Hey guys, need some help from those in the know. I need to start looking into VMware, but I don't know where to start really. I've played with hyper-v before, if that is of any help. Is VMware and hyper-v the same (but different) or is it a totally different ball game all together? I've read up on wiki about VMware, and it seems to offer a lot more than just virtualisation (am I wrong?!) I someone could point me to any useful post which clearly explains what VMware is and how best to start using it that would be great.
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VMware - where to start?
- Thread starter *JimmyJ*
- Start date
Hi, no knowledge of Hyper-V (yet) but I think VMware products regarded as more industry standard and expensive.
Would need to know to what level you would be using it to point you to a guide.
Are we talking home lab or full datacenter?
There are free products and paid for products - which can be used on a fully functional trial basis for 60 days.
You can try it all out to your heart's content if you have a PC with the right processor and ideally 8GB or more of memory.
Here's an intro to the previous version of VMware vSphere (4.1 - 5 came out not long ago).
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_intro_vs.pdf
There is also the Citrix flavour - Xen Server but I think those in the know might cringe a bit at it. Again I have no experience of it yet.
I'm no expert but I'm trying to get certified in VMware just now and have a lot of time on my hands so if I can be of any more help let me know.
Steve.
Would need to know to what level you would be using it to point you to a guide.
Are we talking home lab or full datacenter?
There are free products and paid for products - which can be used on a fully functional trial basis for 60 days.
You can try it all out to your heart's content if you have a PC with the right processor and ideally 8GB or more of memory.
Here's an intro to the previous version of VMware vSphere (4.1 - 5 came out not long ago).
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_intro_vs.pdf
There is also the Citrix flavour - Xen Server but I think those in the know might cringe a bit at it. Again I have no experience of it yet.
I'm no expert but I'm trying to get certified in VMware just now and have a lot of time on my hands so if I can be of any more help let me know.
Steve.
Audi TT Stronic
Hyper-V and VMware are both visualization but are very different.
The big bonus of Hyper-V is cost, if you already purchased 2008 R2 you can deploy as many guests running 2008 R2 as you want with no additional licensing costs etc.
VMWare is more powerful but you pay ££££££ for that.
All our servers run Hyper-V, each node runs about 5-10 guests in a multi-node HA failover cluster.
The big bonus of Hyper-V is cost, if you already purchased 2008 R2 you can deploy as many guests running 2008 R2 as you want with no additional licensing costs etc.
VMWare is more powerful but you pay ££££££ for that.
All our servers run Hyper-V, each node runs about 5-10 guests in a multi-node HA failover cluster.
You can download ESXi free from VMware (full edition) you just get no support.
All VMware is moving to ESXi in 5.0 (which is out now).
Its very easy but if building a whitebox or using old hardware make the components are on the hcl or the actual server is listed. ESXi is 700MB because it only contains a few drivers for specific hardware on the HCL.
Its a lot nicer than Hyper-V and we have noticed performance gains when moving customers from Hyper-V to VMware.
The older VMware ESX was harder to setup than ESXi.
You manage the VMware ESXi server by using the "VSphere Vsphere client" which can be downloaded from the VMware site.
Default username for vmware is root password is blank. You can browse the ESXi server on http to get a link to download the Vsphere Client. Its around 700MB as well from memory. If you buy a license and get a Virtual Center the installer is located there.
Once you have a esx environment there are several really cool things you can do for exam have a look online for some SRM videos (requires shared storage on both HQ and DR but really cool and worth it).
when it comes to backup you just backup your client as you normally would or you can buy additional products which reference the VMWare API for backup commands. For exam Veeam or PHD Virtual backup. Both of these come as demos.
there is a lot to go in to but hopefully the above post will help..
p.s you can install VMware workstation which is similar in some ways however when you move to ESX you'll notice the difference.
p.s.s to compare editions have a look here http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/compare.html
drop me a pm if you have any questions..
All VMware is moving to ESXi in 5.0 (which is out now).
Its very easy but if building a whitebox or using old hardware make the components are on the hcl or the actual server is listed. ESXi is 700MB because it only contains a few drivers for specific hardware on the HCL.
Its a lot nicer than Hyper-V and we have noticed performance gains when moving customers from Hyper-V to VMware.
The older VMware ESX was harder to setup than ESXi.
You manage the VMware ESXi server by using the "VSphere Vsphere client" which can be downloaded from the VMware site.
Default username for vmware is root password is blank. You can browse the ESXi server on http to get a link to download the Vsphere Client. Its around 700MB as well from memory. If you buy a license and get a Virtual Center the installer is located there.
