Many of you have seen my travel with my Yoga 2 Pro laptop and a Gigabyte Brix running Hyper-V with 16GB of RAM and a 240GB msata drive. I use these rigs for demos when traveling and they also provide me with a test domain network. But lately I've started feeling some constraints. Even though I run the VMs lean and often use server core, I can't run as many VMs simultaneously as I would like or at the level they really need.
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For example, I'm trying to do a bit more with System Center which requires SQL Server, another product I'm delving into more as well, and those servers really need a bit more in terms of resources. I would also like to re-introduce a WSUS server, Sharepoint and Exchange 2013. By my preliminary estimates I need a minimum of 36GB total memory spread among multiple Hyper-V servers. Plenty of disk space as well but that seems to be easy to address. I also want a second Hyper-V server so I can do more with migrations and replications.
So I've been considering what I could build to add to my existing setup. I am hoping to have a solution that gives me at least 32GB of RAM to divvy up. My initial thought was to add one or two more Brix units. I could build a new 5th gen i7 with 16GB RAM and a 500GB Samsung EVO drive for about $878. If I double up my investment is $1756. That's not too bad.
I considered going the laptop route, perhaps by adding a new Lenovo what supports 32GB of RAM. That seems to start pushing the price up.
I'm also considering making a quantum leap of sorts into a server class motherboard like the Supermicro X10SDV-F-O Intel Xeon D-1540. Pricy for sure, but I could start with 32GB of RAM for around $300 and there is lots of room for storage. I've spec'd out a build at just around $2000. What I like is that I can cram everything into a mini-ITX form factor.
I'm finding plenty of pros and cons for all my options and haven't made a final decisions yet. I'm certainly open to suggestions and feedback. I realize whatever route I go will entail some packing changes should I need to travel with everything. My backpack is getting a bit heavy as it is already. But I'll deal with that when the time comes.
For now I'll have to decide which investment makes the best long term sense.
Just go vmware… Hyper v doesnt allow overcommitment so your getting all these issues.. Vmware does. You can have all you asked for and way more servers
For a variety of reasons VMware is not an option.
Did you look at those Supermicro C275x (or C255x) boards, e.g A1SRM-2758F ? They are cheaper, but still 8 (or 4) cores for virtualisation. They have not as much CPU performance as a Xeon-D, but still good enough for a VM lab and take less power.
I have not looked at those. Thanks for the suggestions. At first glance they seem like they might meet my needs.
I wouldn’t get a Lenovo anything their build quality is not what is used to be.
If you want to lug a laptop around Dell’s Precision line is great but heavy.
Mikael Nystrom has a neat mobile lab.
I had a minor build quibble with my Yoga 2 Pro. Haven’t found any build issues with the Yoga 3 Pro. I have a Thinkpad W550S on the way and I’m looking forward to trying it out before my son takes it off to college. I’ve actually had more problems with Dell components, although I’ve never used anything in the Precision line, than any other laptop top brand. Sadly, once you’ve had a bad experience with a brand it is hard to give it a second chance.
I’ve seen that mobile lab setup and have thought about how I might duplicate it.
Has Mikael Nystrom published anything about his mobile lab setup?
I thought I came across something but now I can’t find it. You might try connecting with him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikael_nystrom
Hello Jeff,
I was thinking on investing in the Brix solution you have, but seeing your comment on expanding into SQL etc.. I’m thinking laptop or something else.
What model of laptop would you pick?
In the past I’ve built a mini-itx format system, but the case is bulky and heavy. The max ram my system will take is only 16GB and I’ve a mix of SATA and SSD. I’ve setup a test domain with the following services: AD, Exchange 2013, SCSM, FIM 2010 R2 all following the Lab guides from Microsoft. On my mini-itx system I’ve found things to really slow down, might be the RAM allocation or the speed of drives. CPU is an i7 water cooled maybe over kill but just wanted to try is out.
Kind regards,
Stuart
I would expect if you were trying to run enough VMs for that network, plus leave something for the host OS, you are probably pushing the 16GB you have. Most laptops are limited in RAM capabilities. Lenovo makes some nice mobile workstations that will take 16 to 32GB of RAM, although RAM starts raising the price. If you wanted something portable you might be better off with a laptop running 8GB and a Brix with 16GB, and spread the load. That’s basically the setup I have now and it works nicely. And of course, so much depends on your budget.