Ehlo All,
An attendee at our March NY Exchange User Group meeting asked about Microsoft's support policy on the industry leader of virtualization which is running at 100% of all Fortune 100 companies, VMware. There is a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in this realm. So, let me make it crystal clear! Microsoft WILL SUPPORT VMware's SVVP (explained below) solution which is ESX 3.5 update 2. Microsoft virtualized support is for over 30+ server applications & operating systems as per KB ID 957006. Just to clarify, for Exchange 2003 & 2007 SP1 are supported.
Quoted from MS KB # 897615
Additionally, for vendors with whom Microsoft has established a support relationship that covers virtualization solutions, or for vendors who have Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) validated solutions, Microsoft will support server operating systems subject to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy for its customers who have support agreements when the operating system runs virtualized on non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. This support will include coordinating with the vendor to jointly investigate support issues. As part of the investigation, Microsoft may still require the issue to be reproduced independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. Where issues are confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided when that software is not running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.
VMware's Exchange support information for ISV support.
VMware Press Release about ESX 3.5 update 2 support Exchange, SQL, SharePpint, and more. They even quote a 50k seat install on ESX with Exchange by the University of Plymouth in England.
Just to be clear, make sure your issue is non-virtualization related. e.g. not performance or other, and more a configuration or those types of problems. If you have an I/O issue, it could easily be a VM issue, so make sure those subsystems working well and you're 100% sure it's not VM related.
Now, you know the real story behind Microsoft support for virtualization and you can now rest easy. Or the other solution is to have a very good back process running on non-virtualized hardware. That's what I do. Sleep is over-rated.
-Ben
Showing posts with label VMware ESx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VMware ESx. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
In pursuit of my Exchange 2007 deployment - the ugly of VMware ESXi 3.5 and hard drive resizing for Windows Server 2008
Hello All,
How do you resize partition sizes in VMware ESXi 3.5 (version 110271, VI 2.5 build 103682, VCenter 2.5.0 build 104215) and Windows Server 2008 (these were MBR and Simple volumes)?
1) VI client built-in functionality (VI 2.5 build 103682)
2) DISKPART (as included with Windows 2003)
3) GParted (gparted-livecd-0.3.4-11.iso)
4) VMware Converter (3.0.3 build 89816)
5) vmkfstools (VMware ESXi 3.5 (version 110271)
6) none of the above. Re-install the OS.
Spoiler plot... this does NOT have a happy ending. The answer is 6. If you think you can prove me wrong with the versions above, please let me know how.
If you're a reader of my blog skip to the next paragraph, since this is an executive summary for the non-regulars. I'm in the process of finally upgrading to Exchange 2007 from 2003. I've decided to make it a challenge and do it on a platform I have had no experience with, Windows Server 2008. All my clients and all my servers are Windows 2003 or a variation (e.g. R2, x64, etc). To make it even more difficult, even though I have extensive experience with VMware Server and Workstation, I'm running it under VMware ESXi 3.5 [embedded & w/virtual center]. ESXi is a different beast than other VMware products. It contains a WHOLE lot more functionality especially when you add Virtual Center.
After a few months of planning on functionality & redundancy desired, hardware sizing, migration plans, and a number of other factors, I took the plunge into testing. So, I created my base OS images of Windows 2003 (x32) and Windows 2008 (x64) to test for 1 month which turned into 4 months. After I was done testing installs and configurations, I deleted all those images and started again. The party began.
So, I setup base OS images with 30GB partitions since I was planning on adding a minimum of 14 images & 12 virtual machines (aka vm's). Space is a concern since it is 6 x 300GB SAS 10k hard drives in direct attached storage (DAS) in a RAID 10 config. Problem was I mistakenly made the 2008 system partition size 30GB. I figured, it would be large enough. I'm blogging about this, so obviously it was not and the attempted fix wasn't a quick 1-2-3 or even a 2-3 hour fix.
Attempt #1 - How VMware hard drive resizing is suppose to work
So, after making my 2008 partition size 30GB, I figured the beauty of VMware would show of it's skills. Similar to VMware Server & Workstation, you right-click and enter the new larger hard drive size, and click OK, and a few seconds later it would be increased to 50GB. No such luck. Attempting this resulted in ESXi simply ignoring my request to enlarge the partition. No error, nothing. It stayed on 30GB. A bit of research indicated that Windows Server 2008 is NOT supported for hard drive increases via the VMware Infrastructure Client (aka VI). So, I looked into the other options.
Attempt #2 - Diskpart
This techtarget.com article talks about Diskpart, but all the screenshots are 2003 related, so I didn't even bother, since I figured since diskpart shipped with Windows 2003 SP1, it probably was a dead-end solution. Diskpar was Windows 2003 related, diskpart was 2003 SP1 related. You can find a good article about Exchange 2003 and align your partitions for database storage here.
Attempt #3 - GParted
As per attempt #2, that same techtarget article talks about using an open-source partition tool. I uploaded the ISO to the datastore, did the booting, and attempted to modify the partition to 50GB. It reported no additional space execpt for one more 1MB. Obviously, that isn't correct. Next....
Attempt #4 - VMware Converter
I tried this 2 different ways since some sites including the above techtech article here talked about running VMware Converter directly on the server you are attempting to modify the hard drive partition size, and via a remote server. In my case I attempted via Virtual Center. Both ways failed with the same error "Unable to determine Guest Operating system". Problem: Windows Server 2008 is not supported. Oops. Next attempt.
Attempt #5 - vmkfstools
Run a single command to enlarge your partition ("vmkfstools -X 50g ExchangeSrv.vmdk" ["50g" is for 50GB the size you want, and "ExchangeSrv.vmdk" is for the server name]) and all your troubles go away. Or that's how all the documentation sounded. Problem is, you can't run this command via VI or a command line on ESXi out-of-the-box. A number of advanced functionality for ESX require run command line based commands. The only way to do this with ESXi, is to enable console access. This is NOT supported on ESXi by VMware and use your judgement (similar warnings when using regedit). So, to gain console access, I found this handy blog posting that gave a summary how to enable SSH access for ESXi (I found it better than the VMware KB tech article). This is when I had to remember my days back on AIX with the vi editor. Since you need to modify a configuration file, and it's a bit tricky. You'll need to google "vi" if you need help. I then had ssh root access to my ESXi server.
