ESXi 5.x - pre-built VMDK for unRAID


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5 hours ago, doron said:

As we are a bit out of sync: This (quoted) is good. Unraid needs some more driver modules that it wants to read from a USB drive.

What is left to do now is to copy the bz* files from the boot drive you created (where you installed the latest version) into the USB drive you prepared earlier (overwrite), and then attach the USB to the VM and reboot. At that point you should see the network, i.e. get a proper IP address and be able to connect to your server via HTTP.

I am in CST *Chicago time zone*, just woke up.. heading to work, I will post back more details from work, when i reach my desk. lol

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So here are the updates.

I have used the vmdk method.

1. Downloaded the unRAID version v6.2.3 from the first page on this thread.

2. Created the bootable USB with v6.5.3 (latest version), as i could not find the old version anywhere.

3. Booted the VM, and unRAID fired right up in seconds.

4. Tried to log into the IP addressed provided, it did not work.. tried tower/ it did not work.

5. Used the command @doron provided with the flash drive in the server (with the current version of unraid still in it).. the command was... /usr/local/sbin/emhttp &

6. Tried to log again after the first failed attempt with the ip address, and volia it worked. I am logged into the unraid dashboard.

7. Tried the tower/ url it did not work.

8. So right now only the ip address works not tower/ . If i shutdown putty, the ipaddress unraid dashboard does not work.

 

How do i go about with the permanent fix that does not require the temp command and putty to be open at all the times. I was thinking about installing nginx, but i cant do that, as the partition size is only 1gb (due to the pre-created vmdk).

 

Now here is my experience with Plop.

1. Downloaded Plop, and copied it to a windows filesystem.

2. Downloaded the latest unraid binaries, and copied it into the flash drive, and executed the .bat file to create a bootable file.

3. Created a VM, added 10gb for disk space, uploaded the plop ISO as the CD/DVD datastore.

4. Added a new USB drive, and that automatically displayed (label) my SanDisk drive.

5. Save and booted. Took about 5 mins to boot.. very slow.

6. The ip address assigned was not of my DHCP server assignment. rather some  169.254* assignment.

7. Plugged that IP address in, and got an error saying IP cannot be found. Used the temp command emhttp, did not work.

8. Checked DHCP server, it was working fine. Created another 2nd instance of unraid vm with the vmdk for testing to check if dhcp assigns a new ip.. and yes it did assign a new ip.. and that was working fine. Deleted the second instance.. (was for testing dhcp ip assignment hence).

10. Deleted the VM, and tried the whole plop thing again, and this time as well the ip address was messed up.

 

Pls note, the bootable unraid usb is the same installation that i used for the vmdk method and plop as well.

 

So.. few question.. 

1. How do i go about upgrading unraid to the latest build from the current version i am on through vmdk (v6.2.3)

2. Is the plop method more stable, or vmdk? Eitherway, i understand that unraid recommends a standalone usb installation, and not through virtualization.. but are these methods safe? Say if my SSD (where the vm's are residing) or usb drive fails, can i spin a new ssd import all the vm's to the new esix host and be able to still see my data and parity drives? I mean to ask will the data and parity drives be safe and be able to easily import into a new esxi host and vm after the esxi host failure?

3. How do i go about with the permanent fix that does not require the temp command and putty to be open at all the times.?

 

I am in the US time zone, and it looks like a lot of folks here helping me are in Euro time zone (day for you all). I will be heading to sleep  in abt an hr after posting this. If you need me to run few commands for the fix and all, pls go ahead with your suggestions and post.. i will try them when i get back online in the morning.

Thanks all so much in advance for all the help. I do know now I am in good hands, my data is in good hands.

Edited by Socrates
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19 hours ago, doron said:

As we are a bit out of sync: This (quoted) is good. Unraid needs some more driver modules that it wants to read from a USB drive.

What is left to do now is to copy the bz* files from the boot drive you created (where you installed the latest version) into the USB drive you prepared earlier (overwrite), and then attach the USB to the VM and reboot. At that point you should see the network, i.e. get a proper IP address and be able to connect to your server via HTTP.

So i was reading @guruleenyc performing similar steps he mentioned about bz* files as well upon your instructions.

Quote

I powered down the unraid vm and mounted the vmdk on another vm and copied in all the bz* files. Booted up and it successfully upgraded!

Where do i copy the bz* files to? which location? I have winscp downloaded.

You mentioned to unload the vmdk files to another vm (a dummy vm?)?

