VMWare ESX - Server Config

- If you format your Raid Array, you will lose everything : ESX server and VMs
- How and where have you created the datastore for your VMs?

Hi,

How can you copy the VM's off though, if I try and browse to the ESXi Servers IP I cannot see anything or even connect.

Is it better if I had a raid 1 with just the ESX Install on and a Raid 5 with the data stores?

Also a little licensing question, I know that if I buy a copy of Windows Server Enterprise 2003 1 License will allow me to install 4 Servers on the ESX Server.

But do they have to be Windows Enterprise Installs or can some be Windows Standard?

Thanks

You can install the VMware Infrastructure Client (Vsphere Client, depending on version) to manage the file on the Server.

With respect to your licensing question, so far as I know, you need as many licenses as installation occurences you have (4 in this case). In the same way, you cannot install 2 occurences of the same Windows workstation OS on one machine - you need two licenses. ... Thinkpads_User

You are wrong on the license will send you the link just didn't know if I could install win standard

Maybe I don't understand what you are doing. I am just with some other persons putting together a VMware server, and I will have two Windows Server 2008 Standard machines. I had to purchase two licenses. ... Thinkpads_User

What version of vmware?

VMware is ESX 4.0  ... T

Thinkpads_user is correct. That is a violation of M$ to install the OS and it's license more than once, more to the point, in VMWare. You nned to have a license for each guest that is installed.

Similarly, if you have a cluster of host machines that the guest would failover to, you nned to have a license for each guest OS PLUS a license for each host that the guest OS would/could failover to..

I think you are wrong - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/virtualization.aspx

that clearly says:

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

Run up to four software instances at a time in virtual operating system environments on a server under a single server license.

Am I not understanding this correctly?

and a bit more from MS Windows Server 2003 R2 Licensing Guide

If you have assigned a single license of Windows Server Enterprise Edition to the server running ESX, then you may run up to four instances at a time of Windows Server. You may not run a fifth instance under the same Enterprise Edition license since that right requires that the fifth instance be running hardware virtualization software and software managing and servicing the OSEs on the server.  

Hi,

I still don't understand how if my ESX install went tits up (hence couldn't connect via vm infra client) how I would be able to get the VM's off of the server.

Can someone please explain.

Thanks very much

THe best pratice is to never store your VMWare guest OS's on the same volume as your host.  It should be stored on separate storage so that if it does fail you can brang your guests up from another installation or HA box.

So are you talking seperate Raid Volumes or are you talking about storing the VM's on something such as an external storage array?

I am talking about an external storage such as a SAN or NAS.

okay i am with you.

this is my next big project to look at moving to SAN's.

I don't really know a lot about them so I need to do some reading first, any recommended reading?

also what type is the best to go for, fibre, sas, iscsi?

thanks

Something to muck around with on an old Dell or other desktop is http://www.freenas.org or http://www.openfiler.com

Fibre and SAS drives would be better.

Sometimes going to manufacturers websites and look at manuals on their products.

essexboy80 wrote "I still don't understand how if my ESX install went tits up (hence couldn't connect via vm infra client) how I would be able to get the VM's off of the server. Can someone please explain."

There are a number of concepts at play here. If the disk drives all failing is your key concern, then the advice you are getting about disk strategies is very good.

But if your disks are good and for some reason you need to move the VM's somewhere else, you can run the VMware Infrastructure Client (VSphere Client) on a PC, connect it to the server (a plain crossover cable will do) and copy the machines to another place. My understand is that you can readily re-install VMware ESX if you need to.
... Thinkpads_User

Hi,

But my main point is if you take this example

Raid 1 - OS
Raid 5 - Data Storage

If the server hardware physically fails how can you get the VM's from the Data Storage Array?

Thanks

Paul