Windows consolidation

[Kego]

Hi all

Please assist. I need to recommend a server for consolidation of 10 Windows environmets. How do I determine which server will be the best? With regard to virtualization software I think I will go for VMWARE ESX server. Any inputs.

Regards
Kego

[Jacky Zhang_1]

VMWare ESX server will cost money, if you have new purchase, new HP server support Xen Virtual server, and which cause less money

[Phil.Howell]

It depends on the environments that you are replacing, first you should get stats on cpu, memory, page file, and i/o usage from your existing setup.
You should avoid trying to virtualise database servers with heavy i/o loads, or physical environments that make extensive use of dual or quad processors.
Get as much memory as you can for your ESX server, so that each vm has its memory reserved.
Try to partition your storage based on vm usage, and think about what RAID level you want (if at all)
Vmware have tools to convert physical -> virtual servers.
Phil