Dump ESXi?

[ptmuldoon]

I've been using UnRaid 5.0 for a long time, and have UnRaid running as a VM under ESXi so that I could make better use of the machine, also running a couple of other VM's including Win7 machine (for downloads), Ubuntu, and PlexServer, and other test machines.  All those other VM's actually share/access the storage within the UnRaid as well.

 

Now that I've upgraded to UnRaid 6 and the addition of the VM Manager.    Is it worth dumping ESXi?  I do like the ability to log in Vsphere to manage the VM's, make changes etc. 

 

I've already installed MariaDB in the docker with plans to finally move my XBMC/Kodi database.  But I could easily host the mysql on another VM then on Unraid as well.

 

Will I see much of a difference in making the change?

[uldise]

I've been using UnRaid 5.0 for a long time, and have UnRaid running as a VM under ESXi so that I could make better use of the machine, also running a couple of other VM's including Win7 machine (for downloads), Ubuntu, and PlexServer, and other test machines.  All those other VM's actually share/access the storage within the UnRaid as well.

 

Now that I've upgraded to UnRaid 6 and the addition of the VM Manager.    Is it worth dumping ESXi?  I do like the ability to log in Vsphere to manage the VM's, make changes etc. 

 

I've already installed MariaDB in the docker with plans to finally move my XBMC/Kodi database.  But I could easily host the mysql on another VM then on Unraid as well.

 

Will I see much of a difference in making the change?

 

i'm on unRAID with esxi for long time too and have no plans to change this behavior

first decision would be - should you move from esxi to xen. if yes, then you can think about unraid as host system..

tried citrix xenserver some months ago on my test server - for me it looks like esxi have far more configurable options.

 

[smdion]

I've been using UnRaid 5.0 for a long time, and have UnRaid running as a VM under ESXi so that I could make better use of the machine, also running a couple of other VM's including Win7 machine (for downloads), Ubuntu, and PlexServer, and other test machines.  All those other VM's actually share/access the storage within the UnRaid as well.

 

Now that I've upgraded to UnRaid 6 and the addition of the VM Manager.    Is it worth dumping ESXi?  I do like the ability to log in Vsphere to manage the VM's, make changes etc. 

 

I've already installed MariaDB in the docker with plans to finally move my XBMC/Kodi database.  But I could easily host the mysql on another VM then on Unraid as well.

 

Will I see much of a difference in making the change?

 

i'm on unRAID with esxi for long time too and have no plans to change this behavior

first decision would be - should you move from esxi to xen. if yes, then you can think about unraid as host system..

tried citrix xenserver some months ago on my test server - for me it looks like esxi have far more configurable options.

 

I just swapped from KVM/unRAID to ESXi.  I like the ability to reboot unRAID and not shut down my VMs.

[ptmuldoon]

I just swapped from KVM/unRAID to ESXi.  I like the ability to reboot unRAID and not shut down my VMs.

 

That is a great feature/ability I like as well.  But I just thought of a possible reason to think of using Unraid and the VM Manager?

 

Currently, my ESXi setup does not have any type of raid/parity protection.  If you did switch to using Unraid to create your VM's, you would at least have some protection on a disk failure.

 

I do on occasion back up the VM's to separate drive.  But again, none of my VM's are running critical services at this time.

[Dephcon]

I'm sticking with esxi despite the fact that I've replaced all my VMs with docker containers on unraid.  I like being able to access the unraid console remotely and the boot times are much faster than on bare metal.

[garycase]

From the feedback I've seen for folks running UnRAID on ESXi, v6 runs quite nicely in this environment, and Dockers run perfectly as well ==> so I see NO reason to switch from ESXi.

 

While I don't personally run UnRAID in a virtualized environment [i run a bare metal UnRAID; and have a separate system for all my VM's], I DO plan to move to this when I build my next system.  I agree with the comments above that ESXi has more flexibility in VM configuration and management; and it's certainly nice to be able to reboot ANY of your systems (including UnRAID) without impacting the others.

