VMWare lab requirements

Prophet · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:10

I've been asked by a client to spec up a VMWare lab with 3 hosts and a 'SAN' so he can learn about the technology.

Do the hosts need to be server based technology or will well spec'd PC's be OK. Also, what NAS?

He's currently got a production environment that would make any techy wet their pants but he has no idea how to administer or set it up, hence this request.

Any advice would be appreciated

#Chri5# · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:19

Budget?

Prophet · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:21

#Chri5# said:
Budget?

£2000-ish.

Ethan62 · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:50

With that budget you're going to struggle to find any SANs but you could get a NAS with similar functionality e.g. iSCSI, block level replication etc.

Unless he wants to use the machines in production, PCs should be fine.

Personally don't use Vmware so can't advise specifically, depends on what you want to run on the box e.g. O/S, applications. The requirements to run the VMware software is quite low. Minimum 4GB and dual core for ESXi.

Mr-White · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:16

Use an old server with lots of disks e.g Dell 2850 and use OpenFiler to turn it into iSCSi storage. VMWare will also work with NFS storage if you have a NAS.

How many VMs is he planning on running, memory will likely be where most of the budget goes ?

Use the VMWare Compatibility Guide before you buy anything as not everything will work. Your best bet is to buy from a somewhere such as Dell or HP

MW

OracIe · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:28

With that budget I'd get either get a powerful PC which would run it absolutely no problem (X99) or get a cheap Dell PowerEdge 2950 from ebay and whack ESXi on that - you can link that into a NAS box or also look on ebay for a cheap array.

Prophet · 10 Jun 2015 at 11:47

Mr-White said:
Use an old server with lots of disks e.g Dell 2850 and use OpenFiler to turn it into iSCSi storage. VMWare will also work with NFS storage if you have a NAS.

How many VMs is he planning on running, memory will likely be where most of the budget goes ?

Use the VMWare Compatibility Guide before you buy anything as not everything will work. Your best bet is to buy from a somewhere such as Dell or HP

MW

He's looking to run around 15 VM's on there but they'll all be basic Server 2012 installs with no apps running so minimal load and requirements.

Thanks for the link.

OracIe said:
With that budget I'd get either get a powerful PC which would run it absolutely no problem (X99) or get a cheap Dell PowerEdge 2950 from ebay and whack ESXi on that - you can link that into a NAS box or also look on ebay for a cheap array.

He's won't go for a virtual setup as part of his training will be configuring the hardware. I'm thinking it may be easier to buy a setup from the bay and use someone else's old kit as you say.