So you're running it on top of another platform then? I'm using the packaged Linux kernel from VMware on this system... This is a PowerEdge R310 I believe it has packaged in (I haven't looked in a while) Zeon 3400 8GB RAM PERC H200 http://www.dell.com/us/enterprise/p/poweredge-r310/pd On May 2, 2012, at 7:48 AM, Marc Skinner wrote: > I agree raid 5 should be out of the question for a hypervisor. > > I have done the following for a very robust KVM hypervisor: > > OS: > mirrorred 60gb ssd drives for the OS/utils/etc- $60-$80 a piece on sale (software mirror using md) - LVM on top, and I actually created a 32gb LV for swap - in case my VM's all start using overcommitted memory - better to dip into SSD based swap vs spindle swap. > > once you get a SAN or NAS, you can consider diskless boot as well. > > > Data: > 5 1tb black Western Digital drives in raid-10, 1 hot spare (software mirror using md) = 2 tb usable. i created a KVM_Images VG and then stick all my virtuals into it as LV's. virtmanager is really easy to configure and does all the magic of LV creation etc for you. > > 3 1gb intel nics in bond mode 6 - very happy with the performance thus far. > > > backups, couple of choices - use a 3rd party tool that is KVM-aware, like arkiea or do host based backups. > > or do LVM snapshots, just make sure to reserve enough snapshot room to commit all ongoing changes. > > > i have also used external USB3/SATA3 JBODS from sans digital - they work great for backups! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 05/02/2012 12:32 AM, Ryan Coleman wrote: >> Ok, so you suggest multiples... how do you suggest I go about backing them up? It would be quite difficult to do that on a live FS, right? And logs? >> >> I'm definitely intrigued by this but I am concerned about implementation - especially if I leave the company and they suffer a catastrophic loss without a backup because I wasn't there to do it anymore and someone there thought it was too hard to continue (as the guy who got me my job [and holds the title of 'network engineer'] would definitely react)? >> >> Otherwise I'm giving consideration to a USB2-connected SSD. >> >> Anyone have any suggestions for a RAID enclosure? Preferably self-powered? Thanks! >> >> -- >> Ryan >> >> >> On May 1, 2012, at 11:30 AM, Thomas Lunde wrote: >> >>> If all you're doing is booting off it, your server will be obsolete before the lifespan of any modern flash drive ends. >>> >>> That said, do have a mirror of it sitting spare on the shelf! >>> >>> Actually, I'd have three of them: in use, mirror, known good previous config in case an upgrade doesn't go well. Flash drives (of the capacity you'd need for a boot disc) are cheap. >>> >>> Thomas >>> >>> >>> On May 1, 2012, at 10:46 AM, Ryan Coleman<ryanjcole at me.com> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> On May 1, 2012, at 9:20 AM, Thomas Lunde wrote: >>>> >>>>> Ryan - >>>>> >>>>> From someone who has been bitten before: Beware RAID-5 rebuilding times! >>>>> >>>>> With N drives in R5, you can lose 1. If you lose a second during the rebuild, it's time to take the whole thing down and restore from backup. Since rebuild time is proportional to the size of the array and because hard drives are getting lots bigger without getting much faster, that rebuild time could be a lot longer than you expect. >>>> >>>> Yeah, I know but I'd rather have the capacity with the tolerance than not at all. >>>> >>>>> I've sworn off of RAID-5. >>>>> >>>>> RAID-10 or RAID-6 or just pairs of RAID-1 with LVM on top of it are all safer than 5. >>>>> >>>>> (Hmm - can anyone take a swing at characterizing the performance of RAID-10 vs. RAID-1 with LVM on top of it?) >>>>> >>>>> You mention adding 2, then 2 more. That gets my count to 6 drives. You said you have 4 bays. I would NOT run RAID over USB. (Yes, you can and I've done it to play with. Under load, I got enough random disconnects and errors that I wouldn't put it into production. ) >>>> >>>> That's the same 2, sorry. >>>> >>>>> Do you have enough SATA ports, physical space and cooling capacity to handle 6 drives? >>>>> >>>>> You mentioned that speed is not a concern. If you don't need the space now that 6 drives would provide, you might consider only using 4 and then doing this dance again with 4 TB drives in future. >>>> See above. >>>> >>>> >>>>> Andrew may have been driving at putting your boot device on another, smaller volume. I have a server that is stuffed with 2 TB drives, but the OS lives on a very small USB thumb drive. It barely touches it after the initial boot and lets me use the server's bays for "real" disc space. >>>> >>>> I could possibly see this... I'd probably look at one of those micro USB drives; but I'd have to get a few of them. I don't like the lifespan of Flash. >>>> >>>>> Just some thoughts. >>>>> Thomas >>>>> >>>> Thanks, Thomas. I'll look into the costs. >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota >>>> tclug-list at mn-linux.org >>>> http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list >>> _______________________________________________ >>> TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota >>> tclug-list at mn-linux.org >>> http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list >> >> _______________________________________________ >> TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota >> tclug-list at mn-linux.org >> http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list >