Hostilian

Hi All, Few Synology ESXi queries, if anyone can assist please? I'm messing around with Synology on ESXi and tried to configure passthrough.. It seems to have worked but as I've been testing using one of the motherboard's SATA controllers, I came across an interesting (crap) issue.. When passed through, if I shut down the VM, it shuts down the entire ESXi host.. Great.. Any workarounds? Can I pass the same SATA controller through to more than one VM? Say I had 2 Synology VMs, could I pass the same controller through to both? What's the easiest way to edit the bootloader loader Grub.cfg - once it's configured in a VM.. Do I need to download the VMDK, mount it to another VM, then edit? I guess I could mount it to another VM running in ESXi, edit it, save and disconnect? Thanks! #H

Hate to ask, but I'm gonna. Any update on progress on a newer version of the loader - maybe to nail these DSM 6.2.1 issues? It's been a couple of months (happy birthday, 1.03b) since the last one.. Cheers, #H

No, there should be a specific option in the BIOS to boot to LEGACY USB drive, rather than UEFI USB Disk.. Both options will be there.. Usually in the Boot options (Which drive to boot first). Boot to Legacy USB, Not UEFI..

Just change your BIOS to boot Legacy, not UEFI..

Try Legacy Boot (not UEFI) Try an add in NIC (Intel). Try using the DS3615 loader.

40GB file in 37 mins is 18MB/sec. Which is pretty rubbish.. You dont need to map drives, just bring up Windows File Explorer and enter the \\IPADDRESS\Sharename OR \\HOSTNAME\Sharename into the address bar.. Copying via the web interface is a bit odd (I wouldn't use it to compare performance unless absolutely necessary).. Use mapped drives or go direct to the share - as above.. Once the Syno box is configured and running, there should be no need to go to the web interface for anything other than managing the box.. There is also no point comparing transfers over Wifi to anything because; - It's slow - it's frequently the speed bottleneck - speeds vary - it requires a lot more configuration than ethernet cable If you're concerned about how your Syno Box is performing, quote ethernet cable speeds ONLY.. Adding Wifi into the mix is like saying your car isn't able to go at its maximum speed - and thinking getting your mates to push it is a good test of maximum speed.. Once you're happy with your ETHERNET only speeds to the Synology box, Wifi speeds is nothing to do with your Syno box - so look at your router/AP config or Network cards in your laptops... #H

Thanks.. The board already has two controllers build in. Intel and (I think) Marvell.. Hoping to be able to passthrough the 6 Intel ports and run the VMs off the Marvel ones.. Guess I'll find out when the CPU arrives.. Fingers crossed..

Hi all I've decided to migrate to ESXi (or at least give it a go) and consolidate my 2 (always on) surveillance boxes and 1 (sometimes on) NAS into the same box.. I wanted to try passthrough storage but my CPU (3770k) doesnt support it, so I've had to order a 3770s (low power) CPU, which supports VT-d. Anyway.. Before I go too far down this route, has anyone experienced any issues with hosting multiple Synology NAS VM's on the same box? I'll need 3; 1 for my main NAS. 2 for Surveillance station due to the license limit. If I could guarantee that the additional licenses would keep working I'd purchase one - but can't so won't.... I'll use my Syno 216J for remote backups.. Spec will be (when I get the replacement CPU). ESXi 6.7, fully patched, installed on USB3 Flash Drive. I already have this working on my K CPU.. i7 3770s P8Z77v pro TB with 16GB RAM (for now).. Onboard NIC plus PCIe 2 port Intel NIC. I was planning on giving the camera VMs a single NIC and pairing the other two (LACP) for use with the rest of the VMs. The board already has 8 SATA ports, but might add in an additional SATA controller if I need to.. I'll host the VMs on a pair of SATA600 ports on SSDs.. The passthrough storage will go on the 4x SATA300 ports. I'm HOPING passthrough works with it - won't find out until the CPU arrives.. 🤔 At present, it's using about 90watts, but the 'S' CPU (and a slight undervolt) will hopefully knock off 20 watts or more... I'll test the hardware passthrough before even attempting to move my bare metal disks into the new box.. Anything to bear in mind when moving data disks with Passthrough to ESXi? Hoping it preserves the data but will have a backup.. Cheers #H

Have you tried the 1.03B loader? Your post suggests you only tried 1.02B..