Once you have a esx environment there are several really cool things you can do for exam have a look online for some SRM videos (requires shared storage on both HQ and DR but really cool and worth it).
when it comes to backup you just backup your client as you normally would or you can buy additional products which reference the VMWare API for backup commands. For exam Veeam or PHD Virtual backup. Both of these come as demos.
there is a lot to go in to but hopefully the above post will help..
p.s you can install VMware workstation which is similar in some ways however when you move to ESX you'll notice the difference.
p.s.s to compare editions have a look here http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/compare.html
drop me a pm if you have any questions..
Oh also I work for a Citrix platinum partner (Ms gold partner, VMware partner and EMC partner as well) and I'm just pointing out we sell VMware. I'm not saying Ctx Xenserver is bad - it lacks features but it is a good platform. Its much better than Hyper-V IMO but falls short of VMware. The next version of Xenserver should claw back a few businesses though
Audi TT Stronic
Generally speaking, yes. (there are cut down versions)
But to be honest when each node is running 200gig of ram it's not really an issue
and like I said, buy one copy of 2008 R2 Enterprise and you are good for unlimited guests running 2008 R2 
One thing that did bug me about it was they did not have dynamic memory allocation. This was sorted with SP1 though.Personally, I love Hyper-v. Everything runs rock solid and since the migration to virtualisation our servers have a 100% uptime with no unscheduled downtime.
OK well to set up a home lab to play with all features of vSphere 4.1...
Ideally a PC with an Intel processor that is "VT" capable or an AMD one that is AMD-V capable (you usually turn on the feature in the bios). I just about managed with 8GB but 12GB would have been much nicer.
Obviously the OS on the PC will need to be 64 bit to recognise over 3.5GB of ram. I used Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I also had a 1TB hard drive.
Install latest copy of VMware workstation on the PC - unfortunately the trial is only 30 days (so shorter than the esx software! ). You need to register on VMware to download and evaluate.
Then register for vSphere 4.1 and download ESXi iso.
Install 2 ESXi servers within your VMware workstation installation (they will take up 2GB each) by booting off of the iso.
Ideally in your lab you also want a Windows domain controller but you could use a spare physical machine for that to save more of your main machine's memory for VMware stuff. This should have DNS on it too.
You also want a Windows member server to install VCenter onto (another iso to download) - there is a bundled version of SQL with this to use as the database.
Also you need some kind of shared storage available to your 2 ESXi servers to be able to use some of the features such as Vmotion where you can move virtual machines between hosts while they are running. I did it by installing Windows Services for Unix on the domain controller to create an NFS share but there are other ways such as Virtual Appliances that you download and start within VMware Workstation - FreeNAS (NFS) and Starwind (iSCSI).
This is a very high level overview and you'll need to do a bit of research to get it working but you should easily find either youtube videos or blog entries to guide you through it.
Furthermore you might be forced to take the vSphere 5 valuation software if they wont give 4.1 any more which could mean some slight changes to what I've mentioned above. I have a feeling that the VCenter server is now an appliance rather than running on Windows. I have to pass the VCP 410 exam before I start trying to get my head around the new version so someone else may be able to help if you are forced down that road.
Other features that you'll be able to use with this setup.
DRS where VMs are moved around automatically to even up the load on your hosts.
HA where a failed host will cause VMs to automatically powered up on another host in the cluster.
FT which will maintain a copy of a virtual machine that can take over should there be an issue with the primary.
Ideally a PC with an Intel processor that is "VT" capable or an AMD one that is AMD-V capable (you usually turn on the feature in the bios). I just about managed with 8GB but 12GB would have been much nicer.
Obviously the OS on the PC will need to be 64 bit to recognise over 3.5GB of ram. I used Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I also had a 1TB hard drive.
Install latest copy of VMware workstation on the PC - unfortunately the trial is only 30 days (so shorter than the esx software! ). You need to register on VMware to download and evaluate.
Then register for vSphere 4.1 and download ESXi iso.
Install 2 ESXi servers within your VMware workstation installation (they will take up 2GB each) by booting off of the iso.
Ideally in your lab you also want a Windows domain controller but you could use a spare physical machine for that to save more of your main machine's memory for VMware stuff. This should have DNS on it too.
You also want a Windows member server to install VCenter onto (another iso to download) - there is a bundled version of SQL with this to use as the database.
Also you need some kind of shared storage available to your 2 ESXi servers to be able to use some of the features such as Vmotion where you can move virtual machines between hosts while they are running. I did it by installing Windows Services for Unix on the domain controller to create an NFS share but there are other ways such as Virtual Appliances that you download and start within VMware Workstation - FreeNAS (NFS) and Starwind (iSCSI).
