Do you think this will be compatible?

santaowns

I am looking for a esxi host for practice for both virtualization as well as windows server admin certification. I was able to purchase a Dell server but it is not listed on their site due to the fact that it is a resell of one of their cloud servers.

Here are the specs.

DELL F1D Server
2x 2.0 GHz Intel Xeon Quad Core Processors - E5335
4x 2GB RAM
2x 4GB RAM
4x 73GB HDD

I do not know what the manufacturers are yet as I have not received it yet.

SO there lies the question, do you think it will be compatible with 5.1 or even 4.1 esxi?

Thank you in advance for your time!

mapletune

I'm a newb, so correct me people if i'm wrong.

ARK | Intel® Xeon® Processor E5335 (8M Cache, 2.00 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)

It seems like you'll be able to run vmware thin hypervisor (ex. ESXi) but not Hyper-V as the later requires VT-d.

santaowns

i guess im more of a newb than you because i couldnt find that answer either lol.

santaowns

All i really need is for it to run ESXI so that I can create 5-6 vms to test my windows 2008 labs. Can anyone confirm if it will run esxi 5.0 ?

NotHackingYou

Sounds like its a Dell 2950. If it is then yes it should work. If not it has the same Xeon which should have the virtualization hooks.

netsysllc

That should run esxi or hyper-v

netsysllc

The F1D seems to be a product sold for the Chinese market as the pictures show 'cULus' certified which is for products imported into China. And to clear things up hyper-v does not require VT-d

jibbajabba

Correct, Hyper-V does not use vt-d. The only product which requires it really is Citrix Xen Client. Then it even depends which version do you use. If you use the original Citrix version then it won't even install. If you use the version which came from nxtop, then you can, VMs just run like poo. But in your case, yes, it will install, assuming it is indeed a 2950 under the hood.

What is important though is storage and network. ESXi is a bit picky so if it is not a 2950 - then this so the only thing I can imagine not working - storage or network. If that is the case then you might need the Dell customised ESXi image (just google), which has all driver embedded.

santaowns

All,
I have received the server today and just completed installing ESXI 5.1 dell iso onto a usb drive for it to boot from. I am guessing since there were no visible errors everything should work? Is that how it works?

astorrs

If you can see the storage and you have network adapters showing up you're good to go.

jibbajabba

Without network card the installer wouldn't even start but would complain straight away.

So if the install finished and you can see the local disks then you are ready to roll

santaowns

I can see storage and network, and am now in the process of moving over some data to the system prior to installing any vms.

santaowns

Just an update, I installed 2 vms so far and all is working well. Getting my network configured now. Anyone know how i could go about setting the vms on different networks to appear to be connected to another router? Anyways thanks so much for your help so far!

meadIT

You can create a different port group on a different VLAN, or you could just give them an IP address on a different subnet. In both instances, you are going to need a router to allow them to communicate.

santaowns

thats exactly what i was thinking, thanks for the confirmation. I have 3 routers (technically 4 if you count my motorola modem) on my network. Thanks for the answer!

uzair_rock

santaowns wrote: »

I am looking for a esxi host for practice for both virtualization as well as windows server admin certification. I was able to purchase a Dell server but it is not listed on their site due to the fact that it is a resell of one of their cloud servers.

Here are the specs.

DELL F1D Server
2x 2.0 GHz Intel Xeon Quad Core Processors - E5335
4x 2GB RAM
2x 4GB RAM
4x 73GB HDD

I do not know what the manufacturers are yet as I have not received it yet.

SO there lies the question, do you think it will be compatible with 5.1 or even 4.1 esxi?

Thank you in advance for your time!

I am getting the same server, infact two of these to install ESXi 5.1 hosts on them and practise for VCP 5 exam. Can you please tell me which HDD it has? what size(GB) and form (2.5 or 3.5 inch) and is it SATA or SAS interface? if you can post the pic of your server than that'll be great!

santaowns

Sorry for the delayed response, but I did not have the subscription on for this post.

To answer your questions in case anyone else googles this.


My server came with 4 73gb hard drives that are SAS and 3.5" but the server will also use SATA drives in the hotswap bays so I am soon going to upgrade to 2 of the drives to 4TB SATA drives and leave the other 2 as the OS both using a Raid 1.

there are many pics out there so if you go to ebay and look for DELL F1D you will see the server.