Reply to: New Gig tomorrow...

[stek]

Back to the crux, good day in m/cr, area around Dale st. not changed at all, somehow comforting. Usual first day new contract, no lappy, borrowed desktop, chair that looked like it had been pissed on, ball mouse, keyboard with only one leg, usual stuff, no big deal!!

At least I got root and logins day one, cannae complain!

Best of all after contracting everywhere and moving away from the area, the accents feel like err, normal. They call a barm cake a barm cake here...

Kinda feel back home...

Not doubt it will all turn to rat tulip, the contractors mantra....

'No doubt it will all turn to rat tulip' - my new motto!

[stek]

I think you can run virtual box but it won't run wintel stuff. (vbox is part of the VDI core solution so I think its supports both sparc and x86 for that). If the software is single threaded and crippled theres not a hope in hell for any of the multi core boxes (intel or T4) you can only hope and pray that an M5K will do the job otherwise you get into the seriously expensive stuff.

Think that's Sun xVM (now part of Oracle Ops Center) which is special version of VirtualBox to run in the VDI solution but still only runs on x86 servers. The database/SGD/Sunray components of the VDI solution can run on SPARC, but the VM's have to run on x86.

The only real firmware-based virtualisation you can do on SPARC is via the LDOM framework, now known as Oracle VM. You can run SPARC Linux in them, as you can run Linux for pSeries on IBM POWER LPARs.

[bobspud]

Thanks Stek/Bob - I hadn't realised that you can't run Wintel VMs within a VBox on the T4s. Overlooked the fact they aren't x86 based We've got a Sun blade chassis with some X86 cards, running Windows Vbox VMs, so may look to put them there.

We already use NetBackup so will probably go down that root.

The applications running within the zones are mainly made up of single threaded processes, talking over IPC. I'm hoping the reported performance increases on the new T4 chip will be OK, otherwise I'll look at the M-series boxes I guess. But as you say, the T4 servers do seem to be very keenly priced (I think my clients gets a 50% reduction on list price).

I think you can run virtual box but it won't run wintel stuff. (vbox is part of the VDI core solution so I think its supports both sparc and x86 for that). If the software is single threaded and crippled theres not a hope in hell for any of the multi core boxes (intel or T4) you can only hope and pray that an M5K will do the job otherwise you get into the seriously expensive stuff.

[Normie]

Hi,
I would stay with a standard whole root zone for most things. I don't think that there is much point running vmbox on a T4 server because you cannot run wintel vm's on a T4 thanks to the chip architectures. A standard Net backup backup solution is a far safer way to make sure you can rebuild the server or recover data. I don't like the idea that you only back up changed blocks because that suggests the guy running the backups never EVER lets a backup job fail... I have just been quoted for some t4-2'2 to replace an v890 and I have to say the quotes I have had back have been extremely keen. almost as cheap as the high end intel servers...

Thanks Stek/Bob - I hadn't realised that you can't run Wintel VMs within a VBox on the T4s. Overlooked the fact they aren't x86 based We've got a Sun blade chassis with some X86 cards, running Windows Vbox VMs, so may look to put them there.

We already use NetBackup so will probably go down that root.

The applications running within the zones are mainly made up of single threaded processes, talking over IPC. I'm hoping the reported performance increases on the new T4 chip will be OK, otherwise I'll look at the M-series boxes I guess. But as you say, the T4 servers do seem to be very keenly priced (I think my clients gets a 50% reduction on list price).

[bobspud]

<Technical Mode On>
I'm putting together the costs for a new cusotmer solution - probably a pair of the new Oracle/Sun T4-2 servers - running a few Solaris zones and some Vbox instances. Do you use Vbox? If so, what are you using to do backups? I know with VMware most of the backup solutions use the Changed Block Tracking (CBT) feature to reduce backup size considerably - anything similar available for Vbox? Backup is on my To DO list today so will be Googling later - just wondered if you had any experience with it.

All this Vm/Vbox stuff is new to me, so still finding my feet so to speak.

Hi,
I would stay with a standard whole root zone for most things. I don't think that there is much point running vmbox on a T4 server because you cannot run wintel vm's on a T4 thanks to the chip architectures. A standard Net backup backup solution is a far safer way to make sure you can rebuild the server or recover data. I don't like the idea that you only back up changed blocks because that suggests the guy running the backups never EVER lets a backup job fail... I have just been quoted for some t4-2'2 to replace an v890 and I have to say the quotes I have had back have been extremely keen. almost as cheap as the high end intel servers...

