WilliamLam.com

VMware Cloud Foundation with a single ESXi host for Management Domain?

by // 16 Comments

By default, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) requires a minimum of 4 ESXi hosts to construct the Management Domain which is fine for a production environment, but it can be a challenge for those interested in explore VCF in a homelab setting.

I recently came to learn about a really cool tidbit from one of our VCF Engineers on how you can actually deploy a VCF Management Domain using just a single ESXi host, ideal for a homelab setup! 😍


Not only could this benefit users in deploying a physical VCF setup but it would also benefit anyone using my Automated Lab Deployment Script for VCF, which makes it super easy by leveraging my Nested ESXi Virtual Appliance VMs.


In fact, that was how I quickly verified this trick works using my VCF automation script 😀

The way that this work is a configuration change to Cloud Builder to tell it to allow a single ESXi host to be used and it will simply setup a single node vSAN Cluster, which is typically how you would bootstrap if you were doing a greenfield deployment. The only difference here is that instead of adding additional 3 x ESXi hosts to provide redundancy for Management Domain, it simply is relaxing that requirement and thus allowing for a single ESXi host. vSAN is still a requirement for VCF Management Domain, so ensure you can meet those requirements still.

[Read more...]

Heads Up - 24GB & 48GB DDR5 SODIMM memory now available

by // 2 Comments

For small or ultra small form factor (SFF/USFF) systems like the popular Intel NUC, SODIMM (Small-Outline Dual Inline Memory Module) memory is commonly used, which has been limited to a maximum of 64GB (2 x 32GB module) memory since 2019, which I had first shared that the Intel NUC could used the new 32GB modules. While 64GB might have been plentiful back in 2019, it certainly no longer cuts it, especially for any serious VMware Homelab.

Like many, I assumed the SODIMM format has simply hit its limit and with the new proposed CAMM standard looking to replace SODIMM format in the near future, I was honestly not expecting that we could reach higher density modules for SODIMM.

UPDATE (05/18/23) - Officially confirmed Mushkin 48GB DDR5 SODIMM works with DDR5 compatible system with ESXi

UPDATE (05/10/23) - Mushkin has released 48GB modules for three different frequencies (5600, 5200 & 4800 Mhz). For more details, please see below with initial pricing of $349 USD

UPDATE (02/21/23) - Apologies, it looks like Corsair has only released the Desktop memory and NOT Laptop memory (SODIMM) for the new DDR5 capacity modules. I assume those will come shortly, but these are currently only for desktop systems.

Fast forward to 2023, news broke that a new 24GB and 48GB DDR5 SODIMM modules were in the works and today, they just started showing up online for purchase! Currently, only the Corsair Vengeance Desktop (non-SODIMM) with heatsinks are available:

Desktop Memory:

Laptop Memory (SO-DIMM):

This is great news for homelabbers, but before you rush out and make a purchase. These new memory modules are only for DDR5 and there are currently not many SFF/USFF kits that actually support DDR5 and might benefit those in the near term with DIY system. In addition, to get the full benefit, you will also need a system that can support DDR5 5200MHz. 

Create Windows 11 Virtual Appliance using Tiny 11 with only 2GB memory

by // Leave a Comment

I recently came to learn about a really cool project called Tiny 11 which is a stripped down version of Windows 11 Pro 22H2 that can run with just 2GB of memory and 8GB of storage. While you would probably not use this for production workloads, it could be interesting for those with homelabs and can even for demo purposes.

Disclaimer: Tiny 11 is not an official project from Microsoft, use at your own risk. If you are interested in creating an optimized Windows 10 or 11 image, you can also check out these VMware resources here and here to produce a similiar size image using official Microsoft tools and images.

UPDATE (02/16/23) - There is now an Arm version for Tiny 11, which is great for anyone using the ESXi-Arm Fling and the technique in this blog post would also apply.

After performing a manual installation of Tiny 11, I thought it would be neat if I could build a Virtual Appliance (OVA) for Tiny 11 and also add custom OVF properties, which would allow anyone to customize the OS further without having to rely on any external tooling.

In fact, I had demonstrated this concept back in 2019 using Windows Server 2016 in this blog post and I figure it should be easy enough to also do the same for Tiny 11 or even standard Windows 11! With a bit of trial/error, I was indeed able to create a simple Tiny 11 OVA that includes the following OVF properties as shown in the screenshot below.


My initial goal was to fully automate the building of a Tiny 11 OVA with custom OVF properties using Packer. However, after many attempts, I was not able to figure out the correct autoattended.xml configuration and decided on a semi-manual approach which is detailed in the instructions below. If anyone is able to figure out how to get Tiny 11 installed via Packer, then I may revisit this topic and automate the remainder of the setup.

Note: The instructions below are not specific to Tiny 11 in any way and is also applicable to standard Windows 10 or 11 image.

[Read more...]