ESXi 5.1 Host Build

[marshalex]

Well the microserver will be here tomorrow so will see how get on with that if can 16GB of compatible memory for the weekend, load it up and see how it performs. If it's not up to standard will set freenas up on it and use it as a nas for my older host until can save enough again for the fx6100 option.

The A8 was in there as it had a lower TDP than the FX6100 so the logic was tht it would be that bit quieter if it's not kicking out that much heat. There are some mini-itx mobos out for the FM2 range where as the AM3+ doesn't seem to have any.

I'd love to go for the 500GB ssd option but that may break the bank. I may try and use my old corsair force 60GB ssd as a cache in vmware to speed things up a little until I can get a couple of 120's/240's to go with the 2 250GB spindle drives I've already got

[shaithis]

Ssd cache in vmware only holds vswap

[spoon_]

Ssd cache in vmware only holds vswap

Which is pretty useless unless host is memory constrained... Using .vswp files is like the last thing on the list when reclaiming memory so again useless!

[marshalex]

Well that seems a bit pointless! esxi will be going on a memory stick and was hoping to combine the 2 hard drives in raid 0 with the ssd as a cache to improve the iops a bit. there goes that idea. Looks like I'll need to be saving the pennies for a couple of ssd's or 3/4 normal drives

[spoon_]

If going for RAID make sure your controller actually supports RAID under ESXi, many don't.

I'm running ESXi from Patriot Xporter XT Rage 8GB USB stick and use 256GB SSD for C drives and 2TB Barracuda (ST2000DM001) for D/E drives. ST2000DM001 is probably the quickest drive you can get for the money right now without going for SSDs.

[DanceswithUnix]

The A8 was in there as it had a lower TDP than the FX6100 so the logic was tht it would be that bit quieter if it's not kicking out that much heat. There are some mini-itx mobos out for the FM2 range where as the AM3+ doesn't seem to have any.

Lots of people seem to think that, hence I asked the question. The 100W chips just give it the *option* of cranking up a bit more and using that power, at idle they all seem to be the same.

I went A10-5800K for the same sort of reasons for my server (low idle power, decent motherboard choices), then my daughter's PC played up so she is now playing minecraft on what was going to be the server Nice setup though, needs a better PSU to get a decent idle power I think it was idling at about 45W and I think a lot of that is the old inefficient PSU. New server uses her old LLano A8-3870K, still overkill for me playing at home.

[shaithis]

If you go the nas route you can have a zfs volume with ssd cache.

To get the best from it though you would probaby be wise to get a few nics to multipath.

[marshalex]

Thats pretty awesome!

Shaithis what nic's you using for your microserver/esxi hosts?

[Moby-Dick]

Actually using an SSD for host caching isn't a horribly bad idea. It'll only get used when you really overcommit vRAM.

My Mate did a bit of testing on it and was quite impressed. http://vninja.net/vmware-2/testing-v...to-host-cache/

The problem is for a lot of VCP stuff you are going to need more than 1 host , so you'll have to look at nested configs. Again it can still be done with a whitebox

[shaithis]

In the hosts, I am using Broadcom netXtreme II 5706 cards (PCI-E dual port, got them cheap from fleabay @~£25 each) and the on-board RealTek 8168 (yes ESX supports quite a few Realtek chips)

In each NAS I am using a dual port Intel NIC (in the 16x slot), an Intel single port NIC (in the 1x slot) and the on-board Broadcom. Unfortunately FreeNAS has issues with some RealTek setups...it was just way to intermittent for me, even after compiling new FreeBSD drivers every time Realtek released new source code.

[wasabi]

Build ESXi inside VMware player / workstation, and you get advantages of snapshots by virtualising your hypervisor. Then you can add NICs and virtual hardware as you like to try out distributed switches and so on. FreNAS builds nicely in VMware player too so you get an iscsi target. Plus any modern hardware you like is fair game.

[marshalex]

Was an ideally but never been a fan of it. Network adapters are a pain to find on eBay. Will have to keep looking and pick a moment to strike. Hopefully can find a couple of spares at work

[marshalex]

right, server is here and built with 16GB ram and and intel quad port EXPI9404PTL I've borrowed from work. Plan on using the standard 250GB that comes with it for D/E drives. Just deciding on what to do for C drives and if its worth splashing out on a 256GB SSD or getting something like a velociraptor, which will be slightly slower but potentially more reliable long term?

[MonkeySnax]

Shaithis,
sorry to interject into this conversation but I saw your PC spec's and noticed you're running esx 5.5 on AMD gear. I'm considering the same due to cost for my lab, did you have any issues with the 760G chipset? native sata controllers work ok? I'm guessing the onboard NIC isn't supported but I planned on using intel NIC's anyway.

[shaithis]

All works perfectly, including the onboard NIC. No messing either, all works out of the box.

Of course, you cannot use the onboard RAID but single disks work fine.

[MonkeySnax]

Sweet, that literally knocks about 600.00 of my lab build going with AMD