Setting up a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series servers, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. By setting up a failover cluster on your compact Dell PowerEdge VRTX, you can maximize server uptime to keep your business moving.
Presentasi artikel managemen ringkas seputar dunia kerja. Penting untuk mengingatkan dan membangun kembali motivasi yang mungkin sudah mulai padam, untuk anda sendiri maupun untuk rekan kerja.
Presentasi artikel managemen ringkas seputar dunia kerja. Penting untuk mengingatkan dan membangun kembali motivasi yang mungkin sudah mulai padam, untuk anda sendiri maupun untuk rekan kerja.
Configuring a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on ...Principled Technologies
Setting up a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series nodes, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, and setup your Exchange Server infrastructure. By setting up a highly available Exchange Server 2013 environment on your compact PowerEdge VRTX, you can ensure your Exchange workloads stay running to keep your business moving.
Administrators can spend a great deal of time deploying and managing computing resources, especially when dealing with ROBO environments. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family and running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, gives administrators centralized management tools to help them provide time saving benefits and integrated toolsets.
In our hands-on testing, we found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX greatly simplified deployment through an easy, wizard-based setup of Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters across server nodes with the Dell OpenManage Cluster Configurator. It also provided versatile hardware resource reassignment through a shared PCIe bus and efficient centralized management through CMC and scripting. Finally, we found that the Dell System Update Utility worked seamlessly with Microsoft Cluster-Aware Updating to update server nodes while keeping the failover cluster online and minimizing downtime. These advantages make the Dell PowerEdge VRTX an attractive choice for those who seek to reduce the management overhead of their ROBO environments.
Dell PowerEdge R920 and Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Migration and Benefits GuidePrincipled Technologies
The latest Dell PowerEdge R920 server is designed to provide highly scalable performance for large enterprises, with greater memory capacity, improved and expanded attached storage options, and processor architectures designed for high availability. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 is the perfect companion software to take advantage of the Dell PowerEdge R920’s impressive specifications. Upgrading has never looked more attractive, and with hardware/software upgrades must come data migration.
Migrating legacy database applications to the latest database technologies on newer Dell server platforms is a common task for businesses upgrading their hardware/software stack. As this guide shows, the process is straightforward and the cost benefits can be enormous. We calculated the savings attainable from multiple consolidation ratios, as well as how long it would take to pay off the replacement server. We found that a consolidation ratio of 13 to 1 could yield $531,725 in software savings, many times the cost of the replacement hardware itself. So not only will the business benefit from the massively-scalable current-generation Dell server technology paired with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 running SQL Server 2014, but you can save money in the process.
As this guide has shown, if your business could benefit from using a hyperconverged computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could be the right way to go. Able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 340,000 OPM, 200 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, as well as file/print and web server disk workloads, the powerful Dell appliances with the help of Intel processors can keep up with your current business, with room to grow in the future. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the small form factor of the Dell XC630 appliances can help keep your business moving.
The Dell PowerEdge VRTX is an all-inclusive platform, suitable for rapid deployment of a virtual environment, such as Citrix XenDesktop 7.5. The integrated components of the VRTX means your business has a centralized management console for the necessary data center components that support VDI environments. We found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX and XenDesktop set up, configured, and deployed VDI users easily. The addition of Dell Wyse terminals demonstrates how your end-users can access your XenDesktop VDI environment with efficient hardware and little administrative effort. The combination of Dell PowerEdge VRTX and Citrix XenDesktop 7.5 can offer a unified, efficient, and simple enterprise-value VDI solution for your business, but without the resources and commitment need for supporting an enterprise data center.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Configuration, management, and upgrade g...Principled Technologies
High availability infrastructures are an essential part of any business. To keep your data going and your company moving along, you need a system that not only handles your business in an effective, structured manner, but one that won’t fail.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations, which include the latest Dell PowerEdge servers and EqualLogic storage, provide you and your business with the tools to design and deploy a virtualization infrastructure with no hassles and continued support.
As we have shown in this Guide, a Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configuration takes the guesswork out of the typically complicated task of designing, setting up, and configuring a virtual infrastructure, and instead makes the process simple and straightforward. And, as your business grows, Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations are easy to upgrade so your infrastructure can grow as your business needs do.
When considering whether to upgrade to the new Dell PowerEdge VRTX or repurpose older hardware, the advantages of new hardware are clear. Not only do you get newer hardware that is faster and is better-equipped to handle the increasing demands of today’s business applications and workloads, but you also benefit from advances that make deployment and management easier than ever.
In our labs, we compared the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with four server nodes and shared storage and networking to a similar infrastructure using four legacy tower servers, external network switches, and an external SAN. Our testing revealed the following:
· PowerEdge VRTX took 78.5 percent less time and 150 fewer steps to configure and deploy out of the box compared to the legacy solution.
· PowerEdge VRTX It took less than 1 hour to unbox and configure into a highly available VMware vSphere cluster compared to over 4 hours on the legacy solution.
· Deploying the Dell PowerEdge VRTX used just a single management tool, the integrated Chassis Management Controller, whereas the tower solution required six separate management tools.
Choosing such a complete solution during your next server refresh can simplify infrastructure setup and configuration, boost performance through built-in high availability features, and potentially save your organization space and operating costs over the life of the hardware.
If your business is considering using a hyperconverged
computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could bring many benefits. Thanks to its powerful Dell servers with Intel processors, this space-efficient solution was able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 420,000 OPM, 160 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, and file/print and web server disk workloads; that’s enough to meet your present demands and still have room for future growth. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the hyperconverged solution based on Dell XC630 appliances can help your business get the job done.
Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. ...Principled Technologies
Based on our testing with heavy SQL Server 2014 database workloads, the converged architecture solution of a Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers delivered 3.9 times the performance of our legacy IBM solution. We also found the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution offered 73 percent lower cost per order compared to the legacy IBM System x3850 X5 solution. In addition, the PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution does not sacrifice traditional hardware redundancy while providing the same highly available database solution in a smaller rack space. If your business runs Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the converged architecture approach with Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers powered by Intel could bring a harmonious balance of performance, reliability, and cost efficiency to your data center.
Save space, increase efficiency, and boost performance in your remote office ...Principled Technologies
Two realities drive many remote and branch office server decisions: the need for a versatile platform that delivers excellent performance, and the need for simplification by using fewer servers and cables. By consolidating your older servers to the powerful, space-efficient Dell PowerEdge VRTX server, you can increase database performance while saving valuable space. In our tests, the base-configuration Dell PowerEdge VRTX could consolidate four legacy servers while providing 5.4 times the overall performance. With the Micron P420m PCIe SSD added to the configuration, the VRTX consolidated eight legacy servers and delivered 10.7 times the overall performance.
Investing in the Dell PowerEdge VRTX—in either configuration—can elevate your IT infrastructure by answering database performance and space-saving challenges that face your remote and branch offices.
In addition to providing excellent performance in a space-efficient manner, the VRTX simplifies the office environment, brings efficiency to IT staff through its management advantages, and offers businesses the versatility of deploying performance anywhere.
Meet database performance needs while reducing TCO with the Dell PowerEdge VR...Principled Technologies
Cloud WAN services can seem convenient for small businesses and remote offices, but they remove local control and can be more expensive over time. In our tests, the all-in-one Dell PowerEdge VRTX provided the necessary transactional database performance while saving up to 63.9 percent in costs over five years. When you’re looking for a reliable solution to run workloads in remote offices, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX has the potential to cost less than running databases from the cloud.
