Building a cloud server

[dowxp]

if you had to build an ESX\windows server, what type of hardware would you choose? single core7 or dual xeon? the costs of a dual socket setup is extremely high- however, the thought of an overclocked machine running 5+ VM's in a datacenter makes me queasy. thoughts?

bottom line- would you trust your overclocked core7 machine for 2 years+ stable operation?

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: dowxp
if you had to build an ESX\windows server, what type of hardware would you choose? single core7 or dual xeon? the costs of a dual socket setup is extremely high- however, the thought of an overclocked machine running 5+ VM's in a datacenter makes me queasy. thoughts?

bottom line- would you trust your overclocked core7 machine for 2 years+ stable operation?

I would never OC a system that was even slightly mission critical. If it's for your home stuff though, why not?
As to older Xeon vs i7, I would say that your choices would be Opteron vs i7...
Older Xeon is no match at all for the Opterons in cloud servers, and while the i7 Xeons are faster than Opteron in the majority of cases, the differences are almost negligible (it will depend on how your are configuring of course)

 

[Dadofamunky]

Core i7 by a nose... the performance numbers are too compelling.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: dowxp
running 5+ VM's in a datacenter makes me queasy.

Is this for work or is this a personal project?
home project --> overclock a single i7
work --> dual xeon

Overclocking a work computer is a great way to get fired.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Overclocking a work computer is a great way to get fired.

Bingo. If you value your job, don't even think of overclocking. If the machine is not yours (i.e. you didn't pay for it directly or if you own it as a personal machine) don't do anything that'll void the warranty. The last thing you'll need is to swallow the costs of replacing the machine, when the server manufacturer refuses to honor the warranty because of your actions.

On the topic of hardware, unless you are going to experience a lot of traffic running through this particular server, a single socketed system will suffice. You would be better off buying multiple machines unless you are trying to keep costs down. However if this server is not going to see much traffic, then stick with a single socketed system.

EDIT: grammar check

 

[afzan]

If you're going to be using ESX then you also need to consider licensing costs - which are per processor. I suspect you meant the free version of ESXi though

if it's for work then use a 'real' server, ie: dual xeon, redundant power, hot swap sas drives, etc

 

[Viditor]

Here ya go...

2 x 6-core Istanbul (12 cores) Opterons
16 DDR2 slots (up to 4 GB Registered Dimms each) for up to 64GB
700w redundant PSUs (1+1)
ATI Graphics

12 cores and even 32GB would give you a Cloud Server that is about as versatile as they get...