PC for VMWare

[ralph]

I want to set up a PC in my home that I can use to start learning my way around VMWare.
Trying to do this on the cheap so I want to try and build it myself.
I'm looking at this kit:Cheap kit 

But I'm not finding anything close to it on the VMWare hardware compatibility list.
Has anyone got any experience putting something like that together?

Ralph

[akuhn]

I notice it's an AMD system rather than Intel.  Probably not a problem, but just double check.

My whole home server system is based on VMWare ESXi 5.x.  Made a few limiting mistakes, but it still has been great.

I bought a Fujitsu server on NewEgg for $299 along with 4 2TB drives.  I then bought a Dell Perc 5 Scsi card on eBay for RAID storage.  I run the VMWare off of a USB key rather than the HD.  I recommend this so that you can devote all of your hard drive storage to VMs and nothing to the ESX OS. 

I'm running WHS 2011 as my main server VM and a Win 7 VM for utility purposes.

Problems:  Turns out the SCSI card really isn't supported by Fujitsu.  Their own SCSI card costs more than the PC - so forget that.  But I haven't been able to run more than 8GB of RAM on the machine.  So these two VMs are really all I can do at the moment.

Also, any kind of USB connectivity is flaky.  And ESXi doesn't offer much in talking with a UPS.  So power outages always freak me out.

If you're just going to do one HD, then you don't need to worry about SCSI.  But if you want multiple drives, then SCSI matters.  You might want to look at the HP line of Micro Servers in comparison. 

Welcome to the world of home servers!

[ralph]

Thanks akuhn,
Somehow I knew you'd be the one with the answers. 

I don't think I'll be running my entire network with it.  In reality, I'm looking to do a couple of things:
1) learn a bit more about VMWare - perhaps earn the cert.
2) have the ability to program up multiple virtual Mitel appliances and then deliver snapshots to the customer for turn up and cut over.

Any idea how forgiving the VMWare compatible list is?

Ralph

[akuhn]

I'm not sure about how forgiving VMWare is.  I think that's why I went with a name brand machine.  It used to be I was a home building enthusiast, but you really don't save much any more with DIY. 

I find that reading the NewEgg reviews is the most helpful.  For instance here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16859106529

One reviewer mentions that this Lenovo runs VMWare with a little bit of work.  That's how I ended up with my choice.  Look at HP, Lenovo, Dell

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16859155115

Prices are good, but you'll need to add RAM, storage, so the cost ultimately does go up, but hopefully not too much.  I think it's a good investment.

[ralph]

Thanks.
I'll check out your links.
Meanwhile I found this one on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-1&keywords=server

Appears to be supported by VMWare.  Just looks like I need to add RAM.

Ralph

[akuhn]

Wow.  A number of good things jump out on that one.  Xeon CPU is a higher end CPU.  Built in RAID support.   That's huge.  The reviews are very detailed as well.  Hmmmm.  May have to look at this one.....

[ralph]

Only one of the question/answers mentioned VMWare.   
It was stated that you'd have to customize the installer to add in the driver for the onboard NIC.
Trying to find out how that's done now.   Not having much luck.  I don't know how you'd modify the ISO.

Ralph

[akuhn]

I don't think you modify the ISO.  This is probably different terminology.  Anyway, this is a long term project.  You won't have VM's on Day one.  You might even try the Windows Hypervisor first just to compare.

[ralph]

I've found a way to modify the ISO.
www.v-front.de/2011/08/anatomy-of-esxi-50-installation-cd-and.html

I've also got the ISO customizer.   
If I can now need to find the driver for the Lenovo server I'll pull the trigger on it and spend some cash.

Ralph

[ralph]

Just went to the Lenovo site to look for the NIC driver.    Ain't one.
They have one for the RAID adapter but not the NIC.
Makes me wonder if I'd have to buy a new NIC or if it will work right out of the box.

Ralph

[sarond]

I have used HP ML110, if you don't need heaps of grunt this works fine.
Just add storage and RAM, I didn't bother with SCSI/RAID as I don't need the performance.
HP also have the prebuilt ISO for VMWare so all drivers are included.

I have a HP N54L Microserver with XPEnology that I use for NFS datastores and it works well for a small environments.

[johnp]

The old ML110 I have as my smeserver has been rock hard. Like G1 or G2, Compaq :-)