Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Dedicated Server : VMWare ESXi

[kg4mxz]

I was looking to get a dedicated server that I could run development on (SVN etc) while running a cPanel installation on another VM for a very small number of clients. I believe the best solution here would be to use ESXi over solutions like OpenVZ. Has anyone had experience with using ESXi in a production environment?

The VMs I am looking to run are:

- 1 x cPanel with ~10 clients
- 1 x Development server (SVN, Python, and MySQL)
and possibly
- 1 x Test deployment server (Python, MySQL)

Additionally, would a Dual-Core Atom 330 at 1.6 Ghz w/ 2GB RAM offer enough horsepower?

[eth00]

The ESXi license is for testing only, it is not licensed for hosting clients like you are wanting to do.

Openvz may actually be the easiest solution for you since you can share the resources among the VPS easily.

That is a pretty low powered machine it just depends on how busy those cPanel clients will be.

[kg4mxz]

Thanks for clarifying that with me. Sounds like I'll be using OpenVZ.


EDIT:

After doing a bit more research, it appears ESXi is truly free now (not under an evaluation license as eth00 indicated).

[chennaihomie]

Consider upgrading to some quad core processor atleast. ATOM will be too much underpowered if you clients on cpanel use more resources. A small premium price for quad core over ATOM for your needs is recommended.

[SI_Support]

I recommend that you use XEN, it is redistributed under the GNU GPL, unlike vmware exsi. And so, as XEN is a paravirtualization it works faster than OpenVZ.

[sailor]

Use VMWare - its the best for the tools and management. There are some really cool things coming as well. There are providers that will give you a copy of the full version for free on the server. just do your research.

Its a great product and cpanel runs very well on it - I have tested cpanel on esx (vsphere 4.0) extensively.

[skullbox]

Originally Posted by sailor

Use VMWare - its the best for the tools and management. There are some really cool things coming as well. There are providers that will give you a copy of the full version for free on the server. just do your research.

Its a great product and cpanel runs very well on it - I have tested cpanel on esx (vsphere 4.0) extensively.

I agree VMware is the way to go. I know ESXi is free, but I think its terms of service state you can't use it for hosting. Not sure on that. I'd use it anyways

[sailor]

Originally Posted by skullbox

I agree VMware is the way to go. I know ESXi is free, but I think its terms of service state you can't use it for hosting. Not sure on that. I'd use it anyways

you can get the full version with private access to vcenter for free from providers - so who cares between esxi - go with the real deal. Plus - you know how much a copy of vcenter is? that alone for free is WELL worth it.

[kg4mxz]

Thanks for the tips. I'll see about providers for VMWare, but right now, its a toss-up. This: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=962233 is the exact use case if it helps