This is a very high level overview and you'll need to do a bit of research to get it working but you should easily find either youtube videos or blog entries to guide you through it.
Furthermore you might be forced to take the vSphere 5 valuation software if they wont give 4.1 any more which could mean some slight changes to what I've mentioned above. I have a feeling that the VCenter server is now an appliance rather than running on Windows. I have to pass the VCP 410 exam before I start trying to get my head around the new version so someone else may be able to help if you are forced down that road.
Other features that you'll be able to use with this setup.
DRS where VMs are moved around automatically to even up the load on your hosts.
HA where a failed host will cause VMs to automatically powered up on another host in the cluster.
FT which will maintain a copy of a virtual machine that can take over should there be an issue with the primary.
Generally speaking, yes. (there are cut down versions)
But to be honest when each node is running 200gig of ram it's not really an issue
Personally, I love Hyper-v. Everything runs rock solid and since the migration to virtualisation our servers have a 100% uptime with no unscheduled downtime.
TBH, this thread is FULL of dodgy info.
This is my biggest concern though, maybe stick to the linux next time KDF eh
Windows Enterprise does NOT give you unlimited vm's, it gives you 4 instances, you need datacenter (licensed per processor) to get unlimited, tut tut!!!
and the comment above about the free version of ESXi giving you the full product without support, again, thats rubbish, it gives you the very basic product without any of the advanced features people like vmware for, its purely for testing or DR sites with no functionality required.
This is my bread and butter, so i can answer any specific questions, but if you want to set up something for free at home (legally) then you only really have VMware server, which is the free product which sits on top of windows.
As for the whole vmware vs. hyper-v debate, thats a whole different thread, hyper-v is not as good as vmware and doesn't carry the same feature set, vmware is the only real option currently for big enterprises to standardise on, hyper-v is going to start to catch up in the the next release, but you really can't go wrong selecting vmware.
Plus, people think hyper-v is free, not if you want to manage it properly its not.............
DK I disagree
ESXi is a full product but these advanced features are licence enabled features depending on what you pay for.
You have a full basic hypervisor with ESXi however the add-ons like vMotion/ha/vcenter etc are licensed with the pay for version
So it is not rubbish as you are getting a full hypervisor for free. Maybe I could have explained myself better as I understand what you are saying and I made it look like it was 100% free including all the features. I am incorrect in that aspect, however in my opinion ESXi basic is a full version of the hypervisor.
ESXi is a full product but these advanced features are licence enabled features depending on what you pay for.
You have a full basic hypervisor with ESXi however the add-ons like vMotion/ha/vcenter etc are licensed with the pay for version
So it is not rubbish as you are getting a full hypervisor for free. Maybe I could have explained myself better as I understand what you are saying and I made it look like it was 100% free including all the features. I am incorrect in that aspect, however in my opinion ESXi basic is a full version of the hypervisor.
Rav4
DK and adam1942, you are both right in what you are saying.
Adam, your explanation is spot on, ESXi is a full product, however, the features which are available are restricted by the licensing you pay for. Support is a different thing, as there are different options.
KDF, as for your statement = "The big bonus of Hyper-V is cost, if you already purchased 2008 R2 you can deploy as many guests running 2008 R2 as you want with no additional licensing costs etc." oh dear. How wrong is this information, DK beat me to it, informing you that it's only 4 instances and that Data Center gives you unlimited per CPU (as the name states, great for datacentres where large volumes are required, it's quite easy to work out the ROI depending on your requirements and the break even point between the different licensing types.)
Best thing to do, if you want to mess around is use the 60 day evaluation, then rebuild your lab again. Or become a VCP and use the goodies that you get with it.
ESXi is free, however, quite limited into what you can do. A lot of SMB's, where they only need 1/2 or 3 nodes (3 being max) tend to go for the Essentials package which is around $560, the reason to use this over the "free ESXi version is for two reasons, the backup API feature (enables you to use third party tools like veeam) and also allows you to have a vCenter license (to manage multiple nodes through one console)
ESXi Essentials plus comes with a lot of extra goodies, but the price is a lot more, on version 5.0 their virtual SAN looks quite good, increases your fault tolerance but have not had a play so can't say for sure.
Please note, it's more complex than what I have written above and there are restrictions/limitations.
Three big players in my view are;
a) vmware
b) Citrix xenserver
c) Xen
They are all excellent in their own right, some better than others. The ultimate free one, yet the hardest to use is Xen. Please don't mistake this as XenServer by Citrix, they are two completely different products. An example of who uses Xen is some of Amazon's infrastructure.
I am by no means an expert, if you want real answers in regards to configurations and general sh1t, DK is your man.
