System information

A Principled Technologies test report 15
Comparing performance and cost: Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs.
legacy hardware solution
APPENDIX B - HOW WE TESTED
Installing and configuring the infrastructure server
We configured a Dell PowerEdge R710 server with VMware vSphere (ESXi) 5.1 Update 1 to host the Active
Directory VMs, one for each solution, and the VMware vCenter VM.
Installing VMware vSphere 5.1 (ESXi) on the Dell PowerEdge R710
1. Insert the ESXi 5.1 disk, and select Boot from disk.
2. On the Welcome screen, press Enter.
3. On the End User License Agreement (EULA) screen, press F11.
4. On the Select a Disk to install or Upgrade Screen, select the relevant volume to install ESXi on, and press
Enter.
5. On the Please Select a Keyboard Layout screen, press Enter.
6. On the Enter a Root Password Screen, assign a root password, and confirm the password by entering it
again. Press Enter to continue.
7. On the Confirm Install Screen, press F11 to install.
8. On the Installation complete screen, press Enter to reboot.
Configuring ESXi after installation
1. On the ESXi 5.1 screen, press F2, enter the root password, and press Enter.
2. On the System Customization screen, select Troubleshooting Options, and press Enter.
3. On the Troubleshooting Mode Options screen, select enable ESXi Shell, and press Enter.
4. Select Enable SSH, press Enter, and press Esc.
5. On the System Customization screen, select Configure Management Network.
6. On the Configure Management Network screen, select IP Configuration.
7. On the IP Configuration screen, select Set static IP; enter an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway;
and press Enter.
8. On the Configure Management Network screen, press Esc. When the installer asks if you want to apply the
changes, press Y.
9. Log in as root with the vSphere client.
10. Select the Configuration tab, and click Networking.
11. Click Add Networking…
12. Create a virtual machine network called PRIV-NET, and select the appropriate adapters.
13. Click OK.
14. Select the Configuration tab, and click DNS and routing.
15. Type a name, and select test.local for domain.
Setting up two VMs to host the Microsoft Windows Active Directory® servers
1. In your Web browser, connect to the vSphere server, and browse to the ESXi host hosting the management
VMs (in our case, the PowerEdge R710).
2. Right-click the ESXi host, and choose New Virtual Machine.
3. Choose Create a new virtual machine, and click Next.
4. Assign a name to the virtual machine, and click Next.