So, I ran the command and then issued a "ls -l" and noticed the server vmdk had increased to 50GB. Awesome, I figured I was done. Nope. So, I then had to run the process in attempt #3, GParted. I ran that and it saw the extra 20GB and enlarged the partition. Almost there. Until I rebooted the server and it failed to boot with a non-bootable error of "winload.exe is missing or corrupt." I started the repair process and then realized I didn't want a base image to be off a corrupt partition or possible issues with files. So, at this point I scrapped the process and did a re-install of 2008.
The best part of Windows Server 2008 is I can install it under 40 minutes on the hardware I'm running. So, this makes it very fast. Also, I recommend you make OS partitions at least 40-50GB. I plan on using a secondary partition for Exchange databases, but I still wanted extra space on the 1st partition. Here are the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 System Requirements. So, I have my 50GB OS partition and a 2nd for the Exchange databases. I return to installing Exchange now.
Good site to explain VMware's resizing of Virtual Disks (primarily for Windows 2003)
Side Notes
- Windows Server 2008 annoyance, why is hibernation enabled on a server OS. I quickly noticed storage was being used up faster than it should. I found out a hibernate file is created on the root of c:\. To delete it and disable this "very useful" [note sarcasm] server feature, open a command prompt and enter "powercfg -h OFF". And it'll delete the file and disable the feature.
- thin provisioning capability (means, create a 50GB partition, and have it dynamically grow. So, only use what you need). Only downside of this, is a reduction in performance. It's only available to SAN based storage. I'll need to explore that in the future.
- I tend to recommend folks avoid Dynamic Disks and GPT based partitions unless there is a requirement to select these since compatibility can easily become a problem with these types of disks. GPT is used when you want partitions over 2TB, as per Dynamic disks, for online resizing (I think) and use of OS based RAID types.
Until next time,
-Ben
How do you resize partition sizes in VMware ESXi 3.5 (version 110271, VI 2.5 build 103682, VCenter 2.5.0 build 104215) and Windows Server 2008 (these were MBR and Simple volumes)?
1) VI client built-in functionality (VI 2.5 build 103682)
2) DISKPART (as included with Windows 2003)
3) GParted (gparted-livecd-0.3.4-11.iso)
4) VMware Converter (3.0.3 build 89816)
5) vmkfstools (VMware ESXi 3.5 (version 110271)
6) none of the above. Re-install the OS.
Spoiler plot... this does NOT have a happy ending. The answer is 6. If you think you can prove me wrong with the versions above, please let me know how.
If you're a reader of my blog skip to the next paragraph, since this is an executive summary for the non-regulars. I'm in the process of finally upgrading to Exchange 2007 from 2003. I've decided to make it a challenge and do it on a platform I have had no experience with, Windows Server 2008. All my clients and all my servers are Windows 2003 or a variation (e.g. R2, x64, etc). To make it even more difficult, even though I have extensive experience with VMware Server and Workstation, I'm running it under VMware ESXi 3.5 [embedded & w/virtual center]. ESXi is a different beast than other VMware products. It contains a WHOLE lot more functionality especially when you add Virtual Center.
After a few months of planning on functionality & redundancy desired, hardware sizing, migration plans, and a number of other factors, I took the plunge into testing. So, I created my base OS images of Windows 2003 (x32) and Windows 2008 (x64) to test for 1 month which turned into 4 months. After I was done testing installs and configurations, I deleted all those images and started again. The party began.
So, I setup base OS images with 30GB partitions since I was planning on adding a minimum of 14 images & 12 virtual machines (aka vm's). Space is a concern since it is 6 x 300GB SAS 10k hard drives in direct attached storage (DAS) in a RAID 10 config. Problem was I mistakenly made the 2008 system partition size 30GB. I figured, it would be large enough. I'm blogging about this, so obviously it was not and the attempted fix wasn't a quick 1-2-3 or even a 2-3 hour fix.
Attempt #1 - How VMware hard drive resizing is suppose to work
So, after making my 2008 partition size 30GB, I figured the beauty of VMware would show of it's skills. Similar to VMware Server & Workstation, you right-click and enter the new larger hard drive size, and click OK, and a few seconds later it would be increased to 50GB. No such luck. Attempting this resulted in ESXi simply ignoring my request to enlarge the partition. No error, nothing. It stayed on 30GB. A bit of research indicated that Windows Server 2008 is NOT supported for hard drive increases via the VMware Infrastructure Client (aka VI). So, I looked into the other options.
Attempt #2 - Diskpart
This techtarget.com article talks about Diskpart, but all the screenshots are 2003 related, so I didn't even bother, since I figured since diskpart shipped with Windows 2003 SP1, it probably was a dead-end solution. Diskpar was Windows 2003 related, diskpart was 2003 SP1 related. You can find a good article about Exchange 2003 and align your partitions for database storage here.
Attempt #3 - GParted
As per attempt #2, that same techtarget article talks about using an open-source partition tool. I uploaded the ISO to the datastore, did the booting, and attempted to modify the partition to 50GB. It reported no additional space execpt for one more 1MB. Obviously, that isn't correct. Next....
Attempt #4 - VMware Converter
I tried this 2 different ways since some sites including the above techtech article here talked about running VMware Converter directly on the server you are attempting to modify the hard drive partition size, and via a remote server. In my case I attempted via Virtual Center. Both ways failed with the same error "Unable to determine Guest Operating system". Problem: Windows Server 2008 is not supported. Oops. Next attempt.
Attempt #5 - vmkfstools
Run a single command to enlarge your partition ("vmkfstools -X 50g ExchangeSrv.vmdk" ["50g" is for 50GB the size you want, and "ExchangeSrv.vmdk" is for the server name]) and all your troubles go away. Or that's how all the documentation sounded. Problem is, you can't run this command via VI or a command line on ESXi out-of-the-box. A number of advanced functionality for ESX require run command line based commands. The only way to do this with ESXi, is to enable console access. This is NOT supported on ESXi by VMware and use your judgement (similar warnings when using regedit). So, to gain console access, I found this handy blog posting that gave a summary how to enable SSH access for ESXi (I found it better than the VMware KB tech article). This is when I had to remember my days back on AIX with the vi editor. Since you need to modify a configuration file, and it's a bit tricky. You'll need to google "vi" if you need help. I then had ssh root access to my ESXi server.
