Re: [Xen-users] Home Xen hypervisor for master's project

[Joseph Commisso <commissoje@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ryan,

Can you help me in identifying some of the tradeoffs of going with the
Xeon/Opteron vs the Phenom II/Core i5 or i7?

I know that server grade CPUs are constructed totally different than
general desktop CPUs, but I do not know why or how that would effect
my processing environment and my experience on this system.
I certainly would like to make the purchase right away, but it seems
that I have many questions as to what will work out best and the
answers are not easy for me to find. At least they aren't easy for me
to find!

Thank you for anything you may be able to help with,
Joe


On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 8:15 PM, Ryan Holt <ryan@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I recently built a home Xen server to both play with and run a few servers at 
> my house. I decided I'd spend a little more money and get server grade gear 
> and have been very happy with what I have so far:
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139024
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117225
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182235
>
> You'll need a few disks and a case. I used software RAID and used the 6 SATA 
> connectors on the board along with an old Coolermaster case. I purchased 3x 
> 5.25 to 5x3.5" hdd adapter to make things easier. Next I'll buy one of these 
> cases to replace the Coolermaster that it's currently running in:
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219038&cm_re=4224-_-11-219-038-_-Product
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Todd Deshane
> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:11 PM
> To: Joseph Commisso
> Cc: Xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Xen-users] Home Xen hypervisor for master's project
>
> On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 1:02 AM, Joseph Commisso <commissoje@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 7:21 PM, Todd Deshane <todd.deshane@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 8:02 PM, Joseph Commisso <commissoje@xxxxxxxxx> 
>>> wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> Could somebody please help me with a few hardware questions?
>>>>
>>>> I am building a home Xen server to implement a Xen Cloud for my
>>>> master's project comparing SOA.
>>>> I will probably use Linux guest OSs, but I may want to use a Windows
>>>> guest for home PC use.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Can you go into more detail about what features you plan to implement?
>>
>> Well, I really do not know too much about Cloud computing, grids
>> (Globus), or parallel programming, all of which I would like to touch
>> upon or possibly go into more depth.
>
> You might find these useful for background (you or your school will need an 
> ACM account):
> http://techpack.acm.org/cloud/
> http://techpack.acm.org/parallel/
>
>> I was thinking of implementing a grid on the cloud, but then I saw
>> documentation referring to a cloud on a grid, so when I get there, I
>> will work that one out.
>> My instructor said to compare what I do against SOA, which will give
>> me something to work on there as well.
>>
>> I am fairly proficient with Linux administration with some abilities
>> on other areas, like networking, hardware and some minor software
>> programming.
>> So, I do not know what I will need to implement at this point. I hope
>> to learn as I go and see if I can come up with something useful.
>> I want to build this virtual server at home, since the machines that I
>> have access to at school are slow and also because school is 50 miles
>> away and I have no other classes to attend, so working at home on this
>> seems like the way to do it.
>>>
>>> Also, what type of interfaces do you expect to provide to users? How
>>> will they connect? etc.
>>
>> What I know how to do is use xdmcp for remote sessions.
>> If I do set up a grid or cluster, then there may be some interface
>> which that uses.
>> Again, I hope to be able to find out when I get there.
>> I plan on choosing a motherboard/CPU and then building the rest of the
>> machine around those.
>> I have a coworker who suggested the AMD line and said that due to the
>> way the CPU connects to the bus and the rest of the motherboard, that
>> three cores is optimal.
>> I did not get a chance to talk to him about a hypervisor machine and
>> whether that also applied to the three cores.
>>
>>>
>>>> I have been trying to make a decision on the CPU and motherboard to
>>>> purchase and really could use some help.
>>>>
>>>> I have read the wiki post at:
>>>> http://wiki.xen.org/xenwiki/VTdHowTo?highlight=(vtd)
>>>>
>>>> 1) For my purposes, is IOMMU important?
>>>> If so, then also, for my purposes, it looks like the ASUS Crosshair
>>>> IV Formula may be a good choice.
>>>>
>>>> ** I would appreciate any input, as to the Crosshair or other, like the 
>>>> M4A89TD.
>>>>
>>>> Now for the CPU and I have really not been able to determine how
>>>> many cores is optimal for this server.
>>>> I have a knowledgeable coworker who says that three cores is optimal
>>>> and I have not been able to find information to support that or
>>>> dispute it.
>>>>
>>>> 2) The Phenom II series seems to be attractive, so I have been
>>>> concentrating on those, but can someone also help me with the X3,
>>>> X4, or X6 decision?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Joe
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>
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>
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