On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:14:02 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> Surely you'd only *attempt* such a thing on an extremely high-end
>>> server though? (Recall that Vista is a desktop OS.)
>> 
>> Nope.  IT classrooms typically buy the cheapest hardware they can
>> possibly purchase - usually desktop machines - and then run a virtual
>> server envrionment.
> 
> Well... might I suggest that trying to run multiple OSes simultaneously
> on hardware that isn't capable of running *one* OS is... a bad idea?

That's the reason for the additional memory = makes the hardware capable 
of running one or more OSes. ;-)

For the training that we develop here, we're specing at least 2 GB of RAM 
and suggesting more, I believe.  We're also leaning towards a strong 
recommendation for VT-enabled processors because we use VMware and XEN 
virtualization solutions for the classroom.

Thing is, you can only fit so many machines in a classroom, and if you 
get to > 1 PC per student, the training centers don't hold the class 
(because they can't enroll enough students to make any money).  Single-
box solutions are *highly* desirable, but when you have to have a server 
or two and a client to effectively teach networking concepts, 
virtualization is the best route to go.

The centers aren't going to spend $20K on individual machines for a 
classroom.  That's not cost effective.

Jim

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