ESXi question.

[sgibbers17]

I think I have made my decision that I want to run ESXi instead of XEN (well at least 90% sure).  Having unRAID as the host defiantly has it's benefits, but having a client that I can run on another computer to access the VMs and easier setup weigh more heavily for me.

 

My question is what version of ESXi should I use?  I remember there was an update to ESXi that made unRAID not work but I couldn't find the post.

 

Also this is the equipment that I would be running it on.Asrock c226 WS

 

MB:  Asrock c226 WS

CPU: Xeon E3-1245v3

RAM: 16GB ECC kingston Memory

 

Pass-through

3 - TV tuner cards to Windows 8.1 VM

1 - Marvell SE9172 sata controler (the other Marvell SE9172 will be used for VM storage)

1 - Intel C226 sata controler

 

Does anybody see any issues with the equipment that will cause me problems?  I only play on this windows VM to be a TV server, XBMC library sync server, and maybe a crash plan.

[StevenD]

Ive been running ESXi 5.5 for quite some time with no issues.

[sgibbers17]

Last time I used ESXi, about 1.5 to 2 years ago, I want to say it was 5.1 maybe (definitely not 5.5).  I installed it on a USB drive but this time I am going to have a hard drive for VMs, should I install it to a USB stick again or to a hard drive since I have 2 sata port available outside of the unRAID array.  Has anybody had any issues with passing through the Marvell SE9172 or c226 sata controllers?

 

Would there be a benefit to running unRAID v6 over v5 in ESXi?

[StevenD]

Last time I used ESXi, about 1.5 to 2 years ago, I want to say it was 5.1 maybe (definitely not 5.5).  I installed it on a USB drive but this time I am going to have a hard drive for VMs, should I install it to a USB stick again or to a hard drive since I have 2 sata port available outside of the unRAID array.  Has anybody had any issues with passing through the Marvell SE9172 or c226 sata controllers?

 

Would there be a benefit to running unRAID v6 over v5 in ESXi?

 

I would install to a hard drive.  I have an Intel 60GB SSD for my boot partition, and a very small Datastore (where I backup my FreePBX).

[sgibbers17]

I do have a OCZ Vertex 3 90GB VTX3-25SAT3-90G that I could use, but what about trim or garbage collection on ESXi?

[joshpond]

I use a usb for ESXi, the boot up is probably going to be slower but it isn't something that I do all the time. The VMs are on a RAID 0 HDD setup.

 

I'm also running ESXi 5.1  I had some issues with 5.5 but I'm not sure it was with 5.5. I was having some irq issues with the usb 3 controller on my board which I've fixed when I was on 5.1 and I haven't upgraded yet and probably won't since it's pretty stable.

 

Josh

[vl1969]

why not try XenServer 6.2.

 

same benefits but a lot less restriction and seeing as VMWare moving to push everyone to buy the client from $500+ I am staying away from them.

[prostuff1]

I use a usb for ESXi, the boot up is probably going to be slower but it isn't something that I do all the time. The VMs are on a RAID 0 HDD setup.

I do this same thing.  I can switch to bare metal unRAID if/when I need to without changing the boot order by just pulling the ESXi thumb drive.

 

I'm also running ESXi 5.1  I had some issues with 5.5 but I'm not sure it was with 5.5. I was having some irq issues with the usb 3 controller on my board which I've fixed when I was on 5.1 and I haven't upgraded yet and probably won't since it's pretty stable.

I am still running ESXi 4.1 precisely becuase it is stable for me.  No use in rocking the boat on a system that is working.

[joshpond]

I use a usb for ESXi, the boot up is probably going to be slower but it isn't something that I do all the time. The VMs are on a RAID 0 HDD setup.

I do this same thing.  I can switch to bare metal unRAID if/when I need to without changing the boot order by just pulling the ESXi boot drive.

 

I'm also running ESXi 5.1  I had some issues with 5.5 but I'm not sure it was with 5.5. I was having some irq issues with the usb 3 controller on my board which I've fixed when I was on 5.1 and I haven't upgraded yet and probably won't since it's pretty stable.

I am still running ESXi 4.1 precisely becuase it is stable for me.  No use in rocking the boat on a system that is working.

 

Being able to boot bare metal unRaid by pulling the usb sick was one the main advantages at the start when I was trouble shooting.

Josh

 

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

 

[sgibbers17]

why not try XenServer 6.2.

 

same benefits but a lot less restriction and seeing as VMWare moving to push everyone to buy the client from $500+ I am staying away from them.

 

I would try xenserver but cyberpower's powerchute business software has a ESXi VM appliance that has been confirmed to work with my ups and shutdown ESXi VMs and host on a power loss.

 

 

If VMWare does end up forcing me to pay in the future I probable will move to another hypervisor.  May be when they decide to start charging for their product it will be for new versions and not versions that are already out.

[vl1969]

 

the do support xenserver as well  32 bit and 64 bit edition

 

http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/management-software/ppbe.html?selectedTabId=resources&imageI=#tab-box

[sgibbers17]

How easy is that to install? I am a Linux novice and the ESXi appliance is just a simple VM that you copy over to the server and very easy to configure.

 

Also how easy is it to setup pci pass through on xenserver? ESXi is done through the client.

 

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[vl1969]

that I am not sure yet.

I am building out the server right now and have not get to that yet.

 

will reply when get more info.

[joshpond]

Take this with a grain of salt as I only installed xenserver and played around with it for a little while, but it seemed easier to create VMs with ESXi. With ESXi you can just select the ISO to boot up from and then start installing. I didn't play around with xenserver enough to test that side of it.

 

The biggest thing holding me back from xenserver (and I don't know if it has been fixed yet) was the inability to pass through the usb along with the GUID which is what unRaid needed to start. You can pass through the whole USB controller instead but I have my unRaid USB, a Z wave stick and the UPS, it would have made passing them through to different VMs more difficult or I may have needed to use some PCI slots for USB controllers.

 

Josh

[vl1969]

I don't think you can pass through usb with gui in ESXi either.

but I could be wrong...

[BobPhoenix]

I don't think you can pass through usb with gui in ESXi either.

but I could be wrong...

That is not the case.  That is how I pass through my unRAID stick on my 3 ESXi servers.  Hopefully XEN 4.4 that is coming with the next beta will fix some of the USB issues because I want to switch my ESXi servers to unRAID/XEN myself and I'm hoping to be able to pass through some USB devices to my Windows VMs without having to pass through a whole controller.  Hopefully we will see if that is possible soon.

 

Edit: Made it politer.

[joshpond]

I'm on 5.1 and I pass through my USB to unraid without a problem and also pass through another usb to my windows VM and the UPS usb to an ubuntu server VM.

 

Josh