Simply don't like wrong information out there, for people to make mistakes.
Adam, your explanation is spot on, ESXi is a full product, however, the features which are available are restricted by the licensing you pay for. Support is a different thing, as there are different options.
KDF, as for your statement = "The big bonus of Hyper-V is cost, if you already purchased 2008 R2 you can deploy as many guests running 2008 R2 as you want with no additional licensing costs etc." oh dear. How wrong is this information, DK beat me to it, informing you that it's only 4 instances and that Data Center gives you unlimited per CPU (as the name states, great for datacentres where large volumes are required, it's quite easy to work out the ROI depending on your requirements and the break even point between the different licensing types.)
Best thing to do, if you want to mess around is use the 60 day evaluation, then rebuild your lab again. Or become a VCP and use the goodies that you get with it.
ESXi is free, however, quite limited into what you can do. A lot of SMB's, where they only need 1/2 or 3 nodes (3 being max) tend to go for the Essentials package which is around $560, the reason to use this over the "free ESXi version is for two reasons, the backup API feature (enables you to use third party tools like veeam) and also allows you to have a vCenter license (to manage multiple nodes through one console)
ESXi Essentials plus comes with a lot of extra goodies, but the price is a lot more, on version 5.0 their virtual SAN looks quite good, increases your fault tolerance but have not had a play so can't say for sure.
Please note, it's more complex than what I have written above and there are restrictions/limitations.
Three big players in my view are;
a) vmware
b) Citrix xenserver
c) Xen
They are all excellent in their own right, some better than others. The ultimate free one, yet the hardest to use is Xen. Please don't mistake this as XenServer by Citrix, they are two completely different products. An example of who uses Xen is some of Amazon's infrastructure.
I am by no means an expert, if you want real answers in regards to configurations and general sh1t, DK is your man.
Simply don't like wrong information out there, for people to make mistakes.
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Agreed, your new explanation is much better
I only know of 1 pikey customer using the free version, you are mad to use VMware without ha and vmotion, especially if you only have 3 servers as buying essentials plus including both of those features and vcenter is VERY cost effective.
Audi TT Stronic
TBH, this thread is FULL of dodgy info.
This is my biggest concern though, maybe stick to the linux next time KDF eh
Windows Enterprise does NOT give you unlimited vm's, it gives you 4 instances, you need datacenter (licensed per processor) to get unlimited, tut tut!!!
Lol, I knew someone would correct me.. I re-read it later and was going to edit but you can't edit posts after a set time.
I of course meant Datacenter Edition, but thanks for being pedantic
Audi TT Stronic
Lol, I knew someone would correct me.. I re-read it later and was going to edit but you can't edit posts after a set time.
I of course meant Datacenter Edition, but thanks for being pedantic
Flol, pedantic, it's not pedantic, it's a big f**king license difference!
Like I said, stick to your command line
true, but with that you could run 20-30 vm's on it with 12 core processors meaning the cost is £100-200 per license in effect, which is a lot cheaper than buying standard licenses.
also, its per processor and the minimum you can buy on a server is 2, even if it only has 1 processor. MS know how to charge lol.
and noe vmware are getting in on the act, f**k you with your 12 core processors and 512gb ram in a single server, we'll now charge per processor and per vram. Virtualisation is not as cheap as it used to be.
Esxi is what's called a hypervisor, and installs directly onto the hardware. You then give it an ip address and connect to it with an app called the vsphere client, which is the GUI.
From there you can then start creating a virtual machine (vm) and installing an os like windows etc.
From there you can then start creating a virtual machine (vm) and installing an os like windows etc.
You can install an ESXi (or ESX if on version <5) instance into VMware workstation on your powerful desktop PC for home lab. VMware workstation separates ESXi from your hardware so that you don't run into compatibility problems. Need to have that VT capable CPU tho.
If you wanted to install ESXi straight onto hardware it would need to be on the VMware compatibility list I think - which is easily found if googled.
EDIT - just re-read your post. You wanted to be creating a new virtual machine in VMware workstation and setting it up to boot from the downloaded ESXi iso image (you edit the CD drive in the VM settings to do this). It's a pretty straightforward install - the more complicated stuff comes later when you have got VCenter Server installed.
If you wanted to install ESXi straight onto hardware it would need to be on the VMware compatibility list I think - which is easily found if googled.
EDIT - just re-read your post. You wanted to be creating a new virtual machine in VMware workstation and setting it up to boot from the downloaded ESXi iso image (you edit the CD drive in the VM settings to do this). It's a pretty straightforward install - the more complicated stuff comes later when you have got VCenter Server installed.
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