VMware vSphere

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  • 1.  HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 25, 2012 08:04 AM

    Dear All,

    Greeting!!!

    I need expert advise about home lab... This Lab is mainly to evaluate all VMware products...may be other virtualization products as well...

    Option-1

    2 * i7-3770 + DQ77MK + 32GB

    Option-2

    2 * E3-1245-V2 + C216 Based MB + 16GB

    Will i able to evalualte all vSphere feature with Option-1 Lab?

    What will be missing if i build lab based on i7 instead of E3 processor

    http://ark.intel.com/compare/65729,65719 there is no much of difference in processor features!!!

    Another concern is Intel release date for C216 based server motherboard is unclear.

    ECC memory cost too high!!!

    Please share you advise & experiance.

    With Best Regards,

    PRAVIN1CA



  • 2.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 25, 2012 10:08 AM

    You may run into issues with both configurations if you plan to install ESXi natively on the hardware. In addition to this you may need multiple hosts to evaluate more advanced features like HA, vMotion, ...

    I'd probably go with option 1, add a 256GB SSD drive and run a virtualized vSphere environment in VMware Workstation. Please take a look at e.g. Building the Ultimate vSphere Lab to see whether this could be an option for you!?

    André



  • 3.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 25, 2012 12:25 PM

    Andre Thank You for reply.

    I am planning to build two identical systems to performa HA / DRS / FT...

    Real world simulation is very important for me...

    With Best Regards,

    PRAVIN1CA



  • 4.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 25, 2012 12:34 PM

    Hi,

    I would go for  E3-1245-V2 as a processor, it is certified in VMware HCL although I have a system with i7-3770 processor which runs perfectly.

    The CPUs specs and set of features seams to be identical but E3 family is intended for Servers, where i7 is for Dektops.

    If you are on limited budget and you don't intend to use it for production, Go for option 1.

    A hint, Invest in Memory size and speed, it is critical point when it comes to virtualization.



  • 5.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 25, 2012 05:11 PM

    As memory and CPU resources plays a vital part in virtualisation I would opt for option 1 and go with workstation version 9.



  • 6.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 27, 2012 11:21 AM

    Hi Onoski,

    Real World example for Labs so no VMware Workstation!!!

    Thanks



  • 7.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 27, 2012 11:57 AM

    Hi Pravin1ca,

    In this respect then would still opt for number one as long as you get two of these to take into account running other features such as Vmotion etc.



  • 8.  RE: HomeLab - i7-3770 or E3-12XX-V2

    Posted Aug 26, 2012 05:55 AM

    Option 1 - memory is the limiter.  16Gb is just not enough for multiple Virtual Machines.