 

As for the comment r.e. no fault tolerance for your VM datastore => that's easily resolved with a hardware RAID controller and a RAID-1 array      Your UnRAID VM can provide a larger array for the your data, so you don't need a high-end controller with a lot of ports.

 

[garycase]

By the way, r.e. an inexpensive RAID controller for your ESXI datastore --- there are some VERY good deals on ebay from time-to-time.    This was a thread earlier today on this very same topic -- not sure if there are more still available, but there were a couple excellent deals linked in the thread:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=39724.msg371809#msg371809

 

[Helmonder]

I've been using UnRaid 5.0 for a long time, and have UnRaid running as a VM under ESXi so that I could make better use of the machine, also running a couple of other VM's including Win7 machine (for downloads), Ubuntu, and PlexServer, and other test machines.  All those other VM's actually share/access the storage within the UnRaid as well.

 

Now that I've upgraded to UnRaid 6 and the addition of the VM Manager.    Is it worth dumping ESXi?  I do like the ability to log in Vsphere to manage the VM's, make changes etc. 

 

I've already installed MariaDB in the docker with plans to finally move my XBMC/Kodi database.  But I could easily host the mysql on another VM then on Unraid as well.

 

Will I see much of a difference in making the change?

 

Docker is a very nice addition for those users not virtualising yet. But I would not compare it to esxi... ESXI is far more powerfull.. If you get passed the initial passing thru hardware stuff then it is also very easy to setup and maintain..

 

Knowing that ESXI is free in its basic version for home use I actually do not see the usage case for Docker.. For me personally (but other people might have specific scenarios) I do not see why you would use docker at all.. The only advantage might be the fact that you can basically just startoff an appliance without installing it..

 

[chickensoup]

I really like ESXi and considered using unRAID as my Hypervisor for a long while but I don't think its mature enough yet. ESXi has been solid. Also, sorry to hijack but I've just setup 5.1.0 with a couple of VMs and actually wanted to move my existing unRAID (v6) onto it, can anyone point me in the right direction of a walk-through/thread?

[garycase]

I really like ESXi and considered using unRAID as my Hypervisor for a long while but I don't think its mature enough yet. ESXi has been solid. Also, sorry to hijack but I've just setup 5.1.0 with a couple of VMs and actually wanted to move my existing unRAID (v6) onto it, can anyone point me in the right direction of a walk-through/thread?

 

I haven't virtualized my UnRAID, but there are several threads here regarding running it under ESXi => it runs just fine -- with v6 you can even run multiple Dockers in the virtualized UnRAID and everything works just fine.  I thnk you'll find the setup pretty straightforward ... just read a few of the threads from folks who are using ESXi and PM them with any questions (or start a thread with your questions).  Here's a post that shows a setup with v6 virtualized running several Dockers with excellent performance:  http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=39579.msg370972#msg370972

 

[StevenD]

 

Docker is a very nice addition for those users not virtualising yet. But I would not compare it to esxi... ESXI is far more powerfull.. If you get passed the initial passing thru hardware stuff then it is also very easy to setup and maintain..

 

Knowing that ESXI is free in its basic version for home use I actually do not see the usage case for Docker.. For me personally (but other people might have specific scenarios) I do not see why you would use docker at all.. The only advantage might be the fact that you can basically just startoff an appliance without installing it..

 

 

The only reason that I virtualized my unRAID, is for extra capacity on my existing ESXi cluster.  I don't really need 32GB of RAM for unRAID, so I use it for failovers when I'm patching or upgrading my other hosts, or if I have a hardware issue. 

 

I use Docker (for just a couple of apps) because I like to have my unRAID as "standalone" too.  if I reboot the hardware, I can easily select the unRAID USB key and boot from it, and everything will work the exact same.

[garycase]

... I use Docker (for just a couple of apps) because I like to have my unRAID as "standalone" too.  if I reboot the hardware, I can easily select the unRAID USB key and boot from it, and everything will work the exact same.

 

Have you compared the performance of your Dockers running in the virtualized UnRAID (under ESXi) and when running as standalone?

 

[ysss]

I love esxi because it's pretty much a bulletproof fort that runs and runs whatever happens to the vm's that it carries. But the downside of vmware (to me) is that it requires hardware RAID at the base level...