Boosting virtualization performance with Intel SSD DC Series P3600 NVMe SSDs ...Principled Technologies
When it comes time to make your server purchase or if you’re looking for an easy way to boost performance of existing infrastructure, consider upgrading your server’s internal storage. As our hands-on tests with a Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 environment running VMware Virtual SAN proved, Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs could increase virtualized mixed-workload performance by as much as 59.9 percent compared to SATA SSDs while allowing you to run a large additional number of VMs. When you improve performance for your virtualized workloads, your employees and customers will benefit. By increasing performance with Intel NVMe SSDs on your Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 servers, you can potentially slash wait times and do more work on your servers without having to expand your infrastructure with additional storage arrays, which can translate to happier users and a more efficient infrastructure.
Migrating to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on D...Principled Technologies
Migrating your legacy servers running Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to a new Dell PowerEdge R720 running Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 can streamline your infrastructure and deliver savings to your business.
With careful planning, and by following the straightforward process that this guide presents, you can realize the benefits of switching to your new server-and-software solution in no time.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Scalable performance and simplicity in s...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations provide a range of virtualized infrastructure solutions to meet your business’s needs today and in the future. Easy to deploy, manage, and upgrade, these robust solutions can grow as your business does, all the while reducing the likelihood of extended downtime due to their highly available architecture.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2670 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a five-year-old legacy server and traditional SAN by offering twice as many VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $167.89 per user in hardware costs.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a legacy server and traditional SAN VSAN by offering 72 percent greater VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $176.52 per user.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
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Configuring a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on ...Principled Technologies
Setting up a highly available Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 environment on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge VRTX with up to four M-series nodes, switches, and storage in a redundant configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, and setup your Exchange Server infrastructure. By setting up a highly available Exchange Server 2013 environment on your compact PowerEdge VRTX, you can ensure your Exchange workloads stay running to keep your business moving.
Administrators can spend a great deal of time deploying and managing computing resources, especially when dealing with ROBO environments. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family and running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, gives administrators centralized management tools to help them provide time saving benefits and integrated toolsets.
In our hands-on testing, we found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX greatly simplified deployment through an easy, wizard-based setup of Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters across server nodes with the Dell OpenManage Cluster Configurator. It also provided versatile hardware resource reassignment through a shared PCIe bus and efficient centralized management through CMC and scripting. Finally, we found that the Dell System Update Utility worked seamlessly with Microsoft Cluster-Aware Updating to update server nodes while keeping the failover cluster online and minimizing downtime. These advantages make the Dell PowerEdge VRTX an attractive choice for those who seek to reduce the management overhead of their ROBO environments.
Dell PowerEdge R920 and Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Migration and Benefits GuidePrincipled Technologies
The latest Dell PowerEdge R920 server is designed to provide highly scalable performance for large enterprises, with greater memory capacity, improved and expanded attached storage options, and processor architectures designed for high availability. Microsoft SQL Server 2014 is the perfect companion software to take advantage of the Dell PowerEdge R920’s impressive specifications. Upgrading has never looked more attractive, and with hardware/software upgrades must come data migration.
Migrating legacy database applications to the latest database technologies on newer Dell server platforms is a common task for businesses upgrading their hardware/software stack. As this guide shows, the process is straightforward and the cost benefits can be enormous. We calculated the savings attainable from multiple consolidation ratios, as well as how long it would take to pay off the replacement server. We found that a consolidation ratio of 13 to 1 could yield $531,725 in software savings, many times the cost of the replacement hardware itself. So not only will the business benefit from the massively-scalable current-generation Dell server technology paired with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 running SQL Server 2014, but you can save money in the process.
As this guide has shown, if your business could benefit from using a hyperconverged computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could be the right way to go. Able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 340,000 OPM, 200 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, as well as file/print and web server disk workloads, the powerful Dell appliances with the help of Intel processors can keep up with your current business, with room to grow in the future. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the small form factor of the Dell XC630 appliances can help keep your business moving.
The Dell PowerEdge VRTX is an all-inclusive platform, suitable for rapid deployment of a virtual environment, such as Citrix XenDesktop 7.5. The integrated components of the VRTX means your business has a centralized management console for the necessary data center components that support VDI environments. We found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX and XenDesktop set up, configured, and deployed VDI users easily. The addition of Dell Wyse terminals demonstrates how your end-users can access your XenDesktop VDI environment with efficient hardware and little administrative effort. The combination of Dell PowerEdge VRTX and Citrix XenDesktop 7.5 can offer a unified, efficient, and simple enterprise-value VDI solution for your business, but without the resources and commitment need for supporting an enterprise data center.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Configuration, management, and upgrade g...Principled Technologies
High availability infrastructures are an essential part of any business. To keep your data going and your company moving along, you need a system that not only handles your business in an effective, structured manner, but one that won’t fail.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations, which include the latest Dell PowerEdge servers and EqualLogic storage, provide you and your business with the tools to design and deploy a virtualization infrastructure with no hassles and continued support.
As we have shown in this Guide, a Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configuration takes the guesswork out of the typically complicated task of designing, setting up, and configuring a virtual infrastructure, and instead makes the process simple and straightforward. And, as your business grows, Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations are easy to upgrade so your infrastructure can grow as your business needs do.
When considering whether to upgrade to the new Dell PowerEdge VRTX or repurpose older hardware, the advantages of new hardware are clear. Not only do you get newer hardware that is faster and is better-equipped to handle the increasing demands of today’s business applications and workloads, but you also benefit from advances that make deployment and management easier than ever.
In our labs, we compared the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with four server nodes and shared storage and networking to a similar infrastructure using four legacy tower servers, external network switches, and an external SAN. Our testing revealed the following:
· PowerEdge VRTX took 78.5 percent less time and 150 fewer steps to configure and deploy out of the box compared to the legacy solution.
· PowerEdge VRTX It took less than 1 hour to unbox and configure into a highly available VMware vSphere cluster compared to over 4 hours on the legacy solution.
· Deploying the Dell PowerEdge VRTX used just a single management tool, the integrated Chassis Management Controller, whereas the tower solution required six separate management tools.
Choosing such a complete solution during your next server refresh can simplify infrastructure setup and configuration, boost performance through built-in high availability features, and potentially save your organization space and operating costs over the life of the hardware.
If your business is considering using a hyperconverged
computer/storage solution rather than disparate dedicated appliances, a Nutanix storage cluster powered by Dell XC630 appliances could bring many benefits. Thanks to its powerful Dell servers with Intel processors, this space-efficient solution was able to handle nine SQL Server 2014 OLTP workloads at over 420,000 OPM, 160 mailboxes in Microsoft Exchange 2013, and file/print and web server disk workloads; that’s enough to meet your present demands and still have room for future growth. With software-defined tiered storage, high availability, and a redundant network architecture, the hyperconverged solution based on Dell XC630 appliances can help your business get the job done.
Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. ...Principled Technologies
Based on our testing with heavy SQL Server 2014 database workloads, the converged architecture solution of a Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers delivered 3.9 times the performance of our legacy IBM solution. We also found the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution offered 73 percent lower cost per order compared to the legacy IBM System x3850 X5 solution. In addition, the PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution does not sacrifice traditional hardware redundancy while providing the same highly available database solution in a smaller rack space. If your business runs Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the converged architecture approach with Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers powered by Intel could bring a harmonious balance of performance, reliability, and cost efficiency to your data center.
