2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host
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@scottalanmiller what do u recommend for VM host? Xen ? KVM?
Which one is more stable and more user friendly for windows based user like me?So I do raid 1 for ssd and raid 1 for sata? And where should i install the vm host to? Hopefully u can help me the proper step to setup it properly. Sorry noob here.
Thanks scott
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
So I do raid 1 for ssd and raid 1 for sata?
Yes.
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
And where should i install the vm host to?
Install it to your 1TB HDD RAID1, not the SSD RAID.
At least with Hyper-V that's the way I'd go, I can only assume it would be the same for KVM and likely Xen. I wouldn't want to waste space on the SSDs for the hypervisor that doesn't do anything.
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
Which one is more stable and more user friendly for windows based user like me?
Hyper-V Server 2016 will be the most user friendly out of the box, especially if you are already familiar with it.
Otherwise, I'd suggest KVM. There's a lot of ways to manage it. You can do it remotely via another Linux desktop using Virtual Machine Manager:
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
Will be used for web apps, database, and hostings (whm).
Ok so 2 raid 1 it is then.
Is it better to use mdadm / onboard raid IT mode?
Not sure what IT mode means. Any one can help?I use supermicron server board
You want a hardware RAID almost 100% of the time in the SMB.
Unless you really know what you are doing with MD, and it does not sound like you do.
You want a real hardware RAID controller. From the Supermicro site here is a list.
https://www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/storage_cards.cfmI do not know which of those are good or bad though.
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@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
And where should i install the vm host to?
Install it to your 1TB HDD RAID1, not the SSD RAID.
At least with Hyper-V that's the way I'd go, I can only assume it would be the same for KVM and likely Xen. I wouldn't want to waste space on the SSDs for the hypervisor that doesn't do anything.
I would even go so far as to find any old SATA drive laying around and drop it in directly to the onboard SATA connector and install Fedora/CentOS/RHEL to that.
Then when you setup KVM or Hyper-V (or what ever hypervisor you choose) install to that drive and setup the two RAID arrays as storage locations.
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@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
And where should i install the vm host to?
Install it to your 1TB HDD RAID1, not the SSD RAID.
At least with Hyper-V that's the way I'd go, I can only assume it would be the same for KVM and likely Xen. I wouldn't want to waste space on the SSDs for the hypervisor that doesn't do anything.
Would be the same for Xen too, definitely.
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@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
- What filesystem I should use on the host? ext4 or LVM? or other?
But you always want an LVM, and you never want EXT4.
When you install Fedora 26 for example, it will use EXT4 by default. So if you're not paying attention, you'll end up with that
Last I knew, that was only on workstations, where it doesn't matter so much. I'm using it on my laptop because... whatever.
It does it on Server too. I just installed F26 minimal a couple days ago... it's using EXT4. I'm redoing it now ^_^
/boot uses ext4
/ uses xfs -
@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
- What filesystem I should use on the host? ext4 or LVM? or other?
But you always want an LVM, and you never want EXT4.
When you install Fedora 26 for example, it will use EXT4 by default. So if you're not paying attention, you'll end up with that
Last I knew, that was only on workstations, where it doesn't matter so much. I'm using it on my laptop because... whatever.
It does it on Server too. I just installed F26 minimal a couple days ago... it's using EXT4. I'm redoing it now ^_^
/boot uses ext4
/ uses xfsNot on workstation installs. No XFS at all.
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@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
- What filesystem I should use on the host? ext4 or LVM? or other?
But you always want an LVM, and you never want EXT4.
When you install Fedora 26 for example, it will use EXT4 by default. So if you're not paying attention, you'll end up with that
Last I knew, that was only on workstations, where it doesn't matter so much. I'm using it on my laptop because... whatever.
It does it on Server too. I just installed F26 minimal a couple days ago... it's using EXT4. I'm redoing it now ^_^
/boot uses ext4
/ uses xfsNot on workstation installs. No XFS at all.
My response was toward the server install.
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@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
- What filesystem I should use on the host? ext4 or LVM? or other?
But you always want an LVM, and you never want EXT4.
When you install Fedora 26 for example, it will use EXT4 by default. So if you're not paying attention, you'll end up with that
Last I knew, that was only on workstations, where it doesn't matter so much. I'm using it on my laptop because... whatever.
It does it on Server too. I just installed F26 minimal a couple days ago... it's using EXT4. I'm redoing it now ^_^
/boot uses ext4
/ uses xfsNot on workstation installs. No XFS at all.
My response was toward the server install.
That's not what it does by default for me when using F26 Server Edition (from net install) and doing minimal or regular server installs.
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@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@black3dynamite said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
- What filesystem I should use on the host? ext4 or LVM? or other?
But you always want an LVM, and you never want EXT4.
When you install Fedora 26 for example, it will use EXT4 by default. So if you're not paying attention, you'll end up with that
Last I knew, that was only on workstations, where it doesn't matter so much. I'm using it on my laptop because... whatever.
It does it on Server too. I just installed F26 minimal a couple days ago... it's using EXT4. I'm redoing it now ^_^
/boot uses ext4
/ uses xfsNot on workstation installs. No XFS at all.
My response was toward the server install.
That's not what it does by default for me when using F26 Server Edition (from net install) and doing minimal or regular server installs.
That's weird, I've tried multiple times and I still get same the setup.
/boot/efi = EFI System Partition
/boot = ext4
/ = xfs
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@jaredbusch but isnt it risky when your old sata hdd fail? Wont it fail the whole system?
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@jaredbusch but isnt it risky when your old sata hdd fail? Wont it fail the whole system?
I did not mean a literal old drive. I meant any random 250 or 500 GB drive you have laying around and never really used. I have a collection of them taken from computers that shipped with SATA drives but I installed a 3rd party SSD instead.
But to answer the question, why would you not have the configuration all baked up? This is the same for ANY hypervisor. If the OS shits, whether due to physical drive failure or corrupted OS, you need to reinstall.
By not having the OS on the same array, reinstalling the OS does not affect your data.
Yes, you can get around that by only using a small partition on the array, but still. the headache is the same. So just put it on another disk.
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@jaredbusch ok noted with thanks. I got the idea now.
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@jaredbusch ok noted with thanks. I got the idea now.
I usually cut a small partition out of the big RAID10 (or in your case the RAID1). Like 50 GB for the hypervisor, and use the rest for DATA (virtual disks).
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@jaredbusch ok noted with thanks. I got the idea now.
This is a spot where Jared and I differ. He prefers an "old drive" for the Hypervisor. I generally prefer that it share space on the main array. But both approaches work. The one thing you never do is invest in a high performance array just for the hypervisor, it just doesn't matter. Also, Jared's approach really only makes sense if you have spare old drives. If you have nothing, it doesn't make much sense. Most people have old drives around, so it often can be done easily. But not always.
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@tim_g said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@jaredbusch ok noted with thanks. I got the idea now.
I usually cut a small partition out of the big RAID10 (or in your case the RAID1). Like 50 GB for the hypervisor, and use the rest for DATA (virtual disks).
This mirrors my approach.
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@scottalanmiller yup. In my case i have limited slot, so i guess i will put host and vm guest in my raid 1 sata hdd 2tb. Including the non critical vm there. And put the critical vm in raid 1 ssd.
Correct?
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@kuyaz said in 2 RAID 1 or 1 RAID 10 for VM Server Host:
@scottalanmiller yup. In my case i have limited slot, so i guess i will put host and vm guest in my raid 1 sata hdd 2tb. Including the non critical vm there. And put the critical vm in raid 1 ssd.
Correct?
This is correct.
Just make sure you only use a 20-50GB partition for the host.
