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Started: 3/31/2010 6:46 AM
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Trying to put together a development/test environment....

So I'm trying to architect a laptop/mobile workstation that will be able to handle the following:

  1. Hyper-V, running 6 VMs.  Why?  Because:
    1. I'd like to be able to emulate a farm with two web servers, app server, sql server, domain controller and a user machine.  This way, I can learn how to do things like set up and test Kerberos, Load Balancing, etc. in a real-world-type​ environment.
    2. I'd like to be able to have the ability to set up test environments like the former in 2007 and 2010
  2. 16 GB RAM - to run multiple VMs with memory to spare

Hard drive space - not really too concerned about that because these are just test machines and I can at least store the VMs on an external drive, then import them into the machine as needed.  Probably would want about 500GB to start and see if that's enough.  7200 speed would be ideal - don't think I need SSD.

 

Graphics card - don't really care - not doing anything more than creating and working with VMs and such.  I have my personal laptop for graphics and photos.

 

Networking - wireless & wired - kind of a no-brainer and standard for any laptop nowadays.

 

Clay - I've seen your monster setup and don't think I need all the frills yours has.  I just would like to put together a system that would be able to run these things well.

 

I've been looking at Dell and Lenovo.  Dells are EXTREMELY expensive - for the setup I'm looking at, I priced it at about $4k, which has a 17 inch monitor and a numeric keypad, which I don't care about.  I'm actually leaning toward the Lenovo - seems very clean, 15.6 inch screen (which is what I'm used to), no frills, just a solid setup.  Anyone have any experience with these?  Lenovo ThinkPad w510 is the model.

 

Anyway, I guess I'm just looking for some suggestions on things that I may want to consider.  The Lenovo's specs I have created so far are the following:

 

Intel Quad Core Processor i7 820QM (1.73GHz 1066MHz 8MBL3)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
15.6" HD Anti-Glare Display with LED Backlight and WWAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 memory
16 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Gobi 2000 3G with GPS)
4318 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller

 

This is priced at $3409.

 

What do you think?  Thanks in advanced.

 

-Greg

 

Posted: 4/1/2010 3:48 AM
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I would see if there is an option for a second hard disk for a RAID 1 (Read performance gain with redundancy) or RAID 0 (Read/Write Performance gain but vulnerable to data loss if either drive fails) or even just splitting up the virtual hard drives between the two spindles.  I think that many VMs running on one disk will make for very slow IO.  Lots of laptops will allow you to remove the CD-Rom drive and insert a second hard drive.  From there you might want a USB CD-Rom for the moments you need physical media. 

 

The rest looks pretty good, however I think you'll want 2008 R2 to run Hyper-V, but to be honest I haven't tried this on a laptop using Hyper-V.  My labs are similar but are not portable and are based on VMWare ESX server.



Posted: 4/1/2010 9:21 AM
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That's a very good point, thank you.  I had heard that as well, but forgot when I was writing my post.  I'm not sure I want to get into setting RAID for this - do you think it'd be efficient enought to just have two drives - one for storing/running the VMs and one running the OS and Hyper-V?  Thanks again for the response.


Posted: 4/1/2010 3:11 PM
Picture: Clayton Cobb
Clayton CobbNo presence information

Greg, you're on the right track.  Here are my comments:

 

- Don't mess with RAID on a 2nd HD, but rather run it as a completely separate drive

- Definitely get a 2nd drive with plenty of space and store/run all your VHDs from here.  I keep all my VHDs and all software files (EXEs, ISOs, install docs, etc).

- Do 2 X 320 HDs 7200rpm or whatever size you prefer, but this is what I have.  I think if you want one smaller, make it the main drive

- For me, 15" is way too small with not enough resolution to work effectively.  Also, some 15" laptops can't support a 2nd internal drive

- With 2 HDs, you can rely on your EHD as a backup, which is what I use mine for (500GB eSATA pocket size)

- I have i7 820QM 1333Mhz like what you listed, and it's nasty fast.  However, my previous i5 Dual was awesome, and it's the one you've seen.  Shannon has it now

- The 16GB RAM is a must for that setup, because the VHDs you listed would be 12GB alone

- If you want to run Win7, then you'll be forced to VMWare or some other product that can run 64-bit guests on Win7

- Otherwise, you'll need to run W2K8R2 w/Hyper-V as your main OS, which is what Shannon and I do

- Instead of having a separate client VHD, you can network your host to be the client machine.  This is what I do so that I can avoid that extra machine, can avoid installing Office on another machine, and can work from my main workstation for everything.  I access all 3 of my farms from the host without having to authenciate when browsing.  I added mine to the main domain, but you don't have to do that as long as you just configure the hosts's primary DNS server on the network Bridge

- You don't care about graphics, but I think you listed a pretty nice card, yah?


Posted: 4/1/2010 5:19 PM
Picture Placeholder: Greg DeRoeck
Greg DeRoeck

Hi Clay,

 

Thanks for the input - very helpful.  Once I get the system, I'll be installing Windows 2008 R2 and replacing Windows 7.  I did confirm with Lenovo that I can swap out my CD/DVD drive for a second hard drive and then just get a USB DVD drive for when I need it.

 

Networking the host to be the client machine makes a lot of sense.  It will be nice to be able to free up that machine to run other things, like PerformancePoint or whatever.

 

I see your point about the 15 inch screen - however, I do want the system to be portable and fit in my current bag without problems, so I'll probably just stick with that.  Plus, if I want something bigger I can always attach it to a monitor or get the docking station.

 

Again, thanks for the advice.  Nice to know I'm on the right track.  Now all I have to do is come up with the cash! $3500 is a lot of jelly beans. :)

 

-Greg



Posted: 4/2/2010 9:40 AM
Picture: Clayton Cobb
Clayton CobbNo presence information
Just need a good company that will buy it for you.  =)