If you have been to one of my sessions at a TechNet event or anytime I am presenting technical content with demos, you will see that my “OTT-ITPROBOT” (as it is affectionately known in the team) is close by.  I get inquiries from customers, IT Pros and even OTHER presenters on where we got them and why we use them. The why answer is quite easy – we have demonstrations that require more virtualized servers then an average travelling laptop can handle with any sort of performance.  We wanted to have something that is was portable enough to fit into a carry on luggage bag. When the subject came up about how to meet these challenges, I came up with a sample specification that has been implemented as our teams “ITPROBOT” v1.0…

For about $2300 Canadian, you can have one too (probably less now) – if you don’t mind checking out a local supplier for the parts. You can choose whatever motherboard and CPU combo tickles your fancy, since this system is a “white box” you should be able to pick up whatever you like and put it into the system.

  • 1 - Antec Aria Micro ATX Tower Case w/ 300W PS
  • 1 - Asus P4P800-VM S478 DDR Micro ATX (lan, USB2.0, video & audio)
  • 2 - Western Digital 200GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA150 HD (I’d recommend 3 for RAID)
  • 1 - Intel Pentium IV 3.2E 800B (1MB) S478 RETAIL (TM)
  • 4 - DDR Corsair PC3200 (400) 1GB C2 TWINX
  • 1 - Pioneer DVR-108D 16X DVD+/-RW OEM - BLACK

I didn’t choose a shuttle form factor, because of it’s size and non standard motherboard size.  They max out at 2 GB ram and don’t have room for all the drives this one does. I’ve worked with shuttles in the past and I found them to run TOO HOT for what we push these systems to do.  That being said – it is important to note that this box runs HOT, so keep them fans running!

I have installed Server 2003 Enterprise on the system and it runs VirtualServer 2005. Why WS 2003 Enterprise? It is the supported platform for ADS (Automated Deployment Services) which is a required element of the Virtual Server Migration Toolkit.  This Toolkit allows me to migrate (FOR FREE) physical systems to new virtualized systems. It make it VERY easy to build an identical copy of a production system in my virtual world.

I run the system “headless” with no errors stopping the PowerOnSelfTest. It is configured to auto restart if it looses power. I run the system stand-alone with a crossover cable plugged into the back of my presenter laptop/tablet which is connected to a projector. I recently started using a small WirelessAccessPoint that allows me to use the system while not connected AS WELL AS allowing me to demo some wireless stuff in my presentations (PocketPC enabled devices).

I used to build my images on Virtual PC, but I find its just as easy to do it on the server itself. I’ve just started playing with a new FREE tool called Virtual Server Deployment Manager to see if it helps me out in my machine provisioning requirements. Check it out (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ff59c543-5107-42f6-9252-a8cde3b53915&DisplayLang=en)

Stay tuned for Version 1.1 – two of the team have AMD x64 based systems with a different style case. It is WAY COOL (http://www.clearpc.ca/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=30)