Hyper-V on a PE2950, plus access to TOE and direct-attached storage

Question

HI:

I would like to set up a Hyper-V system on a PE2950 (series II); has anyone tested Hyper-V on this server?

Also, this PE2950 has TOE; will TOE work under Hyper-V, or should it be disabled?

Finally, the PE2950 only has direct-attached SAS drives at this time. Most of the reviews I have seen discribe using a SAN when setting up virtualization. However, I have found nothing saying I cannot use direct-atached SAS drives. Is there any reason to expect problems giong with direct-attached stoarge at this point? Can I add access to a SAN later?

Thanks,
Mike

mobiusworks · Answer

'HI: I would like to set up a Hyper-V system on a PE2950 (series II); has anyone tested Hyper-V on this server? Also, this PE2950 has TOE; will TOE work under Hyper-V, or should it be disabled? Finally, the PE2950 only has direct-attached SAS drives at this time. Most of the reviews I have seen discribe using a SAN when setting up virtualization. However, I have found nothing saying I cannot use direct-atached SAS drives. Is there any reason to expect problems giong with direct-attached stoarge at this point? Can I add access to a SAN later? Thanks, Mike ' I can't quote directly on the 2950, but we have 2900 (the tower versions) running Hyper-V just fine. Direct-attached SAS drives will work fine as long as you have the room for the Virtual machines. SAN is not required. I'm not sure on the TOE functionality unfortunately. Just make sure you have plenty of RAM for the machine and virtual machines. I recommend 2GB or more per VM.

Scott Hanson · Answer

Todd did some work on the iSCSI offload on the R805, similar, so you might find it interesting. He blogged about it here -- http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/10-01-2008+Enabling+Onboard+iSCSI+Adapter+on+R805+-+Comments

And the page is here -- http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Enabling+iSCSI+Adapter+on+Broadcom+5708+on+R805

Todd is back later today, he was on vacation, so I'm sure he'll chime in on this thread with his thoughts.

virtualTodd · Answer

I believe that TOE will work as I was able to get the iSCSI offload to work on the broadcom NICs in the R805. The only thing I have seen specific to people having problems was with NIC Teaming and Hyper-V. I haven't had a chance to try it out - so I would be very interested to find out if it works for you. Even more interesting would be if there is a noticeable difference in performance.

Todd

Virtualization General

Hyper-V on a PE2950, plus access to TOE and direct-attached storage

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