VMWare : SATA Controller Passthrough for TrueNAS Scale

How to passthrough an onboard SATA Controller in VMWare ESXi v.6.7 Update 3 for TrueNAS Scale installation.

As the HP Z800 WorkStation comes with onboard 6-ports SATA Controller and 8-ports LSI SAS/SATA Controller, the existing LSI Controller was dedicated to VMWare ESXi v.6.7 thus leaving the SATA Controller unused.

For experiment purposes, I wanted to passthrough this SATA Controller to a VM for TrueNAS Scale use as Storage Pool and thus able to directly manage all the HDDs connected on this controller.

1. Firstly is to create a VM and install TrueNAS Scale and configure the network settings.

2. Next is to shutdown the TrueNAS VM.

3. In the ESXi Server Host, under --> Manage --> Hardware.

4. Look for --> Intel ICH10R 4-ports Controller --> Passthrough = Enable.

5. Put the ESXi Server Host into --> Maintenance Mode, and reboot the server.

6. After reboot, Exit Maintenance Mode.

7. Under the TrueNAS VM, right-click --> Edit Settings.

8. Click --> Add Other Device --> PCI Device.

9. A new hardware will be listed, ensure the new PCI Device = Intel ICH10R 4-ports Controller.

10. Boot-up the TrueNAS VM.

11. Login to TrueNAS, goto --> Storage --> Disks.

12. Now you should be able to see all the HDDs connected on that SATA Controller and proceed to create Storage Pool.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

TrueNAS : Create a Virtual Machine (VM)

Did you know that TrueNAS can function like a Hypervisor ? TrueNAS itself can have containerization of Virtual Machine (VM).

Although its not a full scale Hypervisor (Tier-1), sometimes we just need to temporarily test an application or operating system. So it is very useful to be able to run a VM inside TrueNAS.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

TrueNAS : Create User, Group and Samba (SMB) Share

How to create Users then add them into Group and create a Samba Share. Samba share is very useful for folder(s) and file(s) sharing between computers.

But not all folders you want to share to everyone, maybe some confidential data that only you have the access.

Users account created in TrueNAS can be assigned or added into a Group, by grouping all your users together in group will make it very easy for an administrator to manage the permissions and access of file and folder sharing.

 

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

VMWare : Enable Hard Drive's Serial Number

There are times where some Operating System (OS) needs to have the Hard Drive's Serial Number or UUID enabled for it to work correctly.

This is especially true when it comes to TrueNAS installation in VMWare ESXi server. Although it is NOT RECOMMENDED to install TrueNAS (Scale/Core) in a virtualized environment, but for some Home Lab or for testing purposes, it is OK to do so.

1. The said Virtual Machine (VM) must be shutdown first.

2. Next, edit the VM's settings.

3. Goto --> VM Options.

4. Under --> Advanced.

5. Click --> Edit Configuration.

6. Click --> Add parameter.

7. Under Key, type --> disk.EnableUUID

8. Under Value, type --> TRUE

9. Save and exit.

10. Then only power-on the VM.

The Hard Drive's Serial Number will now be automatically created by ESXi server and TrueNAS will be able to detect those Virtual Hard Drive.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!