VMware for FactoryTalk server

Hey, I asked about using VMware in other thread (http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showpost.php?p=391890&postcount=8) but since noone answered I'm here again hehe

I'm thinking about using VMware at my new FactoryTalk servers so it would be easier to manage it in the long term, like when upgrading to new hardware or maybe just rebooting the machine if necessary. The process running on it is very critical and has 22 ControlLogix hanging on it.... Do you guys think it is a good ideia?

FT version= 5.10

That will work fine. I am pretty sure FT view supports server 2003 and 2008. No linux distros AFAIK.

I have a couple FT VIEW SE apps running on server 2008 which are on a HP physical server running VM Ware ESX server which works well.

I use VM WAre desktop for FT View Development software.

In the last year or so, Rockwell Automation has gone from "maybe it will work, you're on your own" to "VMWare is a partner company and we test things".

I am a big VMWare fan. My newest PC has only FT Activation and RSLinx Gateway installed on it; everything else is on VMWare 7.1 virtual machines.

This was painfully slow on older hardware (1.7 GHz C-series Dell Latitude) but on the newest E-series with a Core i5 CPU it's fantastic. Activation passes right through to the host OS, no RSLinx console/service problems, and when I want to migrate to a shiny new Windows 7 box I can take all my XP installations with me.

I have a customer with four FactoryTalk View SE HMI servers and they are all patched differently (FT and Windows) and configured differently and behave slightly differently; it's a pain to manage. We're setting up a slightly older HP Proliant D360 server with VMWare ESXi to serve as the multi-role replacement and it will have all four servers ready to run as VMs; all they have to do is log on with the management client and launch one.

We're also looking at VMWare for their clients; Client PC hardware fails about once a year and the replacement PCs are never exactly the same. I find it easier to convert a Workstation VM from v4, v5, v6 up to v7 more easily than doing a Physical->Physical migration using Windows XP sysprep and install files.

One thing that is a little more complex about running VMWare virtual machines is that you need to have unique CIP serial numbers for your RSLinx Classic and Enterprise hosts, but VMWare duplicates them when you clone a VM. Ask RSI tech support about how to create a new unique CIP serial number for each duplicate VMWare instance.

Virtual machine novice here but we have a very large well known customer in the US that we installed a FT SE Network app on and haven't had any issues at all. They are running MS Hyper-V.

Hope this helps

lol C series Ken. I was just upgraded to an i7 with 8gig ram because you guys send us tech-ed images designed around 8gb

Before that I was stuck on a D800