So, I ran the command and then issued a "ls -l" and noticed the server vmdk had increased to 50GB. Awesome, I figured I was done. Nope. So, I then had to run the process in attempt #3, GParted. I ran that and it saw the extra 20GB and enlarged the partition. Almost there. Until I rebooted the server and it failed to boot with a non-bootable error of "winload.exe is missing or corrupt." I started the repair process and then realized I didn't want a base image to be off a corrupt partition or possible issues with files. So, at this point I scrapped the process and did a re-install of 2008.
The best part of Windows Server 2008 is I can install it under 40 minutes on the hardware I'm running. So, this makes it very fast. Also, I recommend you make OS partitions at least 40-50GB. I plan on using a secondary partition for Exchange databases, but I still wanted extra space on the 1st partition. Here are the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 System Requirements. So, I have my 50GB OS partition and a 2nd for the Exchange databases. I return to installing Exchange now.
Good site to explain VMware's resizing of Virtual Disks (primarily for Windows 2003)
Side Notes
- Windows Server 2008 annoyance, why is hibernation enabled on a server OS. I quickly noticed storage was being used up faster than it should. I found out a hibernate file is created on the root of c:\. To delete it and disable this "very useful" [note sarcasm] server feature, open a command prompt and enter "powercfg -h OFF". And it'll delete the file and disable the feature.
- thin provisioning capability (means, create a 50GB partition, and have it dynamically grow. So, only use what you need). Only downside of this, is a reduction in performance. It's only available to SAN based storage. I'll need to explore that in the future.
- I tend to recommend folks avoid Dynamic Disks and GPT based partitions unless there is a requirement to select these since compatibility can easily become a problem with these types of disks. GPT is used when you want partitions over 2TB, as per Dynamic disks, for online resizing (I think) and use of OS based RAID types.
Until next time,
-Ben
Friday, November 7, 2008
Feedback on my 1st Exchange 2007 Install running on Windows 2008
Hello Everyone,
So, I decided to really challenge myself. Not only had I never used or installed Exchange 2007, but I decided to do it on an OS I have had no experience with, Windows 2008 Server (I have a test Vista laptop but rarely use it). So, this was a completely new beast to me. Overall, even though Exchange 2007 has a brand new interface, requires more work on user creation, more complicated install requirements, & Microsoft pushes for you to learn PowerShell scripting, Exchange 2007 has a well laid out interface for configuration and the use of wizards makes learning this product easier than Exchange 2003. Yes, you heard that right. This is easier to setup and manage than Exchange 2003 out of the box. Anyone who is familiar with Exchange 2003, should not have an issue learning Exchange 2007. The learning curve is a lot easier than expected. Remember, I've never seen Exchange 2007 nor have I used Windows 2008 and was able to get the Exchange Server functionality up and running fairly quickly. Good job Microsoft!
My complaints seeing it for the first time, are minor issues, such as copying text from dialog boxes is either not possible or limited, fancy GUI is a waste of CPU processing [View -> Visual Effects -> Never resolves that], and wizards take longer to execute than the old ESM or setting the configuration yourself. But Microsoft has made your life a lot easier with a one stop article (below) to install it. So, would I recommend everyone go out and upgrade, no. I'll address who should upgrade in a future post.
Well, it's taken me a while to finally get to the point of testing Exchange 2007 since performance has not been an issue so far with all the Exchange 2003 environments I've worked on (maybe after a hardware upgrade though). Which is a compliment to Exchange 2003. It's a great product since it's rock solid and scalable when you properly size your Exchange Server.
So, I'm testing Exchange 2007 SP1 (remember, SP1 is the full software code so you don't need to install the base and then SP1, just install the full version via SP1) on the following:
- Windows 2008 Server x64
- OS running under VMware ESx 3i 3.5
- VM configured for 2 CPUs (up to 3GHz/cpu, 8192MB, 30GB OS partition, 240GB Exchange install partition [not needed, but plan to deploy my "production" environment in this configuration].
- non-internet based network (in VMware speak, it's called a "virtual switch")
Recommend you read the following Microsoft article for pre-requisites for Windows 2008 or Vista. This article is excellent and includes the command line code needed to load the necessary software (e.g. Roles, Features, etc).
This URL is a gold mine of information. Save this!!!
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354.aspx
I ran the typical install (all roles minus Unified Messaging on a single server) of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 setup on a Windows 2008 Server after running the pre-requisites as per Microsoft above, I received the following error:
The Active Directory Schema is not up-to-date and Ldifde.exe is not installed on this computer. You must install Ldifde.exe by running 'ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT -ADDS' or restart setup on a domain controller.
Turns out I missed the following command (on the above URL) which I promptly ran on the planned Exchange server and rebooted. My AD is based on Windows 2003 Native Mode environment.
-------------------------
C:\Users\administrator.domaintest>ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT-ADDS
.
Start Installation...
[Installation] Succeeded: .
[Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active Directory
Domain Services Tools.
Warning: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active D
irectory Domain Controller Tools. You must restart this server to finish the ins
tallation process.
Warning: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Server f
or NIS Tools. You must restart this server to finish the installation process.
<100/100>
Success: A restart is required to complete the installation.
C:\Users\administrator.domaintest>
------------------
Next issue was the following SMTP detection issue. The answer to create a "Send Connector" as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/556055 .
---------------
Hub Transport Role Prerequisites
Completed
Warning:
Setup cannot detect an SMTP or Send connector with an address space of '*'. Mail flow to the Internet may not work properly.
Elapsed Time: 00:00:14
---------------
On to the install. When the Exchange setup runs the pre-requisites, it attempts to connect to Microsoft for the latest requirements. Since there is no internet, it fails but it's not reported. This is the setup dialog as it continues. Technically you could disable this auto-internet check using ExBPA and configuring some xml files, but I don't think it's worth the time.
Process took 50 minutes to complete. No errors reported. The next steps are presented by the Exchange Management Console. Here are the more important configuration steps to get up and running in order of importance.