Save space, increase efficiency, and boost performance in your remote office ...Principled Technologies
Two realities drive many remote and branch office server decisions: the need for a versatile platform that delivers excellent performance, and the need for simplification by using fewer servers and cables. By consolidating your older servers to the powerful, space-efficient Dell PowerEdge VRTX server, you can increase database performance while saving valuable space. In our tests, the base-configuration Dell PowerEdge VRTX could consolidate four legacy servers while providing 5.4 times the overall performance. With the Micron P420m PCIe SSD added to the configuration, the VRTX consolidated eight legacy servers and delivered 10.7 times the overall performance.
Investing in the Dell PowerEdge VRTX—in either configuration—can elevate your IT infrastructure by answering database performance and space-saving challenges that face your remote and branch offices.
In addition to providing excellent performance in a space-efficient manner, the VRTX simplifies the office environment, brings efficiency to IT staff through its management advantages, and offers businesses the versatility of deploying performance anywhere.
Meet database performance needs while reducing TCO with the Dell PowerEdge VR...Principled Technologies
Cloud WAN services can seem convenient for small businesses and remote offices, but they remove local control and can be more expensive over time. In our tests, the all-in-one Dell PowerEdge VRTX provided the necessary transactional database performance while saving up to 63.9 percent in costs over five years. When you’re looking for a reliable solution to run workloads in remote offices, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX has the potential to cost less than running databases from the cloud.
Boosting virtualization performance with Intel SSD DC Series P3600 NVMe SSDs ...Principled Technologies
When it comes time to make your server purchase or if you’re looking for an easy way to boost performance of existing infrastructure, consider upgrading your server’s internal storage. As our hands-on tests with a Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 environment running VMware Virtual SAN proved, Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs could increase virtualized mixed-workload performance by as much as 59.9 percent compared to SATA SSDs while allowing you to run a large additional number of VMs. When you improve performance for your virtualized workloads, your employees and customers will benefit. By increasing performance with Intel NVMe SSDs on your Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 servers, you can potentially slash wait times and do more work on your servers without having to expand your infrastructure with additional storage arrays, which can translate to happier users and a more efficient infrastructure.
Migrating to Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 on D...Principled Technologies
Migrating your legacy servers running Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to a new Dell PowerEdge R720 running Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 can streamline your infrastructure and deliver savings to your business.
With careful planning, and by following the straightforward process that this guide presents, you can realize the benefits of switching to your new server-and-software solution in no time.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Scalable performance and simplicity in s...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations provide a range of virtualized infrastructure solutions to meet your business’s needs today and in the future. Easy to deploy, manage, and upgrade, these robust solutions can grow as your business does, all the while reducing the likelihood of extended downtime due to their highly available architecture.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2670 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a five-year-old legacy server and traditional SAN by offering twice as many VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $167.89 per user in hardware costs.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
VDI performance comparison: Dell PowerEdge FX2 and FC430 servers with VMware ...Principled Technologies
Replacing your legacy VDI servers with a new Intel Xeon processor E5-2650 v3-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a great boon for your enterprise.
In the Principled Technologies (PT) labs, this space-efficient, affordable solution outperformed a legacy server and traditional SAN VSAN by offering 72 percent greater VDI users. Additionally, it achieved greater performance while using 91 percent less space and at a cost of only $176.52 per user.
By supporting more users, saving space, and its affordability, an upgrade to the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2 solution using VMware Virtual SAN can be a wise move when replacing your aging, older infrastructure.
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
Enable security features with no impact to OLTP performance with Dell PowerEd...Principled Technologies
Get comparable online transaction processing (OLTP) performance with or without enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Encrypted State
Conclusion
You’ve likely already implemented many security measures for your servers, which may include physical security for the data center, hardware-level security, and software-level security. With the cost of data breaches high and still growing, however, wise IT teams will consider what additional security measures they may be able to implement.
AMD SME and SEV-ES are technologies that are already available within your AMD processor-powered 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers—and in our testing, we saw that they can offer extra layers of security without affecting performance. We compared the online transaction processing performance of a Dell PowerEdge R7625 server, powered by AMD EPYC 9274F processors, with and without these two security features enabled. We found that enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State did not impact performance at all.
If your team is assessing areas where you might be able to enhance security—without paying a large performance cost—consider enabling AME SME and AMD SEV-ES in your Dell PowerEdge servers.
Improving energy efficiency in the data center: Endure higher temperatures wi...Principled Technologies
In high-temperature test scenarios, a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server continued running an intensive workload without component warnings or failures, while a Supermicro SYS‑621C-TN12R server failed
Conclusion: Remain resilient in high temperatures with the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 to help increase efficiency
Increasing your data center’s temperature can help your organization make strides in energy efficiency and cooling cost savings. With servers that can hold up to these higher everyday temperatures—as well as high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances—your business can continue to deliver the performance your apps and clients require.
When we ran an intensive floating-point workload on a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 and a Supermicro SYS-621CTN12R in three scenario types simulating typical operations at 25°C, a fan failure, and an HVAC malfunction, the Dell server experienced no component warnings or failures. In contrast, the Supermicro server experienced warnings in all three scenario types and experienced component failures in the latter two tests, rendering the system unusable. When we inspected and analyzed each system, we found that the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server’s motherboard layout, fans, and chassis offered cooling design advantages.
For businesses aiming to meet sustainability goals by running hotter data centers, as well as those concerned with server cooling design, the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 is a strong contender to take on higher temperatures during day-to-day operations and unexpected malfunctions.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a Kubernetes container-based generative AI workload effectively
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a generative AI workload effectively
Conclusion
The appeal of incorporating GenAI into your organization’s operations is likely great. Getting started with an efficient solution for your next LLM workload or application can seem daunting because of the changing hardware and software landscape, but Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors could provide the solution you need. We started with a Dell Validated Design as a reference, and then went on to modify the deployment as necessary for our Llama 2 workload. The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
For organizations running clusters of moderately configured, older Dell PowerEdge servers with a previous version of VCF, upgrading to better-configured modern servers can provide a significant performance boost and more.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Realize 2.1X the performance with 20% less power with AMD EPYC processor-back...Principled Technologies
Three AMD EPYC processor-based two-processor solutions outshined comparable Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based solutions by handling more Redis workload transactions and requests while consuming less power
Conclusion
Performance and energy efficiency are significant factors in processor selection for servers running data-intensive workloads, such as Redis. We compared the Redis performance and energy consumption of a server cluster in three AMD EPYC two-processor configurations against that of a server cluster in two Intel Xeon Scalable two-processor configurations. In each of our three test scenarios, the server cluster backed by AMD EPYC processors outperformed the server cluster backed by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. In addition, one of the AMD EPYC processor-based clusters consumed 20 percent less power than its Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based counterpart. Combining these measurements gave us power efficiency metrics that demonstrate how valuable AMD EPYC processor-based servers could be—you could see better performance per watt with these AMD EPYC processor-based server clusters and potentially get more from your Redis or other data intensive applications and workloads while reducing data center power costs.
Improve performance and gain room to grow by easily migrating to a modern Ope...Principled Technologies
We deployed this modern environment, then migrated database VMs from legacy servers and saw performance improvements that support consolidation
Conclusion
If your organization’s transactional databases are running on gear that is several years old, you have much to gain by upgrading to modern servers with new processors and networking components and an OpenShift environment. In our testing, a modern OpenShift environment with a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7615 servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors and high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs outperformed a legacy environment with MySQL VMs running on a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7515 servers with 3rd Generation AMD EPYC processors and 25Gb Broadcom NICs. We also easily migrated a VM from the legacy environment to the modern environment, with only a few steps required to set up and less than ten minutes of hands-on time. The performance advantage of the modern servers would allow a company to reduce the number of servers necessary to perform a given amount of database work, thus lowering operational expenditures such as power and cooling and IT staff time for maintenance. The high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs in this solution also give companies better network performance and networking capacity to grow as they embrace emerging technologies such as AI that put great demands on networks.
