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trodemaster
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

ESXi 5.5 on Mac Pro 6,1

This system is not on the HCL but I'm still looking at getting ESXi installed on it... I have used unebootin to create a bootable USB installer from VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1331820.x86_64.iso Booted from this and see a list of modules load. Then it gets stuck at "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel..." Is there some way to get a more verbose set of boot logs?

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68 Replies
grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Thanks HPReg!  You are appreciated!!!  Update has been blogged!  Now I just need to get the bits!

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jonschwenn
Contributor
Contributor

beta 2 that will be released soon

Thanks!

If there was a smiley face in the community software depicting an over-caffeinated twitchy eyed jittery "can't wait" emotion, I would totally use that at this point.

grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Update: The "Relocating Modules" issue persists on beta1 using runweasel enablePCIEHotplug=FALSE

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VRBitman
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Have you tried beta2? I don't own or use any Apple equipment but I'm curious to find out.

-- VR Bitman | http://virtualis.info | vSphere 5.5 Guide: http://goo.gl/QUqTH7 VMware professional, virtualization & FOSS evangelist, informatician, geek VCA-Cloud, VCA-WM, VCA-DCV, VCP-DCV
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grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

I'm using the latest beta available.  I can't share the build number here as that's under NDA (it's a bit old, so it's not the new one that's coming soon).  However, when the next version is available I will test immediately!

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Sioux_Admin
Contributor
Contributor

Hi all,

Has anybody tried a older version of 4 or 5 ? We really are looking desperite for a solution.

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grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Yes, I have previously tried all versions of ESX* all the way back to 2.x.  It doesn't even boot or make an attempt until 5.x.  Once you get to 5.x, the results are:

ESXi 5.5 U1 - Hangs at “Relocating modules and starting up the kernel”

ESXi 5.0 U3 (1311175) - Gets past the above, hangs at “Starting VMKernel initialization…"

ESXi 5.1 U2 - Gets past all of the above, then screen goes black


Note:  The above stats taken from my initial blog post on the topic.  I will keep my blog and this thread updated on progress.


For now, just build a nested ESXi host on Fusion;  Give the nested ESXi host up to 60GB RAM (saving 4GB for MAC, not required, but desired).  The only difference in the user experience with the VMs is that the instructions must be trapped by MAC OS then passed down to the hardware, whereas once we can boot ESX on the baremetal performance will increase a bit.  You can still do anything else you want including HA, DRS, etc. using purely nested ESXi hosts (internally or across multiple trash cans).

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sanchower
Contributor
Contributor

beta 2 is out and it is now free to join it

https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/vsphere-beta

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VCDAdmin2014
Contributor
Contributor

just try that with my Mac pro black 6,1 and the installation stuck on :photo.JPG

initializing storage stack ...

still waiting for solution

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HPReg
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Anybody can join the vSphere Beta Program at https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/vsphere-beta .

The latest beta should run on the MacPro6,1 provided you use the enablePCIEHotplug=FALSE boot option (as a workaround, for now).

Sioux_Admin
Contributor
Contributor

Yes it works!! many thxs!!Smiley Happy

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VCDAdmin2014
Contributor
Contributor

HPReg - it's pass the yellow loading for the setup but now i can't see any storage devices Smiley Sad

on the select disk to install or upgrade menu

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Sioux_Admin
Contributor
Contributor

Hi All,

With the enablePCIEHotplug=FALSE boot option enabled I don't get the option to install Vsphere it is running live from usb stick. Is it possible to do a installation?

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grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

I have posted the current working solution in the private beta forums here:

https://communities.vmware.com/message/2397484#2397484

If you're not a Beta participant yet sign up:
https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/vsphere-beta

PS - thanks again to HPReg for all your support!

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jaysoares
Contributor
Contributor

I just signed up as a beta participant as I would like to try the new version on my Mac Mini 6,1.  I am not seeing your post, though.  When I click on your link, it says that I am not authorized to view it.

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grasshopper
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

There's a quirk with the beta forum login.  Sometimes you need to login (so you're authenticated) then click the link again.  Keep in mind the thread I linked above  is for Mac Pro 6,1 (trash cans) not the Mac Mini.  Feel free to post any questions in the beta2 forum, but not here on the public forum.  Thanks.

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AJ1723
Contributor
Contributor

Correct me if I am wrong. If I do not have a NAS or external storage my Mac Pro with vSphere 6 Beta installed, it's still a dud! Can we at least have an expected date of vSphere (ESXi 6) release that includes Mac Pro v6,1 included in the HAL.

Can someone suggest a NAS (for home lab), that works with both vSphere 6 Beta and MacPro 6,1. Also, if anyone can share as to how many VMs they are running on the Device with 64GB RAM with an external storage (VM being unfortunately - Windows Server 2012 R2, in my case).

I have a Pro with 6 core and 64GB 256GB SSD, will vSphere work work on the 6 core proc? Whats the limitation, can I upgrade to 8 core. I am planning to get another one with 8+ cores (I am not loaded I am being funded Smiley Happy)

-AJ

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HPReg
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

MisterIT
Contributor
Contributor

VMWare has also made a ISO file available called ESXi 5.5 Update 2a (released on October 15th 2014). I have installed this on a brand new 12-core MacPro with 128GB RAM (unsupported by Apple but it does work) and it works like a charm. We've done some tests and so far the machine holds up just nicely so we are going to install this particular installation on the other MacPro's we have and then start using them in a cluster.

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jtlee
Contributor
Contributor

Related but somewhat unrelated, has anyone installed or upgraded a VM to OS X 10.10 (I know it isn't officially supported by vmware)?  Our VMs on 10.10 have terrible performance mainly around screen refreshes and java performance.  Java console is super slow to change tabs change options etc.  Our apps that run in java applets are terribly slow, right click menu option in the java applets take forever to draw or pain the options in the lists etc.  Our Mac 10.9 VM's that these 10.10 VM's were upgraded from, work just fine.  Java Console responds and our apps work great.

These are all running on the new Mac Pro's we got working via info in this thread.

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