The best prices for official DELL PowerEdge R760 servers in Ukraine.
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Available server models from the warehouse in Kyiv:
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Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Silver 4510 2.4-4.1Ghz 12 Cores
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Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Silver 4514Y 2.0-3.4Ghz 16 Cores
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Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Gold 6526Y 2.8-3.9Ghz 16 Cores
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Server Dell PowerEdge R760 - Intel Xeon Gold 5420+ 2.0-4.1Ghz 28 Cores
Definition of Hypervisor and Virtualization
To continue, we need to understand the terminology. There are 3 important concepts for us: virtualization, hypervisor, and virtualization platform (aka virtualization system).
So, virtualization is a technology for creating virtual (i.e. software) versions of servers/computers/workstations, usually called virtual machines (VMs). The idea is simple - one real physical server runs several VMs isolated from each other, with their own resources and operating systems, which work as independent systems. Virtualization allows you to use server or cluster resources more efficiently (more on clusters later), manage IT infrastructure, scale it, reduce direct and indirect costs (if everything is done correctly). By the way, you can virtualize not only servers, but also networks, data storage and even applications.
A hypervisor is an application software (software) that implements virtualization in practice. It creates, runs, and manages VMs. A hypervisor allows a single server (host computer/host) to run multiple guest operating systems (OS) simultaneously. It also shares the host's physical resources between VMs: memory, cores/threads, network, storage, etc. It's like an internal combustion engine, without which all the systems in a car wouldn't work.
And finally, a virtualization platform. If a hypervisor is an engine, then a virtualization platform is a car. Such platforms are not just a separate application, but a whole set of tools for creating and configuring virtual environments, managing resources, and monitoring their operation. Virtualization platforms can contain hypervisors of different types (usually 1 hypervisor per 1 platform, but there are more), management interfaces, resource managers, monitoring tools, backup systems, resource migration mechanisms, and much more.
The hypervisor can be used separately or as part of a platform. The first is suitable for small infrastructures, personal use, testing and development, while the second option is needed for complex projects.
Types of hypervisors
Hypervisors come in two main types:
Type 1 - also known as "Bare-Metal", running on "bare hardware". This type of hypervisor runs at the hardware level, without a host operating system. In essence, it is a minimal OS. Examples: VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V (as well as Hyper-V Server), and KVM.
Type 2 - also known as "Hosted". These hypervisors run on top of the host operating system. They run as applications within the operating system. Examples include VMware Workstation, Oracle VirtualBox, and Microsoft Virtual PC.
Advantages of a hypervisor
Modern IT infrastructures are increasingly moving towards virtualization. There are many reasons: resource and cost optimization, improved management, and fault tolerance. Hypervisors and virtualization systems are the foundation of these processes, with a lot of benefits for businesses, administrators, and users.
- Speed: Hypervisors enable virtual machines to be created almost instantly, unlike traditional deployment on a hardware server. This makes it easier to provision resources to users as needed for dynamic workloads.
- Efficiency: Virtualization allows you to better unlock the potential of a server (or a cluster of servers). When several small tasks are performed on physical equipment instead of one large one, the probability of downtime is reduced. If in the classic version you have to use several underloaded servers for different server roles, then with a hypervisor you can use one more powerful, but fully loaded (usually they strive for 80%, and leave 20% for reserve). This approach is more economical and energy-efficient.
- Clustering: Hypervisors allow you to create clusters of multiple physical servers, which ensures fault tolerance (to some extent, depending on the cluster parameters and the number of its nodes) and high availability of virtual machines. If one server in the cluster fails, the hypervisor automatically transfers the VM to other working nodes, without stopping applications. This is called migration.
- Flexibility and Migration: Hypervisors typically support virtual machine migration features, such as vMotion in VMware or Live Migration in Hyper-V. These features allow you to move VMs between cluster hosts without stopping applications - you can maintain hardware or troubleshoot issues in parallel.
- Automatic disaster recovery: Hypervisors typically support automatic disaster recovery. If a VM or physical server stops responding, the hypervisor can automatically restart or move the VM to another server in the cluster.
