[SIMS] Moving sims to virtual

[itgeek]

Hi

We are planning to move our physical sims.net server into our virtual environment. Please could you tell me what problems I could face sand if anybody has done this?

Thanks

[FN-GM]

We did it years ago and haven't had any issues at all.

[Abaddon]

Same here - no problems at all.

[Arthur]

Ditto. No issues either.

[camel]

Another happy customer here.

[vikpaw]

Just benefits really Details in my sig'. Snapshotting before doing an upgrade is invaluable.
You might want to take a look at the newly published white paper on virtualisation, which recently appeared on SupportNet. I'm about to take a read.
Resource #19548 (in case link fails!) : http://support.capitaes.co.uk/user/d...D7%DC%F1%9B%D2

[vikpaw]

My apologies, for not reading it first, more fool me for thinking it would be useful. It's just a put down. Nonetheless, it's useful to know their stance in terms of support.

[matt40k]

Thought it was rather good, points out that they support the software regardless of hardware, virtual or physical and points out that virtualization might right for your SIMS server.

[vikpaw]

I read it as a warning of the 'perceived' benefits, and how complex it is, and how although it is supported, it may cost extra and they could well insist you go to the virtualisation professional you employed for support if they can't work out the issue.

[itgeek]

What kind of spec have you given the VM? I have seen @vikpaw.

Thanks

[matt40k]

You'll be suprised @vikpaw how many calls I've had that SIMS has broken since the upgrade, which actually it's since they started to load up the virtual environment. You suddenly start to find it's like running everything off one server again.

SQL Server generally doesn't like being virtualized, it eats resources so it doesn't play well with other VMs.

[Birchy]

My Sims server has been virtualised on VMware for nearly five years, with no issues whatsoever. When hosted SLG was setup the engineers remoted in to our sims server and didn't even know that it was virtual. As vikpaw says, snapshotting before an update is a major benefit.

[jinnantonnixx]

You'll be suprised @vikpaw how many calls I've had that SIMS has broken since the upgrade, which actually it's since they started to load up the virtual environment. You suddenly start to find it's like running everything off one server again.

SQL Server generally doesn't like being virtualized, it eats resources so it doesn't play well with other VMs.

That's not our experience at all. It runs like a dream on a well-planned system. Furthermore, VMWare makes efficiency savings if you have identical guest OSes/server apps as the hosts make use of shared memory (physical page sharing).

One proviso - I'd build it from scratch, then backup/restore the databases. I wouldn't attempt to use a P2V utility, no matter how tempting. Furthermore, you'll have the old system intact in case things go south.

Here's a useful 'best practices' guide about SQL on VMWare.
http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/sql_server_virt_bp.pdf

Also, this should be compulsory reading for any SQL bod. Pay attention to the sections headed "Poor Performance By Design" and "The Biggest Mistakes". You can ignore the advice and take the defaults, but don't be surprised when it doesn't perform well.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28721265/P...rver-Error-Log


And for the $PROPERTY of $DEITY, size your database files properly. Don't rely on auto-grow - its function is to prevent the server from crashing, it's not a management tool.

[matt40k]

That's the point Capita are making, doing it right can be great, doing it badly can land you in more trouble. For example, buying a "cheap" NAS then running 30 virtual servers off it, don't be suprised when you get Disc performance issues.

[LukeC]

Anyone running sims in a hyper V environement?