Boost PC performance: How more available memory can improve productivityPrincipled Technologies
With more memory available, system performance of three Dell devices increased, which can translate to a better user experience
Conclusion
When your system has plenty of RAM to meet your needs, you can efficiently access the applications and data you need to finish projects and to-do lists without sacrificing time and focus. Our test results show that with more memory available, three Dell PCs delivered better performance and took less time to complete the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark. These advantages translate to users being able to complete workflows more quickly and multitask more easily. Whether you need the mobility of the Latitude 5440, the creative capabilities of the Precision 3470, or the high performance of the OptiPlex Tower Plus 7010, configuring your system with more RAM can help keep processes running smoothly, enabling you to do more without compromising performance.
Deploy with confidence: VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdg...Principled Technologies
A Principled Technologies deployment guide
Conclusion
Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdge servers brings together critical virtualization capabilities and high-performing hardware infrastructure. Relying on our hands-on experience, this deployment guide offers a comprehensive roadmap that can guide your organization through the seamless integration of advanced VMware cloud solutions with the performance and reliability of Dell PowerEdge servers. In addition to the deployment efficiency, the Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge solution delivered strong performance while running a MySQL database workload. By leveraging VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge servers, you could help your organization embrace cloud computing with confidence, potentially unlocking a new level of agility, scalability, and efficiency in your data center operations.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
Conclusion
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R760 server cluster running VCF 5.1 processed over 78 percent more TPM and 79 percent more NOPM than a Dell PowerEdge R750 server cluster running VCF 4.5. It’s also worth noting that the PowerEdge R750 cluster bottlenecked on vSAN storage, with max write latency at 8.9ms. For reference, the PowerEdge R760 cluster clocked in at 3.8ms max write latency. This higher latency is due in part to the single disk group per host on the moderately configured PowerEdge R750 cluster, while the better-configured PowerEdge R760 cluster supported four disk groups per host. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Based on our research using publicly available materials, it appears that Dell supports nine of the ten PC security features we investigated, HP supports six of them, and Lenovo supports three features.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS ...Principled Technologies
In our tests, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS outperformed similarly configured solutions from Vendor A, achieving more IOPS, better throughput, and more consistent performance on both NVMe-supported configurations and configurations backed by Elastic Block Store (EBS) alone.
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS supports a full NVMe backed configuration, but Vendor A doesn’t—its solution uses EBS for storage capacity and NVMe as an extended read cache—which means APEX Block Storage for AWS can deliver faster storage performance.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWSPrincipled Technologies
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger and more consistent storage performance for better business agility than a Vendor A solution
Conclusion
Enterprises desiring the flexibility and convenience of the cloud for their block storage workloads can find fast-performing solutions with the enterprise storage features they’re used to in on-premises infrastructure by selecting Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS.
Our hands-on tests showed that compared to the Vendor A solution, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger, more consistent storage performance in both NVMe-supported and EBS-backed configurations. Using NVMe-supported configurations, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS achieved 4.7x the random read IOPS and 5.1x the throughput on sequential read operations per node vs. Vendor A. In our EBS-backed comparison, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered 2.2x the throughput per node on sequential read operations vs. Vendor A.
Plus, the ability to scale beyond three nodes—up to 512 storage nodes with capacity of up to 8 PBs—enables Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS to help ensure performance and capacity as your team plans for the future.
Get in and stay in the productivity zone with the HP Z2 G9 Tower WorkstationPrincipled Technologies
We compared CPU performance and noise output of an HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation in High Performance Mode to Dell Precision 3660 and 5860 tower workstations in optimized performance modes
Conclusion
HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users can change the BIOS settings to dial in the performance mode that best suits their needs: High Performance Mode, Performance Mode, or Quiet Mode. In good
news for both creative and technical professionals, we found that an Intel Core i9-13900 processor-powered HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation set to High Performance mode received higher CPU-based benchmark scores than both a similarly configured Dell Precision 3660 and a Dell Precision 5860 equipped with an Intel Xeon w5-2455x processor. Plus, the HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation was quieter while running CPU-intensive Cinebench 2024 and SPECapc for Solidworks 2022 workloads than both Dell Precision tower workstations. This means HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users who prize performance over everything else can do so without sacrificing a quiet workspace.
Open up new possibilities with higher transactional database performance from...Principled Technologies
In our PostgreSQL tests, R7i instances boosted performance over R6i instances with previous-gen processors
If you use the open-source PostgreSQL database to run your critical business operations, you have many cloud options from which to choose. While many of these instances can do the job, some can deliver stronger performance, which can mean getting a greater return on your cloud investment.
We conducted hands-on testing with the HammerDB TPROC-C benchmark to see how the PostgreSQL performance of Amazon EC2 R7i instances, enabled by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, stacked up to that of R6i instances with previous-generation processors. We learned that small, medium-sized, and large R7i instances with the newer processors delivered better OLTP performance, with improvements as high as 13.8 percent. By choosing the R7i instances, your organization has the potential to support more users, deliver a better experience to those users, and even lower your cloud operating expenditures by requiring fewer instances to get the job done.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents.....................................................................................2
Introduction ............................................................................................3
About the components ............................................................................3
About the Dell PowerEdge VRTX ........................................................3
About the Dell PowerEdge M620 server nodes..................................4
About the Intel Xeon processor E5 family ..........................................4
About Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V ...............................4
We show you how – Configuring a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge
VRTX .......................................................................................................5
Preparing the Chassis Management Controller..................................5
Networking overview..........................................................................9
Setting up the Live Migration network in the Dell CMC.................. 10
Installing and configuring Windows Server 2012............................ 11
Creating storage access and installing Hyper-V............................... 11
Creating virtual switches for the public/VM and Live Migration
networks.......................................................................................... 12
Setting up the failover cluster ......................................................... 12
Setting up a virtual machine............................................................ 13
Promoting the secondary domain controller .................................. 13
Summing it all up...................................................................................14
Appendix A – Updating Dell PowerEdge VRTX firmware..........................15
Appendix B – Configuring shared storage................................................16
Appendix C – Network configuration ......................................................18
Appendix D – Configuring Windows Server 2012.....................................19
Appendix E – Setting up virtual machines ...............................................25
Appendix F – Promoting the secondary domain controller ......................26
About Principled Technologies ...............................................................27
3. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 3Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
INTRODUCTION
Refreshing or deploying a new IT solution for your business can seem like an
overwhelming task. Selecting the correct hardware combination of servers, networking,
and storage that are guaranteed to work together can take up lots of time to purchase,
put together, and subsequently, manage. The new Dell PowerEdge VRTX shared
infrastructure offers an alternative to the hassle by offering a compact solution for small
businesses or remote offices that is easy to configure, delivers the performance they
require, streamlines management and maintenance, provides all necessary hardware
resources in one spot, and maintains high availability. When paired with Microsoft®
Windows Server® 2012 Hyper-V™ and Failover Clustering, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX
provides the redundant hardware for a highly available all-in-one solution. But how do
you configure a failover cluster on your new infrastructure to keep your data online?
In this guide, we take you through the simple, straightforward process of
configuring a failover cluster using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V on the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX. We configured a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX in our
labs, so we provide each step we took along with any best practices we recommend.
First, read more about the components of the Dell PowerEdge VRTX. Then, continue on
for overview of how to configure a failover cluster (for detailed steps, see the
corresponding appendices).
