[itdiscuss] Quick question re: virtualization

Fri Aug 7 16:48:46 EDT 2009

Great point about non-new hardware … you can at times find some great deals on servers in the Dell outlet … and even from time to time even the lowest end MD3000i SAN

Jason

Jason Powell
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From: discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org] On Behalf Of blloyd at buskercom.com
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 4:33 PM
To: discuss at itdiscuss.org
Subject: Re: [itdiscuss] Quick question re: virtualization

What kind of hardware do you currently have? Are you willing to consider used/refurbished equipment?

I started with $1,500 for SANmelody, which turned my Windows machine into an iSCSI SAN. Their lowest priced version supports 3tb of storage for $200. There is also an open source iSCSI available. (You do need a good switch for this but you can get some of those from DLink or Netgear at a good price. You really need a gigabit, layer 3 switch for this.)

As for the virtual host, we started with VMware Server, in production mode, for free. I purchased used HP servers, which were enterprise class, in their hayday, and ran for more than a year that way. The cost was about $6k, I think and it gave me extra storage for SANmelody. 

Later I upgraded to the VMware Foundation Kit for $3k. That includes 6 processor sockets and one Virtual Center license. 

So, you can start cheap and move up later or go for the whole sh-bang now. 

Bill Lloyd 
IT Manager

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From: discuss-bounces at itdiscuss.org 
To: IT Discussion Forum 
Sent: Fri Aug 07 16:09:59 2009
Subject: [itdiscuss] Quick question re: virtualization 

All:

I've been asked to give an umbrella number to somebody in our org. re: virtualizing six of our servers and leave a bit of room to grow.  At this point, I'm not up-to-speed on the best of breed or other options related to virtualization - I guess this goes with already wearing too many hats.

Speaking in ballpark figures, what is a reasonable number to toss out?  Last time I did any significant homework on this subject, we were looking at an investment north of $28K to purchase the necessary hardware.

Re: software, is VMWare still the best route to go or should I seriously consider Microsoft's offering?

Again, not looking for numbers to the penny - just something that can be used for guidance as we start rolling on the upcoming budget discussion.  Any feedback based upon your personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lou

Louis Hablas

Director, IT

louis.hablas at rzim.org

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