[Linux-cluster] Hardware recommendation

[Jeff Sturm]

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 at redhat.com
[mailto:linux-cluster-bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Doug Bunger
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 12:39 PM
To: linux clustering
Subject: RE: [Linux-cluster] 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 at eprize.com> wrote:


From: Jeff Sturm <jeff.sturm at eprize.com>
Subject: RE: [Linux-cluster] Hardware recommendation
To: "linux clustering" <linux-cluster at redhat.com>
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 at redhat.com
[mailto:linux-cluster-bounces at redhat.com]
> On Behalf Of Paras pradhan
> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 6:55 PM
> To: linux clustering
> Subject: [Linux-cluster] 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 at redhat.com
> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-cluster



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