- configure domains for which you will accept e-mail
- configure internet mail flow
- configure the E-mail Address Policies (formerly known as Recipient Update Policy) to automatically change all your users "from" address
[optional/recommended] - configure OAB public folder distribution for Outlook 2003 and earlier
[optional/recommended] - configure SSL for CAS (Client Access Server)
[optional] - configure ActiveSync
[optional] - configure offline address book (OAB) for Outlook 2007
[optional] configure an external postmaster recipient to receive mails from our systems (e.g. NDRs, etc)
I performed the following:
"Configure Domains for which You Will Accept E-mail"
Clicking on the link inside the wizard pointed me to the correct location and then I selected the Actions "New Accepted Domain". You type the "Accepted Domain" which is your emailed domain, and then you probably want to leave it as "Authoritative Domain". If you don't know what this means, this is most likely your correct setting. The other 2 options are Internal Relay Domain and External Relay Domain. Then you're done while you wait for the wizard to run the command which took 15 seconds on my server.
After completing the above, you probably want to make that domain your default. So, highlight the domain you added, and on the Actions, click "Set as Default".
Now, you can receive if you've configured your firewall and DNS for this domain, but you need to be able to send email.
Next step - configuring sending email. In Exchange 2007 speak, "Configure internet mail flow"
Exchange Management Console -> Organization Configuration -> Hub Transport -> Send Connectors tab -> click "New Send Connector..." Actions.
Now you have 4 options
Custom - for sending via non-Exchange servers (e.g. relay servers, your smtp gateway server, etc)
Internal - for sending email to other Exchange servers
Internet - use DNS to route email out. Connect to our domains servers directly.
Partner - for sending to domains with TLS encryption that are listed on the "domain-secure domains".
I selected custom, and for the Address space, listed the accepted domain as entered above, and left all settings as is. Network settings (Use domain name system) which means your Exchange Server will communicate to a variety of other servers on the internet or "Route mail through the following smart hosts". I selected a smart host and entered the LAN IP of it (I never allow my Exchange Server to communicate on the internet. All mail inbound and outbound is routed via another smtp server). Now, under "Configure smart host authentication settings", I left this to "None" since I whitelist the Exchange Server on the smtp relay server. "Source Server" lists this Exchange Server.
Configuring the E-mail Address Policies to change the "from" address
Organization Configuration -> Hub Transport -> E-mail Address Policies -> right-click Default Policy and select Edit.
- add an additional domain entry under "E-Mail Addresses". This is typically your new accepted domain.
- I left the default "E-mail address local part" to "Use alias"
- check "Select accepted domain for e-mail address:" and Browse and select domain used above for "new accepted domain"
- highlight newly added SMTP e-mail address, and select "Set as Reply". It should become bold now.
Adding your First Email User Account
- Now this is back to the good ol' days of Exchange 5.5, somewhat, but not as bad as when Exchange 2007 was first released. You can add the user account in AD, and then head over to the EMC (Exchange Management Console in 2007, formerly ESM in 2003, Exchange System Manager) and under Recipient Configuration -> Mailbox -> New Mailbox... under Actions. You want the basic User Mailbox (there are numerous other options). For User Type, select Existing Users, and select the user(s). Select the Mailbox database and "Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy" if you plan to use that and then click Next. Or you can have EMC create the AD account and then go to the container called "Users" and move it to the correct OU. Hopefully SP2 or an update allows you to select the OU to place the user(s) being created.
And that's it. I logged into Outlook Web Access, and thanks to Microsoft for loading a SSL certificate so out of the box, OWA can be secure & support forms based authenication (major difference from 2003). Some screen shots of OWA and OWA Light. Enjoy.
Initial OWA Login Screen
Your 1st Login Screen and Prompt to Set Time Zone and Language - this is an improvement from Exchange 2003/2000 which the end user had to know to click Settings and set this information.
Logged in OWA on Exchange 2007 running IE 7
Logged in OWA Light on Exchange 2007 running IE 7. This would be similar to Firefox, Safari, and other non-IE browsers.
Comments, feedback, etc.
-Ben
So, I decided to really challenge myself. Not only had I never used or installed Exchange 2007, but I decided to do it on an OS I have had no experience with, Windows 2008 Server (I have a test Vista laptop but rarely use it). So, this was a completely new beast to me. Overall, even though Exchange 2007 has a brand new interface, requires more work on user creation, more complicated install requirements, & Microsoft pushes for you to learn PowerShell scripting, Exchange 2007 has a well laid out interface for configuration and the use of wizards makes learning this product easier than Exchange 2003. Yes, you heard that right. This is easier to setup and manage than Exchange 2003 out of the box. Anyone who is familiar with Exchange 2003, should not have an issue learning Exchange 2007. The learning curve is a lot easier than expected. Remember, I've never seen Exchange 2007 nor have I used Windows 2008 and was able to get the Exchange Server functionality up and running fairly quickly. Good job Microsoft!
My complaints seeing it for the first time, are minor issues, such as copying text from dialog boxes is either not possible or limited, fancy GUI is a waste of CPU processing [View -> Visual Effects -> Never resolves that], and wizards take longer to execute than the old ESM or setting the configuration yourself. But Microsoft has made your life a lot easier with a one stop article (below) to install it. So, would I recommend everyone go out and upgrade, no. I'll address who should upgrade in a future post.
Well, it's taken me a while to finally get to the point of testing Exchange 2007 since performance has not been an issue so far with all the Exchange 2003 environments I've worked on (maybe after a hardware upgrade though). Which is a compliment to Exchange 2003. It's a great product since it's rock solid and scalable when you properly size your Exchange Server.
So, I'm testing Exchange 2007 SP1 (remember, SP1 is the full software code so you don't need to install the base and then SP1, just install the full version via SP1) on the following:
- Windows 2008 Server x64
- OS running under VMware ESx 3i 3.5
- VM configured for 2 CPUs (up to 3GHz/cpu, 8192MB, 30GB OS partition, 240GB Exchange install partition [not needed, but plan to deploy my "production" environment in this configuration].
- non-internet based network (in VMware speak, it's called a "virtual switch")
Recommend you read the following Microsoft article for pre-requisites for Windows 2008 or Vista. This article is excellent and includes the command line code needed to load the necessary software (e.g. Roles, Features, etc).
This URL is a gold mine of information. Save this!!!
