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35325
April 24th, 2009 08:00
Installing VMware ESXi on PE2950
Hi, I am trying to install VMware ESXi on a PE2950. The install goes fine, it recognizes the hardware, but after the install it will not boot - I get the "strike F1 to retry boot, or F2 for Setup Utility' message. I have tried the Dell customized ISO of ESXi with the same result. I also tried using the Dell System Build Utility but only ESX is an option, not ESXi so the disc is rejected.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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number11
14 Posts
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April 27th, 2009 09:00
I just upgraded the BIOS and the firmware in teh SAS 6/iR controller to the latest versions from Dell and all is working now. I suupose I should have tried that first.
I have seen mention of installing and running ESXi from a USB stick - when I tried that my installation said there were no supported devices found for it. I made sure the BIOS was set to emulate the USB stick as a hard drive.
number11
14 Posts
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April 24th, 2009 14:00
Ummm... installing to the 2950? Not sure what you mean. It uses the SAS 6/i controller and SATA drives (2x250 GB, 2xt TB currently).
JOHNADCO
2 Intern
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847 Posts
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April 24th, 2009 14:00
a little more detail please?
What are you installing esxi to?
Storage inventory on the 2950?
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
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9.3K Posts
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April 24th, 2009 15:00
Is this a 2950-III and you have the 1GB USB key in it that you want to install ESXi on, or do you want to install ESXi on a raid container made from one or more of the drives in the server?
number11
14 Posts
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April 24th, 2009 16:00
No, not a 2950-III, just 2950. We're not running RAID on this machine at all - just straight physical disks. My original plan was to install to one of the physical drives - partitioned? This is our first venture into virtualization.
Edit - This server has the Xeon 5405 processors in it - quad core. As I look through the compatibility lists I see the 2950 listed with the Quad core 5300 series, but not 5400 series. And I see the 2950-III listed with the Quad core 5400 series. Does this mean what I think it means? Not a supported hardware config?
Dev Mgr
6 Operator
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9.3K Posts
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April 26th, 2009 08:00
I didn't think the original 2950 (the 'non-III' version) could support the Xeon 5400-series processors (die shrink causing different voltage requirements for processors). Are you sure you don't have a roman numeral 3 (III) on the left front of the server behind the bezel?
What controller are you using? If it's a PERC5/6i, are you just creating single disk raid 0's? Or are you maybe using a SAS5i or so?
number11
14 Posts
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April 26th, 2009 09:00
It is possible. I am not in front of the hardware right now, but looking at the System Config for the service tag, it just says PowerEdge 2950 in the descrption, but their are places in the parts list that reference 2950III and 2950. This unit is running the SAS 6/i controller.
number11
14 Posts
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April 27th, 2009 07:00
I apologize, my mistake - these servers DO have the III on the top left of the face of them. Sorry, I thought they were older.
So, since they are the 2950-III, are there any thoughts on what I might be missing? I will be upgrading the firmware in the SAS 6/i controller and upgrading the BIOS very shortly.