XigmaNAS

Hey guys,

I am planning to build a home-server running Nas4Free on ESXi as a vm along with other vm's (webserver, buildserver, etc.) so that I do not need serveral machines (for each task) running 24/7. I was just discussing the hardware configuration in another forum, where s.b. mentioned that I might get performance or even driver problems running Nas4Free in this constellation. So I decided to join a more specific forum...

Big question: Will it be possible running Nas4Free stable/secure on ESXi?

Hardware (if relevant):
Motherboard with Intel Atom C2750 SoC (not quite sure which one)
16GB ECC RAM
2x 120GB SSD, Raid-1 (via onboard- or pci-controller)
4x 2/3TB WD Red

(If possible) ESXi is going to be installed on the SSD's; the HDD's are for N4F only

Sorry for my (bad) english.

please read
http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?thr ... ine.12484/

I have had pretty good luck running NAS4Free in a VM on ESXi 5.0/5.1. ESXi 5.5 has some issues for me with pass thru of devices.

I would recommend making sure you find a motherboard setup that for sure supports VT-d passthrough of devices. This should allow for a whole disk controller to be passed to NAS4Free VM so that ZFS can directly control hard drives as it is designed to do. My opinion is this is the safest method. Passing virtualized disks can work but there is much greater risk that data would be lost if problems arise.

For me I am running a Xeon E3-1230 CPU on a Supermicro X9SCM-F motherboard and I am passing the onboard Intel SATA controller to NAS4Free VM. NAS4Free has built in VMware Tools and seems to support all of the virtualized hardware just fine. At least when using ESXi 5.0/5.1.

00Roush

Okay, so I have to reconsider my configuration and find a way to bring VT-d support into my system... But why is the risk to lose data still much greater as in a non-virtualized environment? Is there anything else to think about that might bring more stability?

Are you satisfied with your system at all?

In a normal setup with no virtualization the OS and ZFS directly control the hard drives and hard drive controljy:,,,,aww,lers. ZFS expects that it has direct control of disks and it is designed to work this way. Q
A11
Virtualization without VT-d means that a VM can't directly control hardware but instead accesses hardware virtually. With most hardware this works okay but with storage it can cause issues and more risk because you end up with mo!!!!qqre layers. With the additional layers ZFS no longer can detect and correct errors like it is designed to. Essentially if errors do happen and ZFS can't control the hardware directly the chances of loosing a whole ZFS pool are higher.

Yes I have been happy with my system but I still have not made it my main storage unit. I have a windows server as my main storage. #1 reason I haven't switched is just being lazy. I think it would work just fine but I am always testing different things and still not sure I want to have my main storage on a setup I test with too.

00Roush