Host OS recomendations for a windows SBS 2011 guest

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bleve97
Posts: 17
Joined: 16. Jun 2011, 14:10
Primary OS: OpenSolaris other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: XP, windows SBS

Host OS recomendations for a windows SBS 2011 guest

Post by bleve97 »

Hello,
I'm new here, have read the FAQ, I hope I didn't miss the answer to this!

I'm going to be running a Windows SBS 2011 guest (64 bit) in virtualbox to future-proof a few clients on some modern server hardware - dual current generation Xeon's, 2 x gigabit LAN port Intel servers with 16GB of RAM and disk configuation yet to be determined, but probably a couple of 2TB drives (SATA) as a mirror of some flavour (NOT RAID5 or RAIDZ/RAIDZ2), maybe in hardware, but probably a software mirror. Running a windows SBS server in a VM is very compelling from a disaster recovery point of view - create a snapshot, no worries .. restore onto just about any hardware. Win ...

Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations for the host OS. I'm experienced with running RHEL/CentOS, Solaris (opensolaris and openindiana) and windows servers, so admin skills for choosing the OS for the host isn't a factor. I'm more interested in what host OS will be the most stable and efficient to run a SBS 2011 guest and the most future-proof (engage crystal ball now ...)? ZFS on open(solaris/indiana) is awesome, but I'm not sure if it's going to be of much benefit to a windows server?

I'd much appreciate any war stories or suggestions.
bleve97
Posts: 17
Joined: 16. Jun 2011, 14:10
Primary OS: OpenSolaris other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: XP, windows SBS

Re: Host OS recomendations for a windows SBS 2011 guest

Post by bleve97 »

no-one? No opinions? An FAQ I missed?
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: Host OS recomendations for a windows SBS 2011 guest

Post by Sasquatch »

Pick the one you're most familiar with and feel the most comfortable with as being stable. There is no "best" OS to run VB on, it's a user preference.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
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