Kinnison Tracker

Re: What is ops TCP/IP stack. This was pre-built with v8

Kinnison — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:22:42 GMT

Hello,

Sorry, in ESXi 7.x there are three types of TCP/IP stack, the "default" one, the "vMotion" one and the "Provisioning" one, nothing else.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: What is ops TCP/IP stack. This was pre-built with v8

Kinnison — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:22:15 GMT

Hello jicooper,

No, I don't think it's so, the "OPS" TCP/IP stack was absent till the first build of ESXi 8.0, I can tell you that ESXi 7.0U3n it does not feature any "OPS" TCP/IP stack, the same way as previous versions of which I still have memory.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: Workstation 17.5.0: (enhanced?) keyboard driver problem

Kinnison — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:28:52 GMT

Hello,

You're right, mine was just a curiosity at the time.

Then, if we want to see it in slightly more practical terms, reading the various comments expressed, I doubt you will find an effective remedy to the problem exposed here, other than trying to go back to the immediately previous version.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: Workstation 17.5.0: (enhanced?) keyboard driver problem

Kinnison — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:35:40 GMT

Hello,

Curious, yesterday this thread spread over four "pages", today they have become three.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: How to open fsl from vmware workstation

Kinnison — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:28:56 GMT

Hello,

So the solution at least as far as VMware technologies are concerned is all in all simple, deploy a suitably sized virtual machine with the GUEST operating system that you deem appropriate and then load those libraries.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows image backup restore on ESXi 8.02

Kinnison — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 06:28:17 GMT

Hello,

It's difficult to say, a generic "Windows Backup Image" doesn't say much about its concrete possibility of making some use of it in an operating context different from the one, not better specified, from which it was obtained (and how).

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 06:16:58 GMT

Hello,

In a time of hardship which is not unusual in the micro-business sector it can be a problem but, in my opinion, you should consider getting a more modern system, otherwise having licenses for the most recent versions of the ESXi product isn't of much use if for a reason you may not be able to use them due to lack of support / incompatible hardware.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 16:27:06 GMT

Hello,

I understand, from a RAID 6 array made up of mechanical ones, perhaps of an old generation, the expectation of adequate performance, especially in writing, in conditions of high IOPS is objectively unrealistic, perhaps the possible cache of the disk controller, assuming in "write back" mode (in case check the battery status) it does something but as they say where I come from, "you can't get blood from turnips".

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:30:05 GMT

Hello,

Now it's a little clearer, so your E5-2609 (V1/V2) has 4 physical cores without hyperthreading and limited to DDR3 memory modules with 800/1066 Mhz speeds, so you have to be careful about how you configure your virtual machines, because depending on your workloads, if you have too unfavorable a ratio between physical cores and virtual cores, performance suffers, with the understanding that you can't expect much anyway.
Your storage is made up of 8 disk drives in a RAID 6 array but it is not clear whether mechanical or solid state and what type, this also affects the final result to a more or less significant extent.

So, to try to narrow down the causes of your problems, in my opinion I would start by consulting the contents of this KB article:
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2001003

Forget the experience of the OP, each case is a story in itself as is the concept of performance if there is no objectively reproducible and/or measurable feedback.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 12:40:39 GMT

Hello,

One moment please, I use some systems from another manufacturer but of the same generation as yours but I haven't even thought about installing the 3 Terabytes of RAM nominally supported on paper not even when they were brand new. So you see that "maxed out" on RAM can mean many things. So explain for a moment how you achieved the result, for example you won't be using a configuration called 3DPC or just part of the four available memory controllers of your CPU. The issue of ESXi licenses is also a topic of relative value if you don't specify for a moment what license level you refer to.

If we want to talk about this and that, you plan to procure new licenses related to the "Microsoft Windows Server 2022" product because perhaps you use versions that are no longer supported but then as a basis you plan to use an equally unsupported version of ESXi and not without vulnerability, don't you find it a sort of contradiction in terms?

In short, IMHO, if you want some less far-fetched advice, in my opinion you should provide some details, going a little more specifically into how your system is actually configured.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 11:11:10 GMT

Hello NickDaGeekUK,

I mean, we can discuss many things but objectively ESXi 6.5 (to which you are referring) as well as being a product that is no longer supported, does not benefit from those substantial improvements, large and small, introduced with subsequent versions, which your system, at least on paper (i.e. for HCL), should support up to the latest build of the 7.0U3 line. The system firmware released by the manufacturer has an equally important role in the iteration and usually when a more recent version is released it is because more or less substantial corrections have been applied to various types of inconveniences.

