Vmware or HyperV set up with a drive pool

[charlieny100]

I'm going to be replacing the server I currently have and virtualization is going to play a part. I will be running Server 2012 R2 and will either install VMWare Workstion 10 or run HyperV. I'm leaning towards HyperV since it is part of the Server OS. The virtual machines will not reside on the drive pool.

 

I want to have a drive pool of about 8 TB for various media folders and am thinking of setting this up in the Server OS. I'd like to give access to this in various Windows/Linux/OSX virtual machines - I know I'd need VMWare to virtualize OSX. Is it best to just share the drive pool folders as network shares so the virtual machines can access the data? Is there a better way to do this? I'm in the planning stage now and am open to suggestions. I've heard about physical drive pass thru and am wondering if there is a place for that here.

[Christopher (Drashna)]

The simplest way will probably to to just share the files on the host. Most Operating systems are capable of reading Windows shares without any issues.

 

Also, as for VMWare vs HyperV, do you have any specific use cases in mind here?

Also, keep in mind, that you can't install and use both products at the same time. It's one or the other.  

 

 

Also, if you're using Server 2012R2 Standard, the license includes the license to two virtual machine. That means that you can install Standard as the host, and in HyperV, two copies of Standard in VMs, with the same key. 

Also, if you're using Standard, you do need to have the proper CALs for the system to be properly legit.

However, if you're using an MSDN account, this is more or less a moot point, as they for development (but good to get used to proper practices)

 

As for pass-through, you set the disk offline using disk management or diskpart, and then you can add it to a VM. However, you can't share the offline disk between active VMs. It's the same as VHDs. Only one active VM can use the disk at a time.

[otispresley]

From the VMware side of things, why would you use VMware Workstation rather than ESXi?  Is it just because you want to use Windows Server as the base OS, or is there another reason?

 

The reason I ask is because of the difference between Software and Bare Metal Hypervisors.  With Workstation, you are using the Windows drivers to communicate with your system hardware.  This causes a performance hit.  Exactly how much impact depends on how powerful your system is.  Also, it would be competing for system resources with Windows Server processes that have nothing to do with Virtualization.

 

A Bare Metal Hypervisor contains the drivers to communicate directly with your system hardware and runs only processes that are necessary for Virtualization and management of the system.  ESXi is such a product, as well as the server role in Windows Server.  There is also a Hyper-V core version that is free and only has the components of Windows Server necessary to run and manage Hyper-V.

 

I am just laying out options for you.  Personally, I use ESXi on my server and run Windows Server 2012 Essentials in a VIrtual Machine.  The disks used for DrivePool are passed through to it.  The pass-through feature in ESXi is a bit different than it is in Hyper-V.  With ESXi, you have to uncheck the RdmFilter.HbaIsShared setting under Advance Settings in the Software configuration of the host.  

 

After that, any physical disk you add to the system will be available for pass-through to a VM as a Raw Device Mapping (RDM).  This does not format the disk, and these disks cannot be part of a VM backup using the free script ghettoVCB.  Having passed through disks also prevents you from being able to take a memory snapshot of the VM.

 

These are just some things you should consider.  Virtualization can be as complex or as simple as you want...it all depends on what features you want to use and what virtualization product you are using.

[charlieny100]

Personally, I use ESXi on my server and run Windows Server 2012 Essentials in a VIrtual Machine.  The disks used for DrivePool are passed through to it.  The pass-through feature in ESXi is a bit different than it is in Hyper-V.  With ESXi, you have to uncheck the RdmFilter.HbaIsShared setting under Advance Settings in the Software configuration of the host.  

 

After that, any physical disk you add to the system will be available for pass-through to a VM as a Raw Device Mapping (RDM).  This does not format the disk, and these disks cannot be part of a VM backup using the free script ghettoVCB.  Having passed through disks also prevents you from being able to take a memory snapshot of the VM.

 

 

So you have the OS running your drive pool virtualized. I got it.

 

When you add the drive you say it does not format the disk. Can I move an existing drive pool to the virtualized OS? In other words, if it already exists and I pass them through will the virtualized OS see the pool?

[otispresley]

 

So you have the OS running your drive pool virtualized. I got it.

 

When you add the drive you say it does not format the disk. Can I move an existing drive pool to the virtualized OS? In other words, if it already exists and I pass them through will the virtualized OS see the pool?

 

That is correct.  Since pass-through does not alter the disk in any way, you can pass-through existing pooled disks to a Virtual Machine with DrivePool installed and still have all your data and have the drives automatically form a pool.