Installation of VMmanager: Dedicated server vs virtual machine

You can install VMmanager on a dedicated server, a virtual machine, or a combination of both. Each of the options has its pros and cons. It may either be cost-effective without fault tolerance or stable but difficult to manage. Your choice depends on what virtual IT system you want to build and what your goals are.

On the following pages, we’ll tell you about three ways of how to install VMmanager, with the advantages and disadvantages of every way. But for now, let’s start with a few words about the panel itself.

VMmanager is a virtualization control panel based on KVM. It can manage IT infrastructure installed in several locations, deploy virtual machines from templates and images, execute mass operations, etc. The control panel is used by VPS providers and owners of IT infrastructure.

Providers utilize VMmanager to create virtual machines in various configurations and manage them on a massive scale. It has integrations with BILLmanager and WHMCS to provision virtual machines automatically with pre-installed operating systems and addons. With VMmanager, a client receives a ready-to-go machine with the easy-to-use interface of the control panel. Providers can have access to machines via noVNC to be able to help customers quickly if they face any issues.

Many companies use VMmanager to build a hybrid IT infrastructure combining physical servers within a company data center and virtual servers from a cloud service. The control panel can create fully isolated virtual machines so you can have different projects on a single server: websites, corporate portals, databases, CRM, etc. It’s also easy to deploy virtual machines for testing and QA.

Read more about control panel features on VMmanager web page. More technical information can be found in documentation. And now - about installation.

The most popular option is the installation of VMmanager on a dedicated server which will also be used as one of the cluster nodes.

 

Pros	Cons
Cost-effectiveness. You only need one server to get started.	Competitive access to resources. The control panel is not isolated so it may “compete” with user machines located on the same node.
Easy to manage. The master node is always monitored as it’s located in the same control panel with other nodes. With our new monitoring system, you can track RAM and CPU load or disk usage right from the panel.	You have to reserve some resources for the panel. Otherwise, when the load rises, it will use your clients’ resources. You can set up memory reservation with the overselling ratio that can be configured for each cluster node individually.
	Fault tolerance. If one server hangs, you won’t be able to get access to the panel i.e. to manage the whole cluster.

Another option is the installation of VMmanager on a virtual machine.

 

Pros	Cons
You can back up virtual machines as snapshots or images. If something fails, you can restore control panel operation swiftly.	In order to create a virtual machine for another control panel, you have to have the virtualization system pre-deployed or rely on a third-party vendor.
You can scale up RAM, CPU, and disk space as your demand grows.
The control panel is isolated as if it’d be installed on a dedicated server.

You can install VMmanager on a dedicated server, create a few virtual machines on it, and install another VMmanager panels on each of these machines.

 

Pros	Cons
It uses a stable architecture with a limited number of service virtual machines. By using such a configuration, you can be sure that user machines would not be able to eat all the resources. Basic parameters for a new VMmanager panel start from 1 CPU, 2GB RAM, and 20 GB HDD. You need to scale it up accordingly as your cluster grows.	It’s like keeping all your eggs in one basket. You have to have plan B in case of a failure. Back up databases of all control panels to be able to restore new versions of panels if something happens by placing databases on a freshly installed VMmanager panel.