Symantec Management Platform (Notification Server)

We run Altiris CMSlvl1, SMSlvl1, and Sql Server 2k all on one piece of hardware. We need to replace this box and are considering going virtual with it. Can Altiris run as a Virtual server in VMWARE? Can SQL Server 2k run as a virtual server in VMWARE? Should the SQL Server be a seperate virtual server or part of the Altiris virtual?

If this can be done, what would the downside be to setting it up this way?

Hi Shannon,
Although it isn't officially supported, I know you can run NS and DS on VMWare. The big issue is SQL, which I would never run on VM, primarily for performance reasons. So, if SQL was off-box on a physical system, I would think you could easily put the NS on one VM and the DS on another (depending on your configuration).

HTH,

Jim

Hi Shannon.

I've mentioned this many times in this forum, but I'm a big fan of VMWare as it makes machine management much easier.

It is true that VMWare does give you an overhead on disk I/O (~10%), but ESX is constantly refining the code to reduce this.

What I tend to do (where possible) is to use VMs, and only put low disk utilisation VMs on the same storage as the NS box. To overcome the overhead of the virtualisation, I spec the storage with a few extra spindles than I would have otherwise.

The time (and therefore cost) savings if using virtualisation (in my opinion) soon pay dividends even taking into account the slightly increased spec.

I also try to avoid using remote SQL databases for NS. And in the case in point of virtualising your NS, but having a remote SQL DB you've kinda lost the advantage of virtualisation. You can't now snapshot your NS VM before an upgrade, test and rollback. The remote SQL database has been upgraded, and this hasn't been rolled back by the process. You've now got an extra process of backing up and restoring your NS database too.

Kind Regards,
Ian./

Thanks Ian, that is great feedback. I was approaching it purely from the utilization that SQL can take, especially in a large environment. However your solution is much more refined!

Hello all,

In the latest SP4 version, the ESX platform is oficially supported as a server, but.... Is it still a good idea?

Thanks
Santi