Server 2008 lab enviroment

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Just downloading my images from technet for when i setup my lab for my MCITP exams and i was just wondering what i need to download and what versions.

Going to be setting up Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on the main host machine and then a server using server 2008 r2 and then a mix of Windows 7 clients, depending on what i'm up to.

Now my question is, there are 3 different versions of r2 available - Enterprise/Standard, Datacentre/Itanium or Web, now i'm presuming it's just the Enterprise/Standard edition i need?

 

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Actually if its for the MCITP then you want to download 2008 rather than R2, I would go with Enterprise if you are going to be playing around with a lot of Clustering, however if it's just for hands on then Standard should be enough.

 

Oh fantastic, that's another 2.6gb to add to my downloads and my broadband restriction has kicked in already...lol.

Need to also sort out vmware server as well and get that downloaded. My presumption is that there is no possible way to deploy stuff through mdt on virtual network is there?

 

Yes there is but you need to use the legacy network adapter if you're using Hyper V (which I would use instead of VMware server tbh).

As long as you enable DHCP on your Test Lan, enable PXE via WDS you should be fine.

 

I thought with Hyper V, you needed a dedicated server?

 

You do, so why not run 2008 instead of 7 on your desktop?

 

I just bought a cheapo eSata drive and installed Server 2008 r2/Hyper-V onto that for an easy dual boot setup.

 

So all HyperV requires is to be run on a server os rather than Windows 7? I thought it was something like esx, where you needed a management machine and the virtualisation machines. Dualbooting with Server 2008 and Windows 7 doesn't sound at all bad, plus it will seperate everything out.

 

It looks like you will be studying for quite a will looking at your signature and WIP.

I would recommend investing in a server, nothing fancy that will be decent enough to run a few VM's on.

Quite a few of us on hear have the following spec machines:

HP ML115 AMD Quad Core 2.2
8GB RAM
500MB RAID 1

This will set you back around £430 including delivery if you shop around, the good news is its on the VMware HCL so can be used for ESXi, ESX or VSphere.

I use the above for my own Server 2008 Lab, which is currently setup as follows:

Server 1 - Server OS 2008 R2 - 4GB
Server 2 - HyperV - Exchange 2007 - 2GB
Server 3 - HyperV - Terminal Server - 2GB

Laptop - Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit

 

At the moment, i could barely scrape by getting the Technet License so wanted to do as much as i can with my home machine, it's quadcore with 3tb of space and 4gb of ram but might look at doubling the ram. Cars are nice things to have, but when insurance, MOT and tax all come along at once, drains my funds very rapidly.

I really wanted to get stuck into the Microsoft server exams before September 1st. As i support schools, my job is very relaxed, civilised and stress free over the holidays...especially compared to how September is. I'm also debating whether to do my 290 and 291 or to go straight onto 2008, quite a few of the schools still have 2003 on but all of the new schools are purely 2008/r2 with Vista/Windows 7 deployments. Plus, no girlfriends or kids to worry about, so i'm hoping to devote my spare time to gym and to Microsoft certs this year. So atleast server certified by the end of this year as a minimum, either 2003 or 2008.

 

I hear you mate.

If resources are a bind, then I would recommend a dual boot for now.

Try and increase your RAM when circumstances allow, your setup with 8GB will be fine for running a few VM's.

For now, I would recommend rolling with Server 2003, as you can run this on 512MB of RAM without any problems.

Hell, I actually had 3 x 512MB Server 2003 Servers and Windows XP 256MB machine running on my 4GB Vista Ultimate Laptop, so it is possible

 

Current plan is to dual boot between Windows 7 and Server 2008, setup a single server 2008vm and 2 Windows 7vms as well, just as go through 680 and then onto Server+.

 

I have a HP 2510p with 4gb of ram and it's running 2008R2 with 4 vms in it, the DC has 512mb, the two servers currently have 1gb each and the vista client has 512mb of ram to it, the machine does alright for itself.

Have a look here for a guide on how to run 2008 server as a workstation or here for instructions for 2008 R2 as a workstation.

Both are fairly straight forward and it runs on my laptop just fine.

 

Thankyou, going to be installing Server 2008 r2 and Windows 7 tonight and getting the dual boot all setup. I'm sure this week with setting up Hyper V, the virtual 2008 r2 machine and the virtual Windows 7 machine will bring me immense joy.