Aleksandar Simic wrote:
Hello,
I'm looking to get some new hardware, preferably x86 type and was
wondering if you guys can recommend some good recent motherboards
which will allow me to run OpenSolaris + Xen.
What kind of setups are you running? Is there something that you would
recommend?
I know that there is HCL here:
http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/drivers/
then there is Xen's wiki:
http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/VTdHowTo
But they don't instill much confidence in what would be compatible
with OpenSolaris and Xen at the same time.
Thanks in advance,
Aleksandar
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Frankly, if it can run OpenSolaris, it can run Xen (I'm assuming you
are looking at a x86/x64-based machine).
To support the hardware virtualization features (e.g. to run Windows as
a guest), you will need a (post-2008) Intel CPU which supports the VT
extensions, or an AMD one which supports AMD-V. The good news is that
pretty much all current AMD CPUs support AMD-V (all the
Athlon/Phenom/Opterons do, and I think even all the Semprons do too).
For Intel, they're a little harder. All Intel Xeons, i5, and i7 chips
support Intel-VT, all the Extreme versions of the Core2 series do, and
/most/ Core2 chips do also, except at the low end. You'll have to check
Intel's web site to see exactly which Core2 chips support Intel-VT.
I'm from the ZFS side of the house, so I /strongly/ suggest you get a
motherboard which will support ECC ram. All but the cheapest AMD
motherboards support ECC (unbuffered/unregistered in the case of
single-socket MB, registered in the case of dual/quad socket MB), even
if they don't explicitly state it in the promo material (go look at the
mfg's web site). Intel-compatible Motherboards which are intended for
Xeons should advertise they're ECC-compatible. Pretty much all
"consumer" (i.e. non-Xeon) Intel motherboards WON'T support ECC.
After that, it's a matter of getting a MB which has sufficient features
for you (enough SATA ports, NICs, RAM slots, etc.) Look at the HCL for
that kind of info. The good news here is that a large majority of modern
SATA chipsets and NICs are supported by OpenSolaris; I've less
experience with audio chipsets, as I'm building servers and don't care
about this.
--
Erik Trimble
Java System Support
Mailstop: usca22-123
Phone: x17195
Santa Clara, CA
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