ABOUT THE COMPONENTS
About the Dell PowerEdge VRTX
The Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a shared infrastructure solution in a 5U rack-able
tower chassis. Designed to be quiet under normal operating conditions, the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX can be stowed under a desk in a small office without disrupting
conversations. Its four bays house M520 or M620 server nodes, providing a space-saving
alternative to having four separate tower or rack servers. In addition to space savings,
the Dell PowerEdge VRTX provides administrators with a unified interface, the Chassis
Management Controller (CMC), for performing routine systems management tasks. The
Dell PowerEdge VRTX chassis supports up to 48 TB of shared internal storage that is
presentable as virtual drives to single or multiple compute nodes, and provides optional
pass-through and eight PCIe slots for additional device connectivity. The chassis
integrated storage can be configured with 25 bays for 2.5-inch drives or with 12 bays for
3.5-inch drives. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX integrated switch contains multiple external
network ports for easy expansion or integration into any computing environment.
For more information about the Dell PowerEdge VRTX, visit
www.dell.com/poweredge.
4. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 4Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
About the Dell PowerEdge M620 server nodes
The Dell PowerEdge M620 has features optimized for performance, density, and
energy efficiency.
Processors. The Dell PowerEdge M620 is powered by two Intel® Xeon®
E5-2600-series processors, which incorporate the very latest in
processor technology from Intel. The powerful processors provide the
performance you need for your essential mainstream tasks. The Intel
Xeon E5-2600-series processor gives you up to eight cores per
processor, or up to 16 cores per server.
Memory. The Dell PowerEdge M620 holds up to 768GB DDR3 RAM (up
to 1,600 MHz) across 24 DIMM slots per server.
Management. The Dell PowerEdge M620, like all late-model Dell
servers, comes with the Dell Lifecycle Controller. This tool simplifies
server management by providing a single interface for management
functions and by storing critical system information in the system itself.
There are no CDs or USB keys to keep track of for drivers or firmware.
About the Intel Xeon processor E5 family
The new Intel Xeon processor E5 family, which comes standard in new Dell
PowerEdge servers, incorporates new technology and features to meet the computing
demands of the present and future. The Intel Xeon processor E5 family delivers
intelligent and adaptive performance using such features as Intel Turbo Boost
Technology 2.0, Intel Advanced Vector Extension, Intel Integrated I/O, and Intel Data
Direct I/O Technology. These new processors also feature Intel Trusted Execution
Technology (Intel TXT) and utilize Intel Advance Encryption Standard New Instructions
(Intel AES-NI) to help keep your data safe.
For more information about the Intel Xeon processor E5 family, visit
www.intel.com.
About Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V
Windows Server 2012, the latest release of this server OS from Microsoft,
includes many new features and enhancements. According to Microsoft, Windows
Server 2012 focuses on four core areas:
Beyond virtualization. Windows Server 2012 provides a robust and
dynamic virtualization platform through Hyper-V, and includes new
features that provide flexible options for delivering cloud services.
5. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 5Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
The power of many servers, the simplicity of one. Windows Server
2012 offers features that allow for high availability and ease of
management for multiple-server infrastructures.
Every app, any cloud. Windows Server 2012 delivers a scalable and
flexible Web and application platform by providing a consistent and
open set of tools and frameworks that apply to applications on-
premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment.
Modern work style, enabled. Microsoft Windows Server 2012
empowers users and IT staff with remote access to data, applications,
and simpler management tools while strengthening security and
compliance.
WE SHOW YOU HOW – CONFIGURING A FAILOVER
CLUSTER ON THE DELL POWEREDGE VRTX
In this section, we present an overview of configuring a Microsoft Windows
Server 2012 Hyper-V failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX. After you successfully
set up a failover cluster, see our guides on setting up highly available Microsoft
Exchange Server 2013 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 environments on the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX.1
Preparing the Chassis Management Controller
First, configure the Dell Chassis Management Console. Complete the following
steps using the front LCD panel and the arrow buttons located to the right of the screen
(see Figure 1).
1
For our Exchange Server 2013 guide, see www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/VRTX_Exchange_0613.pdf. For our SQL Server 2013 guide, see
www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/VRTX_SQL_0613.pdf.
6. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 6Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Figure 1: View of the front LCD panel and arrow buttons.
1. Arrow down to Network Settings, and press the center button on the front
display.
2. Arrow down to Quick Setup (DHCP), and press the center button on the front
display.
3. Press the center button to confirm setup.
Within the CMC user interface, you have the option of updating firmware of the
CMC controller, the Dell PowerEdge VRTX system board, and node-specific firmware.
While this step is optional, we include it as best practice. We updated the CMC and the
chassis mainboard firmware. For more details, see Appendix A.
4. Obtain the latest Dell PowerEdge VRTX system firmware from Dell.
5. Log into the CMC GUI and access the Controller update section (see Figure 2).
7. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 7Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Figure 2: The CMC GUI.
6. Update CMC firmware. Wait for the update to complete for both the primary
and backup CMC (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Updating the CMC firmware.
7. After the server becomes available, log into the CMC GUI again and access the
Controller update section.
8. Update the chassis mainboard firmware (see Figure 4).
8. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 8Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Figure 4: Updating the chassis firmware.
9. Within the CMC user interface, expand the Storage section.
10. Enable multiple host access functionality. With this feature, you can assign
access for a single LUN to multiple servers in the chassis for use in a failover
cluster. Please note that you must configure multiple access LUNs as shared
storage within the OS (e.g., cluster shared volumes). Assign a single host to any
LUNs you do not plan on configuring as shared volumes.
11. Create a virtual disk, select the appropriate RAID level, then create the
appropriate number of volumes and add a dedicated hot-spare drive to each.
Alternatively, you may assign a global hot-spare to both volumes. For our
testing, we selected RAID 10, and created two volumes: one for the virtual hard
disks of the VMs that will be hosted on the failover cluster, and a small second
volume to act as a quorum disk witness between the two server nodes. For
more information on the quorum disk witness requirements, see
technet.microsoft.comen-uslibraryjj612870.aspx
12. Grant access to the virtual disk to each node. Figure 5 shows the access granted
to each node in the CMC Web interface.
9. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 9Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Figure 5: Assigning virtual disks.
For more details on configuring shared storage, see Appendix B.
Networking overview
This Dell PowerEdge VRTX configuration requires two networks. The first is a
public/VM network, which connects the Dell PowerEdge VRTX server nodes and any
VMs on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX infrastructure to the existing network and Active
Directory domain controller server. The second network is the Live Migration network,
which comprises only the clustered servers and allows VMs to move from one server
node to another without having to shut down. On each of our Dell PowerEdge M620
server nodes, we assigned one NIC port to the public/VM network, and another NIC port
to the Live Migration network.
The infrastructure consists of a Windows Server Failover Cluster with two Dell
PowerEdge servers, each running Windows Server 2012 Datacenter, and two Active
Directory domain controllers (one of which is a virtual machine hosted in the cluster).
Figure 6 shows the sample network configuration that we used for the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX failover clustering.
10. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 10Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Server NIC IP Address Traffic type
ADServer 1 192.168.1.1 Public/VM
VirtualADServer 1 192.168.1.10 Public/VM
TestCluster 1 192.168.1.50 Public/VM
ServerNode1
1 192.168.1.11 Public/VM
2 192.168.2.11 Live Migration
ServerNode2
1 192.168.1.12 Public/VM
2 192.168.2.12 Live Migration
Figure 6: Network configuration for the Dell PowerEdge VRTX failover clustering.
