157 replies to this topic

[SUPERMAC512]

Has anybody installed the newest Lion Server Update (10.7.4) on an VM that runs on VMWare esxi 5.0 Host?

[VMwareMacMan]

We would like to get, a version of Mac OS X running on our ESXi 5.0 host servers, we currently have many Mini Macs, but because of overhead of management, and the fact that they are very stealable, they are currently locked in the datacentre, and access is provided by VNC.

We would much rather, have virtual machine versions running on ESXi 5.0, and the fact we have real hardware, are "comfortable with the breach of license" at present.

We have Dell Poweredge 2950 and R710s, with the unlocked patch applied, but still fails to install. We have a Snow Leopard DMG, which we have converted to ISO, this works perfect, and boots/installs on VMware Workstation 8.0 (with the unlocker patch - thanks).

Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (64 bit) has been selected as the VM Template.

Processors in Physical Servers are Intel Xeon L5335 and X5560. Plenty of RAM, Plenty of hard disk storage.

But when booting the ISO, I get the grey screen, and spinning wheel, which I believe from googling is a non-starter!


If I select EFI Internal Shell (unsupported options)...

fs0:
\usr\standalone\i386\boot -v

I guess, the VM is booting from the cdrom, until....

ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin::pushCPU_CSRData - _CST evaluation failed

I'm not sure if the above is correct and preventing installation?

I've also tried

‘boot -v npci=0×2000′

Any ideas, would be very welcome, thanks (and great unlock!)

I've also converted my DMG using TransMac (not sure if this works) to a 16GB USB flash drive, and connected to the VM, at BOOT, the Boot Manager detects the USB because I have USB in the list, but it does not boot from USB.

Maybe the DMG conversion to USB was incorrect? Ideas....I do have macs at my disposal, but have failed to create a dmg to usb boot disk.

[wxe911]

After many trial and error to get SL Server installed on ESXi 5.0 U1 623860 and reading a lot of posts.
Yes, I have unlock 1.02 installed and rebooted.
Also I tried to boot from different OSX version like SL 10.6, Lion 10.7.2

It always hang on the gray graphics screen with the beach ball.

On my ESXi PC I had a LITE-ON iHAS124-06Y DVD-RW attached.
I then finally replaced with a Pioneer DVR-219BLK and in no time the OSX installer presented itself.

Cheers,
WXE911

Update:
- Dowloaded and installed ComboUpdate 10.6.8 v1.1
- Installed VMware tools via vsphere client option.

- Installed Firefox and update flash player. It won't play youtube and other flash stuff though.
- Maybe someone have a tip for me to get that to work.

Boot time:
From launch of the server to the login prompt takes about 50 seconds. After login the desktop is there within 10 seconds or so.
That is reasonable for me. Within virtual machine response is good.

[SUPERMAC512]

I have a Problem with Lion Server VM installed on VMware ESXi 5 (768111).

The LionServer works fin but I can not expand the Lion System Disc. In VMare I expand the Disc-File from 100G to 200GB. After I Restart the VM the Disc shows the new Free Disc-Space. But I can not expand the LionHD. I test it booted from System with Disc Utility and with Terminal and i also test it booted from Lion Boot CD. There is no error Message.

How can I expand the system Disc?
Can anybody test it on a Lion Server?

Regards
SM512


 screenshot.png   33.71KB   9 downloads

[alexiskai]

We are having an issue that just cropped up after some updates were done on our ESXi 5 hosts. Not sure what updates caused the issue. At first, a previously-functional 10.7.4 VM wouldn't boot at all. It just sat there at "PCI Configuration Begin." I Googled around and tried inserting npci=0x2000 into the boot flags, and that got it to boot somewhat, but now it won't boot to the GUI. It gives a warning that only root can launch the Window Server and then just sits there. Some services are running, e.g. Apache and SSH, but no GUI. I'm wondering whether the npci instruction got it confused about where its monitor was.

Adding the -x flag to boot causes it to hang at "Load com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet failed; removing personalities from kernel."

I also have a "known good" 10.7.2 VM that's having precisely the same problems. Something seems to have changed on the hosts, but we don't know what. I tried this on two different hosts with the same results.

 esxi.png   39.22KB   18 downloads

VMX file as follows:

