System information

A Principled Technologies test report 23
Comparing performance and cost: Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs.
legacy hardware solution
14. Keep the default virtual device node (0:0), and click Next.
15. Click Finish.
16. Right click the VM, select Upgrade Virtual Hardware, and click Yes.
17. Start the VM.
18. Attach the Windows Server 2012 ISO image to the VM, and install Windows Server 2012 on your VM.
Installing the operating system on the VMs
See the above sections regarding the initial creation of the virtual machines. We provide steps below for
installing the operating system.
Installing the VM operating system on the first VM
1. Connect to the ISO image of the installation DVD for Windows Server 2012 Enterprise from the VM console.
If the ISO image is not stored on the host, start the VM first and then connect to the ISO image.
2. Start the VM.
3. At the Language Selection Screen, click Next.
4. Click Install Now.
5. Select Windows Server 2012 Enterprise (Full Installation), and click Next.
6. Click the I accept the license terms checkbox, and click Next.
7. Click Custom.
8. Click Next.
9. At the User’s password must be changed before logging on warning screen, click OK.
10. Enter the desired password for the administrator in both fields, and click the arrow to continue.
11. At the Your password has been changed screen, click OK.
12. Install the latest VMware Tools package on the VM. Restart as necessary.
13. Connect the machine to the Internet, and install all available Windows updates. Restart as necessary. We
configured each VM on the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with all available Windows Updates as of June 21, 2013.
14. Enable remote desktop access.
15. Change the hostname and reboot when prompted.
16. Create a shared folder to store test script files. Set permissions as needed.
17. Set up networking:
a. Click StartControl Panel, right-click Network Connections, and choose Open.
b. Right-click the VM traffic NIC, and choose Properties.
c. Select TCP/IP (v4), and choose Properties.
d. Set the IP address, subnet, gateway, and DNS server for the virtual NIC, which will handle outgoing server
traffic. Click OK, and click Close.
Setting up the legacy systems
We configured an HP ProLiant ML370 G5, ML310 G5, and ML110 G6 servers with Windows Server 2012 and all
available Windows Updates as of June 21, 2013. We detail our legacy setup configuration steps below.
Configuring the internal disks on the legacy systems
1. Power on the HP ProLiant ML370 G5.
2. Enter the setup for the onboard RAID controller.
3. Create a RAID1 using both installed hard drives.