Thursday, October 8, 2009

Re-installation of VMware tools for Ubunutu

I needed this procedure for when I upgraded my ESX server from 3i to 4i

Do the following commands to remove the VMware tools that are already there:

cd /usr/bin
sudo .vmware-uninstall-tools.pl


Use Ubuntu community documents for installation: VMware Tools

External Expansion from IBM

Still stumbling. Looking for an external SCSI chassis for my whitebox. I know about the HP StoroageWorks, but looking for what IBM has to offer:

All in all, the EXP400 looks like a good product. Here are the drives that can go into it:

  • 40K1023 73.4GB 10K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 40K1024 146.8GB 10K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 40K1025 300GB 10K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 40K1026 36.4GB 15K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 40K1027 73.4GB 15K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 40K1028 146.8 15K rpm Ultra320 SCSI HDD
Here is the location to translate the P/N to FRU & Newest part numbers: Hard drive Accessories

Getting a cheap FC card into ESXi server

I am looking to see if I can add a cheap Fiber Channel (FC) to my ESX server.

Stumbled across this when looking for a StorageWorks on Ebay - FCA2404

  • Found it on the VMware ESX hcl. looks like it works for ESX3i, but not 4i
  • Found a HP web site for documentation: FCA2404 documentation
  • Found the drivers for it: FCA2404 Drivers
  • Works with windows 2000, 2003, and 2008 so believe the HP is continuing support for it
  • Only a 2GB FC card, but do you need more for a home test sever

Saturday, October 3, 2009

ESX Test sever hardware

Here are the specs for my ESX test server

  • Intel S5000PSL motheboard
  • Intel Chassis SC5299-E
  • 2 Intel 5160 dual core processors
  • 4GB of FB RAM (4 1GB sticks)
  • LSI PCI-X MegaRaid card
  • 1 73GB 15K SCSI drive fro ESX boot datastore
  • 1 500GB SATA drive for Guest storage

Planned upgrades

  • Addition of the SCSI cage AXX6SCSIDB to handle 6 scsi disks
  • Removal of the SATA disk cage
  • Addition of 6 73GB or 146GB disks for storage
  • Addition of IBM ServeRAID 6M to handle SCSI disks in a logical array