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Question about moving to ESXi

J

JeffBlair

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
333
Hey all. I've been thinking of converting my Linux server into a ESXi system so I can also run Windows for a couple of things. I'll have a USB drive, and a HDD for the boot up, and for the VM's. Currently I have an external HDD array(SE3016) connected to the box that's holding all my data in a software RAID. So, here's the question. Can I install ESXi, and then just have the Linux VM use the adapter card? Can't remember what it is right off, but I think it's a LSI. I'll be sharing folders from that array to the network, and just map them in the new WinServer install. At least I think that'd work?

What do y'all think?
 
Yeah, you should have no issues doing it that way.

You can also just mount that disk for storage, but you'll just want to make sure you have that linux box boot when ESXi boots and finishes loading so the storage is available to ESXi without having to go in and manually boot your linux vm.

A lot of people run a zfs setup virtually for disk, tons of guides if that's the way you want to go.
 
ND40oz said:
Yeah, you should have no issues doing it that way.

You can also just mount that disk for storage, but you'll just want to make sure you have that linux box boot when ESXi boots and finishes loading so the storage is available to ESXi without having to go in and manually boot your linux vm.

A lot of people run a zfs setup virtually for disk, tons of guides if that's the way you want to go.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't think there would be a huge problem with it. I have it as a software RAID5 right now, so I'm guessing that it'd have to be loaded by my Linux VM, then shared out.
 
JeffBlair said:
Yeah, I didn't think there would be a huge problem with it. I have it as a software RAID5 right now, so I'm guessing that it'd have to be loaded by my Linux VM, then shared out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can also use something like Napp-it to make an all-in-one instead of configuring your own linux box.
 
OK, I installed ESXi with no problem. But, it doesn't look like my MB/CPU supports pass-through for my SAS card.

So, here's the question. Is there a way to just send the hard drives from my array straight to a VM? Right now I have them all setup as a software RAID5 in Linux. So, I'd need to set it up that way in a VM of Linux.

Only other choice I can think of is to get another MB/CPU/Memory. But, really don't want to do that since I just got this.

Thanks all.
 
Yes,
google for "ESXi RDM physical raw disk mapping"
 
_Gea said:
Yes,
google for "ESXi RDM physical raw disk mapping"
Click to expand...

That did the trick. Thanks a lot. Glad I didn't have more than 9 disks I had to do.
Created the RDM's for all 9 of the disks, and attached them. Linux saw the array, and created my RAID5 with no issues.

Thanks a lot. That saved me. Now to install windows for my Plex server.
 
JeffBlair said:
That did the trick. Thanks a lot. Glad I didn't have more than 9 disks I had to do.
Created the RDM's for all 9 of the disks, and attached them. Linux saw the array, and created my RAID5 with no issues.

Thanks a lot. That saved me. Now to install windows for my Plex server.
Click to expand...

Hey this is a really really bad idea if you are running ZFS or RAID. You risk losing your raid array if anything were to happen. If you can't do pass-through, don't do ZFS/RAID.

I know esxi can do passthru, so you probably just need to enable IOMMU or VT-D depending on what CPU you are using.
 
Sufu said:
Hey this is a really really bad idea if you are running ZFS or RAID. You risk losing your raid array if anything were to happen. If you can't do pass-through, don't do ZFS/RAID.

I know esxi can do passthru, so you probably just need to enable IOMMU or VT-D depending on what CPU you are using.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd much rather do passthrough, but my MB/CPU doesn't support VT-D. Guess it's too old of a server board. But, I've been looking around for a newer one that does.
 
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