Best MBP specification for running Oracle app in a VM

[HiredGun]

Hello All

I've been a lurker for a few weeks now and have been monitoring this forum for a while. So, like all the other newbies I'll get the apology out of the way for starting yet another "help me decide which mac to buy" thread.

I am a consultant and my work involves the use of an enterprise Oracle application that requires the installation of a database server (e.g. MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server), a web server (e.g. Tomcat, WebLogic etc) -- typically its installed on multiple servers at a client site but for a sandbox/dev instance it can be put onto one physical/virtual server. Once installed the app is accessed via a regular browser.

In the past, I've created a VMWare image on my Windows laptop with MS Windows 2003/2008. I also have the option of installing the Oracle software in a VirtualBox VM using Linux.

I've been eyeing the base MBP 13" -- as I will travel and want something easy on my back/shoulder. So my initial questions are:

- is anyone running a similar setup - Windows VMs with enterprise software on an MBP?
- will the base MBP be ok? or should I consider more RAM?

Also I am confused as to the differences between Parallels, BootCamp etc for running Windows and when to use each one.

I've tried to go into the Apple Stores here in VA (Reston, Fair Oaks and Tysons) at different times for more info and found the staff to be flaky and inattentive.

Thanks in advance.
HiredGun

 

[plinden]

If you already have a VMWare image created in Windows, you can use it with VMWare Fusion on the Mac. Parallels is just a virtual machine manager like VMWare and VirtualBox. Boot Camp is for dual booting. I don't have Windows installed in Boot Camp since I have no need to boot into it.

I use VMWare Fusion with a Centos VM to run our Linux software for a dev environment, and a Windows 7 VM when I need to test on Windows. It's usable, but you do need a lot of RAM. One thing people tend to do when they find their VMs are not as speedy as they want is assign too much RAM to their VMs. This leaves less RAM available to OS X and actually slows things down more. I have 4GB RAM and still get lots of swapping to disk when running both VMs. Both the Centos VM and Win7 VM run acceptably (for my needs) with 512MB each.

I'm getting a new i7 15" MBP with 8GB RAM soon, and I'm hoping that will ease things for me. The 13" MBP with extra RAM should be fine for you.

I also have Oracle 10 installed natively on my Mac. I had to build it on a Mac running 10.5 and copy the installation over to my 10.6 MBP, but it works great.

 

[HiredGun]

MBP13 configuration questions

If you already have a VMWare image created in Windows, you can use it with VMWare Fusion on the Mac. Parallels is just a virtual machine manager like VMWare and VirtualBox. Boot Camp is for dual booting. I don't have Windows installed in Boot Camp since I have no need to boot into it.

Great -- thanks for clearing that up.

I use VMWare Fusion with a Centos VM to run our Linux software for a dev environment, and a Windows 7 VM when I need to test on Windows. It's usable, but you do need a lot of RAM. One thing people tend to do when they find their VMs are not as speedy as they want is assign too much RAM to their VMs. This leaves less RAM available to OS X and actually slows things down more. I have 4GB RAM and still get lots of swapping to disk when running both VMs. Both the Centos VM and Win7 VM run acceptably (for my needs) with 512MB each.

True -- you get the same problem with VMs on Windows PCs also.

I'm getting a new i7 15" MBP with 8GB RAM soon, and I'm hoping that will ease things for me. The 13" MBP with extra RAM should be fine for you.

So do you think 8GB vs. the standard 4GB on the MBP13 would be better?

And my next set of questions:

- should I do the memory upgrade at the store/online or am I better off buying it and installing it myself?
- Does a self installed memory install/upgrade void the warranty and/or preclude me from getting AppleCare later?

Thanks again,
HiredGun

 

[foshizzle]

I think if you're running some enterprise apps in a VM you should definitely go with the 8GB upgrade.

Putting your own RAM in does not void the warranty or prevent you from getting Applecare. If you have to bring your laptop in for service, they'll take your RAM out, give it to you, and put Apple RAM in to test your machine out (if it's that serious of an issue).

You can get 8GB of RAM for $500 I believe from crucial.com. However, I think Apple has gotten pretty competitive with their RAM pricing lately. You pay $400 for the upgrade to 8GB on a 13".

 

[jpyc7]

. . . . .
You can get 8GB of RAM for $500 I believe from crucial.com. However, I think Apple has gotten pretty competitive with their RAM pricing lately. You pay $400 for the upgrade to 8GB on a 13".

I just wanted to comment that the difference is that buying RAM separately generally means you keep your pre-installed RAM, but upgrading with Apple means they replace it.

So buying from Crucial, you'll end up with 4 + 8 GB; your original 4 and the new 8. (Though they can also offer to buy your old RAM on the newer computers, so then you will end up with the 8 GB in your machine.) Upgrading from Apple as a BTO means you end up with 8 GB installed.

As a business expense and valuing your time, you can easily justify Apple installing the upgraded RAM.

 

[HiredGun]

Got it!

Firstly, thanks to everyone for responding and providing their input.

My family actually got me the MBP 13" as my birthday gift this weekend. We picked it up yesterday from the Apple Store but I haven't had time to unbox it yet!

I look forward to bugging you all alot more