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354.aspx
I ran the typical install (all roles minus Unified Messaging on a single server) of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 setup on a Windows 2008 Server after running the pre-requisites as per Microsoft above, I received the following error:
The Active Directory Schema is not up-to-date and Ldifde.exe is not installed on this computer. You must install Ldifde.exe by running 'ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT -ADDS' or restart setup on a domain controller.
Turns out I missed the following command (on the above URL) which I promptly ran on the planned Exchange server and rebooted. My AD is based on Windows 2003 Native Mode environment.
-------------------------
C:\Users\administrator.domaintest>ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT-ADDS
.
Start Installation...
[Installation] Succeeded: .
[Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active Directory
Domain Services Tools.
Warning: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active D
irectory Domain Controller Tools. You must restart this server to finish the ins
tallation process.
Warning: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Server f
or NIS Tools. You must restart this server to finish the installation process.
<100/100>
Success: A restart is required to complete the installation.
C:\Users\administrator.domaintest>
------------------
Next issue was the following SMTP detection issue. The answer to create a "Send Connector" as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/556055 .
---------------
Hub Transport Role Prerequisites
Completed
Warning:
Setup cannot detect an SMTP or Send connector with an address space of '*'. Mail flow to the Internet may not work properly.
Elapsed Time: 00:00:14
---------------
On to the install. When the Exchange setup runs the pre-requisites, it attempts to connect to Microsoft for the latest requirements. Since there is no internet, it fails but it's not reported. This is the setup dialog as it continues. Technically you could disable this auto-internet check using ExBPA and configuring some xml files, but I don't think it's worth the time.
Process took 50 minutes to complete. No errors reported. The next steps are presented by the Exchange Management Console. Here are the more important configuration steps to get up and running in order of importance.
- configure domains for which you will accept e-mail
- configure internet mail flow
- configure the E-mail Address Policies (formerly known as Recipient Update Policy) to automatically change all your users "from" address
[optional/recommended] - configure OAB public folder distribution for Outlook 2003 and earlier
[optional/recommended] - configure SSL for CAS (Client Access Server)
[optional] - configure ActiveSync
[optional] - configure offline address book (OAB) for Outlook 2007
[optional] configure an external postmaster recipient to receive mails from our systems (e.g. NDRs, etc)
I performed the following:
"Configure Domains for which You Will Accept E-mail"
Clicking on the link inside the wizard pointed me to the correct location and then I selected the Actions "New Accepted Domain". You type the "Accepted Domain" which is your emailed domain, and then you probably want to leave it as "Authoritative Domain". If you don't know what this means, this is most likely your correct setting. The other 2 options are Internal Relay Domain and External Relay Domain. Then you're done while you wait for the wizard to run the command which took 15 seconds on my server.
After completing the above, you probably want to make that domain your default. So, highlight the domain you added, and on the Actions, click "Set as Default".
Now, you can receive if you've configured your firewall and DNS for this domain, but you need to be able to send email.
Next step - configuring sending email. In Exchange 2007 speak, "Configure internet mail flow"
Exchange Management Console -> Organization Configuration -> Hub Transport -> Send Connectors tab -> click "New Send Connector..." Actions.
Now you have 4 options
Custom - for sending via non-Exchange servers (e.g. relay servers, your smtp gateway server, etc)
Internal - for sending email to other Exchange servers
Internet - use DNS to route email out. Connect to our domains servers directly.
Partner - for sending to domains with TLS encryption that are listed on the "domain-secure domains".
I selected custom, and for the Address space, listed the accepted domain as entered above, and left all settings as is. Network settings (Use domain name system) which means your Exchange Server will communicate to a variety of other servers on the internet or "Route mail through the following smart hosts". I selected a smart host and entered the LAN IP of it (I never allow my Exchange Server to communicate on the internet. All mail inbound and outbound is routed via another smtp server). Now, under "Configure smart host authentication settings", I left this to "None" since I whitelist the Exchange Server on the smtp relay server. "Source Server" lists this Exchange Server.
Configuring the E-mail Address Policies to change the "from" address
Organization Configuration -> Hub Transport -> E-mail Address Policies -> right-click Default Policy and select Edit.
- add an additional domain entry under "E-Mail Addresses". This is typically your new accepted domain.
- I left the default "E-mail address local part" to "Use alias"
- check "Select accepted domain for e-mail address:" and Browse and select domain used above for "new accepted domain"
- highlight newly added SMTP e-mail address, and select "Set as Reply". It should become bold now.
Adding your First Email User Account
- Now this is back to the good ol' days of Exchange 5.5, somewhat, but not as bad as when Exchange 2007 was first released. You can add the user account in AD, and then head over to the EMC (Exchange Management Console in 2007, formerly ESM in 2003, Exchange System Manager) and under Recipient Configuration -> Mailbox -> New Mailbox... under Actions. You want the basic User Mailbox (there are numerous other options). For User Type, select Existing Users, and select the user(s). Select the Mailbox database and "Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy" if you plan to use that and then click Next. Or you can have EMC create the AD account and then go to the container called "Users" and move it to the correct OU. Hopefully SP2 or an update allows you to select the OU to place the user(s) being created.
And that's it. I logged into Outlook Web Access, and thanks to Microsoft for loading a SSL certificate so out of the box, OWA can be secure & support forms based authenication (major difference from 2003). Some screen shots of OWA and OWA Light. Enjoy.
Initial OWA Login Screen
Your 1st Login Screen and Prompt to Set Time Zone and Language - this is an improvement from Exchange 2003/2000 which the end user had to know to click Settings and set this information.
Logged in OWA on Exchange 2007 running IE 7
Logged in OWA Light on Exchange 2007 running IE 7. This would be similar to Firefox, Safari, and other non-IE browsers.
Comments, feedback, etc.
-Ben
Saturday, August 23, 2008
First Experiences with VMware 3i
Overall, I love it. I'm might start drinking the VMware 3i koolaid. And if you're familiar with VMware Server, this will be an easy transition. Or if you are new, you'll need to hover over icons until you remember what they are. This is pretty easy though. If you don't know, 3i is now free. 3i is a slimmed down version of 3.5 which cuts multiple host type features (e.g. VMotion, Update Manager, etc).