I have mounted the usb drive under /boot/flash

And when i search for *bz* files.. 

root@Tower:~#  find / -iname '*bz*'

 

/boot/flash/bzfirmware
/boot/flash/bzimage
/boot/flash/bzmodules
/boot/flash/bzroot
/boot/flash/bzroot-gui
 

This is what shows up.

So the bz files are already copied as i had created the usb flash drive wtih the latest binaries.

 

This is the same usb that's currently attached to the vm. see below.

 

gAxKmEG.png

 

Did u ask me to perform the steps in the plop method? The screenshot above is from the VMDK method, not plop.

I am kinda confused...

If you can just post in extremely simple steps i'd stay put, stay calm and go into the wilderness with my fantastic upgraded setup.. :)

Edited by Socrates
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2 hours ago, Socrates said:

If you can just post in extremely simple steps i'd stay put, stay calm and go into the wilderness with my fantastic upgraded setup..

about plopKExec:

- download this iso and place inside your ESXi server near unRAID VM vmx file. https://download.plop.at/plopkexec/plopkexec.iso

- you have CDRom already in your VM, choose iso file instead of Host Device, and check Coonect.

 

thats all. when boot, ESXi should boot your iso(if not, force boot into BIOS and choose cdrom as first boot device), then plopKExec will find your unRAID USB and continue boot from that. 

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First of all, if you want to get a running system quickly, the plopkexec method would lead you there the soonest. All you need to do is to boot off the plop ISO, after getting rid of the HDD (just disconnect it from the VM) and adding the USB drive. You should have a running Unraid in no time.

 

If you want to solve for the VMDK you now have, then...

8 hours ago, Socrates said:

Where do i copy the bz* files to? which location?

 

Ah. To the boot drive. From what I gather from your posts (and the "find" above) it is not mounted after boot. Mount it:

Find the device (/dev/sdX for some value of X, which is NOT currently mounted - the one mounted is the flash drive. You can check which one is currently mounted by "df").

Find what X is (either a or b), then -

mkdir /mnt/tmp
mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt/tmp
ls /mnt/tmp

This is where you copy the bz* files into (from the flash). After copying, reboot.

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15 hours ago, uldise said:

about plopKExec:

- download this iso and place inside your ESXi server near unRAID VM vmx file. https://download.plop.at/plopkexec/plopkexec.iso

- you have CDRom already in your VM, choose iso file instead of Host Device, and check Coonect.

 

thats all. when boot, ESXi should boot your iso(if not, force boot into BIOS and choose cdrom as first boot device), then plopKExec will find your unRAID USB and continue boot from that. 

Hi @uldise So I will confirm these steps, let me know where i get wrong.

 

1. Download the plopkexec.iso and upload it "INSIDE" the UNRAID VM datastore folder. This is the same folder where i had initially copied the vmdk from this thread. Check mark the box connect at start

This is how it looks with the steps outlined by you.

 

ltJwDdk.png

 

2. Started the VM, and unRAID booted right away. But the version still shows v6.2.3

 

Is it because the original vm was created using the unraid 6.2.3? And the vmdk file sare still in the unraid vm folder?

 

Should i delete this vm, and try to create a new vm without the 6.2.3 vmdk and try your steps again?

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4 hours ago, doron said:

Umm, I'm not sure... the USB stick? Is it configured to be made available at boot?

@uldise - thoughts?

Yes, i did execute that bat file.. 

Plus right now usb is presented to the vm, and that is why when we execute the emhttp command, and thats when i can see the dashboard with the ip address.

I can try to format the flash, and re-create the bootable usb.

Oh by the way, i remember when i copied all the binaries into the usb and execute the make bat file.. i got an error about syslinux not found. Though the syslinux was at the location, i had to right click and uncheck read only from the windows properties. Thats when i re-executed the bat file, it worked.. I can try and plug in the usb to a laptop and try to boot from it, to see if its working.

 

Will report back in 2 hrs.

 

Edited by Socrates
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@doron, @uldise, guys I am up and online now with v6.5.3 and now both the ip and the tower/ url is working just fine.

I used @uldise's method using plopKexec. 

I guess the last time i was unsuccessful was because I was using Samsung flashdrives, then i tried another sandisk flashdrive that probably is abt to die.

Ran down to the nearest Fry's Electronics, and brought Sandisk curzer, and used the UNRAID USB Creator. plugged it in, as per @doron's advice i removed the virtual hdd, added the plopKexec iso to the cd/dvd as as datastore and selected it, added a new usb device, and mapped it to the unraid boot drive... and followed your instructions.. and volia it worked. the ip was assigned, and i am now able to navigate right into Unraid dashboard using tower/ url.

