correct way to setup vmware on 2950 2

[dnacomputers]

dont want to be a pain but :
we have:

a 2950 (server 1) 2x quad 2.3Ghz 6x 750Gb raid5 and split into 2 partitions c: 2.0 Tb d: 1.5 Tb, this is fine had hdd fail other day swapped for new one all worked fine. this server now only runs dns, dhcp, exchange, and pdc roles

1x hp dl380 (server 2) both dual 3.0 Ghz 6x 146 raid 5
runs main workload, database, terminal services, remote applications, accounts etc

1x hp dl380 (server 3) both dual 3.0 Ghz 6x 146 raid 5
used for technical services (toy to play with) prior to implementation

all servers run legit server 2008 but not thinking about it we didnt know a lot of services dont run on the pdc (server1 ) so had to set up (server2 ) to run applications,

i think it makes sense to set up one server, being the dell 2950, with two virtual servers running within,

Q1 will there be any forsee-able probs with the 2950.

q2 would server 2003 (not in the domain) be the better host environment as it comes with tape backup software,

q3 which would be best backup solution, have 128t etc

 

[fugtruck]

A1
I run VMWare on 2950s and they perform just fine with web, e-mail (not exchange), and MSSQL and MySQL servers. A word of advice though. If/when you start thinking about having more than one physical server running virtual machines, you WILL want some sort of centralized network storage to store your virtual machines on in order to get the maximum benefits of virtualization (being able to quickly move a VM from one physical host to another, etc.).

A2
"Better" is a very subjective term. Personally, if I am going to be building a new server, I go with the latest version of the OS unless I have a very specific need for an older version (i.e. application compatibility). It just makes sense to me to not start out out-of-date.

A3
"Best" is even more subjective than "better". The only way you are going to know what works for you is to try out the eval versions from different vendors and see which ones you like best that are in your price range. Different products have different strengths and it is really going to come down to the specifics of your infrastructure along with what your backup requirements and media rotation policies are.

 

[jkupski]

DNA: How much RAM does that 2950 have? That's going to be a major factor in how successful your attempt to virtualize is.

Fugtruck: For the most part, I agree with you about picking the most recent (compatible!) OS, but in this use case, I tend to support 2003, and for the same reason the OP is looking at: native tape backup for Exchange.

Note, if you have some spare licenses floating around, the best of both worlds would be Exchange on 2008, with 2003 in a separate VM serving as your backup host--installing the management tools on the 2003 box will make NTBACKUP Exchange aware, and given you're on the same host, using the same storage, your "remote" backups will effectively run at near local performance.

 

[dnacomputers]

thank chaps
we went on as discussed, we used server 2008 as the host as it was hosting, pdc and ms exchange so it would be easier to dcpromo down, backup exchange and to transfer the roles onto the appropriate vm servers, we then set up four servers

1/ pdc, 2008 r2 ent running pdc dns, dhcp, avg server,

2/ app, all apps, databases, processes, terminal services etc

3/ web, hopefully to run intranet rather than terminal services, as all of our apps are ms office based they should run via iis with security

4/ 32, to combat ms for the continued cockup with 32/64 bit drivers,

problems were that in a crash on the host the host needed the pdc to get info before it would run therefore the whole startup process woud take around 45 minutes before we coud restart production

proposed solution is to install 2003 on an pe1850 to run all pdc services and to handle pv128t tape backup, and remove the same roles from the vm servers.

otherwise vm is the way to go, i crammed the contents of four rackcabs, into two servers 3U total, tape library 4U, 3000va ups 2U, 9U + 4x1U 24port switch

many thanks for your help any other suggestions welcome