Run pfSense Plus on VMware vSphere 8

How to run pfSense Plus on VMware vSphere 8

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pfSense is a very powerful firewall and in this video, I will show you how to run pfSense Plus on VMware vSphere 8. By virtualizing pfSense you can now take advantage of the flexibility already there when using VMware vSphere 8.

You can find more information about pfSense in the links below:
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/recipes/virtualize-esxi.html
https://www.pfsense.org/download/
https://www.netgate.com/pfsense-plus-software/software-types
https://shop.netgate.com/products/pfsense-software-subscription

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GPU Passtrough for Ubuntu VM running on VMware vSphere 8

Intel GPU passthrough for Ubuntu VM running on VMware vSphere 8

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In this video, I will show you how to set up GPU passthrough for an Intel GPU for a Ubuntu virtual machine running on VMware vSphere 8. This way you can use the performance that GPU has for transcoding, encoding, or decoding large video files without stressing the CPU on your VMware ESXi host.

Official documentation from Intel to install graphics drivers on Ubuntu can be found here. Below are all the commands I used to install the drivers on my Ubuntu virtual machine:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y gpg-agent wget

wget -qO - https://repositories.intel.com/gpu/intel-graphics.key | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor --output /usr/share/keyrings/intel-graphics.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/intel-graphics.gpg] https://repositories.intel.com/gpu/ubuntu jammy/production/2328 unified" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/intel-gpu-jammy.list

sudo apt-get update

wget -qO - https://repositories.intel.com/gpu/intel-graphics.key | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor --output /usr/share/keyrings/intel-graphics.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/intel-graphics.gpg] https://repositories.intel.com/gpu/ubuntu jammy unified" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/intel-gpu-jammy.list

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y intel-i915-dkms xpu-smi

sudo reboot -h now

sudo apt-get install -y \
  intel-opencl-icd intel-level-zero-gpu level-zero \
  intel-media-va-driver-non-free libmfx1 libmfxgen1 libvpl2 \
  libegl-mesa0 libegl1-mesa libegl1-mesa-dev libgbm1 libgl1-mesa-dev libgl1-mesa-dri \
  libglapi-mesa libgles2-mesa-dev libglx-mesa0 libigdgmm12 libxatracker2 mesa-va-drivers \
  mesa-vdpau-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers va-driver-all vainfo hwinfo clinfo

sudo apt-get install intel-gpu-tools

sudo reboot -h now
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Move docker containers to new volume on Synology NAS

Move docker containers to a new volume on Synology NAS

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A while ago I made a video on how to create a storage pool on M.2 NVMe’s which you have in those slots in your Synology. Check that video here. In this video, I will show you how to move your docker containers to that new volume, take advantage of those M.2 NVMe’s performance, and keep all the persistent data and configuration.

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Set up a Two-Node VMware vSAN Cluster with vSAN 8.0

Set up a Two-Node VMware vSAN Cluster with vSAN 8.0

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In this video, I will show you how to set up a Two-Node VMware vSAN Cluster with vSAN version 8.0 and benefit from all the enterprise features you would get when using a dedicated SAN infrastructure.

Check the links below for more information on VMware vSAN:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsan-planning/GUID-18F531E9-FF08-49F5-9879-8E46583D4C70.html
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsan-planning/GUID-80EB3F83-E608-4F1F-8FDC-7CA9078E8922.html

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Use any M2 SSD as Storage Volume on Synology NAS

Use any M.2 NVMe SSD as Storage Pool on Synology NAS

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In this video, I will show you how to set up any brand M.2 NVMe you already have installed in your Synology NAS as a Storage Pool. Now you can benefit from the performance and low latency of those fast NVMe SSDs and leverage it for Virtual Machine storage for example. All the steps in this video are done with a script for the user 007revad on GitHub, so many thanks for automating that process.

Resource links:
https://github.com/007revad/Synology_M2_volume
https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Which_models_support_M_2_SSD_storage_pool
https://www.synology.com/en-global/compatibility?search_by=products&model=DS1621%2B&category=m2_ssd_internal

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Backup VMware Virtual Machines with Synology Active Backup for Business

Backup VMware Virtual Machines with Synology Active Backup for Business

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I am sure a lot of you are running your virtual machines on VMware. Now, if you have a Synology appliance (NAS) running in your network as well, no need to look further for a solid backup solution. You can read more about Synology Active Backup for Business here.

Utilize that Synology today and backup those virtual machines running on your VMware platform. It is easy, simple and fast.

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