When those first big raindrops hit your face, and you know it’s all over! Trying to see the lights of the car in front of you, so you can stay on the road, barely able to breath because it was raining so hard and it felt like a swimming pool.
One of the things I do on the weekend, is run my small data center….
Step 2 – Create longer patch cables
Step(s) 3:
On new server
turn off hardware raid
install 6 new hot swap 2.5 to 3.5 to 5.25 enclosures
install 6 new ssds
boot and install xcp-ng on a raid0 array x2 ssds for boot partition
Build new software raid10 array for storage
build new storage resources, network resources and configure xcp backups
build guest for XenOrchestrator opensource & compile from source
On existing esxi server; for each vm:
remove open-vm-tools and disable service
shutdown vm
Use vmfkstools to convert thick provisioned disks to thin
Use ovftool to download and convert vmdk to ova
import ova into xcp, reconfigure mac address and dynamic memory settings
boot up vm, reconfigure primary network adapter, install xen tools
Step 4 – boot up the new server and enjoy.
Tomorrow, I’m going to tear down the old esxi and rebuild new arrays for boot and storage and try and merge it into the xen pool and try to live transfer some guests between hosts in the pool. Wish me luck..
Then, if that all works, I’ll need to install another patch panel in the network rack, setup a new ups, and reconfigure the switch for new VLAN and trunk ports.
I will say that the pfsense on a protectli box with 6 ports, and a Unifi SDN costroller, managed switches and WAPs throughout the house had made the networking side extremely easy!
Maybe tonight I’ll find time to finish up the Azure DevOps course and get back to learning React.
Oh, and I mowed the lawn and took Bob for a ride too.
p.s. if anyone knows why mdadm isn’t activating my raid10 on reboot, please drop me a DM.. its a huge PITA.
p.p.s. Second xcp-ng server is up with 2x ssd raid1 arrays, 48GB of ram and the migrations between the two hosts completed; also created and deployed my first Azure ASE tonight. Tomorrow I relocate it to the secondary media closet.
Update a week later: media closet was still too hot so I attached a nice fan to it; dropped the CPU temp by 10 degrees!
Like mother, like daughter. Frequently I answer tech questions for @amandarachael, and once she follows my instructions, she usually replies: never mind, I figured it out myself.
We went down to the dock today after work, and @amandarachael found both a lollipop and a can of sprite just sitting there, alone. She was so pleased at the treasure she found.
Meanwhile, back at the farm, Braeden was pretty upset, because he put down a lollipop and a can of sprite and they were mysteriously consumed by some unknown thief.
Braeden and I took a quick Motorcycle trip to Powhatan Park today, we had to stop to enjoy (and record!) a beautiful bubbling brook. It might not look like much, but it sounded sublime!