Server Virtualization with ESXi
Harendra Bhandari
Server Virtualization Overview
Install OS, Install Software,
Reboot etc using VMware
client.
System Admins
Network Interface
Virtualized
servers using
VMware Esxi
server(private
cloud)
Use the service through
web browser
Users
How does ESXi work
System Admins
Users
System admins can access
Both OS and ESXi server
OM
OM
OM
OS1
OS1
OS3
ESXi server (hypervisor)
Users can access openmeetings
using browser from any of the installed
OSes.
Applications installed on top of OSes
Operating systems are installed on top of hypervisor.
The hardware resources are provided on demand.
ESXi Layer, it is a resource manager that combines
resources of the physical hardware (CPU cores,
memory, HDD,NIC etc)
Physical server layer,
one or many servers
Our Scenario
Users
System Admins
Users can access openmeetings
using browser from any of the installed
OSes.
System admins from both
Nepal and outside can access the
OS and do anything with it.
Openmeetings will be installed on the top.
OM
OM
OM
OS1
OS1
OS3
ESXi server (hypervisor)
Anybody including the team from Japan and elsewhere can directly
install OSes, do reboot and anything you can do with a physical
machine.
OS1 and OS2 can be production servers and OS3 can be a test
server. Each OS can have its own IP.
ESXi installed.
Physical server at Kathmandu, Pokhara
Comparison of ESXi and Physical machine
Topic
Physical Server ESXi server
GUI Speed
Fast
Slow
Server App Speed
Fast
Fast
Command line
access
Fast
Fast with good
network connection(>512kbps)
Remote OS Install
Not possible
Possible
Remote Reboot
Possible (Prone to problems)
Possible
Multiple OS instances
(simultaneous)
Not possible
Possible
Optimal use of hardware
Not optimized
Optimized
Load balancing
Possible but difficult to achieve
Easily achieved
Backup
Difficult to maintain
Can easily take snapshots and
deployed anywhere in few hours.
Server Hardware Req
Modest hardware OK
Best if hardware used are
Xeon/Opteron processors with
at least 8GB memory.