Previously I had one server which was running all my stuff such as a HTTP server, TorrentFlux, MySQL Server and Samba. This was fine but as things such as TorrentFlux were being used it took over all the RAM and CPU power leaving the other services running slowly.
I had enough of this and read up on what could be done about it. There was many topics about load balancing the server by adding another server however this didn’t really suit me as it would mean running more than one server and that would mean more heat and power which I don’t really want.
Another thing to do was to run a VMWare Server and run all my things as Virtual Machines. I gave this a go installing VMWare Server on Fedora 10. This was hard to setup as VMWare don’t like updating their software for the latest kernel. This meant the installation script had to be patched to run. Once getting everything setup it worked fine although the resources I had left to allocate were already been munched into by the host OS, Fedora in this case. I also didn’t have a Dual Core CPU which made things difficult.
That setup has been running fine since the beginning of January however again this wasn’t much faster as the VMWare Server didn’t have the resources to run properly.
I investigated my options again and found out about a VMWare’s other virtual software called ESXi. This is a bare metal HyperVisor meaning that it needs no host OS to run. However at the same time I decided to upgrade my server as well as I really needed more RAM and an Dual Core CPU to run it.
I went to my favourite compute company MCS Technology Ltd, the owner Mark always has some great deals on powerful Optiplex’s, my favourite choice of servers. I choose a new PC that would replace my HTPC and allow me to use that for a server, they are both Dell Optiplex 755’s.
My old HTCP which is now the ESXi server specification was:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz
2GB DDR2 RAM
750GB 7200RPM HDD (Hard Disk 1)
1000GB 7200 USB HDD (Hard Disk 2)
DualLayer DVD±RW (SuperDrive)
ATi Radeon HD 3450 (512MB VRAM) (Fanless, Heatsink Only Version)
Windows Vista Ultimate (32-Bit)
My new Optiplex 755
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4Ghz
3GB DDR2 RAM
160GB 7200RPM HDD (Hard Disk 1)
Memory Card Reader
DualLayer DVD±RW (SuperDrive)
ATi Radeon 2400XT (256MB VRAM) (Fanless, Heatsink Only Version)
Windows Vista XP Professional (32-Bit)
The best thing about using the same systems is being able to swap all the bits about without worrying if they will work or not.
The older server is now being given to my sister as her new desktop PC, the specifications of that were:
Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz (HyperThreaded)
4GB DDR2 RAM
750GB 7200RPM HDD (Hard Disk 1)
120GB 5400RPM HDD (Hard Disk 2)
DualLayer DVD±RW (SuperDrive)
Intel GMA950 Integrated Graphics (64MB VRAM (Limited By BIOS))
Ubuntu 8.04.1 (Server Specific Distribution, 64 Bit)
Now that your bored useless with all those specifications I will tell you the good stuff, I swapped all the bits around and the HTPC ended up with the good DVD-RW, 750GB SATA Drive, Memory Card Reader, 4GB RAM and ATi Radeon HD 3450.
Meanwhile the server ended up with a 750GB SATA Drive, DVD-ROM, Floppy Disk Drive, 8GB RAM (ordered just for this project) and Intel X3100 graphics.
Installing ESXi was not easy as it has been designed for use on server hardware, when I tried to install I was first hit with no storage devices to install the image on error, this was resolved by changing the RAID controller settings in the BIOS. When it actually got installed I was told I could download the tools to manage it at “http://0.0.0.0″ this was clearly wrong and I soon found out the integrated Broadcom Ethernet was not supported by ESXi either. I ordered the Intel Pro 1000GT and installed that. Re-installing ESXi and we were ready to go.
I went to the IP address of the server and downloaded the VMware Infrastructure Client, this is a GUI tool for Windows for managing the ESXi server remotely. This is a pretty good interface and creating and managing VM’s is pretty easy. I have included a screenshot below showing the client looking at the overview of the server and the second screenshot is looking over all the VM’s that are running.
Using this interface you have very fine control over what resources the VM can use, this can be limited right down to the Mhz for processor power and MB’s of RAM. Using this you know your VM’s will have all the power they need to run without effecting the other operating systems running on the system. Everything is controlled through windows looking like this:
Overall the installation of VM’s is very easy and fast. The server does not struggle although only being desktop class. It does everything I need it to do easily. My only problem is that managing it on OS X is not possible yet but for this I have setup a very lightweight XP install under Fusion to manage it. For a free product it’s fantastic and beats VMWare Server hands down in speed and deployment time. However I do miss the HTTP interface on VMWare Server. I recommend anyone interested in learning more on virtualisation or server consolidation to give this fantastic piece of software a go!
After all the mucking around, this is my final network layout:
Recent Comments