Lab setup

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Wasnt sure where to put this. Im wanting to set up a small lab, ive already got 3 pcs (2 dektops and 1 laptop). Just wondering what else i need and how i should go about it etc. Im aiming for MCSE eventually. Cheers

Mick

 

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Hmmm, I suppose a lot of it would depend on your available funds and what you are prepared to shell out on.

I would say the minimum you would need to start is 1 W2K3 server, 1 XP machine, and you can use the laptop for testing roaming profiles and offline files etc.

You will probably want a router with built in switch and firewall as well. That should get you going for a while until you can afford to expand. You may also want to invest in a KVM switch so you can use just 1 keyboard/mouse and monitor fpr both the server and xp machine.

It also depends on how far along with your studies your are. If your still on 70-270 you can get away with just 2 xp machines. But when you get on to th 70-290/1 you will definitely need a dedicated server.

Hope this helps,

Paul

 

Nothing!

Provided both PCs are powerful enough to run 2K3 Server, you can install XP on the laptop and Robert's yer Father's Brother - a WIndows lab!

Even better, if one of the PC's is powerful enough, stick server on it then run VMWare on the server - with a reasonable processor and 1 GB of RAM, you can easily run three servers on that one box (get three NICs though, to simplify the networking).

Its always nice to have loads of boxes to play with, but you really CAN get away with just three, so you're already on easy street.

Of course, you'll need to have a switch and a NAT router - but I presume you already have these anyway?

 

Cheers, im not actually doing it yet but i wanna get a head start lol. All my machines are over 3ghz processors and have at least 1gig of RAM so they should be upto the job. Ive got a router already aswell, just 4 ports tho. What will i be needing a switch for? Is this for certain configurations i will need to be setting up?

 

How exactly would i go about doing this? Cheers

 

Mick,

You can pick up PCI 10/100 Nic's for about £6-7.
Pop them in the machine, install the drivers (if needed) and configure the connection from within the relevant Virtual machine.

Si

 

Cheers il give that a go, ive got a couple spare NIC's lying round

 

three machines over 3Ghz and 1Gb Ram you lucky lucky boy

 

Ive got some spare parts lying round, just need an IDE HDD and i can build another pc. That will take me to 3 desktops and 1 laptop. Just wondering if there is something i can get so i only need 1 monitor, mouse, and keyboard to control them all, with the possibility of more sockets or whatever for future addons. Cheers

 

Just noticed the KVM switch mentioned above, are these the best ones or are there other ones to consider?

 

you can use a KVM to do the job, prices vary

 

Are there any features i need to look out for, or are they all basically the same. I mean there are some on ebay for £7 and then there are some selling for alot more. Cheers

 

The all work basically the same way. It is handy if they have <hot keys> ie use tab and a number to swop to another machine.

oh, the other thing to watch out for is the price of cables. I bought a 4 port Belkin one from PC World (E-buyer was out of stock, and it was the same price) that came with the cables for £50. The cables (monitor, mouse and keyboard) are about £10 per set, so watch out!

Si

 

Just ordered this one http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0 seems good. Its a decent price, got all cables with it, and excellent reviews.