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xen-users
Re: [Xen-users] Home Xen hypervisor for master's project
Dnia 20-02-2011 o 02:44:32 Joseph Commisso <commissoje@xxxxxxxxx>
napisał(a):
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?
This is where the difference between Intel and AMD is the biggest. Intel
seems to be disabling CPU features at random and this will lead to
problems with virtualization.
Assuming you are interested in going with at least a quad core. Three
cores may also be enough, but two would likely be too few if you want to
run several VMs at once. This immediately limits your options to only some
CPUs.
I assume you won't be getting a Sandy Bridge i5 due to the SATA 2
controller issue in the chipset, so the only i5 is Lynnfield (750 and
760), but neither has support for VT-d. All Lynnfield Core i7 CPUs support
VT-d apart from 875K (just so you know, I don't think you were interested
in that one, anyway). Support for VT-d with 900 series depends on the
motherboard and its BIOS.
Conversely, AMD enables everything on its entire CPU range. If it's based
on K10.5, it will have support for AMD-V, memory ECC, and with the right
motherboard (currently limited to 890FX-based), IOMMU. Your choice, but
for virtualization, especially on a budget, nothing beats AMD.
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.
Not totally different. If anything, some features may have been fused off,
but otherwise the dies are exactly the same. Since Intel is using LGA
across the board, they have the same mounting as well (AMD uses PGA
sockets, while all current Opterons use LGA).
One feature missing from consumer version of Intel CPUs is lack of support
for ECC on any of the buses (I'm not sure about cache ECC). This is
important, because if you want to run a server, you'll want to have ECC
protection on pretty much everything, so if you want to go with Intel, get
a Xeon (even i7-900 series don't support ECC memory or QPI). AMD, on the
other hand, does support ECC on both HyperTransport (by design) and on the
memory controller with all current consumer CPUs.
Fundamentally, however, there are no differences between the enterprise
and the consumer versions of a given CPU. If any given software demands a
'server-grade CPU', rather than server-specific features, it's usually
bogus, since, e.g., an Athlon with ECC memory is server grade, while an
Opteron with no-ECC memory is not, regardless of the CPU brand.
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!
If you want to wait, Intel will have fixed Sandy Bridge chipsets by March
and revised motherboards may hit the market in volume by mid-March. Going
for that will give you a wider choice of CPUs with VT-d support (although
still not as wide as you'd probably like and still no support for ECC).
Now, all the above assumes that you will want to make use of VT-d/AMD-Vi.
Once you finish your thesis, I doubt you'll continue running the cloud
services (for which VT-d is maybe an afterthought), but you will want to
make the machine relevant for home use. If you prefer running a Linux
desktop, but you'd still like to play the latest games in a Windows VM
(where IOMMU shines), then there's no choice, but to go for something that
supports IOMMU. Note that using a machine at home usually implies that you
won't be needing ECC, so if you're fine with no ECC, then feel free to
disregard the caveat about Intel Core CPUs.
Regards,
Marek
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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