Should I virtualise Ubuntu server?

[morecw]

Hi all,

I'm planning to make the leap from Windows 2008 to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server as I'm sick of the poor performance issues of Windows.

This server will be dedicated to hosting OTRS and SugarCRM CE for 10-20 agents/users (plus 5 OTRS customers at any one time).

Dell Poweredge R300
Quad Core Xeon L5410 (2.33GHZ)
8GB RAM

My question is: Should I install Ubuntu server directly on the server or within VMware (workstation 9), AND if so what is the ideal host o/s to run vmware on? Perhaps running on top of Ubuntu Desktop 12.04? I see the obvious vm benefits; snapshots, flexibility etc. but I don't want to risk compromising performance too much. Yes I will probably try both out anyway however I'm just interested in gathering some opinions from some experts out there.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Morecw

 

[theevilsharpie]

If you want to go with Ubuntu, running your production load within a KVM virtual machine would give you the flexibility you seek while keeping the performance to as near-native as possible.

That being said, Windows Server 2008 is not an inherently poor performer, nor will a poorly-performing Windows system magically turn into a perfectly-performing Ubuntu system. If you have a production system currently running on Windows that's not performing as it should, you should diagnose the cause of the performance issue first.

 

[smakme7757]

If i was you i would start with theevilsharpie suggestion of diagnosing what's wrong with your server. Server 2008 is a nice platform, there certainly isn't any major performance issues i know about.

Secondly i would use Hyper-V instead of VMware Workstation as Hyper-V is a baremetal hypervisor so it will offer higher performance. Ubuntu also has the Hyper-V integration services as part of the Kernel so you shouldn't have any issues with regards to compatibility.

 

[morecw]

I probably wasn't clear enough. This new production server isn't currently in use, we're running Windows on an older server but still I think it's just common knowledge that Linux gives a better performance than Windows? All web professionals advise me to host using Linux

 

[theevilsharpie]

I probably wasn't clear enough. This new production server isn't currently in use, we're running Windows on an older server but still I think it's just common knowledge that Linux gives a better performance than Windows?

It depends, but I can't think of any situation offhand (of a technical nature, anyway) where Windows is especially slower or faster than Linux, other than Linux requiring less RAM for a base system.

All web professionals advise me to host using Linux

Linux dominates the web host/VPS/cloud market because the cost of Windows' licensing makes it uneconomical to use it at scale compared to free operating systems, and Linux is the most mature and best supported of the free offerings.

It doesn't look like any of your applications are dependent on Windows, so Linux is a decent enough choice, and can potentially save you some cash if you're hosting it. However, if you're only using a handful of servers, the best option is to use the OS that you're most comfortable with managing.

 

[Paperlantern]

Use VMWare ESX/ESXi. Even if you only use one VM on it, it is far easier to back up and restore if something breaks in the guest, as well as migrate to new hardware when the time comes.

Nevermind the fact that you can get console access to the server (or any VM you put on it) from any computer there.

As for the actual server to run the services, I have no opinion on that particular matter other than pick what suits the services that need to be tendered the best. I'm of the mind that there is no good better best OS, they are only tools, pick the correct one for a job, and the job becomes that much easier.

 

[morecw]

Use VMWare ESX/ESXi. Even if you only use one VM on it, it is far easier to back up and restore if something breaks in the guest, as well as migrate to new hardware when the time comes.

Nevermind the fact that you can get console access to the server (or any VM you put on it) from any computer there.

As for the actual server to run the services, I have no opinion on that particular matter other than pick what suits the services that need to be tendered the best. I'm of the mind that there is no good better best OS, they are only tools, pick the correct one for a job, and the job becomes that much easier.

Thanks for all your feedback and sorry that I've only now had chance to respond. I take your point about esxi. Having done some other research it seems like the only rational approach to running vmware on a server and keeping the unnecessary resource drains out of the picture. I will install Ubuntu server 12.04LTS as my guest.

 

[morecw]

I should have made clearer the fact that the current Windows 2008 web server is actually installed on different hardware and it's a total migration of the apps to a new server & o/s that we're gonna undertake.

For web apps like SugarCRM I know already that they run notably slower on Windows (on the same hardware) as I've tested it out already and even without all the optimisations added to Ubuntu which were necessary on Windows, the app runs considerably faster.