So I was having a discussion with a few fellow VMware dudes, and we were discussing the vCenter installation methods. One train of thought is to install vCenter, VUM, SQL 2008,, and SRM on 1 VM with 2 vCPUs, 4 GB of memory an a 100 GB drive, Monitor for performance and adjust as required by analyzing the performance data. I have alwbeen doing installations this way lately without issue. I have also done installations on dedicated SQL boxes \ VMs. I have gotten good performance out of the environment with having all services on a single VM. In larger environments of 20 or more hosts and 300 + VMs, I have used a dedicated SQL server. The SRM documetation recommends a separate server for the SRM installation, but I have not seen any issues with it on the same box, and there was not any performance degradation in an environment of less than 200 VMs.
Also in many environments, there is not a DBA to manage the SQL box, and I have had to become the resident expert on-site. Some customers feel more comfortable with single instances. Another train of thought was to separate SQL, VUM and SRM on separate VMs, and while I am not opposed to that, I would like to know what you have been doing in real world scenarios throughout your experience in the industry.
I know what documentation states, but sometimes we have to think outside the box and push the envelope. I remember in the ESX 2 days, some thought that it was too much to put all your eggs in one basket, and the thought of virtualizing SQL and Exchange, much less vCenter was a crime.
So what do you say based on experience and time in the field?