[garycase]

... the downside of vmware (to me) is that it requires hardware RAID at the base level...

 

Only if you want a protected drive for the VM datastore (a good idea, of course).

 

You can simply pass through any standard SATA controllers to your UnRAID VM and let it provide the bulk of your storage -- no need for a hardware RAID controller.

 

[ysss]

... the downside of vmware (to me) is that it requires hardware RAID at the base level...

 

Only if you want a protected drive for the VM datastore (a good idea, of course).

 

You can simply pass through any standard SATA controllers to your UnRAID VM and let it provide the bulk of your storage -- no need for a hardware RAID controller.

 

Yup, all your other vm will be dependant on that single vm then. And if you're gonna use a software raid, might as well run a bulletproof solaris instance with zfs (omniOS comes to mind).

[StevenD]

... I use Docker (for just a couple of apps) because I like to have my unRAID as "standalone" too.  if I reboot the hardware, I can easily select the unRAID USB key and boot from it, and everything will work the exact same.

 

Have you compared the performance of your Dockers running in the virtualized UnRAID (under ESXi) and when running as standalone?

 

 

The only Dockers I'm running are PlexWatch, Emby and CrashPlan. Performance isnt an issue. 

 

I'm also running a Plex plugin.  I really prefer having Plex and Emby on my unRAID, instead of relying on another server or workstation to run those across the network to access media.

[garycase]

Understand -- my question was whether these all work just as well when UnRAID is running under ESXi.

 

[StevenD]

Understand -- my question was whether these all work just as well when UnRAID is running under ESXi.

 

 

I haven't booted it without ESXi in a very long time.  Everything I have installed has worked just fine.  I've tried several other Dockers and plugins without issue. 

[garycase]

Good to know.  I've seen several others who report the same thing -- in fact, they indicate it actually boots faster in ESXi than it does natively (I suspect because it's booting off the ESXi datastore and just using the flash drive to verify the key instead of booting entirely off the flash drive).

 

I thought, from your comment about booting it natively, that perhaps you used it that way with some regularity.    ... and was wondering why => clearly that's not the case.

 

[StevenD]

Good to know.  I've seen several others who report the same thing -- in fact, they indicate it actually boots faster in ESXi than it does natively (I suspect because it's booting off the ESXi datastore and just using the flash drive to verify the key instead of booting entirely off the flash drive).

 

I thought, from your comment about booting it natively, that perhaps you used it that way with some regularity.    ... and was wondering why => clearly that's not the case.

 

 

Nope, the "boot native" option is really just in case of a problem with ESXi.

 

It boots in less than 30 seconds since its reading from a VMDK on a hardware RAID10 SAN datastore.

[sureguy]

Good to know.  I've seen several others who report the same thing -- in fact, they indicate it actually boots faster in ESXi than it does natively (I suspect because it's booting off the ESXi datastore and just using the flash drive to verify the key instead of booting entirely off the flash drive).

 

I thought, from your comment about booting it natively, that perhaps you used it that way with some regularity.    ... and was wondering why => clearly that's not the case.

 

If you boot via plop (no vmdk) the boot takes about 5 minutes

[Helmonder]

There is no need for hardware raid under esxi.. I am running with an ssd for datastore and make regular veaam backups of the vm"s.

[ysss]

There is no need for hardware raid under esxi.. I am running with an ssd for datastore and make regular veaam backups of the vm"s.

 

backup != raid...

Raid ensures the system continues to run in case of drive failure, without interruption.

[Helmonder]

Completely true.. Is is also true that the sky is blue and grass is green...

 

Should my ssd fail i can simply reinstall esxi and restore my backups..

 

My statement was made because someone said that hardware raid was a necessity with esxi: that is incorrect.

[ysss]

Completely true.. Is is also true that the sky is blue and grass is green...

 

Should my ssd fail i can simply reinstall esxi and restore my backups..

 

My statement was made because someone said that hardware raid was a necessity with esxi: that is incorrect.

 

It was me. I meant 'requires hardware for raid, doesn't support software raid'.