Hardware virtualization technologies are somewhat new to PC-based datacenters. Hardware virtualization technologies can provide significant advantages over traditional hardware-based implementations. However, software that is running in a virtualized hardware environment is affected by intrinsic limitations, especially limitations around performance. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you review the following information before you decide whether to implement hardware virtualization technologies in your datacenter:
- Top Ten Virtualization Myths
- Virtualization � Evolution Not Revolution
- Virtualization � The Architectural Foundation for Dynamic IT
- The Microsoft Virtualization home page
This information is also helpful when you plan a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implementation. For example, the decision to deploy different server roles of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to virtualized or non-virtualized environments is strongly dependent on your datacenter implementation, management strategies, and available resources. Some Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server roles are better candidates than other server roles for running within a Microsoft Virtual Server environment. Your results depend on many factors such as the hardware environment, your performance requirements, and the workloads present.
Performance and scalability considerations
When you plan to deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 in a virtualized environment, the same performance and scalability aspects that are described in
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide apply when you size each virtual machine for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. However, there are some factors that directly affect the performance and scalability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 when it is running on a computer that is running Virtual Server 2005.
- Each virtual machine can have only one CPU. This limits the processing power of the virtualized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 installation. The server should be sized in such a way that a single CPU can handle the estimated load on the server. Also, the number of virtual machines that are running at the same time on the host computer will affect the overall performance of the whole system.
- Virtual Server 2005 does not support 64-bit virtual machines. Therefore, virtual implementations to the 32-bit version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 are limited.
- When you are sizing the disk capacity of the virtual machine, make sure that you think about the time that will be required to perform a full online backup of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 data over the network. Consider adding a dedicated virtual network adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server backups.
- Create separate fixed-size virtual disks for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 databases and log files, and store the virtual disks on separate physical drives on the host server.
- Before you move the implementation to a production environment, make sure that you validate the performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server by using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkit.
- Make sure that the server that is running Virtual Server 2005 is sized correctly to handle the number of virtual machines that you plan to deploy. This estimate should include CPU, memory, network adapters, and disk configuration.
- Use a hard disk solution that enables fast access. Consider using a SCSI hard disk, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), or storage area network (SAN) to store the .vhd files that are used by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 data.