JustGav Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 One for the MS techies.... I'm a UNIX (read REAL OS ) person but I've inherited an exchange setup (2003) which runs happily however the hard ware is out of warranty so I REALLY need to move it off to a new system. As a result they have bought me a 2010 exchange license and I have a 2xXeon 3.??ghz/8GB Ram, 1TB Raid setup box. Is it worth loading exchange ontop of a virtualization layer or is it likely to give me more issues. Obviously then I have a choice of VMware ESXi or Hyper-V.... choices....choices.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 How busy in the mail server? Are you likely to use the server for other tasks? How often is the server updated? Virtualisation is great if you want to consolidate hardware but if there aren't any plans for such work then keep things simple as its just adds another layer to cause issues. I am in a similar boat at the moment as I have a single server/desktop that started out as just a DNS machine, then a mail relay, then a SYSLOG server, then MRTG station and then a nagios box while at the same time being a web server. This poor little box has run for years with more and more work added but with various parts expanding I have managed to scope some new hardware, this I will run as virtual machines as I can work on each machine without affecting the other installations. The other benefit is that you can work on a copy of the VM in isolation for things like updates which is why I asked if you have many to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 How busy in the mail server? Not overly busy to be honest, probably about 40-50 users on it, also have additional challenge that they have installed the blackberry server on some odd little unit which I'm tempted to push onto a vm as well Are you likely to use the server for other tasks? I have plenty of other servers for the rest of the tasks How often is the server updated? I'm not a fan of just throwing updates on all the time, so usually do it on an patch cycle or if it is an urgent patch. One of my reasons for thinking virtualization is the snapshot feature, which I use heavily on my ESX servers.. Virtualisation is great if you want to consolidate hardware but if there aren't any plans for such work then keep things simple as its just adds another layer to cause issues. Oh yeah, I'm aware of the benefits(pitfalls) of virtulization in general use. I've always been the type that is happy to virtualize app style servers but shyed away from things such as DBs which reckon high disk I/O I am in a similar boat at the moment as I have a single server/desktop that started out as just a DNS machine, then a mail relay, then a SYSLOG server, then MRTG station and then a nagios box while at the same time being a web server. This poor little box has run for years with more and more work added but with various parts expanding I have managed to scope some new hardware, this I will run as virtual machines as I can work on each machine without affecting the other installations. This is it, as part of my job role I've been handed the planning of the internal systems...If they were linux based systems then I'd be much more comfortable The other benefit is that you can work on a copy of the VM in isolation for things like updates which is why I asked if you have many to do. One of the ideas I've had with using vm's, is that I can shift systems over the link to the host provider providing a DR capability. My main concern was more along the lines of how exchange 2010 reacts to being virtualised. If the box is really fairly quiet, I'd consider moving a DC onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I would run some performance captures on the box to get an idea of the IO involved. With the right hardware and raid configuration it shouldn't be an issue as the new hardware should be quicker anyway. If you have enough disks you could give the exchange VM its own raid set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 I would run some performance captures on the box to get an idea of the IO involved. With the right hardware and raid configuration it shouldn't be an issue as the new hardware should be quicker anyway. If you have enough disks you could give the exchange VM its own raid set. This is it, I can run perf counters on the existing setup but it is 'interesting' 2003 setup, which needs to be upgraded and the old hardware yanked so I'm not sure how valid they will be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Tricky one, since they have given you a dedicated server maybe just install it normally and move onto something more interesting using a proper OS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Just a single physical server? I certainly wouldn't consider virtualising exchange. If you had a couple (or more), and SAN backend then I would consider it, but possibly still keep standalone anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Tricky one, since they have given you a dedicated server maybe just install it normally and move onto something more interesting using a proper OS I can see me not being able to get them off exchange, and it is one of the better MS systems so that will have to stay... Just a single physical server? I certainly wouldn't consider virtualising exchange. If you had a couple (or more), and SAN backend then I would consider it, but possibly still keep standalone anyway. Yes, there is only the one in core office (can you say DR), hence my though of virtual, and then I can have a standby instance over at the host centre for DR purposes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I can see me not being able to get them off exchange, and it is one of the better MS systems so that will have to stay... You misunderstood me, I meant install it without virtualisation and move back onto playing with your others servers running proper OSs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 You misunderstood me, I meant install it without virtualisation and move back onto playing with your others servers running proper OSs Sowwy...up to head in cables busy building a resilant SAN infrastructure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Not being much of a Windows fan myself, but quite frankly what's the point of virtualising a single instance? Is the server being backed up by Netbackup or such? I can understand VMing such a platform if you need to otherwise back it up by other means or for recovery. Otherwise what's the point in adding a layer which has (albeit probably minimal) overhead than running it on the raw tin? P.S if you want any help on the SAN drop me a line Hope you're buying Brocade...! CNAs and 8Gb/s quite fun at the moment. That and NPIV finally on a few of our platforms making life a lot easier. EDIT: And noticed you have a DR setup. Not being an exchange nut but can't you cluster exchange over distance at all? Then just run active/active? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Not being much of a Windows fan myself, but quite frankly what's the point of virtualising a single instance? The ability to push VMs around onto other machines, during times of outages and such goodness. Is the server being backed up by Netbackup or such? I can understand VMing such a platform if you need to otherwise back it up by other means or for recovery. Otherwise what's the point in adding a layer which has (albeit probably minimal) overhead than running it on the raw tin? See above logic (albeit flawed ) P.S if you want any help on the SAN drop me a line Hope you're buying Brocade...! CNAs and 8Gb/s quite fun at the moment. That and NPIV finally on a few of our platforms making life a lot easier. Not likely to be brocade at the mo, still quoting it up... My test system is running on Freenas EDIT: And noticed you have a DR setup. Not being an exchange nut but can't you cluster exchange over distance at all? Then just run active/active? This is it, exch2010 is new to me, and I do remember with the old 2003 it VERY much hated DR, and you had to do all sorts of odd active-standby, cold start, move mailbox rubbish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 The ability to push VMs around onto other machines, during times of outages and such goodness. Ah, I made the assumption that you have a single server per site as you said what you'd been given above as you said box not boxes Not likely to be brocade at the mo, still quoting it up... My test system is running on Freenas Shame Though can understand as it is a tad costly... will be interested to see how SAN is done on a smaller budget. This is it, exch2010 is new to me, and I do remember with the old 2003 it VERY much hated DR, and you had to do all sorts of odd active-standby, cold start, move mailbox rubbish Still imho it's better than Notes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinlexusV8 Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 We are running Exchange 2010 on a VMWare virtual machine (ESX 4.0) with no issues what so ever. Not sure what is the best solution for you when you have a standalone box. I would prefer the virtualization option just to have the extra flexibility we get with VSphere 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.