So, I finally had some time today, and after reading all the documentation that came with my new server (Dell PowerEdge 2900 III) and inspecting the inside & removing the USB flash drive (Kingston 1GB) I fired it up. And yes, I normally read all documentation before I start to use a product. And boy, do I like the purr of a dual quad core, six 15k hard drive, & dual power supply server. After about 30 minutes, I actually turned off the music since it was bothering me and listened to the humming of the server.
Some notes on the 3i setup on my Dell. I quickly ran through the BIOS configuration and realized even though I had (read: paid / I don't have enough time in my life with my new daughter) Dell to pre-load 3i on this server, they did not enable the internal USB port to allow VMware 3i booting and on the CPU instructions, VT was disabled. If you recall from my previous blog posting, Intel's VT or AMD-V is a requirement. Nice touch Dell. After that, I booted it up, and 3i just loaded. I changed the root password and set the DHCP IP to static and then used another PC's web browser to download the VMware Infrastructure Client (aka VI Client) which is used to manage your ESx host. The only aspect of 3i I had to configure was storage. So, I gave all 6 hard drives in a RAID 10 configuration to VMware (file system is called VMFS, and I set the block size to 1MB, since I don't expect to have a single file over 256GB) to 3i. So, it handled the formating and everything. So, I now had 836GB of space.
After that, my first OS to install on my new VMware server was Windows 2008 Standard 64 bit. You run through adding a new virtual machine, and I select a CPU, 1GB of ram, and 20GB of hard drive space and place the install CD on your local PC and then select "Connect DVD" and your local DVD/CD automatically appears on the "server vm". I was running this via a 10/100 network, and the install proceeded very quickly compared to Windows 2003. Keep in mind, I had never installed 2008 before. It went very smoothly the install. No issues on install or setup. But, little did I know, the new server OS takes over 10.5GB of space. Holy smokes. I guess I'll be re-installing Windows 2008 again. Oh well.
The management console shows quite a number of performance related statistics (e.g. overall memory usage, network, hard drive, etc) for all virtual machines. Like I initially said, anyone with any VMware Workstation/Server experience will feel right at home, otherwise it's still fairly easy to get around. I'll post again once I dig deeper in the product.
-Ben
P.S. Comments or feedback is always welcome.
So, I finally had some time today, and after reading all the documentation that came with my new server (Dell PowerEdge 2900 III) and inspecting the inside & removing the USB flash drive (Kingston 1GB) I fired it up. And yes, I normally read all documentation before I start to use a product. And boy, do I like the purr of a dual quad core, six 15k hard drive, & dual power supply server. After about 30 minutes, I actually turned off the music since it was bothering me and listened to the humming of the server.
Some notes on the 3i setup on my Dell. I quickly ran through the BIOS configuration and realized even though I had (read: paid / I don't have enough time in my life with my new daughter) Dell to pre-load 3i on this server, they did not enable the internal USB port to allow VMware 3i booting and on the CPU instructions, VT was disabled. If you recall from my previous blog posting, Intel's VT or AMD-V is a requirement. Nice touch Dell. After that, I booted it up, and 3i just loaded. I changed the root password and set the DHCP IP to static and then used another PC's web browser to download the VMware Infrastructure Client (aka VI Client) which is used to manage your ESx host. The only aspect of 3i I had to configure was storage. So, I gave all 6 hard drives in a RAID 10 configuration to VMware (file system is called VMFS, and I set the block size to 1MB, since I don't expect to have a single file over 256GB) to 3i. So, it handled the formating and everything. So, I now had 836GB of space.
After that, my first OS to install on my new VMware server was Windows 2008 Standard 64 bit. You run through adding a new virtual machine, and I select a CPU, 1GB of ram, and 20GB of hard drive space and place the install CD on your local PC and then select "Connect DVD" and your local DVD/CD automatically appears on the "server vm". I was running this via a 10/100 network, and the install proceeded very quickly compared to Windows 2003. Keep in mind, I had never installed 2008 before. It went very smoothly the install. No issues on install or setup. But, little did I know, the new server OS takes over 10.5GB of space. Holy smokes. I guess I'll be re-installing Windows 2008 again. Oh well.
The management console shows quite a number of performance related statistics (e.g. overall memory usage, network, hard drive, etc) for all virtual machines. Like I initially said, anyone with any VMware Workstation/Server experience will feel right at home, otherwise it's still fairly easy to get around. I'll post again once I dig deeper in the product.
-Ben
P.S. Comments or feedback is always welcome.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
When is 64 bit not really 64 bit?
Hello Everyone,
My journey, and I can call it that, for deploying a test environment (running multiple OSes, 32 & 64 bit OSes) based on VMware ESx 3.5 has taken a LOT longer than I expected and has taught me a thing or two about 64 bit. This also explains the bigger problem affecting the uptake of "64 bit" products and how with an idea if adopted can hopefully help dramatically increase admins buying into "64 bit".
There is a lot of talk about 64 bit applications, 64 bit operating systems, 64 bit hardware and all the wonderful things it brings. Well, that might be true, but the current software & hardware state of affairs is that 64 bit is not really 64 bit and can cause a lot of headaches, delays, and stress. Most vendors do not seem to be ready for it. Many "64 bit" applications are coded to run using an emulator (WoW64) for insuring "64 bit" compatibility, a software package might have some 64 bit apps but not all, lack of what level of 64 bit hardware is required, and others. Why? My guess is lack of clear standards and documentation. There is an answer though! 64 bit needs an easy to understand marketing association that can help insure end users that when something says 64 bit, it really is. Something similar to the hugely success compatibility standard called Wi-Fi (aka 802.11b). When someone bought a Wi-Fi card by one manufacturer and an access point by another, there was no doubt it would work. Why? The Wi-FI Alliance tested for compatibility and worked with vendors to insure everything "just worked". This is what we need for "64 bit" if we think it's going to take off. Otherwise, everyone will stick with "32 bit" until it simply does not exist anymore and based on that, that will be a long time. So, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, IBM, etc need to create a 64-bit alliance or call the Wi-Fi Alliance for some marketing assistance. Let's call it "64 bit-Tested for Performance" and a check-mark. Plaster that logo on everything that is fully 64 bit developed & supports Intel's VT or AMD-V.
