VMware Homeserver – ESXi on Mac mini
Running ESXi on a Mac mini made by Apple is nothing new. There are many opportunities to consider when you want to build a VMware vSphere Lab or a Homeserver. In this post, I am going to cover capabilities, accessories, and issues you might encounter in the newest release: Mac mini MD387, Mac mini MD388, and the slightly enhanced Mac mini Server MD389 from 2012/2013. Mac mini offers great performance and is small in size and power consumption thus making it a great candidate for running ESXi at home.
The latest version offers 3 models which are different in CPU performance and HDD capacity. The Server version has two 2,5" hard drives:
- Apple Mac Mini MD387LL/A - Intel Core i5 (Up to 2x 3.1 GHz)
- Apple Mac Mini MD388LL/A - Intel Core i7 (Up to 4x 3.3 GHz)
- Apple Mac Mini MD389LL/A Server - Intel Core i7 (Up to 4x 3.3 GHz)