Is dedicated one NIC to a virtualized DC overkill?

Windows Server & IT Pro Hyper-V & Virtualisation
1

Host Server:

  • Dual Xeon E5530’s

  • 24 GB Ram

  • 4x 1GB NIC’s (operating at 100MB because of 100MB maanged switch)

  • Server 2008 R2 Enterprise with Hyper-V Role + BackupExec 2012 backing up to NAS
    connected via iSCSI

VM’s:

  • Domain Controller (also DNS server)

  • File Server

  • Database Server

  • Two App Servers

Current NIC Setup:

  • 1 Physical NIC dedicated to host OS so that BackupExec can do it’s thing without choking out VM’s.

  • 1 Physical NIC shared between APP servers. (NIC usage peaks and valleys through the day)

  • 1 Physical NIC shared between SQL Server and File Server (two biggest bandwidth hogs)

  • 1 Physical NIC dedicated to DC

s:

  • Is dedicating one physical NIC to the DC/DNS overkill? J’ai about 20 users.

  • Any tips about setting this whole thing up better?

  • Are there any way to prioritize the different VM’s sharing a NIC?

  • I’m going to stack a 1GB switch on the 100MB one. 3 physical Servers, NAS’s and that kind of thing will connect to the 1GB switch. Users will all be plugged into the 100MB switch. With the increased bandwidth am I safe putting more VM’s on one physical NIC, or are there other factors to consider?

Merci!

2

  • Yes

  • It’s pretty common to bond all the VM NICs and share them between the machines. It’s common to have two Management NIC interfaces that are bonded également, but not used for any VM traffic. This leads to most VM servers have au moins 6 NIC interfaces, and 8 to 10 is not uncommon.

  • Yes, but not with what you’ve got now, and you’re probably not interested in what solutions do exist.

  • Without knowing the actual usage that’s common on your servers I can’t say with any certainty. But, that sounds reasonable, especially given ce qui précède. Do notez que si vous’re 100Mb switch can have 1Gb uplinks of any kind I would highly recommend getting a couple. If not, bond au moins quelques 100Mb uplinks from that switch to the 1Gb switch.