Windows 2008r2 with SP1 download URL - 180 day trial

This avoids the registration process which doesn't seem to like ie9

http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/7/5/E/75EC4E54-5B02-42D6-8879-D8D3A25FBEF7/7601.17514.101119-1850_x64fre_server_eval_en-us-GRMSXEVAL_EN_DVD.iso

Office 2010 Backup media download URL

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-office-2010-backup-FX101853122.aspx

force the default multipathing policy to Round Robin in vSphere 4

esxcli nmp satp setdefaultpsp –satp VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA –psp VMW_PSP_RR
esxcli nmp satp setdefaultpsp –satp VMW_SATP_EQL –psp VMW_PSP_RR
esxcli corestorage claimrule load
esxcli corestorage claimrule run

Backup Exec 2010 r3 download URL

http://trialware.norton.com/files/fc/Backup_Exec_2010_13.0.5204_MultiPlatforms_Multilingual_DVD.iso

Beats filling in all details they ask for. Beware is 3.6 GBs!!!

Enabling copy and paste in vSphere client

Starting with vSphere 4.1, the Copy and Paste options are, by default, disabled for security reasons.

To be able to copy and paste between the guest operating system and the remote console, you must enable the Copy and Paste options using the vSphere Client. Alternatively, you can use RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) to connect to the Windows virtual machines.

To enable this option for a specific virtual machine:

1. Log into a vCenter Server system using the vSphere Client and power off the virtual machine.
2. Select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
3. Click Edit Settings.
4. Navigate to Options > Advanced > General and click Configuration Parameters.
5. Click Add Row and type the following values in the Name and Value columns:
6. • isolation.tools.copy.disable – false
   • isolation.tools.paste.disable – false
     Note: These options override any settings made in the VMware Tools control panel of the guest operating system.
     
7. Click OK to close the Configuration Parameters dialog, and click OK again to close the Virtual Machine Properties dialog.
8. Power on the virtual machine.

Note: If you vMotion a virtual machine to a host where the isolation.tools.*="FALSE" is already set, the copy and paste options are automatically activated for that virtual machine.

To enable this option for all the virtual machines in the ESX/ESXi host:

1. Log in to the ESX/ESXi host as a root user and open the /etc/vmware/config file using a text editor.
2. Add these entries to the file:
   
   isolation.tools.copy.disable="FALSE"
   isolation.tools.paste.disable="FALSE"
   
3. Save and close the file. The Copy and Paste options are only enabled when the virtual machines restart or resume the next time.

Note: These options do not persist after an upgrade. If you upgrade to a newer version after enabling these options, the changes are lost and you may have to re-enable them.

Note: An RDP session to Windows virtual machines lets you copy and paste.

Comparing the Dell, Force 10 and other vendors switches for iSCSI

Comparing the Dell PowerConnect 54xx, 55xx, 62xx and 70xx switches for iSCSI

Mpps  = Million Packets Per Second

5424 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 48.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 35.6 Mpps
Up to 8,000 MAC Addresses
64MB of CPU DRAM
16MB of Flash Memory
2Mb Packet Buffer Memory

5524 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 128.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 65.47 Mpps
Up to 16,000 MAC Addresses
1GB of CPU DRAM
16MB of Flash Memory
12Mb Packet Buffer Memory

6224 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 136 Gb/s
Forwarding Rate 95 Mpps
Up to 8,000 MAC Addresses
256MB of CPU SDRAM
32MB of Flash Memory
?? Packet Buffer Memory

6348 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 184 Gb/s
Forwarding Rate 160 Mpps
Up to 8,000 MAC Addresses
512MB of CPU SDRAM
64MB of Flash Memory
?? Packet Buffer Memory

7024 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 176.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 125 Mpps
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
1GB of CPU DRAM
64MB of Flash Memory
32Mb Packet Buffer Memory

7048 Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 176.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 160 Mpps
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
1GB of CPU DRAM
64MB of Flash Memory
32Mb Packet Buffer Memory

7048R Performance
Switch Fabric Capacity 224.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 160 Mpps
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
1GB of CPU DRAM
64MB of Flash Memory
32Mb Packet Buffer Memory

Force 10 s4810
Switch Fabric Capacity 1.28 Tbps
Forwarding Rate 960 Mpps
Up to 128,000 MAC Addresses
2GB of CPU DRAM
9Mb Packet Buffer Memory

Force 10 MXL
Switch Fabric Capacity 1.28 Tbps
Forwarding Rate 960 Mpps
Up to 128,000 MAC Addresses
2GB of CPU DRAM
9Mb Packet Buffer Memory

Force 10 s60
Switch Fabric Capacity 176 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 132 Mpps
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
?GB of CPU DRAM
1.25Gb Packet Buffer Memory

Cisco 3750G
Switch Fabric Capacity 32.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 38.7 Mpps
Up to 12,000 MAC Addresses
? of CPU DRAM
128MB of Flash Memory
8Mb Packet Buffer Memory*

Cisco Nexus 5548p
Switch Fabric Capacity 160.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 714.24 Mpps (Layer 2)
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
32Mb Packet Buffer Memory*

Cisco 3750X-24S
Switch Fabric Capacity 160.0 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 65.5 Mpps
Up to 12,000 MAC Addresses
? of CPU DRAM
128MB of Flash Memory
?Mb Packet Buffer Memory*

Brocade FCX648S
Switch Fabric Capacity 200 Gbps
Forwarding Rate 150 Mpps
Up to 32,000 MAC Addresses
?GB of CPU DRAM
?Mb Packet Buffer Memory


Basically the faster frame forwarding rate and the higher the port buffer the better, which is how you gauge a good switch.


*0.75MB of ingress buffering is dynamically divided into port
buffers/queues, 2 of which are user-configurable. There's 2MB of
egress buffering that provides 4 egress queues per physical port.