From: Brian Bender (bbender_at_vocollect.com)
Date: Fri May 10 2002 - 13:00:50 EDT
Rusty wrote:
>While the dopes don't mention it, I am confident that you also need a NIC in each computer. I have a couple of PCMCIA NICs. I have looked through some specs and it appears that the 765 is one that might meet this. I am going to use my 600E for one "server" and if I can afford it am going to pick up another TP for the other. I am smart enough to go through every model and determine which one meets the specs. I am more interested in a 'best fit' in terms of price/functionality. It is of no value to me to exceed the above standards, I just want to meet them. If you have input as to what would meet the specs and if you know of a good deal, I would appreciate an email. Vendor responses are welcome. Use your own judgement as to whether you reply on or off-list. I know that these type posts can spark rants that go on forever. Thanks for any assistance.
>
>Rusty
>
I've got a suggestion for you. Free advice, take it for what it's
worth... :-) I think the best Thinkpad for a course like this is.....
not exactly a Thinkpad (wait -- don't switch me off yet! <g>)
Get a beefed up Thinkpad. Or, depending on its speed, your 600E could
even suffice (I'd venture 500MHz or faster would be tolerable). Either
way, load it with as much RAM as you can afford or the machine will
take. Spend the $300 on a VMware workstation license
(http://www.vmware.com). The RAM + license is probably less than you'd
spend on another notebook, and this combo is much more transportable.
I'm a huge fan of VMware at this point. You could create 2 (or 3 or 4)
virtual WinNT servers and run them on your TP simultaneously for your
classwork. Some of the additional benefits: you can make your virtual
HDDs (which are usually (but not necessarily) just files in the host
computer's filesystem) undoable, with an option to commit or discard all
changes at the end of a session. So if you bugger something up, just
roll the entire virtual machine back to the last commit and start over. :-)
The only iffy thing would be depending on what they want you do do with
a modem. You can connect (pass through) the host's serial ports to one
of the guests at a time. I don't know if you'd need a modem available to
both at the same time or not. If so, you could probably have one PCMCIA
modem and one external on the on-board serial port, giving one to each
guest instance...
You can host VMware on Linux or on WindowsNT, whichever you're more
comfortable with. I'm using it on a T21 (P3-850, 1/2GB RAM) running
Linux, and I often have 2 or even 3 guest machines up at once. I think
it's the perfect tool for a situation like yours...
So like I said, the best test machines aren't Thinkpads, but the best
host for them sure is. :-) All IMHO, of course.
- Brian
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