- Backup and Replication: Some hypervisors and virtualization platforms come with built-in data and VM backup systems, as well as replication mechanisms to remote servers, giving you additional layers of protection against failures and the ability to quickly recover data. PS Replication - creating and maintaining an exact copy of data or VMs in real time on another node or server. Used for the fastest possible recovery.
Overview of popular hypervisors and comparative analysis.
VMware ESXi hypervisor
VMware ESXi is the most popular type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor on the market. Functional, convenient and expensive. It is especially interesting as part of the VMware vSphere virtualization platform. It is most often used in large-scale corporate IT infrastructures: hosting data centers, bank data centers, cloud providers, and simply large companies with their own infrastructure.
ESXi offers perhaps the broadest set of features for virtualization and management of compute, storage, and networking resources:
- Live migration (vMotion, vSphere Storage vMotion) and vSphere HA (High Availability)
- Snapshots of the current state of the VM for subsequent quick recovery if necessary.
- Dynamic allocation of host resources to allocate VM resources according to current requirements.
- Convenient management and automation of tasks via a web interface.
- There is the possibility of integration with VMware cloud services, such as VMware Cloud on AWS, to create hybrid clouds and migrate virtual machines between on-premises and cloud environments.
ESXi also has a feature - for some it is a drawback (especially important for 7.0 and above): the list of compatible hardware (HCL). VMware guarantees work only on it, so before deployment you need to check with the website. Otherwise, get ready for problems, up to non-working components. But this same feature guarantees an advantage - everything will work on approved components, and it becomes more difficult to shoot yourself in the foot.
At the same time, ESXi provides excellent performance and scalability, making it ideal for managing a large number of virtual machines. Especially considering the convenient management via the vSphere Client web interface and API for task automation and integration with other systems.
All this has made VMware ESXi a kind of industry standard in corporate environments. But it is also more expensive than its competitors, and therefore not suitable for everyone. The closest competitor in terms of capabilities and market share is Microsoft Hyper-V.
Microsoft Hyper-V is also a common type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor. Yes, I believe it is type 1 :) Its main feature is that it is built into both Windows Server and client Windows from the start. You can work with it via the graphical management interface and/or PowerShell right away, without additional installations. A great option if your infrastructure is built on the Microsoft stack and Windows-oriented applications. And it is even cheaper than ESXi, all other things being equal.
In terms of functionality, everything is great here too:
- Rapid VM creation, management, migration, and monitoring.
- Full virtualization of resources, networks and storage, including SAN, NAS and cloud storage.
- Dynamic allocation - allows you to automatically allocate resources between VMs in real time, taking into account the current load.
- High Availability Failover Clustering - automatically recovers VMs after host failures.
- Checkpoint - creating VM snapshots, similar to snapshots in VMware ESXi. Allows you to save the current state of a virtual machine at a specific point in time.
- Creating Hyper-V clusters to increase fault tolerance and efficient resource management.
- Integration with Microsoft Azure cloud services to create hybrid clouds and migrate virtual machines between on-premises and cloud environments.
ESXI and Hyper-V are paid solutions that are not affordable for everyone. We condemn piracy, and small businesses (although medium and large ones too) can use free software. One of the most popular open hypervisors is KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).
Proxmox VE is also a type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor, built into the open source kernel of the Linux operating system and many distributions, which contributes to its popularity. As you understand, it is free (GPL license), but not at the expense of functionality and performance.
Proxmox is generally undemanding to host characteristics, no strict hardware requirements (forget about HCL lists), you can run it on a smart refrigerator if you want. Another question is how this combination will work.
The functionality of Proxmox VE is wide - both for simple tasks and for building large virtualized infrastructures:
- Proxmox VE allows you to create, start, stop, and manage virtual machines based on KVM and LXC. KVM virtualizes hardware components, including CPU, memory, and peripherals, while LXC implements container virtualization, allowing you to run multiple isolated Linux containers on a single host.
