Which VMware solution is right for me.

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Spazmatic

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Hi Guys,

Okay so we finally got the go ahead to virtualize a clients infrastructure but want to clarify a few things first just to make sure we go the right way.

We have 2 x DL380 G6 with 16GB Ram each and 1 x Xeon Quad Core.

There will be a MSA2324 using Direct FC, so no FC switch.

The custer does not need 100% uptime but does require that if one of the physical servers crash, the vm's can be powered up automatically on the other physical box without the need to go back to tape recovery or do the process manually.

The two options I have been given is due to financial restraints.

1, Stick with the current hardware, install Vmware Vsphere 4 Enterprise with vcenter foundations and all the wonderfull features that come with it like DRS, HA and Vmotion. This way I know for sure that if a host fails the other will take over ASAP

or

2, Use Vmware Essentials plus and vcenter for essential, with the savingsin cost and the fact that essentials licence is for two processors they will have the find to buy an additional quad core for each server, however essentials does not have Vmotion or DRS available on HA, now with this solution my concern is that I will not meet the requirements of automatic Failover.

Is there anyone that would be able to assist me with a good direction. At the end of the day I don't want to sell my client a ferrari if all he needed was a minivan to get the kids to school.

So basicaly the following need to be considered.

....cost is an issue, with the cost savings on essentials and the licence supporting 2 sockets. 1 extra quad core per server can be bought.

....Servers do not need 100% uptime but in the event of a failure on one physical box they should automatically power up on the alternitive box with no data loss.

....They will need to be able to attach to the MSA device via FC

If you have anything of value to add or advice on which direction to go it would be great hearing from you.

Cheers......:)
 
How about Citrix XenServer? Its free for everything you need, except the HA; which you need to buy separately. For two servers it would be an ideal choice....
 
Thanks for the help guys, The customer wants Vmware, our internal VMware guys are gonna draw up something.

We run citrix at our municipal client, but our company is gold partners with Vmware so they kinda push that
 
Dude im a certified Vmware technician...... but i aint gonna say anything i wanna see how this plans out ?? i will help you pm me your email addy when i see the thread is going wrong ill help you out dude
 
I like to get outside opinions as well, I never said I was a certified VMware specialist, actually I work mainly with Cisco, HP and microsoft, but thanx anyhow. In future I will avoid posting in this forum
 
Dude give me your number ill help you out !

dont mind the other guys man it mybb we all just kidding with you dude
 
Spazmatic said:
I like to get outside opinions as well, I never said I was a certified VMware specialist, actually I work mainly with Cisco, HP and microsoft, but thanx anyhow. In future I will avoid posting in this forum
Click to expand...

Just relax, and don't worry about other people too much. Its good that you are giving your client options and a considered opinion - even if it is only from a single vendor ;)
 
Hi Conrad, we did give them 3 options, one being citrix, the other hyperv (hence one of my other posts that you hepled me with) and then the VMware.

The client made a choice to go with the vmware, and my company quoted them on the enterprise edition. However due to the fact that they only require high availability, I just asked the question of would Essentials plus be a viable option. I asked this because from research it seems it would be but when speaking to our internal guys they insist on enterprise, so just wanted an outside opinion.

But anyhow thanks for the reply. I'm always relaxed, just also realise that if the comments are not constructive then it helps me only in reaching a point of great irritation.
 
Spazmatic said:
Hi Conrad, we did give them 3 options, one being citrix, the other hyperv (hence one of my other posts that you hepled me with) and then the VMware.
.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I remember that now....

So anyway, back on topic :)

Looking just at VMWare you can forget about the top and bottom range products (esxi and Enterprise Plus), not suitable and overkill respectively. Essentials and standard are no good either, leaving essentials plus, advanced and enterprise.

Essentials plus has HA but no VMotion; it was not considered necessary if you only have three machines (the essentials range limit). Advanced has HA, fault tollerance and VMotion, and meets your requirements. Enterprise has everything advanced has including DRS and Storage VMotion; both of which are totally unnecessary for two hosts, and only one storage unit.

If you have to go VMWare, then your options should be either Advanced - to meet all your requirements; or Essentials Plus, if your customer can do without VMotion. It is also a useful internal compromise between Essentials and Enterprise....

Of course if you need VMotion and not HA, then the free XenServer will do that too....
 
Thanks Conrad,

I was thinking that they would just need HA, the main thing would be if 1 of the 2 physical servers fail, we must be able to power the virtual machine up automatically on the second physical box automatically. If I am correct we do not need vmotion for this.
 
You are correct, just the HA component will be fine. VMotion is used to move a running machine from one host to another.
 
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