Nested ESXi within Hyper-V

Hi

Does anyone know if it's possible to nest vmWare's ESXi within Hyper-V (on Windows 10) and run 64bit vm's?

I've seen some blog posts from a few years ago saying that it's only possible to run 32bit vm's this way (due to a hardware virtualization requirement). Just wondering if there have been any recent advances/changes in this area.

DC

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joelsfood

It appears so based on some googling, but I haven't tested it myself. VMware workstation definitely works to run nested VMs though.

dancreaney

Cool. Could I install ESXi on Workstation, and nest some 64bit vm's inside that ESXi vm?

I'm trying to determine if I can just increase the RAM on my current PC, or if I need to spend more and build a separate lab for VCP studies.

dancreaney

So it seems that it is possible. I've just done a quick POC. Installed vmWare Workstation 12. ESXi 6 on top of that. Then a 64bit Ubuntu server (with GUI) as a vm within the virtual ESXi host. Neat. The only additional configuration needed was to enable VT-d in my BIOS.

joelsfood, thanks for the tip! I may just add another 16gb of RAM to my under-taxed i7 desktop and save some money.

iBrokeIT

*** VMware is the proper capitalization of the company's name.

If you are going to do nested virtualization I would recommend looking to Autolab which automates the building of the nested environment.

Autolab site - http://www.labguides.com/autolab/

kj0

Here's a post, and check out the rest of William's posts on Nested

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/08/how-to-enable-nested-esxi-other.html

I've run nested in VMware Workstation and ESXi. You can also do it in Hyper-V, but there is a line you need to add to the config file (same as ESXi)

jibbajabba

iBrokeIT wrote: »

*** VMware is the proper capitalization of the company's name.

Maybe used to be - nowadays they seem to go with 'vmware' .... It is even reflected in their logo ..

scott28tt

jibbajabba wrote: »

Maybe used to be - nowadays they seem to go with 'vmware' .... It is even reflected in their logo ..

VMware when written, regardless of the logo: https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/branding/VMware_Corporate_Logo_Guidelines2011.pdf

netsysllc

Hyper-V on Windows 10 and Server 2016 does support nested Hyper-V, however other hyper-visors are not supported. This does not mean it does not work, just likely obstacles to it working. I briefly tried it, had to use the instructions on this link and also make a custom install to recognize the legacy network adapter. I got it installed but still had a warning saying that cpu virutalization support was not enabled and such. I have not spent any more time on it.

jibbajabba

Don't think Hyper-V supports VT-X passthrough despite having a CPU supporting VT+EPT, or rather, vmware virtualizes hardware-assisted virtualization, which Hyper-V does not - which is why nested ESXi is possible only on vmware until Microsoft decides otherwise. Then I am not sure if Hyper-V allows promiscuous mode either.

dancreaney

Has anyone used Ravello for home vmware labs, thoughts?

jibbajabba

dancreaney wrote: »

Has anyone used Ravello for home vmware labs, thoughts?

It is great especially if you are vExpert, as you get 1000 CPU hours per month free. BUT, it only performs good enough once deployed. The console delay can be significant and annoys me too much to use it but a lot of colleagues use it as NSX or vRA lab.

I love how it works and how straight forward it is ... If you worked with vRA 7 - Ravello is almost like a Blueprint Canvas.

I'd say, trial it. You may love it. They got tons of articles and William Lam, too.

jibbajabba

I meant William Lam got articles too btw.

kj0

Just started using Ravello on Sunday. So far, so good. I've only started using the Nutanix build for the time being. When I get a few hours, i will build a full blueprint.

On a side note, I received an email this morning informing that Oracle has just acquired Ravello.

iBrokeIT

jibbajabba wrote: »

It is great especially if you are vExpert, as you get 1000 CPU hours per month free.

I saw Uncle Larry bought Ravello so enjoy it while it lasts before the penny pinching starts!

jibbajabba

iBrokeIT wrote: »

I saw Uncle Larry bought Ravello so enjoy it while it lasts before the penny pinching starts!

You probably get all sorts of law suits when you use Ravello to demo something to customers .... Yea I don't think I now actually bother setting up a lab until the dust has settled.

dancreaney

Thanks guys. As an alternative to Ravello, I'm considering this rig for a home lab:

Intel Core i5-6400 6 MB Skylake Quad-Core 2.7 GHz LGA 1151 65W BX80662I56400 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530 - Newegg.com

G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Desktop Memory Model F4-2133C15Q-32GRB - Newegg.com

ASRock B150M Pro4S LGA 1151 Intel B150 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Rosewill R379-M Black/ Silver 0.8mm SGCC Steel Slim MicroATX Computer Case with ATX12V Flex 300W Power Supply - Newegg.com

http://www.amazon.com/DISCONTINUED-PNY-CS1211-Internal-SSD7CS1211-240-RB/dp/B010DOD0UE