Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?
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As you have several hosts it could make sense to have one dedicated to high performance VMs and one to lots of lower performance VMs. Then you have the possibility to move the VMs depending in what type of workload it is.
That's what we have done. Database hypervisors have higher performance and run on NVMe storage while the others are lower performing and run ordinary SSDs.
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If your going with Intel, make sure you get second gen scalable CPUs. They have 2 in the second number of the CPU.
So 5218, 6242 8276 etc.
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Pick from the left column for performance:
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@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
If your going with Intel, make sure you get second gen scalable CPUs. They have 2 in the second number of the CPU.
So 5218, 6242 8276 etc.
What does the scalable feature provide?
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I really hope there is vCenter somewhere, and you're not just using vanilla ESXi host and licensing that.
Paying for just type-1 hypervisor is like paying stripper for dance, sure it is fun but its is not going anywhere, not for you or her. and at the end of the song your 20 dollars short.
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@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
If your going with Intel, make sure you get second gen scalable CPUs. They have 2 in the second number of the CPU.
So 5218, 6242 8276 etc.
What does the scalable feature provide?
Scalable is just the name of the newer Xeons. They were introduced mid-2017. Also known as Skylake-SP. They're faster, more cores, uses less power and have better support for encryption etc compared to earlier Xeons, like E5-2600 series V4.
2nd generation is the ones that are new for 2019. They added support for optane persistent memory, which is very fast SSDs that look and work like memory modules. Better security against meltdown, spectre etc. Other than that it's just more of the same.
If you buy a CPU however prices are basically the same on 1st and 2nd gen so no point in getting the old stuff unless it's some kind of deal. HPE and Dell however have no qualms selling older generation stuff without telling you.
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@Emad-R said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
I really hope there is vCenter somewhere, and you're not just using vanilla ESXi host and licensing that.
Paying for just type-1 hypervisor is like paying stripper for dance, sure it is fun but its is not going anywhere, not for you or her. and at the end of the song your 20 dollars short.
Yes, using vCenter server (6.7 appliance).
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@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
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@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
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@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
I have 2 x E5-2609 CPUs in each server. I would like faster, but more VMs would be the priority.
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@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
I have 2 x E5-2609 CPUs in each server. I would like faster, but more VMs would be the priority.
Doesn't faster mean you can put more VM's on there?
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@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
I have 2 x E5-2609 CPUs in each server. I would like faster, but more VMs would be the priority.
The E5-2609 CPUs are at the low end of what was available at the time so no problem there.
Actually, are you looking to keep the old servers around for testing and such?
In that case you could just drop in refurbished CPUs that are faster and/or has more cores for very little money. If the server can take E5-2600 V2 you can get up to 12 core CPUs. -
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
I have 2 x E5-2609 CPUs in each server. I would like faster, but more VMs would be the priority.
The E5-2609 CPUs are at the low end of what was available at the time so no problem there.
Actually, are you looking to keep the old servers around for testing and such?
In that case you could just drop in refurbished CPUs that are faster and/or has more cores for very little money. If the server can take E5-2600 V2 you can get up to 12 core CPUs.yeah, but Windows licensing is an issue, assuming multiple CPUs... for a test server, not likely worth going over the 16 cores. Not to mention the test server might require licensing (if needed beyond the 90 day test period for something).
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@Dashrender said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@wrx7m said in Planning for New ESXi Hosts - Which CPU Metrics Should I Use?:
@Pete-S They list both the 61xx and 62xx as options for the R740XD.
Good!
What CPUs do you have in the R720 today? 1 or 2 CPUs?
Do you want the new ones to be faster or just capable of running more VMs?
I have 2 x E5-2609 CPUs in each server. I would like faster, but more VMs would be the priority.
The E5-2609 CPUs are at the low end of what was available at the time so no problem there.
Actually, are you looking to keep the old servers around for testing and such?
In that case you could just drop in refurbished CPUs that are faster and/or has more cores for very little money. If the server can take E5-2600 V2 you can get up to 12 core CPUs.yeah, but Windows licensing is an issue, assuming multiple CPUs... for a test server, not likely worth going over the 16 cores. Not to mention the test server might require licensing (if needed beyond the 90 day test period for something).
Two 8-cores would be an option. For instance two E5-2690. They are 2.9 GHz base frequency and have 8 cores. About $100 each when buying refurbished.
About 50% faster per core (2609 have no turbo) and about 3 times faster multicore performance. Has more cache and faster memory transfer speed. Was a very high end CPU at the time. Was listed at $2000 while the E5-2609 was $300.
The fastest 8-core E5-2600 V2 CPU is the E5-2667 V2. 8 cores and base frequency of 3.3 GHz. It will likely also be an option for the R720XD. V2 uses 22nm technology so uses less power with the same clock speed and can fit more cores or run higher frequencies.
