From: Keir F. <Kei...@cl...> - 2004-09-29 08:38:07
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> Another option, and I'm thinking you are all going to say 'go for that one!', > would be to use 64bit machines for our main cluster, perhaps just using the > two dual Xeon machines I have now for development purposes. That way I could > use lots of RAM and presumably load up even more VMs into each. If I go down > this road, I'm wondering what kind of hardware I should get. Does Xen work > well with Opterons? I'm an AMD fan and would be very happy to use them if I > went for this option. I'm after inexpensive commodity servers, so if anyone > has any recommendations (especially if you are in NZ or Australia), I'm all > ears. Opteron isn't supported yet in 64-bit mode, but it /is/ on the todo list to get it finished off. As opposed to PAE36 mode, which it is highly likley that we will never support. > May I ask how much RAM I could use with a dual Opteron system in a sensible > Xen configuration? What's been tested? You will be able to stuff in as much RAM as the machine will take. :-) > One final question: if I were to ask the directors of the company if they > would be interested in sponsoring big memory on Xeon-based machines, what > kind of commitment would we be talking about? It could be cheaper to do this > than to buy a cluster of dual Opteron machines! I do realise though that the > true impediment will probably be the amount of time you developers have, so > I'll brace myself for disappointment! :o) So you already have an existing 32-bit cluster that you would have to sideline? -- Keir |