G+_Sam Patel Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'm trying to setup a virtualization server at home using a free solution. I've used VMWare at work. I tried Proxmox but so far I've had all sort of issues with it. Maybe just me. I'm looking to host both Windows and Linux virtual machines. Anybody have any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_610GARAGE Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I am currently using Xenserver at work. I find that it works great. Performance is reasonable and stability is excellent. There is a free version and a paid version. They make you jump through some stupid hoopes with the free version. The most notably is that you have to apply updates manually from the command line. It also requires xencenter to to do anything with the server, which is windows only. But it will run windows and linux. I did have some problems getting certain; non approved linuxes to run, but I just stick with centos6, so it wasn't a big issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_David Alitz Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 On Windows Oracle's VirtualBox is good and free for home use. On Linux I generally use KVM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Joshua “Wizdum” Burgess Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 610bob The need to install updates from the command line was apparently removed in version 6.5 of the free XenServer. I have been using XenServer for a couple years now, it seems very stable. I am currently investigating Ovirt though. Since we are a Linux shop, the requirement to have a Windows box for running the XenCenter software is annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Doesn't XenServer have issues with USB? Slight hijack: are there any VM systems that are their own host? ie: no Windows/Linux, but the VM server is the base/host OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_610GARAGE Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Virtualbox is a great when you want to experiment with os'. But When I tried to use it as a full blown vm server, I found that the guest would become buggy and unusable over a couple of days. I tried it with windows and linux hosts, but with the same effect. Joshua Burgess I'm glad to hear that. Updating one patch at a time was starting to get annoying. Especially for a new install. Eddie Foy I never had an issue with usb, but you're not going to be hooking up a bunch of usb devices to the host. Once installed, you don't touch the host, so you don't even need a keyboard hooked up. Concerning you'r second question, I think Xenserver is what you are thinking. You install Xenserver as an os. However, there isn't a vm server strictly its own os from the ground up. Xenserver is based on centos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brandon Jasper Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 VMware ESXi is free. If you use it at work it pays to use the same technology at home as it also becomes a training environment. I have a couple of servers built for ESXi. My workplace has an unlimited license for VMware use and even has a VMware rep who works in our office. I got my vCenter license through them. It's how I trained for my VCP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Sam Patel Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 I'm leaning towards ESXi but the only thing holding me back is the need for Windows for VSphere. I only run Linux at home. Has anybody used the web client? I read that it doesn't cover all the functionality of the thick client but does it cover enough to get by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brandon Jasper Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 vSphere can run on a vAPP now. It's just a SUSE virtual machine you install, run a short setup, and get going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Joshua “Wizdum” Burgess Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Sam Patel Just remember that you need to pay for a license to get access to the web client. Thats my biggest problem with ESXi. People say its free, but everything needs a license. I'm surprised there isn't a license required for changing your freaking password. If you're a linux shop, you should look into alternatives that run KVM or Xen on top of linux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Sam Patel Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 I just installed ESXi on a bare metal system. I don't run Windows on any of my computers, so for management I decided to use Sun's VirtualBox to host a Windows instance just so that I could install VSphere client. Everything seems to be working well. I'm running an old AMD CPU 2x 4400+ 64 bit (without virtualization support in CPU) with 4 Gigs of RAM. Things are terribly slow while still functional. It's good for learning how things work. Some questions: + I read that without virtualization support in the CPU, you couldn't install 64 bit OS virtual machines. However, I was able to install Ubuntu 64 bit just fine as far as I can tell. Am I missing something here? + Anybody have any suggestions for hardware specs for a home effiicient, low power, quiet rig that's not thousands of dollars? What CPUs are best for virtualization server? What kind of hard drives? NAS? I know there are plenty of posts on Google but I thought I'd ask the Know How crowd. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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