Help with developer machine hardware and software setup

Question

I need a bit of advice on how to set up my developer machine.

I have ordered the following desktop:

Quad Core Q9400 (2.66 GHz)
8GB Crosshair XMS2
19" Widescreen monitor.
15" Monitor (which I already have)
2 x 500GB SATA (7200 rmp)
512MB ATI RADEON HD 4350 PCI EXPRESS

It should be a bit of a monster!

I'm going to use vmware workstation with the following configuration:

Host OS Vista Ultimate 64bit (kept clean) Running on HDD1

Developer VM with Vista Ultimate 64bit (Will run VS2008, SQL Server Express 2008, SVN and any other dev tools I need) Running on HDD2

XP PRO VM Running Office/iTunes/Photo's etc Running on HDD2

Cut Down Version of XP for browsing Running on HDD2

Backup Strategy: I'll back up my VM's periodically onto HDD1.

Can anybody give me advice about this setup.

How much memory should I allocate each VM?

How much processing power should I allocate each VM?

How much disk space should I allocate each VM?

Should I change the OS's I'm using?

Should I change the app's I'll be running on each VM?

Is my machine going to have enough power to run all this properly?

My main motivation is to have my host OS boot as fast as possible and my Development VM to be as power full as possible.

Answer 1

I'm considering this as programming related, as "devenv" and SQL Server have very specific profiles (i.e. not SU); and the SQL Server on a developer desktop has different demands to running on a production server (i.e. not SF).

I'm not sure why the "browsing" machine can't be the host... not sure that warrants another VM.

If you go to VS2010 (which is WPF-heavy), you'll want to ensure that 3D emulation is enabled on the dev VM, but even then you won't get as much performance as if you were running on the host.

You'll want to make sure that the dev VM has plenty of memory; SQL Server and devenv are both beasts. I might even be tempted to add just a little more RAM so I can give it 8GB.

update I'ev just noticed it was SQL Server express - in which case it consumes less ram, so 4GB (or just over) should be fine for the dev VM.

You might also look at Unity mode; in particular, this will let you make better use of dual screens. There is another plus for VS2010 here (when it is released), since it has tear-off (multiple) editors.

Your host disk (HDD1) should be fairly quiet; so I'd be tempted to put the "office" VM on HDD1 and let your dev VM run riot on HDD2 (it will be fairly hammered). Especially if you can get that extra bit of host RAM (so your host's paging should be minimal).

By keeping the host OS minimal you should also be able to swap in win7 fairly easily at a later date ;-p