Dell PowerEdge R900 freezes / locks with Windows Server 2008

We have 3 Dell PowerEdge R900 running Windows Server 2008 they started to freeze at random (it did not blue screen). We have sent Dell and Microsoft a memory dump use the Non-Maskable Interrupt (NMI) on the front of the server.

Microsoft came back saying that the megasas.sys is the problem, this driver is used for the Dell PERC 6/i to run the local hard disk in the server (we had a RAID 10 layout). The PERC is made for Dell by LSI Logic Corporation.

I have asked Microsoft to remove the Dell R900 for Windows 2008 from the Windows Server catalog.

We have spent many weeks working with Dell to fix this problem but they still have not come back with a fix. LSI has to rework the drivers. In the mean time Dell said to change the control but we have reinstalled under Windows Server 2003 and the servers are looking happy.

Photosynth Outside My Home In London

So I was looking at Scobleizer blog and he blogged about Microsoft PhotoSynth. I tried it out from on the courtyard outside my home in London on the last sunny day on Summer 2008. But are watching a video it looks like can get a lot more complex.

I am going to make a more complex one later, but you can check out my current one at http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=79245027-407b-40b8-85fb-fcd985a123f9

Cisco Catalyst 4510 SUP V cant deal with iSCSI

My network team telling me DONT PUT iSCSI with Dell Equallogic or any iSCSI system, but I was telling them to do it and lets see how slow is goes.

So we plugged it all up and ran the stuff, running ok.. but when we doing a big SQL run the disk got disconnected. I could not belive it, I was thinking had to be a problem with the Dell Equallogic box.. I could understand it running slow, but disconnecting.

So we ordered in some Dell PowerConnect 5448 and they did the job and for a lot less then some new Cisco kit.

We started the final tests for upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics AX 4 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. I hope to have some numbers for everbody.

Barcelona just was not up for a fight

I waited, and I waited.. Dell and AMD kept saying it will be here before Intel.. Barcelona is beomcing AMD verions of Intel Itanium...

Being so late and talking about VM and 16cores ect ect... but now nobody cares..

I final blow came today for me with this news from VMmark.

"Our partners at Dell have published the first VMmark results using the new AMD quad-core Barcelona processors. Both the 2-socket (8-core) R805 platform and the 4-socket (16-core) R905 platform have been tested. You can find all of the details on the VMmark results page. If you do the math, you will see that Dell achieved an excellent 1.8x throughput scaling from the 2-socket system to the 4-socket system. Another thing I'd like to point out is that some of the VMmark workloads utilized AMD's Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) technology to improve performance. VMware supports a wide range of virtualization techniques and is able to uniquely leverage both hardware and sofware virtualization technologies in order to provide optimal performance."

Intel (on Dell R900) 14.23@10 tiles
Amd (on Dell R905) 14.17@10 tiles

So who cares about " AMD's Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) technology to improve performance" when Intel is about the same speed with a product that has been on sale 6months before yours.

I was really hoping that AMD was going to lunch and be shipping Barcelona with 16cores before Intel.. but some where, somthing went wrong and their is an other Itanium running around looking for a home.

I will have to wait to see the final price with discounts from Dell on AMD/Intel... but with many customers and my sell already having Intel Xeon 7300 and know that we cant Vmotion to any AMD Opteron and back their is no point.

Forget Vmotion go Xmotion from DELL

I dont know how I missed this but their is a Citrix® XenServer Dell Edition™ !!!!. What is Dell up to :-).I know its not going to happen, but their might be a chance that it would work on our Dell IA boxs.

More info at
http://www.dell.com/xenserver
http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Citrix+XenServer+Dell+Edition

Also some demo videos

Fast VM Cloning Demo
Hot Add/Remove Resources Demo
XenMotion Demo

you cannot Vmotion between Amd and Intel servers

You cant Vmotion between AMD and Intel servers says Dell, I was hoping you could would allow me to have a mix of AMD and Intel in my office.. I really want to give AMD ago (they try so hard). Been waiting for 1 year for their 4corex4way box.

Dell has a PDF giving more info about what you can and cant move from.

16cores and 80+GB of RAM on VM?

Is anybody out their playing with 16cores and 80+GB of RAM? Just trying to work out is I should have 2 HUGE VM box, of 3 Mid size VM boxs ? Less boxs the better when comes to play for the VM side?

Any idears.. thanks