Re: SSD and VMWare Server 2... spicy!

[Kyle Gordon <kyle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Looks like you initially reduced your spindle count, which impacted
read
latency and seek time - a big requirement in virtual infrastructures.
SSD does wonders for random access and seek times, so it's good to hear
the difference is so marked even on smaller setups.

Now... I need to start saving :-)

Kyle

On 01/02/11 22:58, i_lowe wrote:
> I know many folks run a home server, and quite a few have experimented
with VMWare's free server product.
>
> A few weeks ago, mine popped a disk - no problem, as I was using
Windows Server 2008 R2, and the software raid is easy enough to recover (if
a little slow). I decided to take the chance to swap my 5 X 500Gb drives
for 3 X 1Tb drives instead.
>
> big mistake. whilst the setup was a lot quieter and used less power,
the VMs now ground the machine into the floor. Clearly, the disk subsystem
was the problem.
>
> After a bit of interweb research, I decided to give an SSD a whirl and
purchased an OCZ Vertex 2 solid state drive. I fancied a bit of space, so I
got a 240Gb one (about 340 quid).
>
> Shut down the server, installed the SSD (easy, as it uses the same
SATA interface as a regular hard drive), and rebooted. initially, I'm not
seeing any change, as I'm copying everything from the spindle disk...
>
> but as soon as I restarted the Virtual Machines, running from the SSD.
Holy crap. talk about smelly stuff off a shiny shovel...
>
> I host an exchange server, a general database devvy server, an ISA
server and a file server for all the home files/profiles etc.
>
> Folder on the file server now pop open so fast it's eye popping.
treesize across the folders completes in 4 seconds (previous best - 6
minutes).
>
> The Server that's acting as a host for the VMs is now nicely
responsive, and accessing my media files there is refreshingly snappy.
>
> All in all, you *have* to try one of these if you run virtual
machines. it's crazy fast.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
Kyle Gordon - 2M1DIQ
Web: http://lodge.glasgownet.com
Jabber/Email/SIP: kyle@xxxxxxx



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