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Potentially interesting VMware Homelab Kits for 2022

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I am always on the lookout for new and interesting hardware platforms that can benefit the VMware Homelab Community. In the month of January, there were a number of new announcements that I had been following including news from the Computer Electronic Show (CES) but also a couple of product releases from vendors that I had not heard of before until most recently.

While the global silicon shortage is still a very real challenge, here are some of the new and upcoming hardware platforms that I think could potentially be interesting for VMware Homelabs in 2022. The list below is not exhaustive and I primarily focused on platforms that offers a unique or interesting capability based on the various requirements that I have heard from the community over the years. As an example, I know some of you have expressed interests in platforms that are capable of supporting full length discrete GPU for VDI, AL/ML and Kubernetes-based workloads to a platform that can enable more advanced networking features with multiple onboard network adapters.

If there are other platforms that I or the community should definitely keep an eye out for in 2022, feel free to leave a comment with a pointer to the reference. I will periodically update this article with additional new systems, so definitely bookmark this page and check back frequently.

ASRock DeskMeet

ASRock Industrial NUC 1200 Series

  • CPU: Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake)
  • Memory: Up to 64GB
  • Storage: 1 x M.2 & 1 x SATA
  • Network: 2 x 2.5GbE
  • Graphics: Integrated GPU
  • Size: 110.0 x 117.5 x 47.85mm
  • Availability: Available Now
  • ESXi Capable: TBD
  • Source: https://www.asrockind.com/en-gb/article/117

ASUS PN64

  • CPU: Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake)
  • Memory: Up to 64GB
  • Storage: 1 x M.2 & 1 x SATA
  • Network: 1 x 2.5GbE
  • Graphics: Integrated GPU
  • Size: 120 x 130 x 55.5 mm
  • Availability: Q2 2022
  • ESXi Capable: TBD
  • Source: https://www.asus.com/nz/news/mepiprmumirleadv/

HP Z2 Mini G9

HUNSN RS36a

Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast (Serpent Canyon)

Intel NUC 12 Extreme (Dragon Canyon)

Supermicro SYS-E300-12D

Supermicro SYS-E302-12D

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Comments

  3. Is support for Alder Lake P+E core architectures coming for ESXi, or will only P cores be supported?

    Reply

      • Does vsphere 8 announced today supports all P+E cores? how does scheduling works on E cores? can you make an update list of homelabs for vsphere 8? what will be better an intel gen 13th with 24 cores (e+p) or amd zen 4 (16 cores)?

        Reply

  4. Nice to see this! You might as well remove the DFI GFH51 though if it really only supports 8GB memory, you might be able to turn on a VM, but you won't be able to run any interesting solutions like NSX (and probably vRA, whatever else people are interested in, etc) their management/controller VM footprint alone will make this impossible/extremely limiting.

    Reply

    • Its interesting that you mention as the GFH51 has been the most asked about kit thus far about ESXi 🙂

      You're making an assumption that only use case is to run the full VMware stack and maybe true for many cases, but just like there's a use for rPI (also max out at 8GB), this could be interesting for running basic infra services (DNS, DHCP, etc) and could even be useful depending if the GPU can accessed.

      Reply

  5. For industrial use, running your application in a VM, also makes hardware replacements much easier, when running in a validated environment.

    And running it on ESXi is much better, than running it in Vmware Player on a Windows PC...

    Reply

  6. Physical dimensions on the Supermicro SYS-E300 system seems off.. Data sheet is showing:

    Height 1.7" (43mm)

    Width 10" (254mm)

    Depth 8.9" (226mm)

    Still waiting to see if it'll run ESXi though! I guess if it won't, it'll probably be just fine for proxmox 😛

    Reply

  8. I desperately need to know if DeskMeet is ESXI 0 capable and at which configuration.

    Reply

      • I just ordered it with an i7-12700f.
        I'll give that a try. If it works, I'll be the happiest guy ever. I'll let you know once I receive it and test it.

        Reply

        • I finally received my DeskMeet, and after putting it together and trying to install ESXi 7.0U3f I keep getting a purple screen with the error message "HW feature incompatibility detected; cannot start".
          This seems to be complaing about the CPU.
          I tried using allowLegacyCPU=true but the issue persists.

          Reply

  9. I was able to successfully deploy ESXi on a deskmeet.
    I had to change the boot.cfg to include cpuUniformityHardCheckPanic=FALSE

    Reply

  10. Have someone tested the new BeeLink GTR5 5900HX as esx, and can confirm that it is running stabel ? I want to use them for my HomeLab
    Thanks

    Reply

  12. in the new generation of processors looks like the best option for homelabs is AMD Zen 5950x/7950x as they provide 16 uniform cores . As intel hybrid P+E is a problem for homelab virtualization, can you talk more and post best homelabs based on AMD Zen 5950x/7950x 16 cores architecture?

    Reply

  13. Based on some testing I did recently, I can confirm the following:

    HP Pavilion TG01 w AMD 5600G CPU is a big fail for ESXi 7.0.3, IMO. You get a pink screen of death if secure boot is enabled, and the built-in NIC isn't detected. Problem with this model, as it's only got one full size PCI express slot, so, if you want a NIC that's detected, you use that PCIe slot, and have no future proofing should you want to add another PCIe card for NVMs

    On the plus side, HP EliteDesk G4 with Core i8700 works fine, NIC is detected, and no need to disable secure boot. As such, I'll be replacing my older HP Elite Desk G3 SFFs that have Corei i6500 CPUS with HP ED G4s

    Reply

    • It most likely will run ESXi, but the onboard NIC are typically Realtek, so it won't be detected as there are no drivers. You will need to use USB Fling if you wish to install ESXi. I'd recommend against any platform w/RTL-based PCIe NICs as they will not be picked up and those also can not be pass-through to VM for use as they share same bus as USB

      Reply

  15. Hi William, in the last query you replied that ESXi will probably work on the ASRock Industrial NUC 1200 Series but the NICs will not be detected. Is that something that will be sorted out in the near future as my aim is to run 2 of these machines as ESXi hosts running NSX-T? Thanks!

    Reply

  16. Hello Willian, I would like to ask you have you tested to install ESXi 7 or/and 8 on DeskMeet X300 (for AMD CPU)?

    Reply

  18. I have tested the HP Z2 Mini G9 with VMware 7.0 with community flings for Nvme and the 2.5gb Intel NIC. Some bios settings are needed to operate and run. Disable "virtualization based bios protection" - to boot from USB. Add cpuUniformityHardCheckPanic=FALSE for ESXi to boot. Disable "Configure Storage Controller for VMD" to access Nvme disks. Disable some power saving settings, in particular "PCI Express power" if not disabled will mean that the server will lose network connectivity intermittently and/or suffer from slow ping response.

    Reply

  19. Hey WL!!!! So I need to setup a homelab for PCIs and vGPUs on vc7 or 8..... Whats the minimal hardware ? Don't need fancy switches etc.....

    Reply

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