We have some isolated environments where all servers are virtual (including DCs). In this case when we had some data center power issues or did some shut downs, we had to play whack a mole to find the DCs to power them up first. Since these environments were smaller involving 3 hosts each with only 40-60 guest servers per cluster, it was inconvienient and annoying but not seriously painful. We do have the virtual center server on a physical host with a local database now though which helps significantly. We also have rules to keep the DCs on seperate hosts.
In the larger environments the AD team maintains some physical DCs but we've always wondered why. It's not like we don't have a geographically spread out environment with a lot of redundancy and coverage but there you go. Steven Peck http://www.blkmtn.org On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM, David Mazzaccaro < [email protected]> wrote: > Speaking of domain controllers, I am being told 2 different things...**** > > 1) ALWAYS keep a single DC physical. You can certainly have virtual DCs, > but you must have at least 1 physical.**** > > 2) Virtualize everything you can. You don’t need any physical boxes at > all. Period.**** > > ** ** > > Thoughts?**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* Andrew S. Baker [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Monday, April 16, 2012 11:55 AM > > *To:* NT System Admin Issues > *Subject:* Re: Hooray, I'm moving to VMware!**** > > ** ** > > *>> Single "thing" to point backups at - I believe you have to backup > Hyper-V boxes individually? > * > No, you don't have to back them up individually. Lots of 3rd party > options here. > > > *>> No dependency on the domain being present which can put you in a > "fun" situation if you have to power everything off and on again. > * > Your Hyper-V server need not be a domain member.**** > > ** ** > > *ASB***** > > *http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker***** > > *Harnessing the Advantages of Technology for the SMB market…***** > > > > **** > > On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 11:41 AM, Paul Hutchings < > [email protected]> wrote:**** > > I've only used VMware so I'm more than happy to be corrected here, but in > no particular order: > > Single ISO takes you from bare metal to working server. > No third party drivers needed for things like MPIO and NIC teaming. > Single management tool. > Single management server (vCenter) gives visibility to your entire VMware > infrastructure. > Single "thing" to point backups at - I believe you have to backup Hyper-V > boxes individually? > No dependency on the domain being present which can put you in a "fun" > situation if you have to power everything off and on again. > > Outside of usability you then have: > > Pretty much any virtual appliance you care to name will come natively in > VMDK/OVF format > Tons of vCenter add-ins > > I'm very interested in Hyper-V with Windows Server 8 and for us the timing > falls nicely with our SAN and server refresh, but honestly the only reason > I can see for looking at moving would be license costs - VMware works out > expensive if you have more than a few hosts and want more than the basics. > ________________________________________ > From: John Hornbuckle [[email protected]] > Sent: 16 April 2012 3:39 PM**** > > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Hooray, I'm moving to VMware! > > Is the consensus that VMware is easier to use than Hyper-V? > > I've only used the latter, so I can't judge. > > > > John > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Paul Hutchings [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 9:36 AM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Hooray, I'm moving to VMware! > > I'd assume ease of use and market leader. > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Hornbuckle [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 16 April 2012 14:16 > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: RE: Hooray, I'm moving to VMware! > > Someone else asked about this, but I didn't see a reply (although Postini > frequently blocks messages from this list)... What factors led to you > choosing VMware over Hyper-V? > > > > John Hornbuckle, MSMIS, PMP > MIS Department > Taylor County School District > www.taylor.k12.fl.us > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David Mazzaccaro > [mailto:[email protected]] > To: NT System Admin Issues > [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 > 08:38:47 -0700 > Subject: Hooray, I'm moving to VMware! > > > > Just got the ok to move forward with VMware/Citrix/Domain upgrade. > > I have 10 physical servers, and it looks like this will be the > solution: > > > > 3 hosts: ($21k each) > > HP DL380 G7 E5660 > > Pair of 146 15k drives mirrored > > 196 G RAM <- this was $45k alone > > Quad port gig adapter > > > > 2 Switches: ($1,800 each) > > HP 2910 > > > > 1 SAN ($22,700) > > NetApp 2240 > > 12 x 600GB > > > > VSphere Essentials Plus ($5,200) > > > > 6 Windows licenses ($13,600): > > Server 2008 Datacenter > > > > Windows/Xenapp licenses ($26,000) > > > > $40k services > > Install/config SAN, switches, hosts, VMware, new Citrix farm, 2008 > > Domain upgrade, P2V existing servers > > > > Total: $185,000 > > > > Sound good?**** > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin**** > > . > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
