Micro-ATX Intel Motherboard that supports Virtualization Technology?

[idata]

Greetings,

I am I the process of testing Virtualization Technology with Microsoft Server 2008 Hyper-V.

I have a E8500 CPU that supports Virtualization Technology and I am looking to find a Micro-ATX Intel Motherboard where the BIOS supports Virtualization Technology w/ enable & disable.

Can anybody recommend a Micro-ATX Intel motherboard that supports Virtualization Technology?

I know I can buy a Intel DG45ID Micro-ATX motherboard at Fry's for around $120, I just don't know if it supports Virtualization Technology?

Per...

[JLodh]

Hi Viking,

It's the processor that you check if it supports virtualization or not but not the motherboard because of a simple reason. You would always check the compatibility of processor with the motherboard before you actually buy and integrate either of the two. So this way, if your processor that supports VT (Virtualization Technology) and having checked the compatibility of E8500 with DG45ID which is an Micro-ATX motherboard, you can proceed with the installation and configuration of Server 2008 Hyper-V.

However before you proceed, I must tell you that I would not encourage you to go for Virtualization in case you are going to put this machine in a production environment where this machine would be used specifically for Virtualized services of guest OSes. That is because of the fact that server class motherboards and processors bear the load when a lot of clients access the Virtualized services/OS over a server however in the cases of desktops, latest desktop PCs with Core Microarchitecture based processors are designed to multitask and takeup a load of compute intense processes simultaneously with Virtualization support but I'd still encourage you to go for server class. However in case your services are very limited and just a few users are accessing them, there is no harm in going with the current configurations.

In case you encounter any installation, post-install configuration problems with Hyper-V, feel free to contact us.

--

Warm Regards,

Javed Lodhi

Intel Go Green, Save The Environment!

[idata]

Did you try using your Intel VT-Enabled processor with a desktop board that supported the processor? Did it work? What virtualization OS?

I have the exact same question you posed. I contacted Intel and they told me that if the processor supports Intel VT and the motherboard supports the processor, then the motherboard would support VT.

However, I am expecting the BIOS on the motherboard to contain a selection for turning Virtualization support on or off.

So far, I can't get anyone to comment definitively either way. The Intel 5400 server chipset does include VT support for what its worth.

Thanks!