- Proxmox VE can create clusters of multiple nodes for fault tolerance and scalability. Clustering allows for automatic load balancing and application continuity if one node fails.
- Integrated tools for backing up and restoring virtual machines. This approach will protect you from data loss and allow you to quickly recover from failures and accidents.
- Monitoring - allows you to track the performance and resource usage of virtual environments, as well as keep logs of their work and create reports.
- Proxmox VE can be integrated with other management systems, such as OpenStack or Kubernetes, which expands functionality, management, and automation capabilities.
Citrix Hypervisor is another popular virtualization platform built on the open-source Xen Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor. The hypervisor itself is minimalistic, free (GPL license) and functional; it implements a full-fledged virtualization environment for deploying virtual machines. Quite a competitor to the other solutions in this article.
Key features of Citrix Hypervisor (Xen) :
- A first-of-its-kind Xen hypervisor with high performance, reliability, and security.
- Powerful tools for creating, managing, and monitoring virtual machines, including logging and reporting. Support for multiple guest operating systems.
- Citrix Hypervisor can create clusters of multiple physical hosts to increase infrastructure resiliency and scalability + automatic load balancing.
- Easy integration with existing infrastructures.
- Zero-downtime maintenance through virtual machine migration between Citrix Hypervisor cluster nodes.
- Integrated VM backup and automatic recovery tools provide enhanced data protection and fast disaster recovery.
- Integration with other management systems, such as OpenStack or Kubernetes, which extends functionality and provides greater flexibility in management and automation.
Tips for choosing a hypervisor in 2024
First - it all depends on the requirements of your project and organization. That is, the approach is personal, and therefore the general advice from the article will not cover 100% of your questions. But it is still useful to study them. If you have any difficulties, you can write or call the managers of Server Solutions - the guys will tell you which equipment and hypervisor will suit your budget and tasks.
So, tips:
Analyze your project requirements. This is the first step. Assess the scale, current or planned equipment, application types, and workload nature.
Research: Learn more about hypervisors - our in-depth blog articles are a good start, but you can dig deeper, read the documentation, look at real-world cases and problems that others have encountered to understand their features, advantages and disadvantages. I'll provide a quick comparison table, but additional research will not be superfluous.
- Consider compatibility and integration. Whatever hypervisor or platform you choose, it needs to integrate well into your existing IT infrastructure: SDM, monitoring, management, backup systems; check if your hardware is on the HCL lists (it may be critical for the same ESXi).
- Total cost of ownership and licensing. Open source is free, but may require more fine-tuning, more man-hours for administration, additional specialists and competencies in the technical team. You will not pay for the software itself, but in total the same Proxmox can be expensive (especially with paid support). Therefore, weigh all the pros and cons, perhaps a paid hypervisor, such as Hyper-V, is your option.
- Community. An active user community will make your life easier. In general, all hypervisors from this article, except, perhaps, Xen, have a huge community. On the forums you will almost certainly find a solution to your problem or be able to ask a question. But the leaders in this parameter are the Linux-KVM bundle. Other admins and specialists will always share best practices, additional software, tools and training materials.
- Testing and evaluation: Before you go live, test different hypervisors in your environment and evaluate their performance, reliability, and usability. Many have basic versions, trial versions, and more.
Choosing a hypervisor or virtualization platform is not easy. It requires a comprehensive approach: competencies, a good understanding of IT infrastructures and business needs. If you need professional help, we will advise you for free which equipment and software is right for you. We always select a solution to suit your budget and tasks.
Don't forget that deploying virtualized infrastructure can either optimize processes or complicate/increase their cost. Small businesses don't always need a hypervisor for simple office tasks; sometimes a couple of dedicated general-purpose servers are enough.
How can we help?
For more detailed information about the DELL PowerEdge R760 server with DDR5 4800 or the DELL PowerEdge R750 server with DDR4 3200, you can visit our SERVER SOLUTIONS website . To find out the cost of the server, click on the DELL Server Configurator link .