On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 5:36 PM, Jeff Sturm<jeff.sturm@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Good point—the requisite CPU technology has been available for at least 3 > years, so I tend to assume most users are running 64-bit processors with VT > by now. However, I suppose it's possible there are many older systems still > in production. > > > > We happen to use several 1950-class machines which have been repurposed for > this. They work very well with Xen hypervisors. The 1950 can be > inexpensively upgraded to 16GB RAM, and have two sockets which can > accommodate 8 cores. With shared storage, the 1U chassis gives very good > density where space is a premium. If 1950's are available, they can be a > bargain for virtualization. > > > > And, as you say, VT is required for some deployments. Though I'd like to > think most non-VT capable hardware will be long gone by the time RHEL5 > reaches EOL. > > > > Power consumption should be a consideration too. It might be worth retiring > some systems to save on power alone. I don't have good numbers handy > comparing power consumption vs. performance of different processor > generations—perhaps someone else does. > > > > From: linux-cluster-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:linux-cluster-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Doug Bunger > Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 12:39 PM > To: linux clustering > > Subject: RE: Hardware recommendation > > > > If you remission in house systems or (gag) get used systems, than CPU > ***IS*** important. You need to make sure you are running x86_64 with CPU > virtualization technology (VT) extensions. You'll need x86_64 to get past > the i386 Xen 32meg memory limit, and you'll need VT to provide an update > path to RHEL6, vSphere, or even Micro$oft Hyper-V. > > Many of my customers are running older equipment and are not wanting to > upgrade. We are finding that in an HP shop, anything older than DL380 G5 > won't cut it. On the Dell side it seems the 1950 is the break point. > > --- On Fri, 7/24/09, Jeff Sturm <jeff.sturm@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > From: Jeff Sturm <jeff.sturm@xxxxxxxxxx> > Subject: RE: Hardware recommendation > To: "linux clustering" <linux-cluster@xxxxxxxxxx> > Date: Friday, July 24, 2009, 6:21 PM > > Don't go small. If you're running 30-60 virtual machines you'll likely > need systems with at least 8 cores at 32GB of RAM, or more depending on > the needs of your virtual hosts. There's really no way to guess at how > much RAM you'll need without understanding the needs of your virtual > hosts, however. > > Dell PowerEdge hardware should work well for this. We have some old > 6950 systems we are now using for Xen. These appear to have been > replaced by the R905 series, according to Dell's web site. > > CPU isn't important. All modern Intel (Core) and AMD processors work > well with Xen. To save money I tend to opt for more cores at slower > speeds rather than buy the fastest speed processors available. > > What are you using for storage? If you want node failover you'll likely > want some sort of SAN for central storage. > > I also recommend at least two network switches for redundancy, else > you'll regret it the first time you need to reboot a switch without > bringing down your cluster. > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: linux-cluster-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:linux-cluster-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] >> On Behalf Of Paras pradhan >> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 6:55 PM >> To: linux clustering >> Subject: Hardware recommendation >> >> hi, >> >> I will be creating a cluster using red hat EL 5.3 consisting of 3 >> nodes which will run Xen virtual machines. The first two nodes will >> host around 30 virtual machines ( all paravirt Linux and some Solaris >> if possible) . The third node will be basically a fail over node and >> will host virtual machines if there is a problem at node 1 or node 2. >> I do not know if this is the right way to ask but I need >> recommendation on which CPU to choose (i7, phenom, quad core or dual >> core) and how much RAM do I need on node 1 and node 2 and on also node >> 3. And also which server hardware is recommended for my purpose. My >> test cluster is based on Dell Poweredge 1800 machines with DRAC 4 >> (which I am using for fencing) and looks like DELL Poweregde server >> can be a good candidate. >> >> Any help is highly appreciated. >> Thanks >> Paras. >> >> -- >> Linux-cluster mailing list >> Linux-cluster@xxxxxxxxxx >> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster > > > > -- > Linux-cluster mailing list > Linux-cluster@xxxxxxxxxx > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster > > > > -- > Linux-cluster mailing list > Linux-cluster@xxxxxxxxxx > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster > Guys ! thanks. R905 is a good candidate. Paras. -- Linux-cluster mailing list Linux-cluster@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster
