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asiachang
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ESXi 5.x install on Dell C1100

Hi all,

Like many others, I purchased a few Dell C1100 servers off eBay for a home VMware lab.  I am having the most difficult and frustrating time trying to get ESXi installed on them. 

I have two different USB keys and have tried both ESXi 5.1 update 1 and ESXi 5.5.  All the servers recognize the USB keys as two different mass storage devices.  I have set the boot order properly in the BIOS but it never loads the installer.   I get a "Missing Operating System" message before it tries to PXE boot and gets stuck in a loop.  

Specs are dual 2.26 GHz Xeon, 72 GB RAM, 4x 250 GB hard drives. 

Yes I realize 5.5 is not on the HCL which is why I tried 5.1 as well.

Any suggestions?   Thank you.

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Fred_vBrain
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Try this one to create the USB Stick. http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/supported-linuxes. I tried UNetbootin before and it didn't work too.

When using this the minimum size of the USB stick should be 2GB, but you will be fine with your's.

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022

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Fred_vBrain
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Hi,

you tried to install ESXi from an USB drive? If so how big is the drive?

regards,

Fred

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
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asiachang
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Yes I've tried from both USB drives, one is 4GB the other is 32GB. 

Both keys are bootable, I was able to get the ESXi installer to boot and load on my home PC and my Macbook.

The USB ports on the servers are working as well because I've plugged the keyboard into all of them to test and the BIOS detects the flash drives as "Hi Speed USB Generic" and USB Mass storage device.

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Fred_vBrain
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In the Bios there is hopefully an option for Emulation type. Per default it is set to Auto. Have you tried to set it to USB CDROM or something similar.

What have you used to create the bootable install stick?

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
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asiachang
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Yes theres an emulation type option - Auto, FDD, HDD, CDROM.  I've tried HDD, CDROM, and Auto and set the boot priority accordingly. 

I created the install stick with UNetbootin. 

I am out of ideas, it works on everything else but the servers.

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Fred_vBrain
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Try this one to create the USB Stick. http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/supported-linuxes. I tried UNetbootin before and it didn't work too.

When using this the minimum size of the USB stick should be 2GB, but you will be fine with your's.

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
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asiachang
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I'll give it a try right now but to reiterate - both USB keys can boot and load ESXi installer on my home PC and Macbook.  It just won't work on my servers.

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Fred_vBrain
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I know I know. That's was also a behavior in my case. Had a different server but same behavior. Worked on a virtual VM and on my PC but not on the server. Used Linux Live USB Creator and everything was fine!

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
asiachang
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Fred - you are THE MAN!!  I've been stuck on this for the past two days and would never have figured it out.  Who would've guessed that the USB stick creator was to blame since it worked on my other systems.

So far it's mixed success.  I created two USB keys - the 32GB one with ESXi 5.5 and the 4GB with ESXi 5.1.

On every server, the install for 5.5 gets stuck on "loading lsi_mr3.v00" and won't continue past that point.  The install for 5.1 just completed for another server and will try loading it on the next one.

Optimally I'd like to get 5.5 installed to play with the latest and greatest.  Maybe it's a limitation of the servers themselves not being supported on HCL?

Thank you again for your help.

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Fred_vBrain
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You're welcome. Glad to help.

Correct the C1100 is not on the HCL but try this > Install 5.1 on one of the server and than update this one to 5.5. I think this should work.


Take also a look at this thread Install VMware ESXi 5.5.0 issue on HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 they got similar problems with newer hardware.

Have you updated to servers to the newest available firmware?

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
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asiachang
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I thought it was firmware or BIOS at first since the one loaded on the server is dated 2009.  I did some research before updating and saw many issues others are having such as the following thread -

C1100 cloud server no POST after bios update - Cloud Services - Forum - Cloud Services - Dell Commu...

It seems that a lot of the servers are rebadged Quanta CS24-TY and the Dell firmware causes a lot of problems since they are different machines but with the same name/model number.  I'll try to 5.1 to 5.5 update route, if it doesn't go well then I'll just settle with 5.1 for now.  

What do you have running on your setup?    I'm guessing you have the same servers since you answered my post.

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Fred_vBrain
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Dell C1100 are not widely spread in EMEA where I live. You can have a look of my Homelab here (http://www.vbrain.info/?page_id=230). At the moment I'm searching for a new NAS and new servers but the should be WAF certified (Wife Acceptance Factor).

I use the x3650M2 mainly for preparing for my VCAP exams with nested ESXi etc. but this servers is really power consuming.

For my new lab I'm looking for some power optimized servers or hardware. Maybe some SuperMicro server boards and Intel Haswell XEONs but it's also a budget constraint.

There are also pretty cool C6100 server on ebay but I think this one are also very power consuming.

Fred | vBrain.info | vExpert 2014-2022
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asiachang
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Checked out your setup, you are really into low power consumption!  I don't leave my servers on all the time mostly due to noise and heat.  I have three C1100s, a gigabit switch, a Cisco router, and 24 inch monitor connected to a metered PDU and the readout states it's utilizing 6A.  I'm not knowledgable on power consumption but based on a google search of watt to amp conversion, it works out to about 600W or so which seems less than I thought it would use.

Yeah the C6100 is a beast.  A guy I worked with bought one for his lab and he put in the mezzanine card.  His lab setup must be awesome.

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aliv
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I was able to install ESX 5.5 on USB drive using installation burned to DVD disk and loaded from external USB DVD drive. Everything goes okay, but on attempt to get network configured - it is not able to get IP address thru DHCP. Static assignment also gives nothing. Is there any way to resolve this problem?

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asiachang
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aliv, i had to configure the ip address direct on the physical server and enable the management network.  hit f2 after esxi loads and you'll be able to see the configuration options.  it'll ask you to restart the management nic - select YES and it should work after that.

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