Setting up the Live Migration network in the Dell CMC
First, select a private network address range for your Dell PowerEdge VRTX
environment. You will use this range for manually assigning address for Live Migration
interfaces. For this guide, we chose 192.168.2.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
This range is for network interfaces within VLAN 1000, and communicates only within
the chassis switch. We used the CMC to access and configure networking. Complete the
following steps:
1. From the CMC user interface, click the Gigabit Ethernet section (see Figure 7).
Figure 7: Launching the I/O Module GUI.
2. Launch the switch Web GUI. Log in with administrator credentials, and locate
the section on VLAN management
3. Using the Web console, create a Live Migration VLAN. Figure 8 shows the VLAN
ID and type of traffic assigned to each VLAN.
11. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 11Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
VLAN ID Traffic type Ports assigned to this VLAN
1 Main traffic (default)
All external ports and all internals except for
ports identified as Live Migration ports
1000 Live Migration
One port on each node dedicated to Live
Migration
Figure 8: Sample VLAN configuration.
4. Assign a port from each node to the Live Migration VLAN.
5. Copy the running configuration to the startup configuration in the switch by
clicking the floppy disk icon. This will save and subsequently reload the current
switch configuration in the event of power loss of the switches.
6. Logout and close the browser window to return to the CMC Web interface.
For step-by-step instructions on how to create a VLAN and assign ports to it or
saving the running configuration, see the corresponding sections in Appendix C.
Installing and configuring Windows Server 2012
This guide assumes you already have an Active Directory (AD) domain controller
server. You will need to ensure that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX enclosure is physically
connected to a network with access to the domain controller. In the sections that
follow, we detail how to set up the Dell PowerEdge VRTX infrastructure, configure the
server nodes, create the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V failover cluster, and create a
virtual machine that we will assign as a secondary Active Directory domain controller.
Install Windows Server 2012 Datacenter with GUI from the installation DVD
onto each Dell PowerEdge server, and perform the following operations in each one.
When you set up the virtual AD server later, you will repeat these steps. (For more
detail, see Appendix D.)
1. Perform all Windows Updates.
2. Assign an appropriate name to the server.
3. Assign appropriate IP addresses to the server’s NICs’ ports.
Creating storage access and installing Hyper-V
Perform the following on each of the Dell PowerEdge servers.
1. Install the Shared PERC 8 driver from Dell.
2. Initialize the shared storage disk(s) and create a new simple NTFS volume with
no drive letter or drive path for each disk. Take them offline afterwards.
3. Install the Hyper-V role.
4. Join the existing domain, restart the server, and log into Windows with the
domain administrator account.
12. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 12Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Creating virtual switches for the public/VM and Live Migration
networks
Perform this on each of the Dell PowerEdge servers.
1. In Hyper-V, create virtual switches for one port on each NIC, using the same
names in each server node. In Figure 9, NIC1 refers to the internal NIC, while
NIC2 refers to the mezzanine card NIC.
Virtual switch names NIC1/Port1 (public/VM) NIC2/Port1 (Live Migration)
Server Node 1 VirtualSwitch1 VirtualSwitch2
Server Node 2 VirtualSwitch1 VirtualSwitch2
Figure 9: Virtual switch naming configuration.
Setting up the failover cluster
Set up the Failover Clustering feature in each node, making sure to attach the
disks you made available previously. Complete the following steps.
1. Add the Failover Clustering feature to each node.
2. In order to be able to use the shared storage, modify a registry key to allow for
RAID bus types. To do so, add a registry DWORD AllowBusTypeRAID –
0x00000001 to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesClusDiskParamet
ers in each node. (See Figure 10.)
Figure 10: The registry edit to allow RAID bus types in the cluster.
13. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 13Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
3. In Failover Cluster Manager, run the Validate a Cluster test, including each of
the server nodes in the test.
4. When it passes, choose to create the cluster.
5. Give it an appropriate name, and at the end of the wizard, choose to include all
available storage, which should be the disk(s) initialized earlier.
6. In Failover Cluster Manager, at the Disks screen, assign each cluster disk to
Cluster Shared Volumes.
7. In Failover Cluster Manager, go to Live Migration Settings and select the
network specified for Live Migration, making sure that it moves to the top of the
network list.
8. In Failover Cluster Manager, select the cluster and click More
ActionsConfigure Cluster Quorum Settings. Use the wizard to assign the
previously configured disk to be the quorum disk witness.
9. Download and install Update for Windows Server 2012 (KB2803748), a hotfix to
prevent Microsoft Management Console crashes in Failover Cluster Manager,
and restart.
Setting up a virtual machine
Create a Microsoft Windows Server 2012 virtual machine on one of the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX server nodes in Hyper-V, and join it to the existing domain. For more
detail, see Appendix E.
1. On one of the server nodes, launch Hyper-V Manager, and add a new virtual
machine.
2. Assign it an appropriate name, startup memory, networking, and virtual hard
disk.
3. Install Windows Server 2012 to the VM.
4. In the VM, perform the steps in the Installing and configuring Windows Server
2012 section above.
5. Join the existing domain.
Promoting the secondary domain controller
To configure your virtual machine as a virtual Active Directory Domain Controller
server, perform these final steps. For more detail, see Appendix F.
1. Install the Active Directory Domain Services role, and join the existing domain.
2. Promote the virtual machine to a domain controller.
14. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 14Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
SUMMING IT ALL UP
As this guide has shown, setting up a failover cluster on the Dell PowerEdge
VRTX is a straightforward process. In very little time, you can deploy Dell PowerEdge
VRTX with up to four M-series servers, switches, and storage in a redundant
configuration using Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. By setting up a failover
cluster on your compact Dell PowerEdge VRTX, you can maximize server uptime to keep
your business moving.
15. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 15Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX A – UPDATING DELL POWEREDGE VRTX FIRMWARE
1. On another machine, download any applicable Dell PowerEdge VRTX updates
from Dell.
2. Open a Web browser, and enter the address listed for the CMC IP on the front
LCD display.
3. Log in with the username root and the password calvin. Note that these
are the default username and password.
a. On first login, select whether you wish to keep or modify the
password. We would recommend changing the password for security
reasons. For our testing, we chose to keep the default password.
b. Check the Do not show this warning again checkbox.
c. Click Continue.
4. Update the Dell PowerEdge VRTX CMC firmware
a. Click Chassis OverviewUpdate.
b. Click the boxes for cmc-active and cmc-standby.
c. Click Apply CMC Update.
d. Click Browse, and select the vrtx_cmc.bin image to apply. Click Open.
e. Click Begin Firmware Update. The image uploads to the CMC. After
the upload completes, the CMC restarts and the firmware update is
applied. During this period, you will hear increased fan activity from
the Dell PowerEdge VRTX chassis.
5. When the firmware update is complete, click Refresh on your browser and log in
with the appropriate credentials.
6. Update the Dell PowerEdge VRTX Chassis Mainboard firmware:
a. Click Chassis OverviewUpdate.
b. Click the box for Main-Board.
c. Click Apply Chassis Infrastructure Firmware.
d. Click Browse, and select the mainboard-xxx.bin image to apply. Click
Open.
7. Click Begin Firmware Update. The image uploads to the CMC. After the upload
completes, the CMC restarts and the firmware update is applied. During this
period, you will hear increased fan activity from the Dell PowerEdge VRTX
chassis. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX Chassis Management Controller page will be
available after the update has completed.
16. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 16Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX B – CONFIGURING SHARED STORAGE
Here we detail how to add a virtual disk in a RAID configuration with a physical
disk assigned to be a hot spare. For our testing purposes, we created a RAID 10 virtual
disk, but you can apply this guide to alternate virtual disk configurations.