#!/usr/bin/vmware

.encoding = "UTF-8"

config.version = "8"

virtualHW.version = "8"

virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"

pciBridge0.present = "true"

pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = "17"

pciBridge4.present = "true"

pciBridge4.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"

pciBridge4.functions = "8"

pciBridge4.pciSlotNumber = "21"

pciBridge5.present = "true"

pciBridge5.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"

pciBridge5.functions = "8"

pciBridge5.pciSlotNumber = "22"

pciBridge6.present = "true"

pciBridge6.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"

pciBridge6.functions = "8"

pciBridge6.pciSlotNumber = "23"

pciBridge7.present = "true"

pciBridge7.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"

pciBridge7.functions = "8"

pciBridge7.pciSlotNumber = "24"

vmci0.present = "true"

vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "35"

vmci0.id = "1635665540"

hpet0.present = "true"

powerType.powerOff = "soft"

powerType.powerOn = "hard"

powerType.suspend = "hard"

powerType.reset = "soft"

displayName = "neurobiology"

numvcpus = "2"

cpuid.coresPerSocket = "2"

scsi0.present = "true"

scsi0.sharedBus = "none"

scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic"

scsi0.pciSlotNumber = "16"

memsize = "2048"

sched.scsi0:0.shares = "normal"

sched.scsi0:0.throughputCap = "none"

sched.scsi0:1.throughputCap = "none"

sched.cpu.min = "0"

sched.cpu.units = "mhz"

sched.cpu.shares = "normal"

sched.mem.min = "0"

sched.mem.shares = "normal"

ethernet0.present = "true"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"

ethernet0.networkName = "DMZ"

ethernet0.addressType = "vpx"

ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:50:56:8a:1f:c1"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"

ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"

usb.present = "true"

usb.pciSlotNumber = "32"

usb:1.present = "TRUE"

usb:1.speed = "2"

usb:1.deviceType = "hub"

usb:1.port = "1"

usb:1.parent = "-1"

ehci.present = "true"

ehci.pciSlotNumber = "34"

svga.autodetect = "true"

chipset.onlineStandby = "false"

ich7m.present = "true"

firmware = "efi"

guestOS = "darwin11-64"

uuid.bios = "56 4d 20 3a 2a 73 c0 60-17 1f 5a 07 61 7e 46 84"

uuid.location = "56 4d 36 34 26 28 b6 16-05 6d 40 ab 83 82 1f 70"

vc.uuid = "50 0a a2 09 ae 7e d7 fd-5c 2b e9 aa c3 46 96 be"

ctkEnabled = "false"

snapshot.action = "keep"

tools.upgrade.policy = "manual"

tools.remindInstall = "FALSE"

tools.syncTime = "false"

replay.supported = "FALSE"

evcCompatibilityMode = "TRUE"

vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "33554432"

cleanShutdown = "FALSE"

uuid.action = "keep"

scsi0:0.present = "true"

scsi0:0.fileName = "neurobiology.vmdk"

scsi0:0.deviceType = "scsi-hardDisk"

sched.swap.derivedName = "/vmfs/volumes/4ec2ebc8-cb031ec3-ddda-a4badb1160b0/neurobiology/neurobiology-1e4056b6.vswp"

replay.filename = ""

scsi0:0.redo = ""

hostCPUID.0 = "0000000b756e65476c65746e49656e69"				

hostCPUID.1 = "000106a510100800009ce3bdbfebfbff"	

hostCPUID.80000001 = "00000000000000000000000128100800"

guestCPUID.0 = "0000000b756e65476c65746e49656e69"  

guestCPUID.1 = "000106a400020800809822091febfbff"

guestCPUID.80000001 = "00000000000000000000000128100800"

userCPUID.0 = "0000000b756e65476c65746e49656e69"

userCPUID.1 = "000106a510100800009822091febfbff"

userCPUID.80000001 = "00000000000000000000000128100800"

bios.forceSetupOnce = "FALSE"

scsi0:1.present = "FALSE"

smc.present = "FALSE"  

floppy0.present = "FALSE"

usb:0.present = "TRUE"							  

usb:0.deviceType = "hid"	

usb:0.port = "0"									  

usb:0.parent = "-1" 

Another thing that I think is related is that the WindowServer process is not running. Launching it does nothing, whether I start the plist through launchd or launch it directly from the command line (except it turns the screen white and then quits).

[elliotnunn]

MSoK,

I am trying to install Lion and Mountain Lion on VMs in ESXi 5.0U1. My host is an IBM System x3550 with a pair of dual-core Xeons (5400 or something in that generation).

I can use the vSphere wizard to set up a VM, but the BaseSystem.dmg installer (when booted in verbose mode via EFI shell) always hangs at "Kernel is LP64", right after "BSD root: disk-something". I have tried booting from an already-installed copy of Lion in a DMG, and that hangs at the same place. I have tried changing the NX capability on the host, and I have tried using the CPUID mask specified earlier in this thread. Nothing lets it start up any further. I have even tried using Chameleon as a bootloader with FakeSMC.kext on the installer.

Thanks to you and Donk for your great work, and thanks in advance for any help that you can give me.

Elliot.

[elliotnunn]

MSoK,

I have (finally figured this out) attached my .vmx and .log files in this post. Sorry about that!

