VSphere in a Box: Installing and Configuring Openfiler 2.3 in Vmware Workstation 6.5

Now that we have a couple of ESX servers installed within Workstation 6.5, I think it would be a good idea to simulate some type of storage solution. After all, it would be very unlikely that one would be storing their VMs on the local drives of the ESX servers. You'd most likely be dealing with iSCSI, Fiber, or NFS storage.

After doing some research, I found Openfiler. This software basically turns any regular PC into an iSCSI storage device. Best of all it's free! Great for testing!

I found this site to be a tremendous help when I was configuring my Openfiler VM: http://www.techhead.co.uk/how-to-configure-openfiler-v23-iscsi-storage-for-use-with-vmware-esx

Here is the Installing and Configuring Openfiler in Workstation 6.5 document (please feel free to download the PDF):

VSphere in a Box - Installing Vpshere ESX in Workstation 6.5, Ubuntu 9.04 64-Bit

As I wrote in my previous post, in order to get a bit more familiar with Vsphere ESX, I decided to purchase a Quad Core 8GB PC, install Ubuntu 64bit, Vmware Workstation 6.5 and use that as my base to virtualize a small ESX Lab.

I will be documenting all the steps I'm making in setting this lab up and providing it for anyone who may find it useful. (Feel free to download it at the bottom of this post).

I will say this now, this is all new to me, so I'm open to any suggestions, criticisms etc... I'm literally documenting as I'm learning and I hope that it may help others as well as myself.

Here are the following steps for my lab (so far), the point highlighted is the step we're currently working on:

1) Install 2 ESX servers within Workstation.
2) Install and configure Openfiler iSCSI within Workstation (to act as a SAN for the ESX servers).
3) Setup and Install VCenter to manage the 2 ESX servers.
4) Create, manage virtual servers using VCenter.

(I expect this list to grow dramatically as I learn more).

Without further ado....Vsphere In a Box, Installing ESX within Vmware Workstation (Please feel free to download it using the download button below):

VMWARE VSPHERE in a Box - Build a small, efficient Home Lab

I've always found Vmware ESX fascinating. I've worked with ESX 3.5 briefly, but wanted to understand more about it. However, building a lab would be no easy task. The hardware costs would be too much!

Then I stumbled upon this site:

http://xtravirt.com/xd10089

I found that one can install ESX 4.0 within a VM in Vmware's Workstation 6.5.2!! Heck, you can put a small infrastructure on there, containing the following:

2 ESX hosts
1 Windows Server for VCenter
1 iSCSI (Openfiler).

So now I just needed a dedicated machine to do this. I wanted a quad core processor, with approximately 8 GB of RAM. So I did some digging around and found a Gateway DX4200-09 on www.jr.com for $339. It was a short lived promotion and is no longer available at their site. So I'm glad I snagged it up.

It can also be found on http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NVW8F0 albeit more expensive.

I also purchased an extra 4GB of RAM (since it comes with 4GB installed) from www.newegg.com.

Once all the parts were in, I immediately removed Windows Vista and installed Ubuntu. As I feel linux will make better use of the resources. I need as much speed as I can get.

In my next several posts, I will document how I setup a virtual infrastructure within VMWARE workstation using the guide provided by www.xtravirt.com.

Belated Blogging

Wow, it's been quite some time since I've posted. Apologies to those who have been following this blog.

Let's just pick up where I left off. I did pass the 70-431 exam some time ago and haven't stopped learning SQL 2005.

Of all the certification exams I've taken, this was the most difficult. Perhaps because the world of databases was completely new to me. Regardless, I suggest admins have a solid 6 months of HANDS ON experience working with MS SQL before embarking on this certification path.

The simulations required test takers to have a very in depth understanding of the SQL Server Management Studio. Unfortunately, the previous books I posted didn't cover all the ins and outs of SSMS that were required.

By far, the most helpful resource was this:

It's an amazing day to day reference that seconds as a resource for the 70-431 exam.