It's not clear to me what you mean by "maxed out" on RAM and STORAGE but not in CPU count, because in itself it doesn't say much.
And moreover, it is not entirely negligible how the hardware of your virtual machine and/or the operating system itself is set.

The point of my speech is that based on what I have read you can only formulate hypotheses but not go much further.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: How can I recover the Win11 product key in VM?

Kinnison — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 05:44:26 GMT

Hello,

I apologized in general for intruding on a question that I would have been better off not answering in the first place.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: How can I recover the Win11 product key in VM?

Kinnison — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:05:56 GMT

Hello,

Of course the virtual maybe it could be recoverable "as is", but the question was a little more specific, that is, where to recover the "product key" and that is another matter. Sorry if I intruded.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: How can I recover the Win11 product key in VM?

Kinnison — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 19:32:48 GMT

Hello,

Rather difficult, to say unlikely at least from a non-functional machine, it is supposed that the "product key" used to activate the product it was obtained somehow and stored somewhere. Perhaps by asking in more specific forums about Microsoft products you might find a better answer to your question, whether it is a physical or virtual machine your problem does not change.

If you had a working copy, not necessarily recent, of that same virtual machine, solving your "problem" could be much simpler. You can find several possible methods on the internet.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: windows server 2022 slow on vmware esxi 6.7

Kinnison — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 18:51:55 GMT

Hello,

If I may interject, my experience with Microsoft Windows Server 2022 in the context of my small vSphere infrastructure is completely different, personally I find it much more responsive than previous versions. However, I must also tell you that the improvements, also in terms of "performance", made in subsequent product versions compared to the one you use have been substantial, then it also depends on how your virtual machines are configured, in relation to the intended workload.

In the end, IMHO, the efficiency / effectiveness of a system is the sum of a whole set of multiple interrelated factors, often small things that we sometimes risk putting off until another time and perhaps ending up forgetting.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: Installing vcenter 7 on esxi 6.7 host without Internet, domain or dns. Is this possible?

Kinnison — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 17:46:45 GMT

Hello,

I'm sorry but I don't agree, there is no real need to bother with an infrastructure centered around the "Active Directory" services to provide DNS, DHCP and NTP services, this can be achieved by using a LINUX distribution set up for that one and only purpose and/or the capabilities of many barely decent network devices.

This is without prejudice to the fact that, as others have pointed out, moreover explained in a BLOG, it is possible to deploy a vCenter object in a context where DNS and NTP services are unavailable.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: How to evaluate VCSA 8 in current environment?

Kinnison — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 17:16:17 GMT

Hello,

The issue is a little more complex than simply evaluating how a version 8.x vCenter object behaves because you have to consider the relationships/iterations that exist with other products from both VMware and any third parties. Before embarking on the undertaking it is always advisable to consult the available compatibility matrices first, it can help you avoid many potential problems from the start.

From my very personal point of view, if you have adequate time and means, the only way to gain confidence in such a case is to try to build an IT laboratory which, albeit within certain limits, reproduces the specifics of your vSphere infrastructure as faithfully as possible.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: ESXi installation drive and IBM RAID card

Kinnison — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 18:48:54 GMT

Hello,

You have to make sure, consult the HCL list, that your system is supported for the version of ESXi you intend to install and it is generally advisable to use the "custom" builds released by the manufacturer of the same which include more specific drivers for the underlying hardware.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: Installing vmware esxi 6.0 on pcie M.2 SSD

Kinnison — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 18:17:34 GMT

Hello,

No, some NVME SSD had a built-in "Option ROM" to make them usable as "legacy boot devices" in (some) systems that did not have native support for them but they are now uncommon, some adapters allowed the same to be achieved. Your system was not designed to boot from a pure NVME drive so its "bios" lacks the necessary code and it's so dated that no one (reasonable) thought to implement it at a later time.

In rather general terms, hardware aimed at the enterprise market is designed for use in those specific contexts, where anything that can compromise its reliability or complicate its supportability always translates into potentially economically significant damage.

Regards,
Ferdinando

Re: vCenter 8.02 U2a is out - Change notes

Kinnison — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 08:08:59 GMT

@pmichelli, hello,

Personally I think that a lot depends on the specific operating context, which is different for each of us, but limiting myself to my specific case, this new build, like the one immediately before it, did not impress me and I would not derive any practical benefits as a result of the new features introduced. Of course I updated my vCenter object to version 8.0U1d to fix a discovered critical vulnerability and that was that.

Regards,
Ferdinando