Topic: suggestion of a virtualization section in the forum

[purvis]

With out all the hoop la, i believe it would benefit this forum to have its own section of virtualization.
Why you ask.
To make it better for us to test or run sme server.
Being that sme server will run in ram that is typically low, a virtualized machine offers many benefits, for testing or production.
One of the benefits also is that it can be easily backed up or snapshot of the current system.
Centos 5 has virtualization built in as far as i know.
So why again a separate section just for virtualization.
Simply because it is most the time is a real challenge and there are so many problems in setting it up on different systems.
Problems usually come from the host environment(types of processors, hard drivers, network cards, operating systems).
Some problems come from inside a sme server guest operating system, such as a clock not being correct in the sme server.

Setting up a virtual host machine that operates correctly has been really tough on me. Luckly i have had the time and i have used a lot of time. Most people would of already quit.
But by having a single place to share information on visualization of what works and does not work, or any other information will help people to start utilizing sme server more.
Some of you are probably thinking, we do not support that. Well if you think that way, then i think you are narrow minded and have not considered the benefits it would provide to the continuation of sme server and the speed at which maybe things get applied and tested without losing a great amount of time in rebuilding a sme server.

I believe this would be the best place for sme server users to get information on making a virtualized system that works well with sme server and cost effective being purchasing the correct equipment and establishing the host virtualization installation.

Contribs.org does not have to quote "support virtualization", but provide hopefully a single place where forum users can go to get possible answers and share information without it being spaghettied and/or lost in the shuffle of other topics. This area of virtualization will grow over the years and fast too.

Using virtualization either on the host or quest is where i see a big benefit for SME Server.
Let me close also saying that new equipment is changing faster than SME Server can support it and visualized machines would take up a lot of the slack.
So to those that have control and wisdom of contribs.org , please make a forum section just for Virtualization and NOW.
Thanks for hearing my plea.



 

[CharlieBrady]

Contribs.org does not have to quote "support virtualization", but provide hopefully a single place where forum users can go to get possible answers and share information without it being spaghettied and/or lost in the shuffle of other topics.

That's what the wiki is for.

[purvis]

the wiki is for discussion Charlie?

[CharlieBrady]

the wiki is for discussion Charlie?

No, for sharing information, and as a place for people to go to get possible answers.

[purvis]

Wiki should be a place for correct 100 percent how to's.
In the case of virtualization, there is no 100 percent to get things going.
That is why i believe there needs to be a separate place.

Charlie, i saw some post of yours awhile back and from what i remember seeing, you appeared negative on the subject of virtualization so to be down right honest with you, i figured you to be the first negative person i would come across.
I hope that is not so, and i hope i am wrong in what i said about you being negative.

 

[Stefano]

Purvis, there's no need of a new forum section..

if you use SME as a virtual machine, you can find help searching for centos info
if you use SME as a host, as long as you manage to setup your virtualization sw (vmware, virtualbox, whatever), there's nothing to add

my 2 €c

[purvis]

I sure had a lot of problems with it and a lot of it had to do with different machines and wrong information.
I felt it would be good for the forum users here to have a good place to look for better answers than i have seen else where.
Also it might encourage  a lot of users to get their feet wet in the area and install sme server 8 for testing purposes to help get the thing going.
 

[purvis]

I am not trying to be self centered here with virtualization, i can work through it, but if there is a path that makes it easier for others, then i would think it would come as rewards in having more input and resolved issues of various kinds with running of SME server. There are kinds of flavors of virtualization platforms other than just centos.

[Stefano]

I've installed SME as a VM in vmware1, 2, esx3, VB (many versions).. no problem at all but with the clock
I've setup also VMware1.x and 2.x on SME without issues..

in any case, any time I had a problem I've searched with Google and solved it in minutes..

i'm curious to know what kind of problem you had.. feel free to contact me

[purvis]

Thanks Stefano, i will get back with you on that if i can have a rain check.

[CharlieBrady]

Charlie, i saw some post of yours awhile back and from what i remember seeing, you appeared negative on the subject of virtualization ...

I think virtualization is great, and use it all the time. I'm "negative" on VM deployment of production SME server, however. Bare metal deployment is simpler and more reliable.

[Stefano]

Bare metal deployment is simpler and more reliable.

I tend to agree, but I prefer to use 100% of my hw with many VMs insted of using many physical servers

[CharlieBrady]

I tend to agree, but I prefer to use 100% of my hw with many VMs insted of using many physical servers

You have sufficient knowledge and problem-solving skills to deal with the lower reliability (i.e. more problems) of virtualized deployment. For average users, I strongly recommend bare metal deployment.

[tomsmsp]

VM talk...my fav.  Hi SME honchos.  I'll chime in with a vote for a virtual computing forum addition with sub sections of hardware, software and networking.  I'm new here. 

I decided to give SME my best shot over your friendly competition Clearos, Zentyal, Avahi, MS SBS 2011. I like RHEL-Centos.  WHY?  As someone else wrote...it's automated!   Seriously...you guys have a super system here....I've banged my head for not moving over sooner from MS.  MS is doing some cool stuff with the open source coop now apart from their usual patent issue dominance.  I 'm sure SME still has growth potential because it has the best base and long experience in it.

On growth...shrink....it's all a cycle to me. Just don't ignore the obvious demands not the little gripes.   If you have lost users-admins it is because the market is in total flux right now.  It will settle some time future into virtual based systems.....drum roll...obviously. Gotta deal with it folks.  What is of concern to most is old style looks, bad security and slow response web apps.  Peeps and I too would like the web to respond like a desktop OS (pxe boot and Chrome OS come to mind)  and it's happening fast.  GUI talk.  Looks matter to some...I think it's a pride of ownership thing partly.  I like WP, Joomla-Drupal...meh.  Clean and functional standards we all have to pick.  SME's web mgr is ok...could use a facelift but function and layout are good.  As long as it doesn't work like early webmin I'm happy.  Just some feedback for ya's after reading alot about the current and past history of SME Server-centos frays.  Just friendly debate to me..not griping..mostly...   The threads I read and this distro are in the flux with everything right now so it's all normal biz stuff topics to me.  Biz as usual..open source style.   This distro has great value from the investment it holds from alot of past hard work...don't let the ..."I want the latest stuff" peeps get ya down.  There's alot more to servers than being out on the cutting edge as Charley and others have said and I agree with that.  However I am for including php5.3, mysql5 and apache(nginx-lighttpd?) as current as possible.  Going back and checking versions when one is hot to trot for a new web app is not good for anybody's community.  It's just the web section (if deps allow this)...the rest can be brought up as normal, imho.  So I know you need help..I'll contrib to writing wiki stuff way before programming.

Glad to be here.  Hope it's for awhile too.   

[purvis]

Hi
Still working out things on my vm applications.
I am on an iphone typing so i will
just get to some points.

It is wonderful that the new version of sme( uses more than 3 gigs of memory. I thought i had to use a 64 bit version for that for multiple vms operating at one time using memory that totals more than 3 gigs.
I am going to use somr features sme has with the mostly windows based vm. So i am happy to be letting it be the host os to the vm.
I have pretty much settled on vmware sever versiin 2.
The machine i am going to use is a intel dual core 3.2 mhz processor.
Playing with one drive so far. I am considering solid state drives at this time because of the read speed is fast.
i have 5 windows 2000 pro machines running at one time with 512 megabyte memory.
These are vm that will be remote controlled a lot for internet access using my sme host squid caching software.
I have my vms running in bridged ethernet mode, but i could put them in nat mode and let the sme server act as a gateway server mode i would suspect.