Setting up a server to run multiple OS's at remote site - Hyper-V issues

[tankman1989]

I have a Dell Poweredge 1950 that is a little old. When I installed ESXi v5.0 I got an error message "Processors don't support virtualization". I'm new to any stand a lone hyper-v's as all I've used is Virtualbox and VMware for desktops.

What I want to do with this machine is have the following OS's up and running all the time to practice remote admin: XP Pro, Vista, Win 7, Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu Server, Asterisk and maybe some others like CentOS and such. The machine has 2 dual core 3Ghz CPU's and 16GB of ram so I think I should be ok running numerous OS's simultaneously - but only really using one at a time CPU wise. This machine will be hosted off-site at a location with a decent DSL connection.

I'm new to setting up machines like this so any suggestions for the best way to do this are welcome. I have a TechNet account so I can use just about any MS software if I need to use Hyper-V or Server 2008 as a base install and then run a virtualization app in side server to run the VM's.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as to the best route to go?

[OfficeTechs]

check the bios of the server, there should be an option to enable hardware virtualisation or similar, that should get rid of that error for you.

You effectively have 4 cores to work with so good practice means thats 1 core per OS effectively, dedicate RAM specifically to each OS, my experience is that the VM software isnt always great at allocating RAM from the pool by itelf so I have always given each OS a dedicated amount of RAM.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Check the processors on that rig..might not be able to install the latest 64 bit 5.0
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/mic...rnalId=1003944