Cheers,
Elliot

Attached Files

•  vmware-2.log.txt   60.81KB   9 downloads
•  Lion.vmx.txt   3KB   20 downloads

[MSoK]

MSoK,

I have (finally figured this out) attached my .vmx and .log files in this post. Sorry about that!

Cheers,
Elliot

Elliot,

Sorry I was not able to respond to your request over the weekend. I am glad you have managed to resolve your problem, what was your solution?

Regards MSoK.

[alexiskai]

I think he means he finally figured out how to attach files to forum posts. FWIW, I haven't figured out my problem either.

[MSoK]

I think he means he finally figured out how to attach files to forum posts. FWIW, I haven't figured out my problem either.

Alex,
Doh, silly me, read the quote completely wrong, I will look at the files Elliot has uploaded.

In terms of your problem, your vmx config file looks OK, execpt I would expect smc.present = "TRUE" not "FALSE". Also if you use the latest "Unlocker" it will probably need re-running following ESXi 5 patching.

MSoK

[alexiskai]

your vmx config file looks OK, except I would expect smc.present = "TRUE" not "FALSE". Also if you use the latest "Unlocker" it will probably need re-running following ESXi 5 patching.

MSoK

I originally had smc.present set to TRUE, but changed it during troubleshooting. And I think I've re-run the unlocker after we patched. However, I'll go back in and run it again just in case.

[MSoK]

I originally had smc.present set to TRUE, but changed it during troubleshooting. And I think I've re-run the unlocker after we patched. However, I'll go back in and run it again just in case.

Alex,
OK, if you think you have already run the unlocker, couple of things to try, first see if you get the option to install a new OS X VM as an option, if not the Unlocker has not installed correctly. Secondly use the uninstall.sh script to uninstall the Unlocker, re-boot and then re-install, again followed by a re-boot. Plus all this needs to been done directly on the ESXi host via the client and relevant ssh or console access, not via vCenter.

Good luck MSoK.

[elliotnunn]

Elliot,

Sorry I was not able to respond to your request over the weekend. I am glad you have managed to resolve your problem, what was your solution?

Regards MSoK.

Hi MSoK,

Alexiskai has it right -- I have not had any luck with my problem. Do the vmx and log files tell you anything? I tried the exact same configuration, with the same ESXi install, on a spare machine. It worked just fine on there. Does this narrow the problem down to my processors? The thing is, the processors in my ESXi host are Intel 5160s, which are also found in the original Mac Pro.

Thanks!
Elliot.

[MSoK]

Hi MSoK,

Alexiskai has it right -- I have not had any luck with my problem. Do the vmx and log files tell you anything? I tried the exact same configuration, with the same ESXi install, on a spare machine. It worked just fine on there. Does this narrow the problem down to my processors? The thing is, the processors in my ESXi host are Intel 5160s, which are also found in the original Mac Pro.

Thanks!
Elliot.

Elliot,

Possibly, but I have checked the spec of your Intel Xeon 5160 and they support VT-x, so unless it is turned off in BIOS, no reason OS X should not run OK. On the spare machine what is the processor spec?

[elliotnunn]

Elliot,

Possibly, but I have checked the spec of your Intel Xeon 5160 and they support VT-x, so unless it is turned off in BIOS, no reason OS X should not run OK. On the spare machine what is the processor spec?

MSoK,

The spare machine's CPU is (I think) an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300. It ran Lion without a problem a few months ago. I can't test it at the moment, but is it possible that I would have any luck if I tweaked the "CPU/MMU Virtualization" setting under Options in the VM settings window?

Cheers,
Elliot.

[choxo]

I'm pretty new to VMware but I also manage to get 10.7.2 run on ESXI ... I installed Lion on workstation, modifiy the Ktxext and then convert the machine to the server .

This worked pretty fine, the only issue I had was that I had to remove the ethernet adapter and install it again to have ethenet access.

I tried to add the ethernet0.virtualdev-"e1000" to the vmx, but it didn't work.

now the question is : Is it possible to upgrade to mountain ?

[VMwareMacMan]

I'm pretty new to VMware but I also manage to get 10.7.2 run on ESXI ... I installed Lion on workstation, modifiy the Ktxext and then convert the machine to the server .

This worked pretty fine, the only issue I had was that I had to remove the ethernet adapter and install it again to have ethenet access.

I tried to add the ethernet0.virtualdev-"e1000" to the vmx, but it didn't work.

now the question is : Is it possible to upgrade to mountain ?

how did you convert your Workstation version to ESXi?

we have succesfully manaeged to get 10.7.x working on VMware Workstation, but still unable to get Booted on ESXi 5.0

[choxo]

how did you convert your Workstation version to ESXi?

we have succesfully manaeged to get 10.7.x working on VMware Workstation, but still unable to get Booted on ESXi 5.0

You have to replace the HDD driver with a previous version... There is a post about this somewhere and also a package to do this .... So you install the package, convert the machine and it will boot on vsphere