Now, back to my story about my journey of ESx starting around January 2008 with no end in sight yet. The first step for VMware ESx 3.5 or Hyper-V 1.0 is a foundation based on a quality server. I considered a generic box, but realized, that ESx has a compatibility list (aka Systems Guide http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi35_systems_guide.pdf) for servers due to the drivers since it installs on bare metal (no Windows here folks). So I strongly strongly recommend you read that to insure the server, cpu, and RAID card are all compatible. Hyper-V's requirements are a lot easier since if Windows 2008 installs and it support Intel VT or AMD-V, you *should* be good to go. I've included below all the CPUs that support virtualization.
On to my VMware sage. The first server hardware I attempted to use was an IBM x346. I purchased all the components (e.g. dual core CPUs, 16GB of ram, 6 x Fijitsu U320 300GB 10k HDs) and was ready to start the process. To make a long story short and summarize, the IBM server I was using does not like end users using non-IBM hard drives and a serious bug causing HDs to go offline which affected an entire line of RAID controllers card which prevented the use of the server. I did quite a bit of research and in the end the only answer I found was to replace the HDs with same Fujitsu model # HDs but IBM branded for $1300/each (about $1k more than I paid per drive) or use other IBM branded HDs. Another major flaw in the design of the IBM branded RAID card 7k is the need to boot an IBM RAID CD to gain access to almost any functionality (put a HD back online, replace it, config change, etc). This is horrible and slow process compared to Adaptec, Dell, or HP cards where you simply enter into the card BIOS by pushing a key combination and you make all your changes there. I was not impressed with my first foray with an IBM server. So, I will not be upset if it's my last. Goodbye IBM Servers.
Further reading on my battle with the IBM x346 Server.
To read the issue in more detail, check this out. I'm Benx346 if you're in doubt.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=207574&tstart=0
A "friend" suggested that I try and replace the IBM RAID card with an Adaptec (on VMware compatibilty list) and then connect the new RAID card to the backplane connector with my replacement SCSI cable. Well, a month or so later and trying to get SCSI cabling companies to custom manufacturer a SCSI cable simply isn't possible unless I plan to buy 1000 units. Feel free to look at the rare SCSI connector (micro centronics 80 female SCA) I was dealing with.
http://photos.serebin.com/gallery2/v/ben/temp/ibmx346-cable
Content Alert: anyone who can find me an 18" micro centronics 80 female SCA to LVD high density 68 pin male with ultra 320 data speeds will get a $100 reward.
The 2nd server was a Dell PowerEdge 2850 which supports 2 x dual core 64 bit 2.8GHz CPUs, 6 x UltraSCSI 320 HDs, and 16GB of ram. The unit arrived dead on arrival. So, the vendor only had one unit since it was off lease and ended up credit-ing me back for it. Still no server after 6 months. One of the major downsides of eBay. Things frequently take longer.
3rd Server was a Dell PowerEdge 2850 from another vendor I found via eBay which arrived operational (there are many companies that work with companies giving up servers on leases). I took the 6 HDs from the IBM x346 and installed them and configured them for RAID 10. Moved over 12GB of the memory (only 6 slots versus the 8 on the IBM) and powered it up. Still good and very fast. So, I installed Windows 2003 32 bit, and it went smoothly. I then reinstalled with Windows 2003 R2 64 bit and started my 48 hour burn-in. This burn-in stresses the hard drives, CPU, & ram. The application I use is PassMark's BurnInTest (http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm). Make sure you buy the "Pro" version for 64 bit support. Then I started looking at upgrading the ram to 4GB chips to hit the magic 16GB of ram of which I had calculated to need. I'm not sure what caused me to look at this, but something caught my eye. It turns out ESx 3.0 & 3.5 does not support 64 bit OSes without hardware assisted virtualization (e.g. Intel's VT or AMD-V). I was shocked. I wondered why does VMware Workstation, VMware Server, Microsoft Virtual Server support 64 bit OSes without hardware assistance? The reason was performance. VMware felt performance was too big of an issue, so it was removed. But at least 64 bit was an option under those applications. To be honest, CPU performance is rarely the bottleneck for VMware Workstation/Server or Microsoft Virtual Server, it's I/O which is all hard drive based bottlenecks. So, now I'm back in search of another server. I'll probably bite the bullet and purchase a new Dell Server 2950 Series III or 2970 since I'm familiar with them. Once I start my environment, I'll definitely share it with the blog.
As per the lesson, make sure you know what is required for "64 bit" support. Is this a full 64 bit application (as opposed to a 64 bit application with 32 bit components), 64 bit operating system without 32 bit legacy support, or need for what I refer to as v2 of 64 bit CPU which is the CPU virtualization feature called Intel's VT or AMD-V. Or check and make sure it contains the logo of "64 bit-Tested for Performance" or I can only hope for that.
Best of luck with your "64 bit" projects,
-Ben
CPUs Support Virtualization with the Intel VT or AMD-V Feature.
Intel's Website for it as well
http://compare.intel.com/PCC/default.aspx?familyid=5&culture=en-US
Intel Quad-Core CPUs Series supporting VT
- Xeon 7300, 5400, 5300, 3000, X3200, LV
Intel Dual-Core CPUs Series supporting VT
- Xeon 7000, 5200, 3070, 3065, 3060, 3050, 3040, E3100 (fyi: not all 3000 series are supported)
AMD CPUs Series Supporting AMD-V (Virtualization)
- Opteron 1000, 2000, 8000
AMD does not have a website that I've found as easy to use.
------------------------------------------
My journey, and I can call it that, for deploying a test environment (running multiple OSes, 32 & 64 bit OSes) based on VMware ESx 3.5 has taken a LOT longer than I expected and has taught me a thing or two about 64 bit. This also explains the bigger problem affecting the uptake of "64 bit" products and how with an idea if adopted can hopefully help dramatically increase admins buying into "64 bit".
