VMware ESXi Server on a Desktop
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Some of the guys at work were tossing around the idea of running VMware’s ESXi server on some quad-core boxes we have. One has gone ahead and installed it, with positive results.
Backing up a moment, VMware decided to make ESXi server free. This is ground breaking because it allows one to put together some interesting systems for very little cost. Working at a not-for-profit comes with certain restrictions.
ESXi server is the free version of ESX server. ESX is the basis of virtualization. It’s a very small, customized version of Red Hat linux which runs your virtual machines. Normal licensing tends to get pretty expensive but that’s the cost of doing business.
One example of putting this to use is taking place in our office. One of our external programs has almost zero budget yet huge needs. We took one old server, beefed up the hardware, and installed ESXi. This server will serve as domain controller, print server, server for a classroom of desktops and I can’t remember what else. The program gets quite a break on price and full coverage computerwise. Everybody wins.
As we were kicking around the desktop idea, most of us were not in favor of it. My feeling is that if you intend to stay with one primary OS, using a hypervisor is inefficient. A hypervisor will spread the resources among several machines but it’s an additional layer between your hardware and your primary OS. If your intent is to mess around like mad, ESXi would be the right choice.
If you want to run Windows, I find it’s always better-behaved as a virtual machine than when it has access to your hardware. Plus you can set up XP the way you like it and copy the vmdk file to somewhere safe for when XP explodes. And rest assured, it will explode.
ESXi seems to run nicely on a quad-core machine, at least for the day or so it’s been running. The fellow who put it there is testing it out as a serious alternative to server hardware for some of our external units that have budget problems or less in the way of requirements.
One of the ways we’re squeezing budgets is the return to terminals. Our first project involved hardware and software from Ncomputing. It’s roughly the equivalent of MS terminal server in that it allows you to run up to ten desktops from a single pc or thirty desktops from a server. The hardware is very reasonably priced and not much larger than a pack of cigarettes. They support Windows XP, 2000 Server, 2003 Server, and several flavors of linux including Ubuntu.
The results are a mixed bag. Ncomputing seems to have a decent product that will work as advertised so long as it sits on its own network or has only one hop between the terminals and server. Every external installation of Ncomputing went perfectly and continues to do so. The problem installation exists at our main office, where it runs a small classroom of terminals for our in-house tutors. This has been a nightmare for a while. We had to learn the hard way about minimizing the hops. We also learned the hard way to ASSIGN IP ADDRESSES - do not use dhcp. Nowhere does this sage advice exist in Ncomputing’s manuals or online help.
Like I said, if you can isolate it, it will work fine. Because anything more complex seems to require trial and error and because Ncomputing was less helpful than Congress in getting things working, I find it hard to conceive of purchasing more of their products for our use. It does fit the price point though. We’re waiting for some consultants to clear up some work so we can begin testing VMware’s VDI (Virtual Desktops). This looks quite promising except for the fact that dumb terminals seem to cost almost what cheaper pc’s cost.
Interesting times…
10 Comments
Bob Frank
April 28th, 2009
at 9:58pm
you need to purchase Windows Server 200x + 1 CAL per seat in order to run it. This gets costly and really doesn’t save money at the end of the day. If you’re running linux clients you should check out Userful (higher performance, plus USB device support, plus supports 10+ distros as opposed to the 1 Ncomputing kindof supports).
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