[THIN] Re: VMWare ESX Server
- From: "Ron Oglesby" <roglesby@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2004 11:38:51 -0600
Jen, Did you get my paper on the VM selection process? IE what makes a
good candidate for Virtualization. Not everything does. Apps/server with
high numbers of system/kernel calls, Citrix servers that have "bad" apps
on them and not just office (which is what they used in every test
trying to compare Citrix on Phys hardware to Citrix on VMs) etc etc.
Basically we state that not everything should be a VM. I am ok with DCs
being on blades but maybe not in a VM. A DC on a blade is not bad, a DC
that get really utilized (Like for a 10 or 20K user domain etc) Might
not be a good idea until you have your VMware environment nailed down
tight.
Most people jump in without having any processes in place and aren't
even sure of their environment. You really have got to treat VMware
kinda like Citrix and TS, On an App By App basis.
Paper can be grabbed here:
http://www.vmguru.com/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=1
and the free chapter for the book (that contains most of the info in the
paper) is on Brian Madden's site www.brianmadden.com
<http://www.brianmadden.com/>
BTW, we generally rule of thumb it that 30% of any intel environment is
NOT a fit for VMware. Now I have seen higher and lower but it's a good
number to start with.
Ron Oglesby
Senior Technical Architect
Microsoft MVP, Windows Server
RapidApp, Chicago
Office 312.372.7188
Mobile 815.325.7618
email roglesby@xxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Hooper [mailto:jennifer.hooper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 11:23 AM
To: 'thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: [THIN] VMWare ESX Server
Hi Guys -
Here's the situation. We are about 1/4th of the way through
converting our production data center (full of old, out of warranty
Compaq servers) to IBM BladeCenters running VMWare ESX Server 2.0 (I
think... whatever the latest version is). We use Platespin to convert
the physical server to the VMWare image and move it over to the Blade
it's going to live on. Right now, we have an average 5 servers per
blade planned, and several have already moved over, because the hardware
failed that they were on. However, some of the application folks are
uncomfortable with this solution, not so much the Blade technology, as
the VM technology. Needless to say, we're already experiencing
failures, and stuff not running right - performance issues, network
issues, etc. (Can you believe that they are going to run our Root
Domain Controllers on this?) I have already experienced a drag on one
of my Citrix servers that moved to virtual space, and can't fix it up.
So what I would like to do before things get too much more hairy, is
to try to find out what the success rate of running something like this
in production, and if there are a lot of people out there doing this.
Feel free to share with me any nightmare stories too! :)
Thanks much!
Jen
Jennifer Hooper
Peregrine Systems, Inc.
Sr. Network Engineer
mailto:jennifer.hooper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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