[stek]

<Technical Mode On>
I'm putting together the costs for a new cusotmer solution - probably a pair of the new Oracle/Sun T4-2 servers - running a few Solaris zones and some Vbox instances. Do you use Vbox? If so, what are you using to do backups? I know with VMware most of the backup solutions use the Changed Block Tracking (CBT) feature to reduce backup size considerably - anything similar available for Vbox? Backup is on my To DO list today so will be Googling later - just wondered if you had any experience with it.

All this Vm/Vbox stuff is new to me, so still finding my feet so to speak.

Those are SPARC boxes, you'd be best to run LDOMs (Logical Domains - akin to IBM LPAR's) on those, and maybe containers (aka Zones) on top of those. I certainly wouldn't run them a full systems unless there is a business need to.

Re: Vbox, that's x86 AFAIK so won't run on SPARC. I don't know much about it I'm afraid, except they deffo won't run on non-X86 hardware.

If you use ZFS as the filesystems on the T4, the snapshotting is similar, just recording delta changes, seems to work well.

Having said that I got out of Sun-land as soon as Oracle took over, plus I feel the IBM virtualisation platform is far more mature and the latest POWER7's are serious iron.

If you need more detail google 'Oracle VM Server' - that's the software that let's you create LDOM's on T-series servers.

[stek]

Good luck. Out of interest hows the rates? I gave up in the Solaris / Unix market when the rates went from 550 a day down to 300. I miss the scene though.

I see high four hundreds in AIXland for me. North of England too.

[Normie]

Well!


Basically Unix VM's - thats wot I do. AIX/Solaris/HP-UX..

None of the VMware wanna-be stuff, just doesn't do the job in the enterprise...

<Technical Mode On>
I'm putting together the costs for a new cusotmer solution - probably a pair of the new Oracle/Sun T4-2 servers - running a few Solaris zones and some Vbox instances. Do you use Vbox? If so, what are you using to do backups? I know with VMware most of the backup solutions use the Changed Block Tracking (CBT) feature to reduce backup size considerably - anything similar available for Vbox? Backup is on my To DO list today so will be Googling later - just wondered if you had any experience with it.

All this Vm/Vbox stuff is new to me, so still finding my feet so to speak.

[bobspud]

Good luck. Out of interest hows the rates? I gave up in the Solaris / Unix market when the rates went from 550 a day down to 300. I miss the scene though.

[Spacecadet]

I well remember having a few in a boozer within sight of Strangeways Jail, full of warders and newly-released prisoners oddly enough...

Not rough anymore, well not as and Strangeways gone so that doesn't happen.

Strangeways Prison is still there

[northernladuk]

Well i'm in Leeds already, from Bolton originally, still in touch, well aware M/Cr is 'cotton and guns'!

Cock-stride from here!

As far as I am aware, (C)anal (S)treet is the gay bit, tho even there it's so touristy now you never get your bum felt, I know, I keep going and nowt.

Gay blokes can spot a straight bloke from 100 yards so this wouldn't happen. It is the 7ft trannies grabbing you by the throat for staring you want to worry about.

Even in 1994-on when I was contracting for BR/Railtrack/Insert-your-TOC-here around Victoria was well rough, I well remember having a few in a boozer within sight of Strangeways Jail, full of warders and newly-released prisoners oddly enough...

Not rough anymore, well not as and Strangeways gone so that doesn't happen.

On the other hand, I have a First Class Ticket to and from and I demand my breakfast...

Back to' Manchesto'! (the " ' " denotes short vowel a la soft sign in Russian translit)

Jump in, the water is lovely.

[stek]

Whats your secret? I hate being on the bench

Good luck!

Well!

I had seven months of nowt, nada, night, nichogo in 2009......

Now I've had three on the go at once, and a promise of a return to another anytime if I want.

Basically Unix VM's - thats wot I do. AIX/Solaris/HP-UX..

None of the VMware wanna-be stuff, just doesn't do the job in the enterprise...

[SimonMac]

Whats your secret? I hate being on the bench

Good luck!

[stek]

Well i'm in Leeds already, from Bolton originally, still in touch, well aware M/Cr is 'cotton and guns'!

Cock-stride from here!

As far as I am aware, (C)anal (S)treet is the gay bit, tho even there it's so touristy now you never get your bum felt, I know, I keep going and nowt.

Even in 1994-on when I was contracting for BR/Railtrack/Insert-your-TOC-here around Victoria was well rough, I well remember having a few in a boozer within sight of Strangeways Jail, full of warders and newly-released prisoners oddly enough...

On the other hand, I have a First Class Ticket to and from and I demand my breakfast...

Back to' Manchesto'! (the " ' " denotes short vowel a la soft sign in Russian translit)

[northernladuk]

Bring a brolly.

and a knife. Manchester has changed.