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 !!!

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 !!!

Windows 10 : Delete Recovery Partition

Windows 10 "Recovery" partition is a special partition on system hard drive and is used to restore the system to factory settings in the event of system issues. To protect the recovery partition from being changed or deleted, the recovery partition usually doesn't have any drive letter assigned and other features or options are not available in Disk Management.

This "Recovery" partition can be deleted and it will not impact your existing Windows 10 OS. Though it can be deleted but to delete it, you must follow this steps.

NOTE : IT IS RECOMMENDED NOT TO DELETE THIS PARTITION ! DOING SO, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY LAST RESORTS IN THE EVENT OF OS ISSUES.

1. Run --> CMD (run as admin)

2. Type --> diskpart

3. Type --> list disk

4. Type --> select disk [number]

     (usually primary disk number is 0)

5. Type --> list partition

6. Type --> select partition [number]

     (in this case my, based on my drive's partition layout, the number is 4)

7. Type --> delete partition override

8. Type --> exit

9. Now, open "Disk Management" and you will notice that now there is a "Unallocated" space available in the drive.

10. Next step is to extend your [C:] drive by right-click --> Extend volume.

11. Ensure the full size is selected and click --> Next

12. Verify the new configuration and click --> Finish

Now you will have a larger capacity of the [C:] drive partition.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!