Yesterday, I posted a screenshot on Twitter where I pulled the CPU temperature from a Raspberry Pi running ESXi-Arm using curl. If that is possible, it would be a great option to pull the data for monitoring or graphing purposes:
I got a few messages on whether this really works, or is a fake. So, here is how I did it...Read More »ESXi-Arm on Raspi - Pull CPU Temperature using Curl
Cooling the Raspberry Pi 4 is highly recommended, not only when running the ESXi-Arm Fling. The Raspberry Pi 4 has an internal temperature sensor, which is used to ensure that temperature does not exceed 85°C. When the temperature is at about 82°C, the system automatically reduces the clock speed to prevent the system from overheating. This mechanism is also referred to as "Thermal Throttling".
Technically, it is not required to install heatsinks or small fans to prevent it from overheating. But if you want to have the system to run at full performance, you definitely want to install heatsinks and a fan. Of course, running the system as cool as possible will also increase its overall lifespan.
That's the theory - But is Thermal Throttling working with the ESXi-Arm? And how can you identify that the clock speed has been reduced? Let's find out...
Read More »Thermal Throttling on Raspberry Pi 4 running ESXi-Arm
With the recently released ESXi-Arm-based driver for the Raspberry Pi's GPIO interface, it is possible to poll the Pies CPU temperature. With the provided module, I've created a quick script that you can run on your Raspi to send the CPU temperature to a Graphite host.
Read More »ESXi-Arm on Raspberry Pi - Send CPU Temperature to Graphite
Having proper cooling is very important when you run the ESXi-Arm Fling on a Raspberry Pi. With the Fling itself, it is not possible to get the actual CPU temperature.
Luckily, a few days ago a repository created by Tom Hebel (@tom_hebel) popped up on GitHub that contains a native driver for the Raspberry Pi 4's GPIO interface. This driver allows you to poll the CPU temperature. This article explains how to install the driver.
Power over Ethernet is a nifty solution to run your Raspberry Pi without an additional power supply. You can fully run ESXi-Arm on a Raspberry Pi with a single RJ45 network cable.
If you want to build a cluster of Pies or just want to have a clean setup, get a PoE HAT. This article explains the options that you have to add PoE support for your Raspberry Pi for the following use cases:
Read More »Power over Ethernet HAT Options for ESXi-Arm on Raspberry Pi
VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that improve the performance and management of your Virtual Machines. They are essential when running VMs on ESXi. With the recently released ESXi Arm Edition Fling, you want to make sure that you have them installed.
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Debian. It is officially released in three editions: Desktop, Server, and Core. Ubuntu is released every six months, with long-term support (LTS) releases every two years. As of 22 October 2020, the most recent long-term support release is 20.04 ("Focal Fossa"), which is supported until 2025 under public support
Unfortunately, a compiled version of open-vm-tools for arm64 is not available for many common Guest Operating Systems, so you have to compile them from VMwares Repository at GitHub.
This article explains how to compile open-vm-tools for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS arm64.
Read More »VMware Tools for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS arm64 on ESXi-Arm
VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that improve the performance and management of your Virtual Machines. They are essential when running VMs on ESXi. With the recently released ESXi Arm Edition Fling, you want to make sure that you have them installed.
openSUSE is a Linux distribution sponsored by SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH and other companies. openSUSE offers Leap, a distribution built on a more tested base shared with SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), effectively making Leap a non-commercial version of its enterprise-grade operating system. Users that prefer more up-to-date free software can use its rolling release distribution Tumbleweed.
Unfortunately, a compiled version of open-vm-tools for aarch64 is not available for many common Guest Operating Systems, so you have to compile them from VMwares Repository at GitHub.
This article explains how to compile open-vm-tools for openSUSE Tumbleweed aarch64.
VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that improve the performance and management of your Virtual Machines. They are essential when running VMs on ESXi. With the recently released ESXi Arm Edition Fling, you want to make sure that you have them installed.
Debian is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project. It is one of the oldest and the most popular edition for personal computers and servers. Debian is also the basis for many other distributions.
Unfortunately, a compiled version of open-vm-tools for arm64 is not available for many common Guest Operating Systems, so you have to compile them from VMwares Repository at GitHub.
This article explains how to compile open-vm-tools for Debian 10 arm64.
VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that improve the performance and management of your Virtual Machines. They are essential when running VMs on ESXi. With the recently released ESXi Arm Edition Fling, you want to make sure that you have them installed.
Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.
This article explains how to install open-vm-tools on Alpine Linux 3.
VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that improve the performance and management of your Virtual Machines. They are essential when running VMs on ESXi. With the recently released ESXi Arm Edition Fling, you want to make sure that you have them installed.
Fedora is a Linux distribution developed by the community-supported Fedora Project. Fedora contains software distributed under various free and open-source licenses and aims to be on the leading edge of free technologies.
Unfortunately, a compiled version of open-vm-tools for aarch64 is not available for many common Guest Operating Systems, so you have to compile them from VMwares Repository at GitHub.
This article explains how to compile open-vm-tools for Fedora 32 aarch64.