Getting ready to kick ejabberd from Windows Server, due to reliability issues observed during initial testing. Probably going to the Arch VM instead. Also need to upgrade the vCenter Appliance from 6.5 to 6.7u3, due to FLEX getting EOL’d…
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From what I can tell, I may have to start from scratch with both vCenter and AD. But, if I manage to pull it off, I would have a few spare CPU cores and a datastore to use for something else.
Also, found this:
Time to see if I can find instructions for OS’s outside of Windows…
I would have held out for VCSA 6.5 indefinitely if the HTML5 UI was able to manage Virtual Flash/Host Cache resource pools. As noted in past updates, the VCSA took anywhere from 20-45 minutes to initialise. And with the deprecation of FLEX UI (reliant on Adobe Flash - unsupported in 2021), the now-neutred vCenter Server Appliance VM (6.5) had no practical place in this project. Without the option for an in-place upgrade to a newer version, I also do not have the ability to upgrade to VCSA 6.7. It has been replaced, and will soon be decommissioned. vCenter has been moved to the Windows Server 2016 VM, for practicality reasons. The next step is to re-build the failed MS AD instance and promote a new domain controller. That will happen later this week. Hopefully, things will go a bit better this time around…
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Alright - everything is almost ready for Active Directory setup, attempt #2. Not only did I kick ejabberd to Linux (due to issues when installed on Windows), but I also had to re-install multiple other applications. Demoting the AD DC appears to have been what led to it. So, I got to start from scratch in some sense. Still need to make a new SQL db for hMailServer, unlike last time. But, that should be relatively easy. Already installed vCenter Server, and it starts up way faster than the VCSA. Windows doesn’t even take longer to boot from what I’ve seen. Had what appears to have been an unexpected part failure as well - the Mini-SAS SFF-8088 to SATA Forward Breakout x4 cable. Got that replaced, and now can see all of my SAS HDDs once again. Last step is to (re-)promote the DC and test client devices. This time, I’ll set the intended domain from the start (instead of setting it to something else by accident and having to change it twice later).
Okay, I’ve some project news.
I had to disable the vCenter Server for Windows instance to get the Active Directory instance installed. But I didn’t think to change any networking settings on the vCenter Server (embedded - 6.7) instance before disabling it. With the help of a friend, I managed to fix my DNS and get the Active Directory instance working. It was due to some missing NS records. Once I cleaned up the DNS, I was actually able to get a client device joined to the AD. Now I have to figure out how to make Windows clients connect to the VPN before attempting LDAP sign in, since the AD is VPN-locked. Once I figure that out, I will be able to add any devices I want. Also have to see if I can bind vCenter Server for Windows to a single IP address while it’s disabled. Otherwise, I’ll have to resort to using the relatively cruddy VCSA again - and who knows how that will go in long term. The last time I used it, it started throwing up more warnings and errors than before, which leads me to question the overall longevity and performance of it. Almost tempted to go without vCenter and Virtual Flash because of the trouble. At least I can start focusing on the rest of the project more in the near future…
Without vCenter, how will I be able to add the Precision T7500, as an ESXi host, to my datacentre? For vMotion?
Also have to figure out whether (and if so, how) to destroy the Virtual Flash resource pool or not…
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Just bought four of these:
HITACHI Ultrastar HUH728080AL4205 (HGST)
32TB upgrade, here I come…
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I’ve bought many of those HGST drives…seems like a lot of companies are liquidating 8TB SAS drives as of late. As long as power consumption isn’t a factor, it is really hard to beat the price per TB.
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vCSA 6.5 is practically neutred without the use of Adobe Flash, and the HTML5 UI was almost useless until at least 6.7u3. The settings I do have in the current install are mostly small ones, but could only be reversed via the FLEX UI (Flash). vCenter also doesn’t allow for in-place upgrades. So, it’s time to kill the current vCSA and start from scratch. If I had known to look out for the death of Flash, I could have been ahead of this. But, got held up by other responsibilities. Today, I’m re-installing vCSA. Today’s going to be a long day…
Well, I have more news. I managed to kill the old vCSA (6.5) instance and replace it with a newer (6.7) version. The newer version has a dark theme - nice. Also is pretty well organised, and connected to my ESXi server with no issues. However, Virtual Flash is pretty much dead. I will have to assign the SSDs to something else now. Perhaps I can start setting up the next VM…
On a side note, the current Reddit project mirror is ded again - because those expire every 6 months, regardless of activity. I think it’ll stay ded this time. Not in the mood to make yet another one…
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Currently installing Ms SQL Server 2019 for a test drive. Then migrating over to the 8TB SAS HDDs completely.
Gonna have to redo the backups - had no way of imaging the 4TB HDD before swapping in the 8TB HDD. But enough changes have been made that the old backup is no longer valid.
GPU Interest Checks:
Not sure if I’ll ever get my hands on the AMD card. That would be an interesting card to try out, once I figure out the K80’s. The K80’s are due for a VirtualGL experiment soon.
Also, just updated the OP(s) for each mirror. Please let me know if anything seems to be missing from one mirror or the other. I intend to work on the server later today, assuming that nothing interferes…
Troubleshooting the hMailServer installation:
Definitely not a fun time. Kinda wishing that SQL Compact Edition worked like it did last time (no idea how, though)…
May divert my attention from hMailServer for a bit and skip right to the Linux VM if this doesn’t get resolved in the next week or so. This has been dragging on for a while now, and I want to get the rest of the server ready. While hMailServer would be nice, I also have other matters to attend to. And it appears that hMailServer’s most recent release is 32-bit. It may be having issues working with Ms SQL Express, which is the free edition for Ms SQL Server - because I used a 64-bit release of it? If this keeps up, I may take the mail server role and toss it to Linux as well. Can’t even begin to think about touching Exchange Server…
Had a momentary power outage today, which took most of my equipment offline again (for the umpteenth time). I’ve finally decided to just tough out the cost and buy a pair of UPS’s this weekend. Time to see if I can get things straightened up around here. They’ll have to sit on the floor since I haven’t purchased proper rack shelves for them yet. They’re both going to be Liebert GXT3 1350W units. No more playing with fire…
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Something just feels right about having a giant UPS at the ready.
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Indeed it does. Just wish that the sellers would move a bit faster with shipping. Power outages and surges wait for no one, and expensive equipment isn’t safe until there’s something between it and the raw power grid 
Once the UPS’s get here, I’ll be able to get both the server and the workstation protected. Also found out that one of the DIMM slots on the T7500’s motherboard went out, so I swapped a 4GB stick for a 16GB DIMM I had laying around.
MariaDB works well with hMailServer so far, and now I’m trying to add a CA to the project, for future security considerations:
Once the CA is ready, it’ll be time to get crackin’ on the Artix Linux VM.
vCenter certificate replacement, with an MS AD CA:
- How to create a Microsoft Certificate Authority Template for SSL certificate creation in vSphere 6 - YouTube
- VMware Knowledge Base
- VMware Knowledge Base
Also managed to actually get ejabberd working in one go, from what I can tell. Looks like this one could be here to stay. One less thing to save for later…