Jonathan Spiva

VMware ESXi 5 added official support for Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server guests on the Early 2009 Xserve. I have access to a few of the older Xserve models and was curious if any are capable of running VMware ESXi without issue.

Xserve (Late 2006)

I really didn’t expect the Late 2006 model Xserve to support ESXi due its 32-bit EFI implementation. It hung on the “EFI Boot” screen trying to boot from the CD.

Xserve (Early 2008)

It Works! I was able boot from CD and install successfully onto an extra 750GB apple drive module I had laying around. First thing I noticed was the front CPU usage lights don’t come on which is sad but really doesn’t matter. F11 is used a few times during the install and wasn’t being recognized with my Apple Keyboard so I plugged in a dell usb keyboard and was able to continue.

Once VMware ESXi 5 was installed and the system rebooted i was able to connect with vSphere client without issue. ESXi found the two internal intel NIC but failed to recognize the Apple 2-port gigabit card in the server.

I was able to configure pass-through configuration (VMDirectPath I/O) so that looks like its supported. I can’t see any obvious why Apple and VMware didn’t take the time to certify this Xserve on the list.

apple, esx, esxi, vmware, vsphere, xserve

I may not live in Seattle but I frequent many of its establishments. Some are weekly occurrences, others are special treats or guilty pleasures. Here is a sample:

• Pho Viet Anh

  I was only recently introduced to the magic that is pho but I have already decided that this is my favorite. Last time I was there I got adventurous and tried the veggie spring roll & the veggie fried roll – both were great.

  yelp page – webpage

• Ducati Seattle

  Every motorcyclist needs his home shop. The place where everybody knows your name and you can come by just to BS and hangout for a bit.

  yelp page – webpage

• Leena’s Cafe

  This has become our new favorite breakfast spot. It’s filled with old and sometimes quite interesting people which reminds me of going to Elmer’s as a kid in Vancouver, WA. The menu is complete and the food has been good every time. My favorite is the out of place but quite delicious mediterranean inspired items like the greek omelette!

  yelp page

• Crest Cinema

  After a nice breakfast we often will go to the crest theater for a $3 movies.

  yelp page – webpage

• Top Pot Donut

  My favorite place to enjoy some wifi, coffee and those amazing creations called, donuts!

  yelp page – webpage




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coffee, donuts, ducati, food, movies, seattle