I will start migrating from my previous SnapRAID setup to Unraid, I have stood up a new vm, and brought equal size hdd's but higher capacity.. upgrading all to 8TB hgst enterprise disks. But before that, i am gonna sour youtube and install all the required plugins, and setup the server for proper unraid setup both for alert and notifications and robust operations.

 

Thank you @doron, @uldise, you all here are so so awesome.

Thanks for helping out through late nights, and random times during the day. Cant appreciate this effort enough. Thanks again folks. SO happyyyy!!!

Edited by Socrates
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/18/2018 at 7:03 AM, uldise said:

about plopKExec:

- download this iso and place inside your ESXi server near unRAID VM vmx file. https://download.plop.at/plopkexec/plopkexec.iso

- you have CDRom already in your VM, choose iso file instead of Host Device, and check Coonect.

 

thats all. when boot, ESXi should boot your iso(if not, force boot into BIOS and choose cdrom as first boot device), then plopKExec will find your unRAID USB and continue boot from that. 

Hello
I 'm trying to run unraid on VMware Workstation, when I use the plop I don't get any ip adress, when I don't use it I will get the ip 169.254.X.X so it cant find the dhcp server even when I set the ip manualy it's still cant connect to anything.

the rest I'm doing the same as Socrates

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52 minutes ago, brainbudt said:

Hello
I 'm trying to run unraid on VMware Workstation, when I use the plop I don't get any ip adress, when I don't use it I will get the ip 169.254.X.X so it cant find the dhcp server even when I set the ip manualy it's still cant connect to anything.

the rest I'm doing the same as Socrates

That suggests you have not got the appropriate network drivers installed in the VM.  

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20 hours ago, itimpi said:

That suggests you have not got the appropriate network drivers installed in the VM.  

yea I already tough about that, but I can't seem to find any information about it on how to get it.

 

19 hours ago, uldise said:

Looks like that. @brainbudt you need to choose VmxNet3as network adapter type, and use Bridged network mode.

 

I have already set it to bridged, but I think that unraid just can't seems to find the network driver, because when it can't find the dhcp server it should set an IP address from the apipa protocol.

and I'm using workstation not esxi so I can't change the network adapter type

 

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On 10/5/2018 at 9:38 AM, uldise said:

you can - just edit your VMX file with text editor:

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000" change to ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"

I don't the ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000" and even when I add the ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3" I will get an error saying that the file is corrupted

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On 9/19/2018 at 1:14 AM, uldise said:

@Socrates happy to see you got it sorted :) happy unRAIDing :)

if you have any more questions, just ask, i will try to answer, if i can :) 

 

Everything is working great so far. I have completed my 72TB media/data migration. Have been going really deep to make this migration worthwhile. So far i am loving everything about Unraid. I have been living in a cave, dont know why I have been meddling around with FlexRaid, Snapraid since years now.

I am set for life now with Unraid, and i wont ever be looking back.

I have setup Grafana, Telegraf and InfluxDB as well, and have created a custom dashboard as well.

This is getting better and better, I have a quick question about various plugin's that interact with the server's hardware.

HDDTemp plugin is not displaying hard drive tempratures, I have fiddled it with for an entire day today, and i cant seem to make it work. I am just wondering if there is any limitation on how various in unraid will get affected cos its running on a virtual machine and not a dedicated hardware?

I have been trying to plug the the ESXI datasource to my grafana dashboard as well, and neither the cluster is showing up, nor the cpu or vmhost nor memory shows up.

https://grafana.com/dashboards/8159

Please note I have setup a very basic looking dashboard displaying the memory, cpu, uptime, network up and down stream etc.

 

But the HDDtemp and the esxi data store is not working.

Is this cos of the limitation of using the vmdk in an ESXI virtual host?

 

 

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3 hours ago, uldise said:

what HDDs do you have - SAS or SATA? What is your HBA make/model? 

HDD Temps should appear on standard unRAID GUI.

The disks are a combination of SAS and Sata drives, all HGST 8TB.. as for the HBA card. I have a combination of these cards... as well.

 

HP LSI 8-PORT SAS 6GB Raid Card SAS9217-4i4e
LSI Logic SAS9200-8E 2 X SFF-8088-Ports 8-Ports 
LSI Logic SAS9200-8E SFF-8088 
LSI Logic SAS9200-8E 8PORT Ext 6GB 

Edited by Socrates
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