ESXi best vm software?

Diakatarnis · 24 Feb 2010 at 18:54

Just after some advice, is esxi the best bet for vming a couple of boxes?

Many thanks

MagicBoy · 24 Feb 2010 at 18:56

Diakatarnis said:
Just after some advice, is esxi the best bet for vming a couple of boxes?

Many thanks

What will the boxes be doing?

Diakatarnis · 24 Feb 2010 at 18:59

linux, sbs2k3 or 2k8 or windows of some flavor (probably xp / 7)

most likely 1 instance of linux, sbs 2k3 and an xp instance (possibly multiple xp instances)

mikeh501 · 24 Feb 2010 at 19:32

i'd say, yes it is.

Diakatarnis · 24 Feb 2010 at 19:49

mikeh501 said:
i'd say, yes it is.

excellent, thank you very much

Sin_Chase · 24 Feb 2010 at 19:55

ESXi works, look into what the licensed features are and whether you think you will need them.

What are your backup requirements?

Diakatarnis · 24 Feb 2010 at 21:41

Sin_Chase said:
ESXi works, look into what the licensed features are and whether you think you will need them.

What are your backup requirements?

As in? from my other post or?

iaind · 24 Feb 2010 at 21:52

Is this a home or business environment?

Diakatarnis · 24 Feb 2010 at 21:59

just fiddling at home, but do have some business clients who are thinking of running 4 x xp pro sessions of a quad core box

Sin_Chase · 25 Feb 2010 at 00:42

Look at why they want 4xXP Pro boxes.

If it's not for simultaneous use then use a bootloader solution.

ESXi is an enterprise solution, not a desktop one. It will work, but it's totally overkill. VMs have a time and a place, for all their pros they have drawbacks.

oddjob62 · 25 Feb 2010 at 14:52

Sin_Chase said:
Look at why they want 4xXP Pro boxes.

I'm guessing they want a basic VDI setup for remote workers. Buying 4 XP licenses will be cheaper than setting up a proper TS/Citrix server

RSR · 25 Feb 2010 at 15:27

If its to tinker about at home with more then one Windows XP/2003/2008 etc.. VM, you could use MS Virutal PC.

However, both VMware ESXi and Xen Server are very good free platforms to learn but you going to need a extra pc to access the console window.

bluebox · 1 Mar 2010 at 21:58

One thing to watch with ESXi is hardware support. Because it's a bare metal hypervisor it's a good idea to check on the ESXi HCL that the HD controller and NIC you've got are supported.

If not then VMware Server is a good option, it's free - unlike workstation - and solves any driver issues by sitting on top of a copy of Linux or Windows Server.

Stelly · 2 Mar 2010 at 08:12

I hear that HyperV server is not too far away now from VMware, and in some cases better.

Stelly

DJDaz · 2 Mar 2010 at 08:28

i've been using vmware server quite a bit lately, very good bit of software imo

bigredshark · 2 Mar 2010 at 09:51

Stelly said:
I hear that HyperV server is not too far away now from VMware, and in some cases better.

Stelly

It is pretty good, I didn't expect to have much time for it but it's got a fair bit going for it actually and deserves consideration (particularly if you're a microsoft partner where it'll save you a handy chunk of cash...)

iaind · 2 Mar 2010 at 09:56

Stelly said:
I hear that HyperV server is not too far away now from VMware, and in some cases better.

Stelly

I've been using it on our DR box, have to admit it's completely pants - that is without systems center though, but standalone ESX/i completely blows it away in every respect

J.B · 2 Mar 2010 at 10:13

We were going to go with HyperV as we are an MS partner but apparently Blackberry Professional Software does funny things when virtulised in HyperV :confused:

RSR · 2 Mar 2010 at 10:39

J.B said:
We were going to go with HyperV as we are an MS partner but apparently Blackberry Professional Software does funny things when virtulised in HyperV

Large Blackberry installs don't like being virtualized full stop. iirc VMware suffers from silmar problems.

Over Clocker · 2 Mar 2010 at 13:49

J.B said:
We were going to go with HyperV as we are an MS partner but apparently Blackberry Professional Software does funny things when virtulised in HyperV

That's nothing to do with Hyper-V, it's virtualisation in general, with BES.