1. Open a Web browser, and enter the address listed for the CMC IP on the front
LCD display.
2. Log in with the appropriate credentials.
3. Expand Storage.
4. Click Storage.
5. Click the Setup tab.
a. Under Assignment Mode, select the radio button for Multiple
Assignment, and click Apply.
b. Click OK to confirm Operation Successful.
6. Configure virtual disks:
a. Click StorageVirtual Disks.
b. On the Virtual Disks tab, click Create.
i. For Choose a virtual disk type, select the appropriate RAID level.
For our testing, we used RAID 10.
ii. Scroll down to select the appropriate physical disks. For our
testing this was 0:0:0 – 0:0:3.
iii. Set the size of the first virtual disk (to be used for the VM virtual
hard drives), and click Create Virtual Disk.
iv. Click OK to confirm Operation Successful.
v. Repeat steps I through iv for the second volume (to be used as
the disk quorum).
c. On the Virtual Disks tab, click Manage.
i. In the same row as the virtual disk you just created (Virtual Disk
0 in our testing), from the Virtual Disk Actions drop-down menu,
select Initialize: Fast.
ii. Click Apply.
iii. Click OK to confirm Operation Successful.
iv. In the same row as the virtual disk you just created (Virtual Disk
0 in our testing), from the Virtual Disk Actions drop-down menu,
select Assign Dedicated Hotspare – Unassigned Physical Disk
0:0:4 (or an available disk).
v. Repeat steps i through iv for the second virtual disk.
vi. Click Apply.
vii. Click OK to confirm Operation Successful.
17. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 17Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
d. On the Virtual Disks tab, click Assign.
i. Use the drop-down menu for all virtual disks and SLOT 01 to
select Full Access.
ii. Use the drop-down menu for all virtual disks and SLOT 02 to
select Full Access.
iii. Click Apply.
iv. Click OK to confirm Operation Successful.
18. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 18Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX C – NETWORK CONFIGURATION
1. Open a Web browser, and enter the address listed for the CMC IP on the front
LCD display.
2. Log in with the appropriate credentials.
3. Expand I/O Module Overview.
4. Click Gigabit Ethernet.
5. Click the Properties tab.
6. Click the Launch I/O Module GUI button.
7. Log in with the appropriate credentials.
8. Click Submit.
9. Expand SwitchingVLAN, and click VLAN Membership.
a. Under the VLAN Membership tab, click Add.
b. Enter a VLAN ID number (1000).
c. Enter a VLAN Name (Live Migration).
d. Click Apply.
10. Click SwitchingVLANPort Settings.
a. Under the Port Settings tab, click Edit.
b. Select the Internal Port radio button.
c. After the screen populates, use the drop-down menu to select gi1/3.
d. In the VLAN list, click 1, and click Remove.
e. Enter 1000 in the VLAN list box, and click Add.
f. Click Apply.
g. Use the drop-down menu to select gi2/3.
h. In the VLAN list, click 1, and click Remove.
i. In the VLAN list, enter 1000, and click Add.
j. Click Apply.
11. In the upper-right of the configuration pane, click the floppy drive icon to save
all new settings to start-up configuration.
12. Click Logout.
13. Click OK.
19. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 19Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX D – CONFIGURING WINDOWS SERVER 2012
Perform the following preparatory steps on each server after installing Windows
Server 2012 Datacenter Edition.
1. In Server Manager, open Windows Update.
2. In the Windows Update window, click the Check for updates button.
3. Install all of the Important and Optional updates, and click the Restart Now
button when the updates finish.
4. After the server restarts, run Windows Update again.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 until Windows Update finds no more updates to
install.
6. Once Windows is fully updated, navigate to Local Server in Server Manager.
7. Click the hyperlink next to Computer name.
8. In the Computer Name tab, click the Change… button.
9. Under Computer name, provide a suitable name for the server. For our testing,
we named the Dell PowerEdge VRTX server nodes ServerNode1 and
ServerNode2 and the secondary domain controller virtual machine
VirtualADServer.
10. To confirm, click OK.
11. In the pop-up window, click OK.
12. Close the System Properties window.
13. At the next pop-up, choose to Restart Later.
14. In the Local Server screen’s Properties frame, click the hyperlink next to
Ethernet.
15. This step will vary depending on which server is being configured:
a. For the secondary domain controller virtual machine, right-click the NIC,
and select Properties. Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4),
and click Properties. Provide an appropriate IP address in the subnet in
which the domain will reside. For our setup, we gave VirtualADServer an
IP of 192.168.1.10, subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, default
gateway of 192.168.1.1, and preferred DNS server of
192.168.1.1.
b. For each of the Dell PowerEdge VRTX server nodes, the internal and
mezzanine NIC’s ports will have different configurations:
20. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 20Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
i. Right-click the internal NIC’s first port, and select Properties.
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click
Properties. Provide an appropriate IP address in the public/VM
network, as well as a subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS
server. Click OK to save these settings. For our setup, we gave
ServerNode1’s internal NIC’s first port an IP address of
192.168.1.11, subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, default
gateway of 192.168.1.1, and preferred DNS server of
192.168.1.1. We gave ServerNode2’s internal NIC’s first
port the same addresses except its IP address, which was
192.168.1.12.
ii. Right-click the mezzanine NIC’s first port, and select Properties.
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click
Properties. For the mezzanine NIC’s ports, we didn’t need to
provide a default gateway or DNS server, so provide an
appropriate IP address in the Live Migration network. Click OK
to save these settings. We gave ServerNode1’s mezzanine NIC’s
first port an IP address of 192.168.2.11. We gave
ServerNode2’s mezzanine NIC’s first port an IP address of
192.168.2.12.
16. Restart the server.
Preparing the storage and adding the Hyper-V role
Complete the following steps on each Dell PowerEdge VRTX server node. Here,
you ensure that your storage is accessible, add the Hyper-V role, and join the domain.
1. Log into Windows with the domain administrator account.
2. After acquiring the Shared PERC 8 driver from Dell, navigate to the executable
and launch it.
3. On the SAS RAID: Shared PERC8 Driver window, click Continue.
4. Click OK after selecting the extraction directory.
5. After extracting the files, right-click on percsas2.inf and click Install.
6. When the installation prompts you, click Restart Now.
7. After logging back into Windows, press Windows key + X, and click Disk
Management.
8. On the first server node you perform this on, an Initialize Disk pop-up window
appears. Select the MBR (Master Boot Record) radio button, and click OK.
9. Right-click the Unallocated side of the disk’s row, and click New Simple Volume.
21. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 21Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
10. At the first screen of the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.
11. At the Specify Volume Size screen, leave the defaults, and click Next.
12. At the Assign Drive Letter or Path screen, select the Do not assign a drive letter
or drive path radio button, and click Next.
13. At the Format Partition screen, provide an appropriate Volume label, and click
Next.
14. Click Finish.
15. Right-click the left side of each of these new simple volumes and take them
offline.
16. Close Disk Management.
17. From Server Manager, click ManageAdd Roles and Features.
18. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
19. At the Installation Type screen, click Next.
20. At the Server Selection screen, click Next.
21. At the Server Roles screen, check the box for Hyper-V, and click Add Features in
the pop-up that appears.
