In the article I describe my experience of installing VMware ESXi on a vintage Apple Mac Pro 1,1.
The customer was tasked with expanding the file server. How the company's file server was created on the PowerMac G5 in 2016, and what it was like to serve the created legacy is worthy of a separate article. It was decided to combine the extension with the upgrade and make a file server from an existing MacPro. And since it is on an intel processor, virtualization can also be done.
The task is quite feasible, but I had to face a number of difficulties, and bit by bit collect data on their solution. Also, the search for a solution was often obscured by the results on the reverse problem "installing mac os on VMware".
To consolidate the experience gained, collect all the grains in one place and translate them into Russian, this article was created.
Reader requirement: Be familiar with installing VMware ESXi on compatible hardware, such as an HP server. Be familiar with Apple technology. In particular, I do not give the details of MacPro assembly and disassembly, but there are a lot of nuances.
1. Hardware
MacPro 1,1, aka MA356LL / A, aka A1186 - the first computer from apple on Intel processors, was produced in 2006-2008. Despite being over 10 years old, the computer is in excellent physical condition. None of the 4 powerful fans makes noise. Requires standard cleaning and assembly and disassembly.
Processors - 2 dual-core Xeon 5150. Fully 64-bit architecture, but the EFI bootloader is 32-bit. This is very important, greatly poisons life!
RAM - Standard 4GB PC5300 DDR2 ECC 667MHz, easily expandable up to 16GB, some say more. The server memory is suitable from the old HP gen.5-6, and indeed the computer is very similar to this server only in a different case.
HDD - 4 baskets for 3.5" (LFF). With some physical modifications, 2.5β³ (SFF) fits into the baskets. You can see more about this .
There is also an IDE DVD, up to 2 pieces of 5.25β³ format. But, SATA connectors are also provided. On the motherboard they are called ODD SATA (ODD = Optical Disk Drive). My experiments have shown that hard drives and SSDs can and should be installed in this place.
More with picturesYou can definitely combine IDE and SATA devices. Maybe even they can put 2 IDE and 2 SATA, did not check.
Don't forget some feeding difficulties: only 2 molex bred, load capacity unknown. The power supply is not the same as on the pc, all power goes through the motherboard, the connectors on it for power supply are non-standard.
ODD connector
The standard 0.5m is a little short, it will be tight and it is only convenient to connect it at the last moment before the basket is pushed into the case.
You will need a 0.8m SATA cable, preferably with an angled connector. 1m is too much.
As a physical adapter 5.25-2.5, the case of an unnecessary CD-ROM is perfect. If there is no unnecessary, it will definitely become such after separating the filling from the body.
The review of the hardware and the possibilities of its modernization can be completed here. Looking ahead, I will only say that you should not rush to assemble and install everything at once, in the process we will need to remove the railway.
2. Choosing ESXi
Using It can be understood that the Xeon 5150 is supported by a maximum of ESXi 5.5 U3. This is the version we will install.
In ESXi 6.0, support for everything "obsolete" was thrown out. Officially, it and newer types 6.7 cannot be put here, in reality - it can and will work. There were mentions on the Internet that this was successful. But, not this time, my opinion is that processor incompatibility is a strong witchcraft. In production, this is not possible, only for experiments.
For new versions of ESXi, I assume the same methods for finalizing with a file.
3. Finalization of the distribution file
The distribution took the standard. You can from the site, you can from torrents. ESXi 5.5 U3.
But, remember, I paid attention to the fully 64-bit architecture, but the EFI bootloader is 32-bit?! This is where he will meet. Nothing happens when I try to download the installer.
It is required to replace the installer bootloader with older, 32-bit ones. It seems from a version even earlier than 5.0.
This is described in detail in the article. , file take it from there.
We use an iso editing program (for example, ultraiso). We find the EFIBOOT folder inside the iso and replace the BOOTIA32.EFI file with the old one, save it, and now everything is already loaded!
4. Installing ESXi
No details, just the same. The installation completed successfully, but nothing is loaded, this is normal!
5. Finishing the loader with a file
The algorithm of actions is indicated in the article , there is also a link to the archive .
5.1. We remove the hard drive and connect it to another computer.
I used a hardware version of a MacBook with a sata-usb adapter, you can use Linux. If there is no separate computer, you can use another hard drive, plug it into MacPro, install MacOS on it, and mount an ESXi hard drive from it.
You can't use Windows! Even just once this disk is included in the Windows system, small changes will be made to it without demand. They are small and do not interfere with anyone, but in our case, loading ESXi will end with the error βBank6 not a vmware boot bank no hypervisor foundβ.
Here is an article with details of what happens if you still stuck . A solutions are simple and fast - install ESXi again!
5.2 Mount the EFI partition
Open the Terminal, be sure to switch to superuser mode
Sudo βsCreate a directory for the future section
mkdir /Volumes/EFIsee available sections
diskutil listhere's what we need, an EFI partition called ESXi
We mount it
mount_msdos /dev/disk2s1 /Volumes/EFIOn the mounted disk, you will need to replace the files with older versions. Older versions can be found in archive
Replacement files:
/EFI/BOOT/BOOTIA32.EFI
/EFI/BOOT/BOOTx64.EFI
/EFI/VMware/mboot32.efi
/EFI/VMware/mboot64.efi
Upon completion, disable the mounted EFI partition
umount -f /Volumes/EFIImage Making Note
Image Making Note
Ideally, it would be nice to understand where these files are inside the distribution. Then you can replace them right there, and release your own distribution kit "ESXi 5.5 for old MacPro", completely ready for a trouble-free installation.
I haven't been able to find them. Almost all files with extensions like ".v00" in the ESXi distribution are tar archives of various kinds. They contain .vtar archives, they also contain archives ... With the 7zip program, I dug these endless nestings for a long time, but I could not find anything resembling an EFI partition. Basically there are Linux directories.
The efiboot.img file seemed to be the most suitable, but you can easily open it and see what is completely wrong there.
5.3. We take out the railway and install it in MacPro
Already we put forever, screwing and collecting everything.
And now we are already loading ESXi!
It may seem that this is not the case. From the moment you turn it on and the white screen to the black ESXi boot screen, it takes a little longer than before the usual mac os apple.
6.END.
This completes the installation, setting up ESXi as usual for setting up ESXi.
It is worth noting that further installation of Mac Os on such VMware installed on Apple equipment is legal.
Literature
Links to articles, most in English.
[1] Sata Optical Drive in Mac Pro 1,1 = replacement of IDE CD with SATA, well, or on the railway.
[2] Mac Pro compatibility with installing ESXi 5.0 = about replacing the bootloader for installation
[3] Bringing an Old Mac Pro Back to Life with ESXi 6.0 = about replacing the bootloaders of an already installed ESXi.
[4] bank6 not a VMware boot bank no hypervisor found = what will happen if connected under Windows
[5] ESXi 5.x host fails to reboot after installation with the error: Not a VMware boot bank. No hypervisor found (2012022) = and official advice on how to fix it
[6] How to mount an EFI partition on Mac OS
[7] VMware Compatibility Guide
[8] SSD in Apple Mac Pro 1.1 = do-it-yourself installation of 2.5β³ in 3.5β³ sled
[9] Offer to buy ready-made sled adapters
[10] Used MacPro specification
l
list of files
setup loader from [2]
, bootloader replacement from [3]
Source: habr.com