topic Integrity VM in Operating System - HP-UX

Integrity VM

Tim Medford — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:14:28 GMT

We are planning to use Integrity VM software to split up an rx3600 11iv2 server into 2 virtual machines. Let's call them development and sandbox. (I have no experience using the HP virtualization software on HP-UX.)

About 95% of the time I want all the resources going to the development server. On rare occasions we need to test something on the sandbox server.

What I'm wondering is if I can just run development as the real host o/s and then run the sandbox server inside a VM?

What I wasn't sure about is whether you must run all systems as VMs once you install the VM software? Or can I just startup a VM when I need it and run it like a regular box the rest of the time??

Thanks,
Tim

Re: Integrity VM

Hein van den Heuvel — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:44:26 GMT

>> We are planning to use Integrity VM software to split up an rx3600 11iv2 server into 2 virtual machines.

Cool. I think it is a very promissing concept.

>> About 95% of the time I want all the resources going to the development server. On rare occasions we need to test something on the sandbox server.

Maybe if the sandbox was more readily avaiable, it would be used more timely, creatign optimal productivity?

>> run development as the real host o/s and then run the sandbox server inside a VM?

IMHO you should keep the host clean.
Admittedly it sounds like in your case there is quite a bit of tolerance for misbehaving apps on the host influencing the (sandbox) guest, but still.

Have you checked the 'Best practices' whitepaper?
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/downloads/c00677597.pdf
Specifically section: Tuning Virtual Machines for Applications

"When deploying an application on a virtual machine, the operating system running on the virtual
machine should be tuned for that application as recommended by the software or hardware
vendor. The operating on the VM Host should not be tuned for that application â it is already
tuned for best VM performance. Moreover, the application is running on the VMâ s operating
system, not that of the VM Host."

>> What I wasn't sure about is whether you must run all systems as VMs once you install the VM software? Or can I just startup a VM when I need it and run it like a regular box the rest of the time??

That would defy the purpose no?
You would still have to fight the users for an appropriate reboot window.

The Memroy allocation is going to be the trickiest. Best I know the current VM versions require a static allocation. While VM clients can share CPU resources they can not borrow memory.

Hope this helps some.
Hein van den Heuvel
HvdH Performance Consulting

Re: Integrity VM

Duncan Edmonstone — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:53:45 GMT

Is ther anything to stop you doing this?

No.

Should you do this?

No.

Looking at the install and admin guide:

http://docs.hp.com/en/T2767-90004/T2767-90004.pdf

p24 states 'Do not run end-user applications on the VM Host.'

This is for a good reason - the way VMs are assigned CPU load would be effected by anything with considerable CPU requirements running outside a VM guest.

So the way to work your configuration is to create your 2 VMs assigning 95% of CPU resource to your dev VM. When you want your other VM to get resource use hpvmmodify to alter the assignments.

I wssn't sure what you meant by your last comment 'can I just startup a VM when I need it and run it like a regular box the rest of the time??' You can certainly have your sandbox VM stopped most of the time if you don't need it - is that what you were asking?

HTH

Duncan

Re: Integrity VM

melvyn burnard — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:44:06 GMT

Ok to answer the last question, you have a server with the HP-UX 11.23 OS installed, and also install the Integrity Virtual Machines software. This now makes it the VM Host.
This lets you create virtual machines (hardware) on which you then install virtual guest OS's (software).
The origional system is still there, now known as the Virtual Machine Host.
You can create, modify or remove Virtual Machines without affecting the VM Host.

What you should NOT do is run any applications on the Virtual Machine Host.

Take a read of the following, as well as the rest of the documents at http://docs.hp.com/en/vse#HP%20Integrity%20Virtual%20Machines
:
http://docs.hp.com/en/9275/BestPractices6.pdf
http://docs.hp.com/en/9452/TopTenTips2.2.pdf

Re: Integrity VM

Tim Medford — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:59:07 GMT

Wow, a 3 pharaoh response!! Thanks everyone for the input.

I think Melvyn anwered my question. I was hoping I could run all our normal software (oracle, etc..) on the VM Host natively. Then starting up a sandbox VM on that same host just occasionally.

Sounds like it might "technically" work, but not a good idea. I'll plan to leave the host basically empty other than the 11.23 o/s and the Integrity VM software.

Thanks,
Tim

Re: Integrity VM

Torsten. — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:06:49 GMT

Hi,

according to the documentation and my experience you assign virtual CPUs and a minimum of CPU power to a VM.

If the host has free CPU power and one of the VM needs this power, the host will "pump" the power into this VM, so performance is not a problem from this point of view.

Keep the host clean!
;-)

Re: Integrity VM

kirkkak — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:53:26 GMT

We have rx4640 with "non-supported configuration": 4xVM Guest (with couple of Oracle DB's in it) + ~10 Oracle DB's on the VM Host.
VM soft is not developed to struggle for resources on VM host and if your VM host get's overloaded VM guests would have to wait for necessary resources (disk io mainly in our case). It works but we are in progress to vm'ize the databases from vm host to have better resource management.