Best Practices When Deploying VMware vSphere on the HP ProLiant DL980 (updated October 2012)

Executive summary

The purpose of this white paper is to facilitate the successful deployment and configuration of VMware® vSphere® 4.1 or

vSphere 5.0 and 5.1 virtualization software on HP ProLiant DL980 servers.

It includes descriptions of additional recommended HP software components for the DL980, as well as best practices

and guidelines to use when deploying vSphere. Topics include the following:

 An overview of the solution components, including a VMware features matrix

 Recommended HP software and drivers

 vSphere configuration guidelines

 Additional considerations, proof-of-concept, and summary

The DL980 server is the ideal platform for supporting virtualized environments demanding considerable processing

power and significant memory and I/O resources. In addition, the installation, configuration, integration, and operation

of the DL980 in vSphere environments utilize processes that are parallel across the entire line of HP ProLiant servers.

Intended audience: This white paper is intended for solutions architects, engineers, and project managers involved with

the deployment of DL980 servers running vSphere. You should be familiar with virtualized infrastructures and with

networking in heterogeneous environments. Knowledge of VMware ESX and vCenter Server, HP ProLiant servers, and HP

management software is required.

Note

This white paper is intended to present recommendations only. It should not be

used as a standalone reference.

Solution overview

This section presents an overview of the HP ProLiant DL980 server, vSphere 4.1, vSphere 5.0, vSphere 5.1 and the

VMware feature matrix on the DL980.

HP ProLiant DL980

The HP ProLiant DL980 server is HP’s latest 8 socket, x86-based, 64-bit scale up platform. Available in 4-, 6-, 8-, and

now 10-core configurations, it can support the following:

 Up to 160 logical processors (with 8 Intel® Xeon® E7-family processors x 10 cores x 2 threads/core, with Intel

Hyper-Threading Technology enabled)

 4 TB of physical memory (RAM with 32 GB Dimms; note, however, that VMware can only use 2 TB maximum)

 Up to 16 PCIe/PCI-X I/O cards

In addition, the DL980 utilizes Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) and Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI)

technology.

This vast resource capacity, along with its advanced resiliency and scaling efficiency, makes the DL980 server an ideal

platform for supporting virtualized environments consisting of large workloads or a considerable number of smaller

workloads. Its significant processor, memory, and I/O capacities help remove the potential resource bottlenecks that

frequently occur in consolidation projects, and its advanced resiliency features help mitigate the risks of potential

downtime in production environments.

The DL980 uses HP PREMA architecture which incorporates a new node controller design with Smart CPU caching and

redundant system fabric. Combined with a Microsoft® Windows® or Linux OS, these features provide a solution that is

fully capable of supporting the most demanding, data-intensive workloads with the reliability, availability, and

efficiency needed to run all of your business-critical applications with confidence.