ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting
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@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@marcinozga said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@marcinozga said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@marcinozga said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@marcinozga @marcinozga said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
What's the VM version of guest?
Windows Server 2016 or later (64-bit)
I guess I wasn't clear. I meant hardware compatibility version, it should be ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later (VM version 15).
6.7.0 Update 3 (Build 15160138)
"ESXi 6.7 virtual machine" is all it says
You should have an option to upgrade VM compatibility to 15. You should also have an option to select it when creating new machine.
I only get these. Does that mean perhaps the installer for ESXi for Host was out of date? My boss installed it and I can't be sure it was the right one.
Pick the last one, 6.7 U2. It shouldn't matter much, but I've seen weirder things happen.
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Did you use the Dell ESXI Image?
Did you update all drivers, along with NIC drivers on the host?On
there is a post about 6.7 U3 running crappy on Dell's. I don't know if there was a resolution on that or not. (Based on no definite answer, I have a new R440, Single 4210 CPU, RAID 1 SSD's and 128GB RAM with 6.7U2 with no issues)If none of @marcinozga fixes work, you may just want to start from scratch, update all drivers, use Dell OEM Esxi 6.7U2, create a generic W2016 VM with 2 CPU's, 12 GB RAM and 100 GB drive for the OS (we can add drives later).
Use VMXNET NIC adapter instead of E1000e. It will only add the NIC after you install guest tools.
That should fly (depending on the HD's you have installed) when all done.
If that all works fine, then you can try again with 6.7 U3.
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@pmoncho Thank you. The only thing I haven't tried that you listed yet is the Dell ESXi 6.7 U2 version part. Trying that now.
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@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@pmoncho Thank you. The only thing I haven't tried that you listed yet is the Dell ESXi 6.7 U2 version part. Trying that now.
Give it a shot. It doesn't take that long to install and/or upgrade.
Also, where are you installing ESXI? On HD, USB or SD card?
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@pmoncho Directly to HD
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@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@pmoncho Directly to HD
This is fine for a lab but do not do this for production. It could make upgrading/reloading much more difficult later.
For VMware, I would use USB or SD cards if possible. ESXI is only like 500 MB's and that is it. You can store the ESXi logs on normal storage. There are numerous sites out there with instructions.
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You really only need a 4GB USB key but I like to use 8GB or higher as they are still cheap for a higher quality USB key.
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ESXi recommends SD card, USB is a bit to fragile for the number of writes you'd be making to it.
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This is fine for a lab but do not do this for production. It could make upgrading/reloading much more difficult later.
For VMware, I would use USB or SD cards if possible. ESXI is only like 500 MB's and that is it. You can store the ESXi logs on normal storage. There are numerous sites out there with instructions.
Wow, I had no idea. We've been doing it wrong for over a year now :man_facepalming_medium_skin_tone:
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@DustinB3403 said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
ESXi recommends SD card, USB is a bit to fragile for the number of writes you'd be making to it.
I agree with @DustinB3403 My new 440 has SD cards in a RAID 1 so I feel much better.
On the flip side, I have only had four USB keys go bad on me in 11 years with 13 servers. It is not a big sample size but it is something.
I like to use SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB. Going strong for 6 years so far. Plus they are small so it can won't mess with the bezel or knock it with your hand or shoulder. Transcend kinda suck. Had three of those go bad on me over 8 years.
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@pmoncho how do you deal with USB or SD card failures in this instance? Is there a way to program a replacement or would it be as easy as re-downloading ESXi onto another USB/SD and inserting that as a replacement?
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....Mirroring aside
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You can use these instructions or others you find on google.
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2042141So, if the USB dies, you reload the same version of ESXi onto new USB key, keeping the storage drive in tact, set IP address and then restore the config and reboot. Boom! all done. It is that easy as I had to do it once.
I recommend backing up the config every time you make a change. I never really delved into profiles either but from what I hear, you can save those in vCenter. Once you add the server back, reload the profile, reboot and you should be good to go.
ESXi is loaded all into memory after boot up. Other than USB disk checks, nothing is stored on the USB key after the hypervisor is loaded. It mostly writes to the USB key on reboot/shutdown.
If you use a USB/SD key, you will need to create a log folder on your storage volume to save all the log files. After install, set the ScratchConfig parameter with the correct path and reboot (It is easy so don't worry).
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1033696If you want to really go nuts on DR. Backup the config while it is loading, take out the USB key, use Linux (I use clonezilla) and clone the USB key. Then put the key back in the server. You should be good.
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@pmoncho said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
On the flip side, I have only had four USB keys go bad on me in 11 years with 13 servers. It is not a big sample size but it is something.
WOW - that's huge! nearly 30% failure...
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@pmoncho said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
If you want to really go nuts on DR. Backup the config while it is loading, take out the USB key, use Linux (I use clonezilla) and clone the USB key. Then put the key back in the server. You should be good.
Did you mean loaded, as in online and working?
Why do it then and not just shut it down, pull it and make a copy?
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@Dashrender said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@pmoncho said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
If you want to really go nuts on DR. Backup the config while it is loading, take out the USB key, use Linux (I use clonezilla) and clone the USB key. Then put the key back in the server. You should be good.
Did you mean loaded, as in online and working?
Why do it then and not just shut it down, pull it and make a copy?
Oops my bad. Yes I did. typing in haste as I was headed out the door.
One can shut it down and then make a copy but I have done it while the system was up and running also.
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@Dashrender said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@pmoncho said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
On the flip side, I have only had four USB keys go bad on me in 11 years with 13 servers. It is not a big sample size but it is something.
WOW - that's huge! nearly 30% failure...
Yeah. The previous admin used shitty USB keys. Once I switched to Sandisk, I have not had any problems. One was and old USB key with a microcenter label, the other three were Transcend. Man, those SUCK!
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@G-I-Jones said in ESXi 6.7 Troubleshooting:
@pmoncho how do you deal with USB or SD card failures in this instance? Is there a way to program a replacement or would it be as easy as re-downloading ESXi onto another USB/SD and inserting that as a replacement?
Does your Dell have the SD card reader? If so, it runs the SD cards as a RAID1 array.
I haven't installed ESXi myself ever (to expensive too quickly once you get into "I have to license this"). I'd want to use 2 usb drives in a mirror if going the usb route, but don't know if that is easy or possible with the installer.
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@travisdh1 it doesn’t. I know if you order them specifically for ESXi then they ship it with either an SD or USB (can’t remember which) that’s already setup as RAID 1. Definitely a detail to remember for the future. Pushing hard to go Virtual after this last Ransomeware hit.
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Here's a KB that matches the virtual machine hardware versions with product versions like you see when you try to create a VM - https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003746.
Here's a list of capabilities that match to different virtual machine hardware versions - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-789C3913-1053-4850-A0F0-E29C3D32B6DA.html.
So if you created a VM that was compatible with 6.7U2, it could not run on a host running any version of ESXi older than 6.7U2. In your case that won't be a problem since you are just getting started, but it is something to keep in mind if you build an environment with hosts on newer versions of ESXi later and want to move things around. Keep the VM hardware version at the right level for max flexibility / compatibility in the environment.
