HP PROLIANT BL465C G7 - Manual (Page 25)

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Note:
HP has not yet characterized FBWC performance in the HP SBC
environment. However, testing performed using BBWC demonstrates that,
typically, improvements from write cache are most significant when the HP
SBC server is performing log-intensive operations and/or when significant
page file write operations are necessary, such as during user logins.
Performance gains ranged from 50% to 250%
10 ; actual results would vary
depending on the application(s) involved and your particular HP SBC
environment.
FBWC is enabled by default. Use the BIOS to set the read/write ratio 11 .
Virtualization
To take best advantage of the benefits delivered by virtualization, you need to understand your HP
SBC environment. In addition, be aware that virtual machine (VM) performance may vary depending
on the application, the guest operating system, and other factors; you should test the VM prior to
implementation in a production environment. Also be aware that some applications are good
candidates for virtualization, others less so: for example, underutilized HP SBC servers, servers
running infrastructure services, and Citrix XenApp data store servers may be good candidates for
virtualization; HP SBC servers running resource-intensive applications and highly-utilized infrastructure
servers may not be such good candidates.
When you are planning a virtualized implementation, ensure you have selected a server with the CPU
capacity and number of cores you need. Make sure you meet the resource requirements for
virtualization overhead, guest operating systems, and applications. Would a storage array network
(SAN) be a better choice than internal storage? Are there enough network interface cards (NICs)?
To correctly size the HP SBC servers you intend to virtualize, you must understand the associated
applications and the numbers of users and user profiles to be supported. You should balance the
number of VMs deployed on a particular server with the number of vCPUs allocated to each VM; you
should also allocate enough RAM to eliminate memory and I/O bottlenecks. Prior to deployment, HP
recommends testing your VMs in a production test environment with live users.
In addition to suitable sizing, optimal VM performance requires Citrix XenServer and guest operating
systems to be appropriately configured. For example, consider disabling the screen saver associated
with the XenServer VM controller window.
To avoid spikes in processor utilization, ensure your VMs are online before applying the workload.
Do not simultaneously add large numbers of users; if possible, balance the workload across your
VMs.
A broad range of tools is available to help you manage a virtualized HP SBC environment, including
Citrix Essentials for XenServer Solution - HP Edition and Citrix XenCenter.
VMs are flexible, allowing you to readily implement the level of availability you need. Moreover, you
can enhance availability by utilizing a storage array network (SAN) created from HP StorageWorks
product offerings. Capabilities may include:
 Multiple paths for redundancy
 Automatic path failover
 High-availability cluster support
10 For further information, visit the HP website .
11 For most applications, HP recommends 100% write.