Virtualization with VT5.2?

[Kevin_Slark]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has created a virtual machine to run VT5.2? I've got a HP NX8600 (2x Intel Xenon X5460 CPUs, 4GB of RAM, 2x nVidia Quadro FX1700s) on the way and was thinking that this machine should be able to support it. My thought is that I'd be able to take a snapshot of the system when I have VT completely configured (I use it for live switching, primarily) and have a great safety net in case of a disaster.

Any feedback?

Cheers,
Kevin

[PIZAZZ]

Haven't done it in a virtual machine. If you want a safety net then after you complete your install, simply image the system drive with Save and Restore or Acronis Drive Image. You can recover from an image like that in less than 20 minutes.

Another approach we have used for some of our mission critical clients is to put the system drive in a hot swap drive carrier. Then image the system drive every week to another physical drive in another carrier. Put that drive on the shelf and only break the glass in case of emergency... :)

Side Note: make sure to boot and test the drive after you image it. :)

This link is to one of the drive cages we use. I like it best because it just uses a raw drive and not a special container for the drive.

http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/kf1000-bk.asp

http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/images/KF_series/1000/enlarge/kf1000_overview.jpg

[PIZAZZ]

By the way, a word of caution about the Quadro graphics cards. You might run into issues with those. Especially with two. You might want to change them out to a pair of more traditional NVideo 9800 GT cards.