FreeNAS on ESXi 7.0 - The Good, Bad, and Ugly from previous ESXi Versions

[Evertb1]

I really want to test out 33Hops product to see if it still works.

Hi Joe, did you ever get around to testing 33Hops with ESXi 7 and if so did it still work? Next month I start with the build of my new ESXi server and I am planning to use ESXi 7.0. It will be my first "production" ESXi box and it will have a much more extensive use then my current lab box. So a good backup solution is mandatory.

 

[joeschmuck]

Quite a lot has happened in my life over the past month and a half, I've had some family stuff to deal with. Before all that happened I did give it a quick try and I ran into some troubles (don't recall what they were) but I abandoned it due to the family stuff. Things are almost back to normal, a few more tasks to handle and then I should be able to make a second attempt. Most of the stuff I do with respect to FreeNAS and ESXi are pretty simple, but the backup software will take some concentration to ensure I'm setting things up correctly and it is repeatable. If you end up testing it before me, please let me know the outcome.

Cheers,
-Mark

 

[Evertb1]

If you end up testing it before me, please let me know the outcome.

Of course I will. And best wishes for dealing with your family stuff.

Best regards,
Evert

 

[Evertb1]

Today I installed the new version of 33hops on ESXi 7 free. I registered for the 33Hops download and received an email message with the information needed to download it trough the CLI of my ESXi box. The email contained an installation script with download key. You can see it below( within the code block). However the installation script did not work as advertised. If you have downloaded earlier versions of 33hops and are a bit familiar with the installation script you wil note that some lines are missing from the installation script.

• The line for creating the installation directory (if it does not exists yet) is missing.
• The line to change to the installation directory is missing.

Code:

cd /tmp && \
esxcli network firewall unload && \
wget http://a.33hops.com/downloads/?key=I KEEP THIS KEY FOR MYSELF THANK YOU-download.zip && \
unzip XSIBACKUP-FREE-download.zip && chmod 0700 install && ./install || cat xsibackup.zip && echo "" && \
rm -rf XSIBACKUP-FREE-download.zip && \
esxcli network firewall load

I did not notice this until I was running the script. The installer unexpectedly asked me where to install the package. Stupid of me because I know very well never to run any script without reading it very carefully. No mather how much you trust the source. Luckely it was my lab server and not very important or critical. And all in all it's not a big problem. But it is a lesson learned. I am in the IT business for over 25 years and I am still able to commit beginners mistakes.

So if you receive an email from 33hops with the key and installation information you need to alter the script or provide the path during the installation.

After providing the installation path the installation was executed succesfully. This weekend I wil test the package and let you know how it went.

 

[joeschmuck]

Today I installed the new version of 33hops on ESXi 7 free. I registered for the 33Hops download and received an email message with the information needed to download it trough the CLI of my ESXi box. The email contained an installation script with download key. You can see it below( within the code block). However the installation script did not work as advertised. If you have downloaded earlier versions of 33hops and are a bit familiar with the installation script you wil note that some lines are missing from the installation script.

• The line for creating the installation directory (if it does not exists yet) is missing.
• The line to change to the installation directory is missing.

Code:

cd /tmp && \
esxcli network firewall unload && \
wget http://a.33hops.com/downloads/?key=I KEEP THIS KEY FOR MYSELF THANK YOU-download.zip && \
unzip XSIBACKUP-FREE-download.zip && chmod 0700 install && ./install || cat xsibackup.zip && echo "" && \
rm -rf XSIBACKUP-FREE-download.zip && \
esxcli network firewall load

I did not notice this until I was running the script. The installer unexpectedly asked me where to install the package. Stupid of me because I know very well never to run any script without reading it very carefully. No mather how much you trust the source. Luckely it was my lab server and not very important or critical. And all in all it's not a big problem. But it is a lesson learned. I am in the IT business for over 25 years and I am still able to commit beginners mistakes.

So if you receive an email from 33hops with the key and installation information you need to alter the script or provide the path during the installation.

After providing the installation path the installation was executed succesfully. This weekend I wil test the package and let you know how it went.

Great news! Not that you can make a mistake, we all can do that without much trouble. Maybe you could take credit for this if it actually does backup the VM files and write a Resource explaining step by step how to get from point A to point B.

Please keep me up to date.

 

[Evertb1]

I planned to test xsi backup free from 33Hops on ESXi7 this weekend. But no success. While the installation was reported as succesfull, xsibackup did not start up (not found). I am not sure what went wrong but back to the drawingboard. I will test it again after installation with an slightly altered installation script. It's my intention to do that some time this week. I keep you posted.

 

[Evertb1]

I just received an email form 33Hops with the announcement that a new version of XSI backup free (branch 1.5.0.0), fully compatible with ESXi 7.0, will be available soon. The beta is already available for download.

 

[joeschmuck]

I just received an email form 33Hops with the announcement that a new version of XSI backup free (branch 1.5.0.0), fully comtaible with ESXi 7.0, will be available soon. The beta is already available for download.

Guess I will be obtaining the updated files in the near future. I like XSI Backup, it does what I need.

 

[Scharbag]

I have been running ESXi for a while and have used 6.0, 6.5 and now 7.0. The TrueNAS/ESXi combo has worked great on every version.

I have recently changed all of my storage from NFS to iSCSI for performance reasons. The only issue that I have had is the warning that my LSI-9211-8i cards are not supported in V7. This is a non issue as they are not being used by ESXi as they are configured for passthrough for TrueNAS. So if anyone is worried about that warning, don't be.

The last issue that I have to solve is due to using iSCSI, I need to intervene when my server reboots as ESXi does not seem to scan the iSCSI system very often. I may try to see if I can script something that waits for TrueNAS to boot fully and then trigger a storage system re-scan. Any of you fine folks have a solution for this?

Cheers,