VMware Communities: will esx run on this?

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 7, 2008 9:13 AM

in response to: baalak

jjkrueger 87 posts since
Apr 5, 2006

There are many different actual NICs in the 57xx series. Some may work, some may not.

ESX 3.5 does not recognize the NIC on a Precision 390. My workaround was to purchase and install a pair of Intel Pro 1000 NICs. I sourced the Intel PWLA8391GT PCI Desktop NICs from NewEgg for ~30/ea.

-jk

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 7, 2008 9:20 AM

in response to: jjkrueger

baalak 27 posts since
Sep 22, 2006

Thanks!

I tried other NIC and it worked.
They should support the original NIC too as they do in Precision 490.
Is there any forum or request list to put this on?

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:22 AM

in response to: jjkrueger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Can you install ESX 3.5 on the local drives, and store vm's locally or am I going to have to store them on a NAS?

I am looking for a lab setup (Under $1000) to run ESX 3.5 in. The precision 390 sounds great, if I can indeed install ESX & Run VM's from local storage. Can anyone speak to that?

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:24 AM

in response to: doofoo

jjkrueger 87 posts since
Apr 5, 2006

Local storage on SATA on the Precision 390 works for me. I have the 80G boot drive, and a 500G additional drive, and can run VMs from either. I also set up a FreeNAS server to play with NFS and iSCSI, and store most of my VMs on that so that I can play with VMotion, DRS, and HA.

-jk

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:32 AM

in response to: jjkrueger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Awesome. So all of the Precision 390's internal SATA controllers work? I just want to make sure Dell didn't switch controllers in the middle of the run or something. I am about to order 1 or 2 of them from the outlet.

2 more questions:

The ESX 3.5 install worked fine from the internal CD/DVDRom? You didn't need to do a HTTP install did you?

And, second.. I guess I only need a 1000M Intel NIC other than the machine itself and the install should go smoothly?

I appreciate the quick response.

-Mike

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:41 AM

in response to: doofoo

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Do the specs on this server look okay to you? Sorry for all the questions, just don't want to get a server that won't work.

Memory
2 GB DDR2 ECC SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)

Hard Disk Drive
160 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)-----
Video
128MB PCIe x16 ATI FireGL V3400, Dual DVI or Dual VGA or DVI + VGA-----
Sound Card
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic, w/Dolby Digital 5.1-----
Scratch & Dent
Scratch & Dent-----
Base
Precision Workstation 390 Mini-Tower: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz/1066MHz/2MB L2/Dual-core/VT-----
Media Bay
16X DVD ROM Drive
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability-----

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:44 AM

in response to: doofoo

jjkrueger 87 posts since
Apr 5, 2006

specs look fine. audio and video are naturally not going to be important. disk is fine, processor is adequate for a home lab setup. memory will work just fine, but will definitely limit the number of VMs you can run. The only thing I upgraded in my boxes was the memory - i kicked it up to 4GB each. But 2GB will work just fine.

-jk

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:48 AM

in response to: jjkrueger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Yeah I was going to load up the box with 4gb, Hoping it has 4 slots so I can upgrade. Do you happen to know?

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 10, 2008 10:49 AM

in response to: doofoo

jjkrueger 87 posts since
Apr 5, 2006

yep - 4 dimm slots

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 11, 2008 5:48 AM

in response to: jjkrueger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Is this the nic you were refering to:

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-PWLA8391GT-1000-Network-Adapter/dp/B00030DEQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1205239638&sr=8-1

Getting ready to order it, and 4gb ram extra.

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 11, 2008 6:01 AM

in response to: doofoo

jjkrueger 87 posts since
Apr 5, 2006

That's the one.

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 12, 2008 7:58 PM

in response to: jjkrueger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

So I have the 390 on order, should be here tomorrow or friday. I am ordering some more components though and want to get them before the weekend. The internal RAID controller on this 390, will ESX recognize two 1tb drives in a raid1 as 1 drive, or two?

Curious if the RAID works or not.

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 12, 2008 8:12 PM

in response to: doofoo

mcowger 2,007 posts since
Aug 22, 2007

Depends on how you setup the controller....if you set it up to expose 1 volume or just as JBOD.

--Matt

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 12, 2008 8:17 PM

in response to: doofoo

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

Also interested in swapping for the Q6600 processor. Will the heatsink with the 390 work with the Q6600 if I just order the OEM processor from newegg?

Should be a decent box if so, 8gb ram + Q6600. I have searched high and low on the net, but can't find any detailed info about swapping the CPU in the 390.

Reply Re: will esx run on this? Mar 12, 2008 8:18 PM

in response to: mcowger

doofoo 8 posts since
Dec 22, 2006

I would set it up to expose 1 raid1 (two 1tb drives) as a 1tb volume.

However, I know in some other cheaper on-board raid cards even when I have done that in the past, Linux still recognized the individual drives. So I was looking for someone who had used the 390 w/ raid 1/5 enabled that could tell me for sure.

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