22. Click Next.
23. At the Features screen, click Next.
24. At the Hyper-V screen, click Next.
25. At the Virtual Switches screen, click Next.
26. At the Migration screen, leave the defaults, and click Next.
27. At the Default Stores screen, click Next.
28. At the Confirmation screen, click Install.
29. At the Results screen, click Close.
30. In Server Manager, click the WORKGROUP hyperlink next to Workgroup.
31. In the System Properties window, click the Change… button.
32. In the Member of section, select the Domain radio button and enter the domain
name in the field. For our purposes, this was test.local.
33. Click OK.
34. In the Windows Security window that appears, enter the domain administrator
credentials, and click OK.
22. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 22Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
35. In the window that appears, click OK.
36. In the next window, click OK.
37. In the System Properties window, click Close.
38. When the installation prompts you, click Restart Now.
39. After the server restarts, log into Windows with the domain administrator
credentials.
Setting up virtual switches for public/VM and Live Migration networks
We show how to create virtual switches for each of the networks to be used in
the cluster. Repeat these steps on each node, creating four virtual switches in all,
with two distinct names.
1. In Hyper-V Manager, click Virtual Switch Manager.
2. In the left pane, select New virtual network switch. Leave External highlighted,
and click Create Virtual Switch.
3. Enter a name for the virtual switch. This name must be identical between both
nodes. Use the drop-down menu to select an appropriate adapter for each
network. We named the public/VM network’s virtual switches
VirtualSwitch1, and used the internal network adapters’ first ports. We
named the Live Migration network’s virtual switches VirtualSwitch2, and
used the mezzanine cards’ first ports.
Installing the Failover Clustering feature and allowing RAID bus types
Perform the following steps on each Dell PowerEdge server. For more
information on this registry edit, see support.microsoft.com/kb/2839292.
4. From Server Manager, click ManageAdd Roles and Features.
5. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
6. At the Installation Type screen, click Next.
7. At the Server Selection screen, click Next.
8. At the Server Roles screen, click Next.
9. At the Features screen, click the box for Failover Clustering, click Add Features in
the window that pops up, and click Next.
10. At the Confirmation screen, click Install.
11. When installation finishes, click Close.
12. Press the Windows key and type regedit and press Enter.
23. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 23Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
13. Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesClusDiskParamet
ers in the Registry Editor.
14. Click EditNewDWORD (32-bit) Value.
15. Enter AllowBusTypeRAID as the name.
16. Right-click the new DWORD and click Modify.
17. In the Value data field, enter 1 and click OK.
18. Close the Registry Editor.
Validating and creating the failover cluster
Here we validate the cluster configuration and create the cluster.
1. Now, on either Dell PowerEdge server, click ToolsFailover Cluster Manager.
2. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
3. In the Select Servers or a Cluster screen, enter the names of each Dell
PowerEdge VRTX server node in the Enter name field, clicking the Add button
after each. Click Next when finished.
4. At the Testing Options screen, click Next.
5. At the Confirmation page, click Next.
6. After the testing completes successfully, make sure the Create a cluster now
using the validated nodes box is checked.
7. Click Finish.
8. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
9. At the Access Point for Administering the Cluster screen, give the cluster an
appropriate name, an appropriate IP address, and click Next. We used the name
TestCluster and an IP address of 192.168.1.50.
10. Click Next.
11. At the Confirmation screen, make sure the Add all eligible storage to the cluster
box is checked, and click Next.
12. At the Summary screen, click Finish.
13. Open Failover Clustering Manager.
14. Navigate to StorageDisks, and click Add Disk.
15. Select all the available disks, and click OK.
16. In the Disks pane in FCM, right-click each Cluster Disk, and select Add to Cluster
Shared Volumes.
24. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 24Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
17. In Failover Cluster Manager, right-click Networks, and select Live Migration
Settings.
18. Click the boxes for the networks set aside for Live Migration, as outlined in the
overview.
19. Highlight each network, clicking the Up button on the right until they are at the
top of the list, and click OK.
20. The disk to be used for quorum may be automatically assigned. If not, select the
cluster and click More Actions→Configure Cluster Quorum Settings.
a. Click Next.
b. Select Advanced quorum configuration and witness selection and click
Next.
c. Select All nodes and click Next.
d. Leave the Allow cluster to dynamically manage the assignment of node
votes checkbox checked and click Next.
e. Select Configure a disk witness and click Next.
f. Select the disk to be used for quorum and click Next.
g. Click Next.
h. Click Finish.
21. Close Failover Clustering Manager.
22. Acquire Update for Windows Server 2012 (KB2803748) from
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=36468 .
23. Launch the standalone update installer file in both Dell PowerEdge VRTX server
nodes.
24. When the update installer completes its operations, click Restart Now.
25. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 25Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX E – SETTING UP VIRTUAL MACHINES
We created a virtual machine in our Hyper-V failover cluster on one of the Dell
PowerEdge VRTX server nodes, installing Windows Server 2012 and joining the existing
domain.
1. From Server Manager, click ToolsHyper-V Manager.
2. In the Actions pane on the right, click NewVirtual Machine.
3. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
4. Provide an appropriate name for the virtual machine. In our configuration, we
called it VirtualADServer. Click Next.
5. Enter 4096 for the startup memory, and click Next.
6. At the Configure Networking screen, select the virtual switches (created in the
Hyper-V setup) from the drop-down menu, and click Next.
7. At the Connect Virtual Hard Disk screen, create an appropriately sized virtual
hard disk, browse and select cluster storage volume as the location, and click
Next.
8. At the Installation Options screen, click the Install an operating system from a
boot CD/DVD-ROM radio button, and provide the location of the Windows
Server 2012 Datacenter installation DVD there. Click Next.
9. At the Summary screen, click Finish.
10. From here, perform the Windows Server 2012 Configuration steps from above
on the virtual machine.
11. In Server Manager, in the Local Server screen, click the WORKGROUP hyperlink.
12. In System Properties, click the Change… button.
13. Click the Domain radio button and enter the domain name. For our
configuration, this was test.local.
14. Enter the domain administrator credentials.
15. Click OK at the welcome pop-up.
16. When the installation prompts you, close the remaining windows and choose to
Restart Now.
17. When the server restart completes, log into Windows with the domain
administrator credentials.
26. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 26Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
APPENDIX F – PROMOTING THE SECONDARY DOMAIN CONTROLLER
Here we show how to install the Active Directory Domain Services role onto a
virtual machine, as well as how to promote it to a secondary domain controller.
1. In Server Manager, click ManageAdd Roles and Features.
2. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
3. At the Installation Type screen, click Next.
4. At the Server Selection screen, click Next.
5. At the Server Roles screen, click the box for Active Directory Domain Services.
6. In the window that pops up, click Add Features.
7. Click Next.
8. At the Features screen, click Next.
9. At the AD DS screen, click Next.
10. At the Confirmation screen, click Install.
11. When installation completes, click the Promote this server to a domain
controller hyperlink.
12. At the Deployment Configuration screen, select the Add a domain controller to
an existing domain radio button, and provide the existing domain name in the
Domain field. For our configuration, this was test.local.
13. You should be logged into the domain administrator account, so the Supply the
credentials to perform this operation section should already have the domain
administrator’s username displayed. For us, this was TESTAdministrator.
14. Click Next.
15. Supply the already configured password to the Directory Services Restore Mode
fields on the Domain Controller Options screen, and click Next.
16. At the DNS Options screen, click Next.
17. At the Additional Options screen, click Next.
18. At the Paths screen, click Next.
19. At the Review Options screen, click Next.
20. At the Prerequisites Check screen, click Install.
21. The server will restart automatically when the installation completes. When it
does, log into Windows with the domain administrator credentials.
27. A Principled Technologies deployment guide 27Configuring a failover cluster on a Dell PowerEdge VRTX
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