Advice needed: Lab optimization

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Cape

Member
Oct 28, 2015
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Hi,
I've had a small single-node ESXi lab that has served me decently for the past 7 years, but I've increasingly felt the need for more capacity. So, I'm expanding, but I'd really appreciate a bit of advice on how to make the best use of my (admittedly still small) resources:
The original box is based on a SuperMicro X9SPV-LN4F-3QE, so 4 core i7, and 12 GB of RAM.
I now got my hands on a E200-8D, so 6 core Xeon D-1528 and 32 GB of RAM
In addition, I have a LSI 9200-8e which will connect to a shelf of 16 drives.

If you had to make do with this, how would you use it? I'm aware that most solutions will be sub-optimal in many ways, and not near production grade. But I hope to figure out something which is better than what I have :)

After some great help in another thread, I'm considering abandoning ESXi since the centralized management with vCenter would be much too resource intensive (and I don't really need most of the features it gives). Is Proxmox my best choice here?

The main duties for the setup, apart from network infrastructure stuff (FW/DNS/etc), will be doing file share/backup, and development, so nothing too heavy.

I can probably do some upgrades to the two nodes over time (eg going to 16 GB on the old node, and the E200 can take up to 128 GB($$$)), but I'm physically limited to 6U:s of 250 mm depth. So no more nodes...

Let me know if I can clarify anything to make it easier to give advice!
 
Last edited:

gea

Well-Known Member
Dec 31, 2010
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ESXi or ProxMox is a personal decision.
I prefer ESXi due the smaller footprint, the better support for any guests and it gives full independence between VM server and ZFS storage server, even for a virtualized dualhead ZFS storage cluster.

VCenter is totally overkill for a single ESXi server. You may want it with a farm of a dozen ESXi servers. For a single server you simply use local management via your webbrowser. For storage a dedicated or virtualized ZFS appliance is the best solution.
 

Cape

Member
Oct 28, 2015
36
6
8
Sorry if it wasn't clear, one of the changes is that I'm bringing in a second node (the E200-8D, but still keeping the old one). That was why I started looking as vCenter, initially.
What I'm currently missing from ESXi is machine templates (requires vCenter) or something cloud-init-like (not supported at all by VMware, as far as I can tell). So from that perspective Proxmox looks attractive. I do agree with you that ESXi has both nice compatibility and low footprint, but the lack of automation capabilities is sad.
 

Cape

Member
Oct 28, 2015
36
6
8
And to give some examples of setup-alternatives I see:

1)
E200-8D+LSI/Disk array: ESXi/Proxmox+Storage-VM
X9SPV: ESXi/Proxmox
2)
E200-8D: ESXi/Proxmox
X9SPV+LSI/Disk array: Storage on bare metal
3)
E200-8D: Proxmox w/ native ZFS storage
X9SPV+LSI/Disk array: Proxmox

So far I understand the suggestion to be 1), correct?