meeting tomorrow night. Find me if you'd like
to discuss more.



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