Most of new MOCs need powerful hardware to run: Hardware virtualization, 8GB RAM, 120 GB HDD......
I have used a portable Sony VAIO VGN FW21Z ($1500) for the last two years which has worked fine for the last year because Sony did not have the BIOS ready for hardware virtualization and it took one year to do it.
So, either I buy a new laptop or I forget about all the new MOCs.
Could any of you recommend me a laptop with 64 bits processor, 8GB RAM, 500 or more GB hard disk, Hardware virtualization enabled?
When it comes to virtualization, research is key. Keep in mind the requirements for virtualization, most notably the CPU requirements.
Look for CPUs that have either:
Intel -VT
or
AMD-V
Going to their websites would be a good start.
Choosing a desktop or laptop for a lab environment can be tricky.
With a laptop, you might need an external HDD so that the primary HDD doesn’t have too much work to do, and it is also best practice to keep the VMs off the primary partition. One down side to choosing a laptop is the fact that laptops use (and most do) shared memory, meaning less available to both host OS and VMs.
Desktops have a little more flexibility do to the fact they support more RAM and larger HDD sizes and RAID, should you choose to use it.
I would suggest looking at Dell. I always customize my systems to meet my requirements.
It is impossible to single out specific systems to choose from. Cost is always a factor, as are your specific needs
For my personal lab setup, I have 2 Dell laptops and 2 HP servers (all 64 bit), all to run virtualization related applications.
Hope this helps.
I have a similar issue desktop hardware for the new courses seems prohibitavly expensive and suitable laptops impossible to source at any price. Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable desktop and/or laptops that meet the spec for Hardware Virtualisation, 8Gb RAM and 500Gb HDD.
I heard rumours that labs for some courses were to be made available on-line - comments please?
I have a similiar problem. I don't have anything I can prep one of these new classes on and I have to teach it soon. Have you heard if there is any online access to a setup that we can prep with?
Agreed. Microsoft is driving the small training centers and some independent trainers out of the game with their requirements. Heck even trying to train myself has become a chore, but that's another story...
Another thing to keep in mind when looking at laptops is whether the hardware on them will support Windows Server 2008. For example, my organization recently purchased some very high end laptops. Not only are there no manufacturer supported drivers for Server, the NIC chip manufacturer explicitly states that there is no support for Server 2008 with the chipset. So ensure you research ALL aspects of the hardware before you make an expensive purchase for something that you either cannot use or will give you a bigger headache than you already have.
Just as a side note to this thread... I was finally able to figure out how to run the class on VPC 2007 SP1 on my old 32 bit Vista machine. It works fine. Thank heavens.
I had to do the same setup at the training center as well since they don't have the hardware either.
oops.... signed in as wrong account. This is Judy Pipia. Sorry.
Hi;
I have a laptop DELL 1558 and I'm using it for training; I run the hyper-V technology and I have my own training lab on my laptop; It works very good now and I think it can solve your problem;
just the most problem I have now is that when I install the VGA driver on windows server 2008; It shows the blue page and I hate it!!!
It's configuration:
CPU: 1.66
Ram: 4GB (you can order a higher one)
HDD: 500 GB
VGA:1 GB