Just checked and my onboard NIC works fine too. It's an Asrock J3455-ITX board (the one with 4x Sata). Loader 1.03b 6.2 U2 is installed (I've not tried 6.2.1 yet).. Both boards (mine and the 2x Sata 'B' version) have the same onboard NIC, so it should work...

USB ethernet adapter... LOL. Too many questions!! I reckon there's your problem.. Aren't they only 100MBit or at least a bit 'sucky'??? Do you have another PC/Laptop with a proper network port - to properly test your speeds? For Wifi - If it's not Wireless N standard at least, your wifi speeds aren't going to be great.. (Wireless AC is much better - up to a Gig - we have them all over the house)

I use a 4GB ISO file.. It doesnt really matter what you use.. Yeah, copy and paste fine - though do it in both directions. You should see transfer speeds as you copy (or you can time it and work it out). Hang on a minute, are you trying to transfer this file over Wifi?? If it's; Macbook <wifi to> HomeHubRouter <cable to> NAS ....then the bottleneck is probably the Wifi. Disable your Wifi card and test with a cable plugged into your Macbook.. The only speeds you can reliably test via Wifi are your Wifi speeds...

I think I needed to use an add in Network card on my J3455 board.. (Intel single port)..

Sounds like it's only running at 100Mbits.. If you're sure you have Gigabit ports at both ends then it could be a dodgy cable (I had one last week that wasnt terminated properly running at 100MBit until repaired).. No 5400 shouldnt make too much difference - though it is an old laptop. How old? What's the model?

OK.. Since I tested the above (which was tested with Open VM tools installed), I created a new VM using DSM DS3615 6.2 (u2). Performance was definitely slower than before (down to 20MB/s) before I installed the Open VM Tools (v 10.1.15).. Does anyone know if the newest version of the tools (10.3.x) is in the works? Would be good to see if it made any difference.. #H

- Outcome of the installation/update: SUCCESSFUL - DSM version prior update: Fresh install on 6.2.1 - Loader version and model: JUN'S LOADER v1.03b - DS3617xs - Using custom extra.lzma: NO - Installation type: VM - ESXi 6.7 Virtual Machine on 3770k/16GB Ram/Intel Dual port NIC/Various disks drives for testing - Additional comments: Works fine.. Just need to ensure you edit serial/mac's to suit your VM and install an additional SATA controller (in VM properties) then keep the Data disks on the second SATA controller (the 50MB boot drive on the first controller). SCSI disk types don't work (for me)..

I had this issue when I was dabbling with Synology on ESXi 2 years ago - though didn't follow it though as I didnt really have any need to install it inside ESXi until now.. First off.. Screw you Intel.. Your non-K CPUs have VT-d, but your more expensive 'K' CPUs (in the same range) have VT-d disabled?? Ultimate Dick-Move on your part.. Anyway, I'm testing on my old workstation - spec. 3770k, p8z77v pro TB, 16GB, ESXi 6.7 (fully patched), a selection of disks (for testing at present), Intel dual port NIC in there too.. Syno DSM 6.2.1 installed.. I get a solid 112MBs when reading from the disks across GBit ethernet. When writing, it starts off at 112MBs (for about 6 seconds) then it drops to about 50MBs.. (average across the whole file is 63MB/sec) Pretty sure Synology 6.2.1 isnt the issue (well, I hope it isnt) as copying (writing) using file manager within Syno is about the same speed. So it's VMware and/or hardware config.. Passthrough isn't an option due to Intel being ass-hats with vt-d (I suppose I could buy a 3770 cpu second-hand on ebay instead), so am I really stuck with this poor performance? Any VT-d workarounds? Thanks!

I'm using Workstation to test - not esxi.. So can't choose the NIC type. I'll maybe try it in ESXi later this week, if I get a chance.. Thanks both for the info!

I've been mucking around on VMWare Workstation, trying to see if I could make any headway with either a 6.2 > 6.21 upgrade or just a fresh 6.2.1 upgrade. No joy so far.. Question. Should DSM upgrades also modify the bootloader disk (or usb drive for bare metal installs)? I assume so, because it breaks it.. If I upgrade the VM, it no longer gets an IP address. If I install fresh 6.2.1 it's also not on the network. I then made the boot drive non-persistent (so changes are not retained), did the upgrade (after a reboot, I get no IP address as usual). If I power off and back on again to revert the changes to the boot drive, I get an IP address again - but the previous upgrade isn't recognised and I need to reinstall DSM..

