2 Laptops 1 Problem, need ideas.

Hi guys,

So I am a software developer and I code on Virtual machines quite often. Performance on these via HDD's are subpar (never tried SSD yet though). However, I want to upgrade to a SSD or rather the fastest possible way to work on a virtual machine via Laptops.

Ok, so at hand I have 2 laptops:
1) Dell e6410 - Work laptop
2) Asus G73SW-XT1 - Home laptop

What I want is a solution to essentially share a drive between these laptops. Now, the Dell has a PCMCIA slot, the G73 has USB3.0 slot.

My idea - Get a USB3 PCMCIA card for the Dell and get a USB3 HDD enclosure with a OCZ Vertex 2.

Do you guys think that will be significantly better than using an External HDD via USB2 which is what i use now.

Thanks!

 

The solution is not to share a drive - the solution is to carry one notebook or the other back and forth between work and home.

The reason?

You want to install your Windows 7 x64 with as much RAM as possible on an SSD. Then you will be able to benefit from the multi-tasking prowess an SSD offers in VM scenarios.

Depending on how many VM's you run at once...
I would be using your G73SW with 16GB RAM and an Intel 250GB 510 Series SSD (or, my (close) second choice would be a 300GB 310 Series Intel).

Sorry, I know I didn't give you the answer you're looking for - but the question you're asking is simply the wrong way to attack your real issue.

(When you remove/replace your existing HDD with an SSD, buy an enclosure and use it for backup purposes ).

Good luck.

 

Yes, that is definatly the "optimal" answer right?

The definate issue is that the G73 is mine, and the Dell is works. The G73 already has an SSD in it. I can't replace the Dell's HDD since it's works and managed by thier IT department.

How do you think the USB 3.0/PCMCIA idea will work? I'm fairly sure the PC slot caps at 133MB (anyone remember the PC133 slots on old mobos?), so a USB 3.0 with a SATA 2 drive should be sufficient to cap that speed. But when I toss into a USB 3 slot, I should easily get the max 200+ speeds.

Another idea I have is get the SSD and use it as a hot swappable drive in the DVD tray for the Dell and USB 3 in the G73.

The main issue is I don't want to use my work laptop at home to work, since my home one is so much better. Of course, if I wanted to just use a single laptop I can SSD it all the way, but that's not possible really.

 

Since your workplace has an IT dept., ask for an upgraded notebook!

With an SSD, with 8-16GB or more of RAM and with a SNB platform.

But, down to earth again:

You will definitely get better performance from an USB3 enclosure with an SSD inside (than a HDD via USB2) - but, why would you want to be more efficient for your boss - at your own cost?


Ask for an SSD for your current notebook.

Ask for more RAM for your current notebook.

Ask for a more current (SNB) notebook.

But, don't spend your own money that will only/mostly profit your boss/work.

 

Make sure you've optimized the virtual machine setups first. Like make sure you've got enough RAM to properly accomodate running them. And that the VM configs are ideal for the tasks necessary (number of processors, RAM per VM, etc). And then how the virtual hard drive is setup. Fastest being it's own partition or drive, slowest being a dynamically sized VHD on a slow connection. Dynamic VHDs end up being slow when the filesystem they're stored on becomes fragmented. Better to have a fixed sized VHD (and waste space) than have a dynamic one (for space savings) with performance that sucks azz.

As for USB3, make sure the card slot can actually deliver the necessary performance for it. 32bit PCMCIA handles, what 132MB/sec max? Does the card you're considering a) work in the Dell and b) provide enough throughput to make it worthwhile?

And make sure the enclosure has enough bandwidth to properly support the drive. Just because it connects to a USB3 port doesn't mean you'll get decent throughput for it.

 

@wkearney99: I agree with most of your points, but there's 2 that don't apply to SSDs:

On an SSD, the difference between giving each VM its own drive and having a bunch of VMs on the same drive is negligible. SSDs reach their peak performance at around QD32, which would take enterprise-level consolidation ratios to reach.

Fragmentation is an HDD-specific concept.

 

Can you cite a reference where this has been proven so?