Anyone ever use XP in Virtual machines for a SIM

I wanted to possibly use a HP DL360 G3 server laying around un-used for my 737 sim to run a couple of instances of XP in virtual machines using Vmware. I have a copy of MS Server 2003 I no longer use and was going to run that or possibly Centos and then use Vmware 3.5 U5 for the virtual machines. My thinking is I could run ActiveSky AdDvanced and maybe a couple of USB interface cards for some of the switches etc. Just wondering if anyone has ever tried something like this or if it's worth even playing around with.

Thanks in advance
Heank Adam