I don't think it's guaranteed to have networks available just because it scans for an IP address during PXe boot.. Does it actually find an IP address via PXE? My testing for ESXi is out of date (I last tried it on 6.1 but all my machines are bare metal - I don't have a need to install Synology inside a VM). This test was for VMWare 'Workstation' though.. Need details. What sort of NIC do you have and have you entered a valid serial number and MAC Addresses in the grub.cfg file (within the image or on the disk)? You can use OSFMount (plenty of guides on here) to mount and edit the IMG File (before you convert it).. Which hardware (server type or whitebox), which Syno hardware (918, 3615, 3617) etc etc. #H

For Vmware tools you need to use Open VM Tools.. I got mine here - http://spk.4sag.ru/ Download the Application package and install manually.. I think you might need to change the trust level to 'any publisher' and possibly allow beta versions (this is done from the Syno web console).. I think a fellow forum user (4sag) runs this site, so props to him/her..

Hi all I just spent 20 minutes testing this in VMWare Workstation 14. Worked fine! Process probably isn't that different from ESXi - and you can always move the box into ESXi if you wanted to.. Step by step.. Sorry, didn't do any pictures, but if you know your way around Vmware, it won't be an issue.. Process! Download Jun's DS3617 .img file - 1.03b. Convert the img file to VMDK (vmware disk) using Starwind v2v image converter (free program). Create the new Synology VM.. note.. Move the vmdk file, created earlier, into the new VM's folder. - Create the new VM you want to use for Synology.. Hardware compatibility ESXi 6.5 (so you can move it around). - Guest OS = Linux. Version = Other linux 4.x or later - 64bit. - Add a new SATA hard disk and opt to use an existing virtual disk. Use the VMDK created above as it's source. - Create 2x SCSI disks (your main Syno disks) of whichever size you need. - Remove soundcard, USB drives and add serial port. You probably won't need a CDRom drive either. Edit the VM's settings! - Ensure that 'BIOS' is the boot method (not UEFI) - see Advanced section on Options tab. *UEFI might work - didn't test it.. Start the VM and open the BIOS settings - or else you'll find it will try to boot to the network.. - Edit the VM's BIOS - by hitting escape when starting it - and change the boot order to ensure the SATA drive is first in the boot order. Not SCSI.. Not network. Only the SATA drive first! That's it configured, now to install DSM.. You can follow the standard procedure for this.. - Boot the machine and scan the network for the allocated IP.. - Install the PAT file for DSM 6.2.. - Reboot, set a static IP address, update to U2 etc. Job done.. Hopefully this is of some use! #H

Syba SI-PEX40062 SATA III 4 Port PCI-e 2.0 x2 Card ....This one works in the DS3617 box I use for my VMWare LUNs..

- Outcome of the update: SUCCESSFUL (with caveat) - DSM version prior update: DSM 6.1.7 u2 (DS3617xs) - Loader version and model: JUN'S LOADER v1.03b - DS3617xs - Using custom extra.lzma: NO - Installation type: BAREMETAL - ASRock J3455-ITX, using Intel NIC, 16GB RAM and 3x SATA disks (SSD, SSD, 3.5). - Additional comments: Upgrade went fine to 6.2 (now Update 2) - but write transfer speeds about about 60-70% of what they were (I think). Read speeds look ok..

- Outcome of the update: SUCCESSFUL - DSM version prior update: DSM 6.1.7 (DS3615xs) - Loader version and model: JUN'S LOADER v1.03b - DS3617xs - Using custom extra.lzma: NO - Installation type: BAREMETAL - (old Dell Optiplex 755) - Additional comments: Upgraded from DS3615xs (DSM 6.1) to DS3617xs (DSM 6.2) without a problem - with Intel NIC.. - Outcome of the update: UNSUCCESSFUL - DSM version prior update: DSM 6.1.7 u2 (DS3617xs) - Loader version and model: JUN'S LOADER v1.03b - DS3617xs - Using custom extra.lzma: NO (is there one for 1.03b?) - Installation type: BAREMETAL - ASRock J3455, using realtek onboard NIC, 16GB RAM and 3x SATA disks (SSD, SSD, 3.5). - Additional comments: Failed to find on network following boot.. Will re-try with an Intel NIC..