There is a lot of talk about 64 bit applications, 64 bit operating systems, 64 bit hardware and all the wonderful things it brings. Well, that might be true, but the current software & hardware state of affairs is that 64 bit is not really 64 bit and can cause a lot of headaches, delays, and stress. Most vendors do not seem to be ready for it. Many "64 bit" applications are coded to run using an emulator (WoW64) for insuring "64 bit" compatibility, a software package might have some 64 bit apps but not all, lack of what level of 64 bit hardware is required, and others. Why? My guess is lack of clear standards and documentation. There is an answer though! 64 bit needs an easy to understand marketing association that can help insure end users that when something says 64 bit, it really is. Something similar to the hugely success compatibility standard called Wi-Fi (aka 802.11b). When someone bought a Wi-Fi card by one manufacturer and an access point by another, there was no doubt it would work. Why? The Wi-FI Alliance tested for compatibility and worked with vendors to insure everything "just worked". This is what we need for "64 bit" if we think it's going to take off. Otherwise, everyone will stick with "32 bit" until it simply does not exist anymore and based on that, that will be a long time. So, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, IBM, etc need to create a 64-bit alliance or call the Wi-Fi Alliance for some marketing assistance. Let's call it "64 bit-Tested for Performance" and a check-mark. Plaster that logo on everything that is fully 64 bit developed & supports Intel's VT or AMD-V.
Now, back to my story about my journey of ESx starting around January 2008 with no end in sight yet. The first step for VMware ESx 3.5 or Hyper-V 1.0 is a foundation based on a quality server. I considered a generic box, but realized, that ESx has a compatibility list (aka Systems Guide http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi35_systems_guide.pdf) for servers due to the drivers since it installs on bare metal (no Windows here folks). So I strongly strongly recommend you read that to insure the server, cpu, and RAID card are all compatible. Hyper-V's requirements are a lot easier since if Windows 2008 installs and it support Intel VT or AMD-V, you *should* be good to go. I've included below all the CPUs that support virtualization.
On to my VMware sage. The first server hardware I attempted to use was an IBM x346. I purchased all the components (e.g. dual core CPUs, 16GB of ram, 6 x Fijitsu U320 300GB 10k HDs) and was ready to start the process. To make a long story short and summarize, the IBM server I was using does not like end users using non-IBM hard drives and a serious bug causing HDs to go offline which affected an entire line of RAID controllers card which prevented the use of the server. I did quite a bit of research and in the end the only answer I found was to replace the HDs with same Fujitsu model # HDs but IBM branded for $1300/each (about $1k more than I paid per drive) or use other IBM branded HDs. Another major flaw in the design of the IBM branded RAID card 7k is the need to boot an IBM RAID CD to gain access to almost any functionality (put a HD back online, replace it, config change, etc). This is horrible and slow process compared to Adaptec, Dell, or HP cards where you simply enter into the card BIOS by pushing a key combination and you make all your changes there. I was not impressed with my first foray with an IBM server. So, I will not be upset if it's my last. Goodbye IBM Servers.
Further reading on my battle with the IBM x346 Server.
To read the issue in more detail, check this out. I'm Benx346 if you're in doubt.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=207574&tstart=0
A "friend" suggested that I try and replace the IBM RAID card with an Adaptec (on VMware compatibilty list) and then connect the new RAID card to the backplane connector with my replacement SCSI cable. Well, a month or so later and trying to get SCSI cabling companies to custom manufacturer a SCSI cable simply isn't possible unless I plan to buy 1000 units. Feel free to look at the rare SCSI connector (micro centronics 80 female SCA) I was dealing with.
http://photos.serebin.com/gallery2/v/ben/temp/ibmx346-cable
Content Alert: anyone who can find me an 18" micro centronics 80 female SCA to LVD high density 68 pin male with ultra 320 data speeds will get a $100 reward.
The 2nd server was a Dell PowerEdge 2850 which supports 2 x dual core 64 bit 2.8GHz CPUs, 6 x UltraSCSI 320 HDs, and 16GB of ram. The unit arrived dead on arrival. So, the vendor only had one unit since it was off lease and ended up credit-ing me back for it. Still no server after 6 months. One of the major downsides of eBay. Things frequently take longer.
3rd Server was a Dell PowerEdge 2850 from another vendor I found via eBay which arrived operational (there are many companies that work with companies giving up servers on leases). I took the 6 HDs from the IBM x346 and installed them and configured them for RAID 10. Moved over 12GB of the memory (only 6 slots versus the 8 on the IBM) and powered it up. Still good and very fast. So, I installed Windows 2003 32 bit, and it went smoothly. I then reinstalled with Windows 2003 R2 64 bit and started my 48 hour burn-in. This burn-in stresses the hard drives, CPU, & ram. The application I use is PassMark's BurnInTest (http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm). Make sure you buy the "Pro" version for 64 bit support. Then I started looking at upgrading the ram to 4GB chips to hit the magic 16GB of ram of which I had calculated to need. I'm not sure what caused me to look at this, but something caught my eye. It turns out ESx 3.0 & 3.5 does not support 64 bit OSes without hardware assisted virtualization (e.g. Intel's VT or AMD-V). I was shocked. I wondered why does VMware Workstation, VMware Server, Microsoft Virtual Server support 64 bit OSes without hardware assistance? The reason was performance. VMware felt performance was too big of an issue, so it was removed. But at least 64 bit was an option under those applications. To be honest, CPU performance is rarely the bottleneck for VMware Workstation/Server or Microsoft Virtual Server, it's I/O which is all hard drive based bottlenecks. So, now I'm back in search of another server. I'll probably bite the bullet and purchase a new Dell Server 2950 Series III or 2970 since I'm familiar with them. Once I start my environment, I'll definitely share it with the blog.
As per the lesson, make sure you know what is required for "64 bit" support. Is this a full 64 bit application (as opposed to a 64 bit application with 32 bit components), 64 bit operating system without 32 bit legacy support, or need for what I refer to as v2 of 64 bit CPU which is the CPU virtualization feature called Intel's VT or AMD-V. Or check and make sure it contains the logo of "64 bit-Tested for Performance" or I can only hope for that.
Best of luck with your "64 bit" projects,
-Ben
CPUs Support Virtualization with the Intel VT or AMD-V Feature.
Intel's Website for it as well
http://compare.intel.com/PCC/default.aspx?familyid=5&culture=en-US
Intel Quad-Core CPUs Series supporting VT
- Xeon 7300, 5400, 5300, 3000, X3200, LV
Intel Dual-Core CPUs Series supporting VT
- Xeon 7000, 5200, 3070, 3065, 3060, 3050, 3040, E3100 (fyi: not all 3000 series are supported)
AMD CPUs Series Supporting AMD-V (Virtualization)
- Opteron 1000, 2000, 8000
AMD does not have a website that I've found as easy to use.
------------------------------------------
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