I read a blog post from Christophe recently and liked it quite a bit, being the virtualization freak I am.  There are actually several blog posts I am referencing from the Project Admin Blog below, all of which are very helpful when setting up PS2010 and SharePoint 2010 in a virtualized environment. 

 

Project Server Best Practices for Virtualization (Project Admin Blog)

1. Use hardware-assisted virtualization
2. Enable hyper-threading on processors that support this technology
3. Configure Non-Uniform Memory Access correctly
4. Configure the Hyper-V host for optimal performance
5. Maintain version compatibility for integration services
6. Determine storage options that are based on virtual machine roles and workloads
7. Configure general virtual machine settings for performance and stability
8. Do not use snapshots in a production environment
9. Design the virtual topology for optimal performance
10. Do not overload the Hyper-V host
11. Do not run resource intensive jobs on the Hyper-V host and virtual machines at the same time

 

Microsoft Project Server 2010 Virtualization (Project Admin Blog)

Quick post to remind you what recommendations and resources are available to plan deploying Project Server 2010 in a virtual environment:

• Virtualization does not provide parity with physical machines without proper planning
  • Overhead exists with any virtualization technology
  • Proper planning will help to achieve near-parity, resources:
    • Infrastructure Deployment Planning Guides http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/ee395429.aspx
    • Understand resource costs http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc768536(BTS.10).aspx
    • Virtual machine guidance (SharePoint Server 2010) http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff621103.aspx
• Plan your Project Server deployment, build your virtualization plan around it
  • Understand scenario, workload, and service characteristics
• Resources
  • Plan for using Project Server 2010 in a Hyper-V virtual environment
  • SharePoint 2010 Virtualization Resource Center
  • Virtualization of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies
  • Support Article: Hardware virtualization support for SharePoint products and technologies (KB 909840)
  • Video: TechNet Webcast: Deep Dive - Microsoft Virtualization Best Practices for SharePoint 2010 (Level 300)

Other links:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Overview http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-main.aspx
• Business-Critical Applications Solutions http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/solutions/business-critical-applications/default.mspx
• Plan Hyper-V virtualization server deployment
  • Determine scope
  • Determine workloads and analyze requirements
  • Plan virtualization hardware
  • Plan and design availability requirements
  • Plan storage infrastructure
  • See the Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide for additional information and details

 

SharePoint 2010 Virtualization Guidance and Recommendations (Project Admin Blog)

Just got published: SharePoint 2010 Virtualization Guidance and Recommendations a must read for anyone looking at SharePoint 2010 and Project Server 2010 virtualization:

Overview

This white paper illustrates best practices for virtualizing SharePoint Server 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V. Technical decision makers, such as architects and systems administrators, can use this information to design, architect, and manage a virtualized SharePoint infrastructure.

Table of Content

Overview

1. Virtualization Using Hyper-V
2. Prerequisites for Hyper-V

Why Virtualize SharePoint?

1. Hardware Consolidation
2. Ease of Management and Provisioning
3. Testing and Development
4. Business Continuity and Availability

Planning a Virtual Deployment

1. Hardware and Software Requirements
2. Physical and Virtual Topology
3. High Availability
4. Virtualization of SharePoint Components
5. Best Practices for Virtual Processor, Memory, Disk, and Network
6. Managing the Virtual SharePoint Environment

Performance Test Results

1. Hardware Sets
2. Virtual Machine Scale-Up
3. Single-Host Scale-Out
4. Virtual vs. Physical
5. VM Scale-Out
6. Physical Scale-Up

Licensing

Conclusion

Additional Resources

1. Customer Evidence
2. Online Resources

Diagram highlighting a virtualization plan: