Running vmWare ESXi

[EvilGenesys]

I am fairly new to virtualization (I have been messing around with it for less than a year) and was wondering if it would be worth my time to install vmWare ESXi.

I currently boot Fedora 10 and then use virtualbox for my virtualization needs. I only virtualize Windows Server products and other Linux distros (and Windows 7 from time to time), but virtualbox doesn't really provide the performance that I am looking for. Would ESXi provide any sort of performance boost for me, or should I just stick with my current configuration?

Another reason I am thinking about wiping my system and installing ESXi is because the my place of employ is looking to start virtualizing our datacenter with ESX in the near future and I would like to get a little bit of experience before we start.

Thoughts?

 

[lopoetve]

ESXi won't give you realtime emulation, if that's what you're looking for - it's for server grade/type of virtualization.

ESXi is a good thing to learn though.

What are you looking to really virtualize and do?

 

[EvilGenesys]

I am just trying to learn the technology... there's not really a reason for it other than curiosity. I don't do much on my home box other than internet and e-mail. Every now and then I take a MS IT course that is flash based... that's probably about the most intensive task my computer handles.

 

[lopoetve]

Well, ESXi replaces the entire operating system, so that's probably not what you want

 

[EvilGenesys]

Well, ESXi replaces the entire operating system, so that's probably not what you want

Actually, thats exactly what I want.

I'm really more concerned with how the whole system will run... I want to be able to run both Linux and Server 2k3 at the same time without a large hit to performance to wither VM (system specs in sig).

 

[lopoetve]

Good luck. ESXi has a very, very limited hardware compatibility list. You're a bit short on specs - I'd want at least 4gb of ram, if not more. And it's not realtime emulation, so unless you're just running servers, they're not gonna be super fast user experiences.

 

[j_coddy]

Your processor also needs to support VT. I would look that up before looking into it further.

 

[EvilGenesys]

Your processor also needs to support VT. I would look that up before looking into it further.

Ah, I did not know that. It just so happens that my processor does not support AMD-V... mine is the last of the 939's and AMD-V was introduced with the new socket... Bummer.

 

[drake3]

Does ESXi require VT support in the chip? I installed ESXi on a machine where VT/Vanderpool was disabled in the BIOS. I could not install any 64-bit guests until I enabled the BIOS switch, but other than that the hypervisor ran fine running 4 different guests - Microsoft & OpenSuse.

Once I turned on the VT switch I could install the 64-bit OSs.

 

[LittleMe]

You don't need VT or AMD-V to run ESX/ESXi. You need VT to run 64-bit guests on Intel chips but you don't need AMD-V for AMD based setups.

 

[mrgstiffler]

Actually, thats exactly what I want.

I'm really more concerned with how the whole system will run... I want to be able to run both Linux and Server 2k3 at the same time without a large hit to performance to wither VM (system specs in sig).

Is that your primary computer? If so, ESXi is not the way to go. You wont be able to use it as a workstation...

 

[lopoetve]

Is that your primary computer? If so, ESXi is not the way to go. You wont be able to use it as a workstation...

bingo. This isn't a workstation that runs 2 oses at once- this is server grade virtualization.